[nabs-l] Five reasons why college is better than high school!

Fri Aug 7 13:03:03 UTC 2015

Hi Arielle,

Thank you very much for posting your reasons here, I think these 
will really help! As you probably know, I just graduated from 
high school last June, and will be headed to college in the 
spring (I will be doing blindness training starting next month, 
just like Joe suggested).
I want to clarify something, though, you said that language 
classes meet every day while other classes only meet a couple 
times a week.  I'm actually majoring in foreign languages, so 
would that mean that I would have to go to class every day?
Wow, these points that you made that you can make your own 
schedule and not having people bother you are definitely strong 
advantages of college  over high school.  I know this from my 
personal experience.  As you just mentioned, in high school, my 
days always consisted of 6 hours in which to work, and I couldn't 
choose my own classes; they were mandatory for all students to 
take.  I've also had exactly the same experience you had with 
other kids pushing each other around and things like that.  I got 
tripped, and even got my cane knocked of my hand by someone, 
sometimes even so far away that someone else had to retreave it 
and give it back to me.  I'm therefore really glad that people 
don't often do that in college.

I do agree with Joe though, and frankly I have heard so many 
stories of kids (not necessarily blind students) who are 
struggling in college, fail to keep up with the work, and 
eventually drop out.  Therefore, I'm also glad that I'm getting 
blindness training beforehand, since I'll most likely learn ways 
in which to succeed in college.

Thanks for posting your reasons again, and happy almost weekend 
everyone.

Sami

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Aaron via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Fri, 07 Aug 2015 01:41:00 -0400
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Five reasons why college is better than 
high school!

I have to agree with everything you've said.  I just love it.  
I'm glad that my high school had prepared me for rcollege.  I 
went to a school for the blind and I now use all of the skills If 
learned to get around and function in college.  Find something 
that you are good in and stick with it.
Thanks
Aaron

blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your 
future.  Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, 
because low expectations create obstacles between blind people 
and our dreams.  You can have the life you want; blindness is not 
what holds you back.

 On Aug 6, 2015, at 11:00 PM, Arielle Silverman via nabs-l 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:

 Hi all.  For those of you who will be transitioning from high 
school to
 college this fall, or seniors getting ready to apply to college, 
I
 wanted to send along this hopefully-encouraging post regarding 
why, in
 my experience, college was far better and easier than high 
school.
 Disclaimer: This post is mostly opinion (though some of it will
 probably apply to most college students).  Some of you may 
disagree
 with some of what I say, and if you do, feel free to join the
 discussion.

 1.  You have much more free time in college.  Typically, high 
school
 involves five or six hour-long class periods five days a week, 
plus
 lunch.  That adds up to 30 plus hours on campus every week.  In 
college,
 most students take 12-15 hours of classes per week.  Most 
college
 classes (except for language classes) don't meet every day.  So 
you
 will have lots of extra time to spend as you want.
 2.  You get to make your own schedule.  Are you a night owl? 
Sign up for
 night classes, or at least don't sign up for any classes before 
10
 a.m.  Want to take Fridays off? Set your schedule so your 
classes are
 all Monday-Wednesday or Tuesday-Thursday.  OK, sometimes that's 
not a
 possibility, but you have far more flexibility when setting your
 schedule in college, since most classes are taught multiple 
times
 during the week.  Many universities also have online course 
offerings,
 giving you even more schedule flexibility.
 3.  Less homework! That's right! Yes, you do need to keep up 
with the
 assigned readings, papers and at least look over your notes 
before
 each test.  But if your high school experience was anything like 
mine,
 there were probably a lot of "busy work" worksheets and study 
guides
 you had to fill out for a grade (which often weren't available 
in
 Braille on time).  In college, they don't care so much how you 
learn
 the material as long as you understand it well enough to pass 
the
 exams and/or write coherent papers.  Math classes will have 
regular
 homework, but for most other classes there will only be a few
 assignments.  Plus, professors are required to give you a 
schedule of
 when everything is due at the beginning of the semester (a 
"syllabus")
 so you can plan ahead.  While papers can be a bit overwhelming 
at
 first, the long time you get to complete them means that you can
 easily enlist help from tutors and the professor.  (see next 
point).
 4.  Your teachers are experts in their subject who set up 
regular times
 to help students.  Most university professors have to have a 
doctorate
 in their subject in order to teach.  That means they've 
voluntarily
 spent 4-7 years studying the subject in depth and then wrote a 
short
 book (dissertation) about that subject.  Trust me, nobody would 
go
 through the dissertation process and finish it if they didn't 
really
 really love that subject! Even lower-level instructors (which 
you may
 get for intro classes or community college classes) typically 
have to
 have a master's degree which involves at least 2 years of 
intense
 studies in that subject.  While I can't promise that all 
professors are
 good teachers, they will usually be far more knowledgeable than 
your
 high school teachers are about the specific subjects they teach.
 Furthermore, college teachers are usually required to hold 
office
 hours, the sole purpose of which is to help students with their
 classes on request.  Office hours were most likely not available 
to you
 when you were in high school, but in college, it's a wonderful
 opportunity to get clarification on something in the lesson, or
 feedback on a draft of a paper.  In addition to this, most 
colleges
 have other free resources for students like tutoring and writing
 assistance.
 5.  College is a chance for you and your classmates to grow up! 
One of
 the first things I noticed was that in college, I no longer had 
to
 deal with kids crowding me in the halls, jumping on or over my 
cane,
 grabbing me or making rude comments.  I enjoyed the freedom of 
being
 treated like an adult by both teachers and peers.  Of course, 
growing
 up is bittersweet, but with the myriad of options for social 
clubs,
 communal living, and diversity that you will find on a college 
campus,
 you will find that almost anyone can identify a place where they 
fit
 or a class or extracurricular activity that they love.  As you 
move
 through college, you will learn a lot of exciting things about
 yourself, what you enjoy and what you want to do in the next 
phase of
 your life.
 Best, Arielle

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