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

Fri Aug 7 16:10:26 UTC 2015

Sami, as far as language classes go that depends on the school.  
Mine only met twice a week just like any other class.

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Sami Osborne 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 09:03:03 -0400
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Five reasons why college is better than 
high school!

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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