Ashley has left a new comment on your post "Geezers of '78":
I've commented before, but I felt compelled to comment again. I was reading through posts and discovered you went to UMass. Which campus did you go to? Did you like it? I'm going in the fall and I'm so nervous! No one in my family has ever gone to college, so I don't really know what to expect at all. :(
Wow... fanmail! Fantastic stuff, Ashley - thanks for reading.
Congratulations on being admitted to the UMass class of 2012! Getting into UMass is no easy feat, and I'm sure that your family is extremely proud of your achievement.
I spent 1998 - 2002 as an SOM student at UMass-Amherst, graduating with a degree in operations management. My decision to attend UMass was by far the smartest move I've ever made. While the classes were challenging, my friends were the ones who really made my college experience.
Going off to college as a freshman is a very scary thing. UMass campuses are huge and it's easy to get lost among the maze of ugly, concrete buildings. When you finally manage to find your dorm you are immediately paired up with a total stranger who you may or may not get along with. Snatched from a high school environment where I had plenty of friends, I personally found the first month of college to be a lonely, isolating experience. Luckily, the rest of my college career became the best four years a girl could ask for.
Statistically speaking, almost 2 in 5 of your classmates will not graduate from the UMass system in four years. Since college is not free, it should be a top goal to remain in the class of 2012, especially if you're paying for it yourself. If you haven't decided on a major, now is the time to start doing research. General Education Core Requirement (aka: Gen Eds) will also expose you to a variety of disciplines you may not have otherwise considered. Also, start brushing up on your calculus as the test you take at orientation may allow you to place out of freshman math.
The key to getting through college in four years is balance; in other words don't fuck up too bad. I count my lucky stars that camera phones did not exist or else I would have some pretty damning footage of my time at UMass. There's a lot of stuff you can do at college that will result in a criminal record, pregnancy, or both. Welcome to adult fraternity.
Now the fun stuff: you can study or intern abroad (I spent a semester interning at a dotcom in London for the same price as UMass tuition). You can join up with Habitat for Humanity over winter break, row for the crew team, run for Student Government Association, or host a weekly radio show. You'll be taught by brilliant professors, make amazing friends, and walk out four years later as an adult prepared to meet the challenges of the "real world". I look forward to buying you a drink at your first alumni club event.
1 comment:
I have to comment to Ashley that I was with Sherrie at Umass and I paid for my experience there all by myself. Unfortunatly when you do that gettting through Umass in four years is practically impossiable. You have to work 30 hours a week just to survive, and for me I could only handle four classes a semester because of the heavy work schedule. By the time I got to my fifth year I learned what Sherrie discussed "balance" and was able to work, do school, volunteer, and be a member of a sorority. Umass is an amazing experience even if you do have to go that fifth year. Good luck to you.
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