I'm still catching up on summer camp posts after the day for which they are intended but what the heck!
Day 15 – What was your college experience like? Were you involved in any clubs, groups, etc? If you did not go to college what was your experience like after high school?
My college experience was stressful and wonderful and enlightening and comfortable. My family did not have much money, so it was on me to get loans and scholarships when applying for college. Luckily I did well academically and was involved in a lot of extra-curricular activities, so I scored a few financial prizes from my high school, some great aid from the state of Pennsylvania (they had one of the best systems then - not so much in this economy), and some aid/loans from Federal student aid. I landed on my final school of choice for so many reasons but one of the biggest incentives was an academic scholarship of close to $10,000 a year. (Woot!) The downside to that was that I had to manage a 3.5 GPA for my entire school career to keep the scholarship - hence the stress and anxiety part of my experience. Organic chemistry did not want me to keep my money. Organic chemistry is a bastard if you did not know. He will suck you dry.
But enough about that. I went to a small, private school that was large compared to my 64 person graduating class in high school. The campus was absolutely beautiful and surrounded by my sweet PA mountains and countryside. It was Catholic, so we had a gorgeous yet comfy little chapel on grounds and lots of priests and brothers walking around. It was also the most comfortable I've ever felt with the Catholic faith. It was ok to disagree at my school as long as you weren't breaking school rules. It was ok if you were another faith, and in fact, other faiths were welcome to join church services if desired. It was a liberal arts college and experience in every single sense of that phrase. I adored it.
I majored in Biology/Environmental Science and learned so much. Outdoor labs and fieldwork were my absolute favorite experience. There are so many aspects of my education I don't use now that I would love to go back to using.
Some high school classmates also attended the school, so I had built in friends. However, I usually hung out with other Bio students. We geeked out over all kinds of sciency stuff. We also did our share of attending the local bar and frat parties, but we were never hard core partiers... too geeky. ;-) I made a few lifelong friends and spent a long time mooning over Hub and the distance between us. I felt much more accepted and strong than I ever felt in high school. I felt the world was my oyster.
As I've noted in this blog before, years later I went on to take a few Master's level classes in my attempt to get a Conservation Biology graduate certificate. I didn't finish because I got pregnant with E. I'll finish if the mood strikes. Right now I'm having too much fun with this project. Anyway, I found grad school incredibly stimulating, brain prodding and different from undergrad. There was a lot more treating us as colleagues and a lot less lecturing at the students. There was also a lot more emphasis on understanding critical thinking and how to find our answers rather than memorization and emphasis on test scores. It was a fabulous way to learn. It was really hard, but it was also an amazing experience. I recommend that anyone who loves the school experience in any way should try at least one graduate level course in something that stimulates them.
ETA: Clubs!? Oops. OK, I was a chairperson for the Student Activities Organization, a member of the Biological Honor Society, President of an Environmental Awareness Association, a tutor, a school van driver for pick ups at the train stations, mall runs etc, and I had work study as a lab assistant. I also worked part time in retail for about 15-20 hours a week. Talk about stretched for time as I carried 17-20 credits every semester except the last! (where I only carried 14. Woot!)