Transitioning from High School to College
By Marissa Auguster
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 You have passed your exams, walked across the stage
and received a college acceptance letter-congratulations! You are now off to
college. You are entering a land of freedom, independence, and opportunity and
of course education. But it takes a great level of maturity to transition
successfully from a high school life and mind set to a collegiate one. It takes
maturity, determination and a strong support system to help make your transfer
to the other side a successful and worthwhile one.
In high school when we are late, do not turn in
assignments, or are consistently out of dress code, we are sent to detention or
sometimes a phone call goes home to our parents. We depend on our teachers to
tell us when each test date is, when homework assignments are due and beg for
that small chance of extra credit when we realize our grades are not up to par.
We even stay home or create elaborate excuses for missing important exams and
presentations simply due to our unpreparedness. This is not at all the case in
college. You are completely responsible for your actions, and there is no such
thing as a parent-teacher conference. The detention hall is replaced by a curfew
or even the infamous "out by 5 pm" policy some universities implement. Make-up
exams and extra credit are virtually non-existent, and slipping below standard
can result in academic probation or expulsion. And for those of us on
scholarship or in search of financial aid, keeping your school's designated GPA
requirement is an ongoing and sometimes perilous task. Keeping a focus on your
academics should be your first and foremost concern while in college.
 And that big land of no parental supervision,
endless parties and wild nights on the town? I urge you to rethink your
conception of college. While college is a place of virtually no boundaries, it
is also the place where we can learn to be mature and responsible adults. Of
course you should have fun, make friends and enjoy the college experience for it
will only come once. But moderation is the key to balance and success. In other
words, if your work is not complete, or you have an early exam the next morning
it probably is not in your best interest to go out Thursday night. Also be
mindful of who surround yourself with, everyone does not have your best interest
at heart, and at the end of the day you are responsible for your own actions.
Living arrangements can get complicated or down
right annoying when you clash with your roommate. While minor disagreements are
inevitable, you can avoid the big ones by thinking: what can I do first to help
the situation? Or talk openly to your roommate(s) about what is bothering you.
If you are lucky enough to have a single room or live off campus, more power to
you. But I must admit there is no comparison to dorm life, but for many it is a
one-time only experience.
I know one of the hardest adjustments I had to make
was sharing a bedroom with one other girl, a bathroom with fourteen other girls
and a kitchen with 250 girls. We were all told that "sharing is caring" when we
were little, but remember in college you are on your own, and often have to put
yourself first before you can help someone else. Bottom line: take care of
yourself first, and then help someone out if you can.
Last but not least, the struggle almost every
college student will face is home sickness. Being away from home, family and
friends is indeed difficult and stressful. No amount of pictures, phone calls or
letters will ever substitute for the presence our loved ones, but we can always
seek God for comfort. And even if we don't know it now, it will eventually get
better.
So transitioning to college is hard work. We not
only have to prepare our study habits, but we have to prepare our minds for what
is in store. We are not just simply "leaving the nest" or going away to school,
we are transitioning; transitioning from high school students to college
students: our first major step towards adulthood.
Marissa is a freshman Accounting major from Los
Angeles, California. She currently attends Hampton University in Hampton,
Virginia.
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