When it comes to the challenges to getting into college, I applied to (only) three schools. I received the typical a prioriprobability for the schools: rejection, wait-listed and acceptance!! If I could apply to schools again, I would first ask my guidance counselor if there were a waiver for application fees and depending on the response, I would start saving some money for application fees. I would then apply to 3  or 4 "safety schools", and 3 "out-of-reach" schools. I definitely would apply to a school that is close to home and I would try to apply to a school that is at a good distance from my state.

Also, I had to take the SATs two times but it was helpful for me to re-take the exam. I think, the struggles that I endured were worth the experience because sometimes struggles lead you towards appreciating the journey more than if you received something without much effort. At first, I was discouraged, especially because I received the wait-listed and rejection letters before the acceptance letter but the two letters made me humble and reminded me that I always have to work hard and not put my guard down.

Do not put your guard down, keep working hard and know that you are worth the effort it takes to work as hard as you should. I found a quote that I really think people should know: "Do What Matters." Continuing higher education matters and no matter how long it takes to complete your associates, bachelors and later on masters and/or doctorates, the journey to completing your degrees will be worth the effort. So, stay focus and "Do What Matters".

One of the main hurdles I faced in High School going into college had to be deciding on a major and narrowing down from many fields of interest to two or three. At first, I couldn't think of anything I was interested in at all, and after a while I had too many choices to choose from. 

It was challenging because I thought that what I decide to do is what I'm going to have to stick with for the rest of my life, but after looking further into the process I realized I'll have options either way.

Another one of my hurdles were deciding if I wanted to go away or stay at home. My final decision to go away for college took me a while to finalize because I wasn't sure if I was ready to be 100% on my own. I remember having to sit down with my dad and my adviser to come to a decision. 

Overall, my troubles were basic topics which are important and involve a lot of thinking, they weren't things in which I could decide in a matter of 5 minutes, it's a process but in the end I am satisfied with them 100%

The hurdle I faced in High School going to college?

My senior year of high school was challenging. Applying for college was difficult because I did not know much about the process and I did not have much help from my counselors. 

At first I did not know what to study so it was hard to pin point where I wanted to go. Once I had that down it was easier. Also, it was hard to tell my mom I was leaving and having her understand it was my choice and not that I was leaving her because I didn’t want to be with her.

 My grades were even a bigger challenge but thanks to my extra curricular activities, my application stood out. Then came the financial burden, I wanted to go away but in reality I could not really afford it. But I got some extra government help and a scholarship that made it easier for me to go away. 

There are hurdle that you’ll all face but there is no problem that can not be solved. There will always be a solution to your hurdle and it will all be worth it at the end when you get your college degree.

         

I attended DeWitt Clinton High School in Bronx, New York.  At first, attending an inner city school and seeing so many students’ education interrupted was very discouraging to me.  I began to feel like this would inevitably happen to me also.  I came to school every day, but did not have any goals or expectations of myself. 

Then one day I realized there was a reason why so many people with discouraging situations still came to every single day. Even with all the obstacles that stood in the way and resources taken away, there was hope that if I put in the work, it has to happen for me somehow.  After recognizing this, I really began to push, and stopped allowing the negative experiences to lower my goals and expectations.  I realized how much more-positive things were all around me.  

Primarily, I was fortunate to have a strong female Principal, Mrs. McCabe.  From our freshman year she pushed us with the constant reminder that we have to work hard so we can have college acceptance letters to choose from rather than praying at least one of them chooses us. She had impossible expectations of us, but when we reached those expectations, it showed us that we did not even know our own potential.  It inspired us to push and strive with our everything and make sure we could be proud of ourselves when it was finished.

  I had an amazing counselor, Mrs. Parra who gave us each individual attention and encouraged personal growth to ensure success.  Unfortunately my college advisor was a cynical atheist, who thought it was his job to prepare us for the real world.  So he would not remind us of deadlines, help us find applications, or show any kind of personal care because no one would do that for us in the real world.  In addition, my plan, of almost six years, to go to a religious college was shot down, and the meetings after that did not seem to go so well.  Thankfully I had already learned to have high expectations and challenge myself.  So when he would announce deadlines I would make sure to meet them without asking twice.  

When I needed help looking for applications or any online tools, I learned to figure it out myself.  After sometime, I realized that he appreciated students who showed initiative and received more advice from him towards the end of the process.  Overall I am grateful for my high school experience, mostly the lesson to learn for myself.  This was especially helpful going in to college because there was no way I would know exactly what the experience would be like.  Still, I am able to take care of myself and pick up quickly when I have to learn on my own, even if it is trial and error.  

Kariel Beckford

 

Whoever said high school is easy, in my opinion is a liar! There was nothing easy about going to a predominantly white school while trying to fit in, and still be able to preserve some of my Mexican identity.  

There was nothing easy about having to live in the next town over and travel twenty to thirty minutes every day to school because my family could not afford the rent in the town where I was attending high school. My parents did not care that we did this commute everyday just because they knew I had a better chance at graduating in Beacon, rather than if I were to attend high school in Newburgh.

 There was nothing easy about living with very strict traditional Mexican parents who made sure that every day I would go straight home do my homework, cook and clean the house, as well as look over my younger sisters. No friends, no hanging out. There were never any sleepovers in my agenda, and if I was allowed to go to birthday parties it would only be for about an hour. I did not understand then, but I do now.

 It is not that my parents were mean or hated me. On the contrary I do not believe I will ever be loved by someone as much as my parents loved me. They needed me in those times, when they were both working 2 jobs each in order for us to survive. I was always a great student, until I reached the age of 15. My grades detrimentally dropped, I was confused, lost, and unfortunately “boy crazy”. I only ever skipped school once in my life and with my luck, my mother caught me. 

She took me out of school and made me go to work with her every day, at that time she cleaned houses. She told me she was going to teach me how my life was going to be if I continued to do what I was doing and if I wanted to clean toilets like her I might as well get used to it, by the end of the week I was begging her to let me go back to school. I felt miserable; I had friends but I still felt like I did not fit in, and then I felt as if my parents were out to get me at home. 

This is because I was going through my “phase” the stage where I was trying to make sense of the world around me, while trying to figure out who I was as well. We all go through this phase, everybody experiences it differently, some are luckier than others but that is just life. I just wish I knew this back in high school, it would have made my life a lot easier. The key is to push through, there will be many times that you feel lost and things feel very out of place, but one day it will all make sense, just don’t give up. 

The transition between high school and college was annoying. I was worrying like crazy thinking "I'm not going to be ready for all this stuff" when in reality it was not that hard. It was more of a mental transition.

The atmosphere was a big difference. I lived around the block from my high school so it was within walking distance but I actually began living on campus now! So being on campus 24/7 seemed like one of the worst ideas possible but eventually I got used to it and realized I was among people going through the same thing and they were all just trying to get comfortable too. If I didn't live on an all freshman quad I would've felt a little bit more nervous.

The other big hard transition was food problems. Ordinarily, I'd be eating 2 or 3 good meals including a lot of spanish dishes and delicacies. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to come up on campus and find real hispanic food which was really hard. Instead there were buffet styled cafeterias. Sounded like a dream come true!! I saw it for myself and was blown away!! I can eat all I want? Challenge Accepted! ...I don't know why I was expecting good tasting food.... All the food I could eat and Chartwells (the company that makes the food) had to mess it all up! I almost cried... So much food...only maybe one or two good things to eat. Now I cook in my own kitchen but I truly don't know how I lived back then.

Getting into college can be an extremely scary and stressful process. In my senior year of high school I was very unsure about my future. The biggest challenge for me was the stress of not knowing what my future exactly was. I am the kind of person that always likes to have a plan.

 My senior year before college I did not have a set plan. The whole waiting period after sending in all my college applications and essays felt like it lasted an eternity! When I finally did receive my acceptance letter, the next problem that arose was how my family and I would be able to afford to pay for my tuition (along with my older brother who was in his junior year).

 I had to rethink my options and make an economical decision. I had to reject schools that I wanted to go to for financial reasons. Even through these obstacles I felt that in the end, I made the right decision for my life. I am in a school that I am happy in and that works for me and my family.  

The road to college was not an easy one, but like many other things in life, the more you put in, the more you get out. In my years at high school, college wasn’t something I thought about much at all. I was very much concerned with the day to day concerns (friends, homework, and track) and I never set aside time to browse colleges. In my head, it was such a big task and I had hardly a clue of where to start. “How could I possibly sift through the thousands of colleges out there?” I thought to myself. When the day came to meet with my guidance counselor, the list of colleges we drafted was basically a list of all the colleges I had ever heard of.

                  I’ll pause this story to give you some advice: The earlier you start, the better! I didn’t take the time to read through the brochures or browse school websites and so I’ll readily admit that my college decision could have been more well informed. If you take the time out to look at possible colleges that interest you, the college process can change from work that you have to do to something to be excited about and look forward to.

The best place to start is with what you know. Any amount of information gathering you do will help you make a more well informed decision as opposed to putting your hands up and declaring there are too many colleges out there. Start locally, and set aside some time in your day every once in awhile to look at different colleges. A few minutes of browsing here and there will add up over time, and soon you’ll have a feel for what you like from certain colleges and which ones you really want to focus on getting into. You don’t need to do it all in one sitting, but the more ‘shopping’ around you do and the more thoroughly you do it, the chances are the happier you’ll be with your ultimate decision.

                  Also, it’s not always convenient to visit different college campuses but it’s a good idea to do it if you can. After I visited SUNY Albany’s campus, I was more pleased with my application pool and in hindsight I see that that visit helped influence my decision to eventually choose SUNY Albany as my college of choice.

A final thing I should mention is my high school grades. I was a pretty hard working student so I had a nice ‘track record’. By the time I started looking at colleges, the scores I would send in my applications had already been set and my work was done in a sense. (Often this is associated with ‘senioritis’). I mention it though because you have to see the importance of your first 3 years in high school – they are what colleges will look at as far as grades and extracurricular activities. So use them wisely! 

The college process can be daunting but there are resources that you can take advantage of that can help you through it. And again, the earlier you start, the better. This is a lesson I’ve truly tried to take to heart as I now look at different graduate school programs to apply to. Good luck.

My biggest challenge concerning college was choosing which school I would be attending.  From a young age, I decided that my dream school was Howard University, one of the many historically black colleges/ universities (HBCUs), as it was a school that I was constantly exposed to.  

Being an African American, I felt that it was extremely important for me to attend a school that reflected my culture as well as one that had historical value.  I was attracted to the Greek life presented, the lively Black culture which was openly expressed, and the fact that Howard was one of the top HBCUs and widely known.  There was no doubt in my mind that it was where I would spend my college years.

When I was accepted into SUNY Albany, things began to change.  My mother, who was my number one supporter of my choice of Howard told me that I needed to reconsider my options.  She explained to me how good of a school SUNY Albany was and how it would be more affordable and overall a better choice for me.  

At first I was overwhelmed with a mixture of different feelings as I believed no one was supporting my decision to attend Howard University.  I was already set on the idea, and as far as I was concerned, it was where I was going.  However, once I got a chance to visit SUNY Albany, I got a chance to see the campus and get a feel of how it would be.  It wasn’t Howard, but I did like what I saw and I decided to give it a chance.  Three years later, and I am extremely happy with the decision I made. 

When I was in high school going to college, there are a lot of hurdles i faced. One of the biggest hurdles was the college process. Since my high school was so big, my college advisor had a TON of other students to worry about, but he did absolutely no worrying!

He did everything on his time regardless of deadlines. He limited how many schools each person could apply to and refused to send out recommendation letters and transcripts if he felt that I would definitely not get into a particular school. I argued with him every time I say him. I knew what colleges and universities I wanted to apply to and I really disliked that he brought down all of my hopes and dreams. I was very persistent until he finally agreed on 3 out of the 5 schools I wanted to apply to. Once the college process was over, I couldn't have been more happy to never see that man again! 

Another hurdle I faced was leaving home. It was a bitter sweet situation because I was excited to be in a new environment, but I was timid and nervous about it at the same time. I was also really sad that I would be leaving all my high school friends and my family. My little sister was only 3 years old my freshman year. Leaving her hurt me the most because I wouldn't be around to see her all the time or to spend time with her. 

When I moved on campus, at first, it was really lonely and depressing, but that was because the only people I knew were my suite mates. Once I made a few more friends on campus, started working and going to classes, everything fell into place. Slowly, I became more comfortable around campus and I stopped feeling alone. I also started to miss home a lot less. Now, about four years later, I occasionally go home so I can see my family and spend time with them and while i'm on campus, I do what I have to do and try to have fun as much as possible. Simply put, everything eventually falls into place once you keep working hard for what you want. 

Pertrice Sennon