Pressure On A College Student example essay topic

1,430 words
When entering college, students may experience different types of feelings and emotions. Some students are excited about finally being able to start studying towards a career of their choice. They may be looking forward for a chance at independence and freedom or having the chance to meet new people and developing new friendships. While on the other hand, for some students it may be a frightening experience. The fact that they have to meet new people and develop new friendships can also be terrifying. They may also be uncertain about their future and taking on extra responsibilities (web).

A number of students may not even want to be in college but have been pressure into it by their parents. It takes time to adjust to college life, having to leave behind all the things that make you secure such as family, friends, their home, and many other things as well. Another explanation to why students may be holding back their post-secondary education is simply because they can not afford it. Every so often post-secondary institutes seem to be increasing tuition fees. This has resulted in students having to take a student loans and / or part time jobs while maintaining their GPA. These issues put pressure on a college student as well as having to worry about every major assignment being worth a big chunk of their letter grade.

There are not many homework assignments assigned during the four month semester, but when something is assigned by an instructor it is always worth a large portion. Majority of instructors do not assign homework but instead give suggested homework problems and assignments to enhance the skills taught in class. Students are expected to be doing work out of class in order to keep up with in-class lectures. After a few lectures have passed, there is usually an assignment or test given depending on the class. Since you are expected to be practicing your skills out of class the assignments and tests are usually worth a lot. They can be up to twenty percent of your final grade depending on the knowledge of the specific course you have learnt.

If you are taking more than one course, as a majority of students do, you may even have multiple assignments and / or tests on the same day. This can be stressful on a student. Everything seems to be directed towards due dates and more due dates. Once you complete one assignment, onto the next. The interaction between students and instructors is also different for students coming out of high school.

If you do not understand an assignment or homework you have to make an attempt to get a hold of the class instructor to verify or go over specific examples of problems. In high school it was easy to get a hold of your instructors. They were always in the same room and you could find them there before and after classes as well as between them. Once in college this all changes, there are a variety of different ways to get a hold of an instructor.

The instructors have specific office hours where you may get a hold of them if those times are not appropriate you may schedule an appointment time, other wise you could email them or leave a voicemail. This can be especially stressful for a student with a busy schedule resulting in not contacting an instructor, not understanding the specifics to an assignment or how to do a homework problem. All of this contributes to a decrease in your assignment mark. One of the major pressures most college students encounter is having to maintain their GPA. Most universities require a minimal seventy percent average in order to transfer into a university level program.

Even a seventy percent average isn't sufficient enough. The cut off is usually higher and if you plan to get acceptance into university you want to achieve an higher average than seventy percent to guarantee yourself a spot in the program. That's not the only thing you have to worry about, if you can't keep that average up, if attending Kwantlen, you have to at least keep your GPA up at 2.00 or above. If your GPA falls below 2.00 after completing a minimum of 9.0 semester credit hours, you will be put on academic probation and remain on it until your GPA reaches If you have completed a minimum of 18.0 semester credit hours and have been placed on academic probation the previous semester you will be required to withdrawal if a GPA of 2.00 or above is not achieved. The withdrawal is for a minimum of six months (web).

The stress of having to keep your GPA / average high enough for university entrance has encouraged students not to take on a full load of classes while holding a part time job. This way you are able to keep your GPA up, hold a part time job and pay off your student loan as you go along without having to go into debt. Many students would like the opportunity to go to school and further their education to pursue a career of their choice but just can't afford it; therefore they have to take a student loan as well as working a part time job. This can be especially hard for a student who is going to school full time, taking on four to five classes which all require a commitment of at least six hours of out of class studying. Taking a student loan is a simple procedure as long as you qualify for it. The government is more than willing to help students in need of money in order to pursue their education.

Not everyone is eligible for a government-sponsored student loan. Even if you are approved, at the best the government student loans will meet only 60% of your financial needs. This means you could still find yourself living on a very tight budget. Once you " ve graduated, depending on your loan agreement, your grace period can last anywhere from six to twelve months.

During this time you can continue to make monthly interest-only payments, and afterwards you will be expected to make monthly payments on your entire loan. This means you will be required to make larger payments to repay the loan (web). In order to pay off the student loan as well as make money to support yourself, most students have to get a part time job. A job can be especially stressful when your school schedule is spread out throughout the day, and the only hours you can get in are on the weekends and maybe a few hours during the weekdays in between your classes. As many of the students balance their tight shifts at their jobs, they still have to do their homework. This can result in problems for them in the future when wanting to transfer to an university.

There are pressures college students encounter while pursuing their post-secondary education. A few examples of some of the pressures students in todays society have to face are: having to worry bout due dates and assignments being worth so much, and having to take student loan and / or get a part time job while maintaining their GPA. Students may want to experience the freedom, independence and responsibilities that come along with entering a new environment while meeting new people and making new friendships. While on the other hand, some students may be afraid of entering a new environment, having to meet new people and gain new friendships. For some it may just be the stress of having to take on too much at once. Others may be uncertain about their future and are being forced by parents and family members to pursue a good career to make a life of themselves.

It may be hard for some students to let go of the things that make them secure such as family and friends. No matter what the reason to attend a post- secondary institute there will always be pressures on a student. Eventually you will end up where you wanted to be and there will always be success to look forward to.