Hey Niles West! My name is Megumi Hoshi, and I am a recent graduate from the proud Class of 2010!! I am currently a Special Education major at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. I have had an amazing college experience thus far, and love every moment of it!
This first semester flew by way too quickly, and we are now coming to the end. This means finals! Unlike high school, colleges have finals before winter break, which is nicer since we don’t have to dread finals week during winter break.
This semester I took 15 credit hours, which means that I have 15 hours of class a week. For the first year, freshman mainly take general education courses that are required for graduation. But, depending on your major, the general education classes you take are different. The classes that I took this semester were:
RHET 105: A literature/writing course. (3 hours)
SPED117: A culture of disability course. (3 hours)
SHS 120: Speech and Hearing Science Course. (3 hours)
MATH 117: Elementary mathematics for educators. (4 hours)
EDUC 101: Intro to the College of Education. (1 hour)
The great thing about choosing classes in college is the different varieties of classes they offer. Through a list of hundreds of general education classes, you can decide which classes you are interested in! I am really happy with the classes I chose, and I really enjoy going to each class. The professors are also extremely helpful!
The BIG difference between college and high school is not living at home. With the new independence, all the responsibility is on you. You can come home at anytime, you have the power to eat, sleep, study, do laundry whenever you want without anybody nagging you. I live at Presby Hall, which is a private-certified dorm. There are many dorms you can choose from and the differences vary from dorm to dorm. First, there is private and public housing. Public Housing usually has communal bathrooms and showers while private housing offers your own bathroom and shower. I chose Presby Hall because of the great location (three min away from the Quad) and also because it has a nice kitchen, washer/dryer, balcony, and living room!!
Besides classes, I am also a member of the Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field team at the University. I love being a collegiate student-athlete! Although it is a lot of hard work, everything is definitely worth it. For the first two months of school, I had practices every morning except Saturdays from 5:30-6:00 am. Practices are very different from high school, especially the pace. We have two-a-days twice a week which include weights and other drills, which is pretty time consuming-but definitely worth it. If you’re thinking about being part of a collegiate team, it is an amazing experience. You create an instant family that is dedicated and passionate for the sport. If you are unable to do collegiate athletics but want to continue playing sports, there are so many competitive club and intramural sports that you can join also.
All in all, college is a lot of fun! For those of you who are interested in coming to University of Illinois, I truly recommend it! Just remember to start visiting colleges, talking to admissions, so that you can find the perfect college for you. Also, enjoy your four years at Niles West because before you know it, it will fly by!!
jon smith • Dec 8, 2010 at 7:49 PM
Not all colleges are like University of Illinois. Many schools do not offer private housing. You cannot choose whatever classes you want, you have to choose out of a list, which are the general education courses because many times you need certain gen eds to move on to your major classes. You can’t speak for all school because they are all different. Overall, you are putting false ideas into the minds of Niles West students. and calm down with the exclamation points.
This is the truth: College is stressful. Yeah living on your own and in a dorm is cool, but that’s only if you get along with your roommate. To be honest college is what you make of it. You can either go out and party, do well in your classes, or both. You need to learn time management and you need to learn it quickly. There are no Mickey Mouse assignments like there are in high school. They don’t care if you do your work or even show up. That’s your prerogative, not the professor’s. If you choose not to go to class you will fail. No one wants to spend thousands of dollars a year on being a failure. Most dorm rooms do not have a washer, dryer, bathroom, shower, or kitchen. Most dorms won’t even let you have a toaster.