OSU Personal Statement

I am a first-generation Latina student at The Ohio State University. Being from inner city Toledo, Ohio, I attended a public district where 80% of students received free or reduced lunch and the graduation rate was at an all time low of 49%. My parents had not graduated high school, therefore once college applications became relevant, they unfortunately could not help me. Through 25 different scholarships, I was able to attend OSU without any loans and truly believed I was on the right track to achieving the "American Dream". To my dismay, once classes began, I was lost. My high school had assisted me in reaching OSU, but afterwards, I was on my own. Three years later, I know of few resources which could have assisted me with the inside knowledge of college, however, as a brand new freshman, I didn't even know where to buy my books, or how to access my OSU email, let alone how to look for resources. …show more content…
Being from a high school where 60% of the student population was a minority, I had never felt out of place or literally like a minor, but after my first few weeks of classes, I realized why my ethnicity was a minority. OSU has a 3% Latino population, which has not grown in about 3 years. I'm not sure whether the outreach is misplaced or tuition is too costly, but unless a minority is able to find a group accepting of their culture and ideas, they are most likely to transfer, as I almost did. While this disconnect and isolate was taking place, I was also struggling in classes. My "honors" and "AP" classes did not prepare me for college and I had no clue how to actually study material and create my own ideas and opinions on if the author was write or wrong. In high school I had always trusted the author was correct, therefore when one of my first professors asked, "Do you agree with this authors