As I look back to my high school days, all I could ever think about was getting my diploma and moving on to college. Frankly, I just wanted to graduate because I was growing tired of the same old stuff in school. I didn’t really know what I was getting into, thinking that I was ready for college while being blind-sided by the amount of obstacles that I came to face. Now realizing the amount of responsibility that I have to accept, my situation of being a first-generation college student and my tendencies to avoid studying for tests can put me in danger of not succeeding in college. Despite these factors working against me, The amount of financial aid that I receive and my experience as an A.V.I.D student in high school are working for me and
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One would be The difficulty I have effectively studying for tests, and the other is being a first-generation student. Test taking will likely be a factor that will work against me in college because I do not tend to study enough for tests. Once I begin to study for something, I usually have a hard time staying concentrated and I don’t get anything out of it. I can recall many times where I studied for 30-45 minutes a day for a whole week before the day of a test, and still ended up getting below a C on it. Even though I sometimes spend a lot of time studying, I don’t see improvements in my grades because I’m not doing it effectively. “According to the Cleveland Federal Reserve study, it 's not the amount of time spent studying that predicts academic success, but effective study strategies. While spending only two minutes studying for a complex class is unlikely to be effective, there is little evidence that grades correspondingly improve with more time spent studying” (Thompson). In my own experience, I haven’t been able to find a study strategy that really helps me stay focused. I’ve tried isolating myself from any possible distractions, putting myself in a quiet environment, and listening to music, but none of these strategies has ever worked for me. When I study, it usually results in forgetting what I had read about and doing something more desirable to me. Another factor working against me in my chances of college success is being a first-generation college student. Having parents with no college experience makes it tough when I’m looking for advice. Both my mother and father graduated high school, and then dropped out of college shortly after enrolling. Although they do have some kind of knowledge about college, they don’t know enough to really help me because it’s been over ten years since they’ve stepped foot on a college campus. When I applied to college for
One would be The difficulty I have effectively studying for tests, and the other is being a first-generation student. Test taking will likely be a factor that will work against me in college because I do not tend to study enough for tests. Once I begin to study for something, I usually have a hard time staying concentrated and I don’t get anything out of it. I can recall many times where I studied for 30-45 minutes a day for a whole week before the day of a test, and still ended up getting below a C on it. Even though I sometimes spend a lot of time studying, I don’t see improvements in my grades because I’m not doing it effectively. “According to the Cleveland Federal Reserve study, it 's not the amount of time spent studying that predicts academic success, but effective study strategies. While spending only two minutes studying for a complex class is unlikely to be effective, there is little evidence that grades correspondingly improve with more time spent studying” (Thompson). In my own experience, I haven’t been able to find a study strategy that really helps me stay focused. I’ve tried isolating myself from any possible distractions, putting myself in a quiet environment, and listening to music, but none of these strategies has ever worked for me. When I study, it usually results in forgetting what I had read about and doing something more desirable to me. Another factor working against me in my chances of college success is being a first-generation college student. Having parents with no college experience makes it tough when I’m looking for advice. Both my mother and father graduated high school, and then dropped out of college shortly after enrolling. Although they do have some kind of knowledge about college, they don’t know enough to really help me because it’s been over ten years since they’ve stepped foot on a college campus. When I applied to college for