Tag: college experience

Are You Sure I’m Almost a Senior?

Are You Sure I’m Almost a Senior?

I promise you that just last year I was moving into a college dorm for the first time, trying to decide on a major and making new friends.

Or maybe I was back for round two, just starting to get the hang of things, making some really good friends and even spending a semester abroad at Loyola’s John Felice Rome Center.

Okay, Okay then I’ve only just begun year three, finally getting to move off-campus, am excited about my major and am embracing being an upperclassman.

But there’s no way I’m almost a senior.

Then again…

For the past three years I’ve been calling Chicago and Loyola home. These years have felt like some of the fastest of my life. As they say, ‘Time flies when you’re having fun!’ Which I would say has been exactly the case for me. Sure, I’ve faced my fair share of stresses and hardships during my college experience, but honestly I wouldn’t take any of it back.

My junior year has been especially good to me. I’ve finally chosen a major that I’m excited about in Public Relations and am looking forward to another year of classes at the School of Communication. And thanks to some inspiration from a favorite Loyola professor of mine, I’ve also added a Marketing minor. My classes this year have pushed me academically, made me a better writer and helped shape my worldview.

I’ve gotten to live with some incredible girls during my time at LUC and this year has been no exception. I’ve loved having the chance to live in an apartment off-campus where I get to be more connected to the Rogers Park community.  This year I got much better about getting out and exploring the city and hope to continue doing so over the next year. (One of my new favorite foods is Spanish tapas–which are especially good at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba in Lincoln Park!)

This year I’ve experienced the most personal growth yet, academically, spiritually and in my relationships, for which I am truly grateful.

My college experience has been completely different than what my freshman-self would have expected and everything my (almost) senior-self could hope for. I’m not sure what this next year will bring or what will follow, but I think I’ll have a hard time topping my junior year at LUC.

So I guess that after looking back on it all again, it does seem like it’s time for me to be a senior. Even if I’m not quite ready to admit it.

My College Search Experience

My College Search Experience

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It was not until the end of junior year that I started to look into different colleges. At that time, I still never went to a college to tour the campus, shadow a student, or even look up info online. I was scared about college and I kept procrastinating my college search. As a first generation, my family did not know how to help me through these times. They encouraged me and supported me, but they did not know what the college application process was like nor did they know what exactly to do on their part.

Through my high school college “coach”, he was able to explain to me what I had to do to successfully find a college I was satisfied in attending. Loyola was the second college I visited and I took a campus tour by myself. From the very beginning, entering the Undergrad Amissions office in Sullivan center, I was blown away by the view of Lake Michigan through the glass windows. As we started the tour, I felt so comfortable- the people were not intimidating as I thought, LUC has state-of-the-art facilities, and the Jesuit, Catholic tradition could be seen everywhere. As a whole, LUC really impressed me; other universities did not have a welcoming ‘vibe’.

LUC was one of my choices to attend college because of a couple of reasons:

(1) I want to be able to commute to school to save money

(2) I want to find a Catholic school

(3) I want a school with a good reputation

Visibly, LUC was my #1 choice. I was happy to be admitted into this school. When I got my acceptance letter in the mail, LUC welcomed me with open arms with a unique card and acceptance packet. (If you just got one of these, you should know what I mean! 🙂 )

If I could give any advice to incoming freshman, it would be:

  • Visit at least 2 in-state colleges and 2 out-of-state colleges. (Religiously affiliated, private, public, etc…)
  • Understand (or experience) what dorming is like.
  • Know people who have been to college already and ask for their do’s and do-not’s of college.
  • Do scholarship applications!
  • If you have a college coach, visit them frequently and keep them up-to-date with what you have done and what you need to do.
  • Have a mentor
  • Be optimistic about going to college!