Tuesday, June 29, 2010

How Do You Communicate With People When You're In College?

When you're in college and away from home you may find it difficult to communicate with your relatives and friends. Phones are a viable option. Phones have been popularized as the most common form of communication among people in the world. Phones are portable, easy to use, and are widespread in most nations. In my past week living as a college student, my phone has been so useful in contacting my friends, scheduling times, and talking with my family. The down side is that my phone is a prepaid phone without a service plan so I have to allocate my time well. That's one negative aspect about using a cell phone.

What do you if you don't have a cell phone? The next and best option is a computer. Since the production of laptops in the past few decades, laptops have been one the most useful tools in communicating. I can't tell you how much my laptop is helping me in college so far. First, my laptop allows me to contact my relatives and friends through instant messaging and webcamming, all free of charge. Secondly, I use my laptop to surf the web and to research about Biotechnology. Thirdly, having a laptop allows me to blog about and giving my experience here so far at Brown. Staying on the same note...

Before starting my college life here at Brown, I thought the Ivy League Connection was the only partnership program in the nation who sends students to Ivy League College. The partnership meeting in Arnold Lounge this evening changed my opinion and experience on things.

When I entered the Arnold Lounge this evening for the partnership program meeting, I expected to see only 20 people in the room. However, I found more than 40 people in the lounge. I was thinking wow, there are people like me out there in the nation who went through the same process as me. I felt great to have some people to share my experiences with and to talk to when I need someone to converse with. The name game started off the meeting with a smile since many of our names had unique history. One person said that she came from China and actually went through the dictionary to find an English name. I said that my name had no special origin but my parents wanted a set of American names to mark their immigration into America. It's just a thought.

The pizza party was a fun and sociable way to talk to each other. I sat down on a table with a group of 5 fellow students. One of them was Mike, who was from Missouri. He stated that he was the captain of his soccer team and had reasonable academic skills. After inquiring about how he got here, he, like me, went through an intensive application process to get here. From this social, I began to create an appreciation for partnership programs. I also developed the reassuring knowledge that there are people out there who didn't pay to get here but used their hard work as a way to get here.

After having a Q & A session, I gained more knowledge about college life. For instance, one question asked "When should you begin your application process?" Aaron, a rising junior at Brown, said that you should start early with your application process because near crunch time, you won't be able to do 5 essays and still produce amazing applications. He also stated that you should have a person to back you up when you try to go to a college because doing things alone is almost impossible. Now I know that I need to concentrate in working on my applications early and to find a teacher in which I can rely on to help me through the college process.

Hope this helps you prospective students and parents. Till next time.

1 comment:

  1. William,

    Your last little bit about not trying to go it alone is probably some of the best advice for college bound students. Even before entering college, setting up study groups and study teams while in high school can help in your classes and even in preparing your college applications. Having the ability to bounce ideas off of each other and even having each other proofing your application essays can be of benefit to you.

    When in college, study groups helps spread the work out and allows you to learn as a team.

    Plus, it's always good to know that someone has your back.

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