Smart but lazy kid stopped being lazy.

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>I'm not at community college by choice. I'm at community college because in high school I got addicted to video games in replaced it with studying. As a freshman in high school I began as an AICE student. I took up this challanging program so I could get away from the cesspool called Florida and be an early admit to a prestigious university. I immersed myself into studying, never taking my eyes of my goal. By Christmas 2006 I had straight A's and had excellent scores on AICE practice tests. </p>

<p>That winter vacation I was introduced to an MMORPG. My eyes were glued to the monitor day and night, my fingers mashing the keyboard for hours at a time. When school began again I was the only kid in my history class that didn't do his winter assignment. I didn't care though, the MMORPG and my characters level and money was the only thing that mattered. 5 months passed by. As the AICE exams came I barely scrapped by on the test, with my mind on the MMORPG and summer. </p>

<p>Next fall I was kicked out of the program and forced to be in regular classes, classes which I barely got by due to me still glued to my character. With a massive amount of wealth in the game I was enjoying it more than anything, including friends, family, and siblings. That year I further alienated the people around me and got more money and more skills in the game. </p>

<p>Junior year comes and apparently I got by enough for me to be placed in honors classes, which don't deserve to be honors at all, IMO. I started another character and wasted one more year of my life. Summer comes and college began to be on my mind but quickly disappears when I started yet ANOTHER character. </p>

<p>Senior year began and in my eyes the game was no longer what it used to be, with old community gone and the development of the game slowing down. I got reminded of college again and while I was weaning myself off of the game I was doing massive research on colleges and where to apply. I soon realized that my GPA wasn't up to par and I never did go early admission to a college. Hell, I couldn't even get into my state flagship. Instead I realized I had to do the transfer from the CC route. </p>

<p>Senior year ended, I finally quit video games and I began attending my community college in the summer. I relearned studying, taking notes, using flash cards and managed to get an A in my summer class. I found my introduction to communications class rather easy and couldn't wait until the fall term started and I begin taking real classes that are more indepth and challenging than summer classes. Classes that have written tests, quick progress, great discussions, and study groups.</p>

<p>That never happened.</p>

<p>By October, I've now realized that tests are multiple choice, classes are taught by power point presentations that come with the book, barely any discussions are taking place, and when classes are over NO ONE wants to get together and study. There is no such thing as a study group. In my college algebra class we are only up to chapter three, going over what a damned function is. In my 7 AM humanities class I'm the only person awake besides the poor adjunct professor. In English composition we are going over what parts of speeches are. In nutrition class I'm forced to listen to the teacher repeat concepts five times before moving on to the next. In "Psychology for Personal Effectiveness" the professor treats me as "special" and doesn't include me in the grading curve because I actually study and remember the material.</p>

<p>I'm not just a big fish in a small pond. I'm a god damned shark in a 20 gallon fish tank.</p>

<p>I'm taking 18 credits right now and I want to take 24 but can't due to the school policy saying anything above 18 credits is too damned hard. </p>

<p>I thought community college was a place for nerds that can't afford a real college. Well mine certaintly isn't. Mine is apparently for those that barely passed high school and can't get a job; it's some sort of a building trying to milk profits out of the government loans given to drug addicts in poverty. </p>

<p>I'm fairly upset that I ended up in the bottom of post-high school academics . I'm disappointed that there is no honors college, clubs, or even phi beta kappa in this place. I'm a nerd that wants to go to FSU to pursue a bachelor in science degree. What can I do to improve my community college experience?</p>

2

<p>First of all, I want to congratulate you on your epiphany that there is more to life than just video games. Unfortunately, it took three years of your precious life, especially at a time where good choices have an even greater impact on your future career.</p>

<p>With that said, what do you mean when you want to “improve your college experience”? Do you want friends? Clubs and organizations? Intellectual peers who care about their education and can engage in erudite discussions with you? Because if that’s what you want, my experience at community college has told me it will be hard to find.</p>

<p>The punishment for your three years of negligence in high school is two years of boredom in classes with individuals who seek out a higher education only because it is considered the cultural norm. You reap what you sow.</p>

<p>If you have excess time, I suggest you get a job to earn some cash in preparation for your transfer, since I think you will have no problem in transferring. Or, you can always try to aim higher, Ivy League or top public universities, where people with the same mindset as you are in abundance.</p>

<p>Go petition for more credits if you really want more classes.</p>

3

<p>I don’t have the same sort of story that you do, but I too was a late bloomer academically. I could have gone to some pretty good state schools but with no chance of merit aid anywhere I went to community college. It was a very humbling experience, since I recognized a few of my classmates as the drug addicts who had stopped coming to class when we were in high school, and the class clowns who barely graduated. I felt like I was in a situation that was beneath me. But that attitude will get you nowhere, and I suggest you let go of any ideas like that immediately. Now is not the time to feel superior to your situation, you put yourself there and this is where you belong right now. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can dig in and get yourself out.</p>

<p>You have to be very self-motivated to succeed in that kind of an environment, because either you are like them and you are going to need to bust your ass to get good grades, or you’re going to get horribly bored and not take things seriously and flunk out even though you’re more than able to do the work. I excelled academically and I was able to keep up the motivation to do that because I kept myself intellectually stimulated outside of school. I did extensive volunteer work at my local humane society, including organizing and executing my very own fund raisers. I wrote for a newspaper, I worked a job, and I joined just about every club (on and off campus) I could find and kept busy. I even started my own club. I took just about every opportunity I got to try something new and excel at it. I left CC with an extensive resume of work and volunteering, some very impressive accomplishments, and an excellent GPA. And I was surprised to find that my CC classes prepared me for university level work a lot more than I thought they would. I transferred to Umich, which is a school I never would have even considered applying to out of high school because it was just that far out of my league. But my work at CC earned me a second chance.</p>

<p>It’s good that you’re looking for ways to make the most of your CC experience. That drive and what you do with it is what determines whether or not you get that second chance. So don’t waste time and energy being a shark in a 20 gallon tank. You are wasting the opportunity in front of you if you dwell too long on how beneath you the situation seems to you. You’re there for a reason and you need to accept that. You can still get a lot of knowledge and experience from this, which is what you need to get your BS at FSU, but not with this attitude. Find things that interest you, be it on campus or off, and get to work. That is what is going to get you where you want to go. Be proactive, take control of your own destiny, and get to work.</p>

4

<p>I do have alot of self motivation for academic success, enough motivation that I’m already ahead of the class by far and even doing extra research on my own about the topics that are covered in my book. I already do have a job on the weekend that I bust my arse for so I can pay for my classes. I also work out a bit everyday. My life isn’t dull but rather busy.</p>

<p>I just want to feel more involved with college. I wish to cheer for the school team, do group projects and be around with people that actually enjoy college. However, I can’t find like minded people to occupy my spare time between/after classes with, even if it is a small amount</p>

5

<p>Bump Up My Post.</p>

6

<p>I am in exactly the same situation as the OP, but I suppose I deserve this for screwing around in HS. The nerds you speak of do exist at my CC, but they are drowned out by the hordes of morons who loiter all over campus.</p>

<p>Hopefully I’ll be at Berkeley a year from now.</p>