Page 41 - Keys to College Success

The Rewards of College

You are aware of the risk you face. What rewards await you? You are an investor who
has purchased four years of citizenship in a college community, with access to every-
thing it has to offer. As such, you seek a rewarding return on the risk of that invest-
ment. Think about the following rewards as you choose how to spend your valuable
time and energy. Your college website, student handbook, and course catalog will have
specifics appropriate to your school.
LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION A liberal arts education
Comprehensive instruction
essential to being a
leges has been to give students a liberal arts education. In fact, the concept of a liberal
well-rounded citizen.
1 in a variety of areas Going back to the earliest days of education in this country, the focus of four-year col-
arts education has its roots far in the past. Educators during the Roman Empire in the
CHAPTER fifth century A.D. defined the liberal arts as those areas in which a “free” person (as
opposed to a slave) needed to develop. Thus the term liberal, which comes from the
Latin liber, meaning free.

Skills specific to academic subjects, career paths, or nonacademic areas
Nearly all students choose a major and take a series of courses focused on areas rele-
vant to that major. For some professions (medical doctors, attorneys, college-level
instructors), further graduate study is required. For other career areas, graduate-level
study may or may not be beneficial. For example, some economics majors may want to
continue on and obtain a Master of Business Administration (MBA), while others may
go directly into the workforce. Some students dive into their careers even before gradu-
ating by volunteering or getting internships.
College also gives you a chance to build skills outside of your academic pursuits, as
John did when he worked with the newspaper and radio station. Are you a performer?
You may be able to audition for plays or find opportunities to sing. Are you into poli-
tics? Political clubs, as well as school government, may give you a chance to shine and
to grow.

Opportunities to grow as a social being
Effective human interaction is an essential life skill. In school, at work, or in your per-
sonal life, you connect with people in some way every day. If you do it well, you will be
able to accomplish your most important goals more easily. If you don’t, your progress
may be limited.
You are building social skills and self-knowledge as you negotiate with a room-
mate over storage space, get to know new friends and stay connected with old ones,
develop relationships with instructors and advisors, play collegiate or intramural
sports, hang out between classes, and go to formal or impromptu social events. Later in
this chapter, you will read more about how your emotional intelligence will help you
handle social situations effectively.

Support in your times of academic, physical, or emotional need
While a wonderful opportunity, college is also a time of challenge and stress for most
students. A study by UCLA found that just over 50% of students labeled their emo-
tional health as “above average,” down from 55.3% in 2009 and 63.6% in 1985.
Much of this drop can be attributed to high levels of stress. 1
When you are struggling physically or emotionally, you may experience difficulty
thinking and managing your studies. Knowing this, colleges provide support services
to help students manage their health and find a balance. Take advantage of services
that support physical wellness (athletic facilities and clubs), physical and emotional
health (student health and counseling services), and academic progress (tutors and
academic centers).

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