university – Page 2 – Napalm Kitty

Everything has been going well so far and I can’t believe school is starting next Monday (for me at least). So even though everything will probably work out for the best, I can’t help but worry about everything and anything. I am a neurotic after all.

Every school year, we think about the same things: ‘Did I choose the right class?’ ‘Were the reviews on ratemyprofessors.com accurate or will I be screwed over?’ ‘Will financial aid come through?’ ‘How will I get my textbooks then?’

At this point, I should be considered an experienced college student. I’ve totally bombed my freshman year, worked my ass off to get my GPA up, and have successfully graduated and transferred to a larger school. But even if I am a pro at this, I go through the same things, too.

Here are the four things I worry about when school starts:

1. Financial Aid

Every college student knows exactly what I am talking about when I say we worry about financial aid. Many students I know have been fortunate enough to receive grants and scholarships whether it’s by merit or need-based. You have to apply to FAFSA (click here for the link) every school year so you can receive a financial aid award package from your school. You may have to submit more documentation and take out some loans. The process is grueling and the sad thing is that you have to go through this every year even if you are a current student. You learn to stay on top of your financial aid office staff members and treat them nicely because they are your best friends in this situation, What also worries me when it comes to money is that even if you get your financial aid award letter from your school and you sign it, there is no guarantee that what they offer you won’t change. Eeek!

2. Textbooks

Textbooks are a necessary evil. You need them whether you rent or buy them in digital or print format. Somewhere along the way, publishers and schools figured that out that you need them and are willing to get them at any cost. And that’s where the massive loads of being ripped-off begins. During my freshman year, I did what most naive freshman did. I went to the school bookstore with my friends, picked out NEW textbooks, and I bought the school’s edition of a textbook. Now that I am a junior, I can tell you I wish I had truly known everything I know now because I would’ve saved loads of money! First off, I am an AVID book collector and textbooks are extremely useful books to have in your library. I do tend to buy new books because I know I will cherish them and keep them in pristine collection. Through time, I’ve learned that you’ve got to be smart. You don’t have to buy used books, but if you’re going to, never take the one that the school bookstore employee hands to you. Put your foot down, sit your ass down on the floor if you have to, and choose your own book out of the stack. They will all say used but each book’s condition will vary. I’ll never forget the time I bought a used textbook from the bookstore and didn’t check it. So when the first week of school started and I cracked open my U.S. government textbook I had paid $80 for and found that the binding and spine had worn out. Hundreds of pages fell out and I was horrified.

How to Buy a Used Textbook:

I actually went to get a textbook today and when I went to the school bookstore, I had my game plan already. I mustered a polite, “Hello,” to the fellow students who worked there and I went straight for the shelf where my textbook would be. It is always good to know what the official course name and number is as well as your professor’s name. I knew all of this already so I found my textbook within seconds. I looked at the price between the new and the used section and the used pricing was surprisingly a good deal. I plopped down on the floor and started going through the stack of used copies. I flipped through the book (front to back and back to front). I held the book by the spine and shook it around. And, of course, I checked for highlighting because I absolutely hate highlighted textbooks.

How Do I Buy Textbooks Now?

The first thing I do is create a print out of every textbook I need after the professor has posted the list of required materials. I usually type it out in a word processor and this sheet has all of the information I need on there (title, author(s), publisher, edition number, year published, etc.). I use the ISBN to check the pricing at the school store and use those prices as a guideline because the school bookstore will always sell you a new textbook at retail pricing. A lot of people like chegg.com or campusbookrentals.com but what has always worked for me when it comes to saving money and getting your money’s worth are either digital rentals from the publisher or Kindle versions of the book. Amazon is very competitive when it comes to pricing and because it’s digital, you can read your book on your computer, phone, tablet, Kindle, etc. and you never have to worry about your book falling apart. I have to get ten textbooks this semester and if I hadn’t played it smart, I would’ve easily spent over $1,000. Three of the books are only available in print and since they were small ticket items, I bought them new from Amazon. The other seven are going to be a mixture of Kindle purchase and Kindle rentals. I am happy to say that I will only spend $300. This leaves me with $700 to put away for transportation, food, or other expenses. So if you’re worrying about the price of textbooks, just be sure to check all available options before buying from the bookstore. If you’re a new student and have any questions, feel free to shoot me a message.

3. School Supplies

Are you starting to see a trend with everything I’m worried about? It’s all about money, right? Every semester, I have to go shopping for school supplies. It’s one of my favorite times of the year and I have enjoyed it since I was 5. I usually buy the basic office essentials because all of my school work and studying is done from my office at home. I get paper clips, glue sticks, pens, mechanical pencils and tape. The items I get specifically for each course are: binders, filler paper, and composition notebooks. I get one of

each for each course. Some may argue that it is better to have a large binder with dividers to section off each class’s coursework but I find it to be much simpler carrying a binder that is dedicated to a course and not lugging everything with me all at once. Every semester I typically spend $100 on school supplies and I have a preference for Staples. Why am I worried about school supplies? Well, that’s because I haven’t purchased any supplies yet. :)

4. Classes and Connections

The last thing I fret about when it comes to school is whether all of the ratemyprofessors.com reviews I read about each professor paid off. Not knowing about this website when I was a freshman made school particularly hard for me that year. I just chose whichever course was open and hoped for the best. From elementary school through high school, you just got what you were dealt. You didn’t get to choose your fate. I just assumed it was the same for college. Once I learned about college professor rating websites, I used them to my advantage and college got much easier. For example, my weakness is in mathematics so when it was time to register for my college algebra class, I looked for a teacher who was easily accessible, made YouTube videos as references, and was extremely approachable. I ended up with a professor who was also a soccer mom. I found her narrated, how-to videos extremely helpful and I made it out with an A. If you do your research, it will most likely help you in the long run. It doesn’t always work out and sometimes there is only one professor who teaches that course so you just have to roll with it. Since my university is so small, I only have so many options this year.

Photo courtesy of howtosurviveschool101.blogspot.com

The second part about this section is about making connections. I definitely want to make new friends and have study buddies. I am a transfer student so there are probably cliques and established relations. However, I believe that if I make myself approachable and open to making friendships, then it will happen. The first school I ever went to was a larger university and it was hard to make connections. I did meet a few people who stuck around throughout the years. Since it is a new school, the process starts all over again.

I worry about the same things every year and everything works out in the end. I am glad to be going back to school again. I didn’t intend for this article to be helpful because I just wanted to write my thoughts down. I’ve learned many things about college throughout these years and I hope my advice and ideas can help some of you become better students.

Hey, everyone! The summer is here!

My mouse is dying and my computer already spontaneously shut down while I was writing this so this is actually draft #2, but I am still writing lol!

A lot has happened since March. A lot of the bad and so much more of the good. My mom had a stroke in March and I was on an emotional roller coaster for several months. Despite what was going on in my life, I managed to graduate from Georgia Perimeter College with high honors (magna cum laude) with a 3.87 GPA. I reached out to my two professors and they were really there for me and helped me out a lot. I really want to visit them soon and tell them about all the good news.

My mom was transferred to a rehabilitation center where she received therapy. I really wanted for her to see my graduate from GPC but she was not able to make it. My dad passed away during my last year in high school and never got to see me walk. However, after the commencement ceremony, I went to the rehab center still in cap and gown to take photos with my mother. We had a lot of fun and I am going to work hard so that she will see me graduate again in two years from Oglethorpe University. Mom is doing a lot better and we brought her home in June. Life has come to some sort of a normal even though I feel like my mom is a little off. She doesn’t really get irritated or upset anymore and she doesn’t spit out sarcastic remarks anymore. I talked to her about it, about her being a little different and she told me, “When you nearly die, you see things differently. You don’t worry about the little things in life. You just want to live, be humble, and be with your loved ones.” I didn’t think of it like that, but it made sense to me after she said it like that.

In late May, I found out that I was accepted to Oglethorpe University! I had applied to them before, about a year ago, and I was rejected. I figured, why not try again since I am a stronger student now? So I did, and I got in! We all get rejected. We all fail and know what defeat tastes like. But it’s up to what you do after you’ve been told, “No,” or “You’re not good enough.” Make yourself even better and try, try, and try again. The worse they could say is “No,” right?

I actually wrote story about being rejected about what had happened since my father’s death and I posted it on Facebook. It’s really hard for me to open about my life because people generally never cared. They just want to know out of curiosity. Once they knew and their curiosity was sated, there was no mystery left and they were gone. However, it’s alright now. I’m not too worried about whether people will really read it because writing is therapy for me. People always ask me what my blog is about and I used to fumble to explain that it was about makeup and technology and a lot of things. Now, I can simply put it as, “It’s just about me.” People want you to belong to one group or be easily identified as one thing and not the other, but that not how it goes in life. If I want to write about my life, hell, I’ll write about my life all I want. So with all that said, I’ll be posting that story tomorrow apart from this post.

About Oglethorpe University

Most people my age think the same thing when they see it. Hogwarts! It’s not that I am a Harry Potter fan but I’ve seen one movie to know that this place looks like Hogwarts in a way. This school was named after the founder of the Georgia colony, James Edward Oglethorpe. Although this school was not around during the time that he was alive, the architecture is based on his alma mater, Corpus Christi College, Oxford. It’s very Gothic revival and was originally chartered in 1835. This is actually the third location and should hopefully be its last. It is home to the Crypt of Civilization (the first successful attempt to bury our culture for future inhabitants) and it’s not scheduled to be opened until 8113. Not sure if humans will even be around by then but why not? I have to say that I love the size of the school. The campus is over 100 acres and has roughly 1,000 enrolled students.

I attended this summer orientation session called OU Passport and it was fun. About 100 new students attended and we were able to pick up our student IDs, visit the bookstore, play games in the game room and mingle with the faculty. One thing I really find astonishing about this school is that it’s a small school and the faculty are not inaccessible. Everyone seems to be very friendly and even the President of the school will come by and talk to you during lunch. Speaking of lunch, lunch as great! They served hamburgers with whole chicken breasts. Not a patty, but like an actual chicken breast.

I was running around a lot and I signed up for my classes. It was a little different because most of the students I met were first year students but I did meet some students who were third year students and transfers, too. I even met a guy who was a junior and graduated from GPC like me. :D I met some people but as soon as our orientation session was over, everyone disbanded and disappeared. I ended up fixing a technical issue in the game room for the school lol and was offered a job with the IT team? They asked me if I was eligible for work study … I didn’t know so I should find out and work for them perhaps. After calibrating the XBOX 360, (they have several in the game room) I danced to Dance Central 3 and was somehow entered into a dancing competition. Once again … ? Well, I don’t think anyone else played that game so I guess I won by default. I don’t know what I won but I guess they’ll get into contact with me. They also had a scavenger hunt type of thing where you had to get signatures after going to all the different places that you needed to go to. There were different prizes but maybe I’ll win something. I never really win anything so it’ll be nice if I do. Before I went home, we got to enjoy fresh, handmade popsicles from the King of Pops cart.

About my Major

So I graduated from GPC with a degree in Film. I’m going to be pursuing a degree in Communications and Rhetoric Studies with a minor in Business Administration. I am considering whether I should shoot for the double major while I am at it. :) I like to write and that is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Fortunately, I haven’t had to change my major and I am hoping to find work as a technical writer, a copywriter, or as a journalist. I’ll be writing novels on the side and that’ll be what brings me joy in life. If all goes well, I can write fiction full-time.

There is a long orientation weekend coming up in August right before the first day of school. I am super excited. I am looking forward to making new friends and working myself to death at school. I’ll probably have to cut down to working about two days a week but it’ll be better for me in the long run. Here are the classes I am taking so far:

Elementary Spanish I (Even though I am on a higher level of Spanish, I have not used it in a very long time so it’s better to start from the bottom and brush up on my skills)
Historical Perspectives on the Social Order I
Journalism (this class is taught my adviser who is super nice!)
Principles of Management (for my minor)

So I’ll sign off here because I have to go to work. I hope to keep updating and writing more now that the summer is here. I hope you all are doing well and thank you for the continued support. I have a ton of reviews I have to upload but there aren’t enough hours in the day!

Napalm Kitty

Tag: university