TheWorldJournal.com

University of Maryland Students Learning; Making Adjustments
By Philip Dzikiy, TheWorldJournal.com

The years spent in college are an important time in a person's life. College students gain life experience and become more independent, along with getting an education. With all of this in mind, it seems unfair for high school students to have to choose a college at such a young age.

Three students at the University of Maryland at College Park recently reflected on their choice to attend the college, and considered what they would have done differently if they would have known more about the school when they first arrived.

Joseph Sutton is a senior mathematics major at the university, and he will be graduating this month. His biggest problem with the college is the general education set of requirements for all undergraduate students, known as CORE.

"I could learn the content in CORE classes by reading on my own time for a day," Sutton said.

Sutton said if he knew what the CORE classes were like, he would have spent at least one year at a community college before enrolling at the University of Maryland. He also has not been impressed with the mathematics department. Sutton said too many teachers teach straight from the book.

"The math department didn't do enough for me," Sutton said. "I expected more out of college academically."

Despite these qualms, Sutton is glad he came to the university. He said the life experience is rewarding, and he likes the big campus atmosphere.

Garrett Broady is a junior kinesiology major at the university. He's happy with his decision, even if the University of Maryland was not his first choice.

"I wanted to be anywhere but here," Broady said. He stressed the importance of athletics in his college decision, and though he is a Maryland resident, he never followed the University of Maryland sports teams. He said he lucked out, because the teams got better when he came to the school.

Broady was not always a kinesiology major. He entered college as a computer science major, but the math classes were too tough for him. His love of athletics guided him to kinesiology.

Michael Robertson is another University of Maryland student who switched majors. Like Broady, Robertson was originally a computer science major. He is now a junior physics major.

"Computer science just wasn't what I expected," Robertson said. "I thought it was something I might enjoy, but I was very wrong."

Robertson was struggling with his grades, so he left the university for one semester to take classes at a community college near his home in Chesterbrook, Pa., near Philadelphia. Since returning to the University of Maryland, Robertson has remained focused, and his grades have greatly improved.

Robertson said he chose the University of Maryland because of its nice campus. His other top choice was Stanford University, but in the end, he decided it was too far away.

It is hard to know what to expect as an incoming college freshman. Often times, college students have to change their plans as they go. In hindsight, these students would have done some things differently, but none of them regret their decisions to attend the University of Maryland.

Also, none of these students mentioned the current state budget crisis, which is causing tuition at the university to increase, among other things. These students focused on their issues with education instead of financial obstacles.

© May 12, 2003