Central Washington University Top Questions

My college experience has been really interesting. I don't live on campus like most students, so i didn't get to meet new people that way. I didn't join any clubs or really get involved. I wanted to pay attention to my school work. I loved the classes i took and the teachers that taught them. They understood not everyone learns the same way and tried to create lectures that covered different ways people learn. I am really happy i choose to go to Central. Its been really valuable. They teachers are always there in one form or another to help you. They want you to learn, so they do anything they can to help you get what they are teaching. I'm only in my second quarter of my freshmen year, but i can already tell the teachers are there for you and will do everything they can to help you succeed.

I have learned the importance of diversity through my time at Bellevue Community College. As the Vice President of Communication for Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, I am part of a six member officer team. I am one of two Americans on this team. The other officers are from Indonesia, the Phillipines, and South Korea. Because of our combined experiences, academic interests, and cultural diversity we have been able to create a well-rounded, organized leadership team. Together, the Phi Theta Kappa officer team at Bellevue College has created volunteer events for Better World Books, Habitat for Humanity, King County Parks, and the Special Olympics. If I did not attend my community college, I would not have recognized the importance of diversity in leadership teams or been able to participate in such wonderful volunteer events.

I have gotten knowledge beyond the books and test in my college experience. I have met and befriended many different/interesting people in my time as a college student. Thanks to college I have a vast stream of knowledge when it comes to other cultures and ethnicitys, I have learned and understood the ways of many cultures such as philipino, black, mexican, Korean, japenese, chinese, samoan, tonga, etc.. This has been more educational to learn from because it is a hands on personal interaction, every time you learn somthing positive from some one else you grown and become a more well rounded person. After college is said and done most people rarely remember the classes and buildings, but they never forget the people they met and the people that helped them grow to become the peole they are today.

I have learned a lot of information from my classes but the most valuable things I have obtained from my community college experience is work ethic. I have realized the importance of working hard although some days it may seem a struggle. The ultimate goal will be worth the struggle that I went through. Sometimes it would be waking up early or the rainy weather. These obstacles prevent me from my goal of getting an associates degree. Sometimes the work might be difficult or a concept might hard to comprehend. I have learned to seek out resources or just ask help from the instructor. It has been valuable to attend college because of the things you learn there. It is not just academics it’s about life. In life we must struggle and sometimes learn from those mistakes. College prepares you for the working world, be it critical thinking or working in groups. Sometimes I take for granted the opportunities in America. Some underdeveloped countries do not have the college luxuries that Americans have. In college we learn how to be law-abiding citizen and this is good because the world needs more good people in the world.

College for me is a privilege. I believe that having this opportunity, as a low-income student, has greatly changed my values. I am very thankful for all I have; therfore, I look forward to school every morning and work very hard to attain good grades and new knowledge. I value my college education because with it I will be able to pursue my dream career and help my family succeed. In college, I have met many wonderful people who will support me in my path of becoming a Registered Dietician. Attending college is a great gift from God; I will be able to help others because of my college education.

College was a big change of culture for me; I found myself tied into many new responsibilities. Meeting people was great, but finding the right people so that I could put myself on a path towards the life I wanted was vital. I discovered that while chick-fil-a is amazing, but it is necessary to mix and match, preferably with a few vegetables every now and then. And while these were important lessons to learn at school, they were of mere consequence in comparison to my biggest discovery. Attendance is neither a requirement nor a suggestion. It is an indirect decision. Signing up for a class is a lot like signing a job contract. A job requires people to show up to work and do the work in order to get paid. College is very similar, you have to show up to the class and take notes so that you can study them later. The information learned each and every day is vital to understanding the entirety of the lesson given throughout the semester. So, 5 months and $15,000 later, the greatest lesson I learned in school is that I have to go to class.

My college experience has taught me more in my first few months of school than I ever thought it would! Not only did I learn a lot of new things in my classes, but outside of the classroom, I learned a lot about meeting new people. I realized that you can't make new friends without making an effort, and that just because you haven't known someone for long, that doesn't mean you can't be your complete self around them- if they want to be your friend they will be your friend for who you really are! Also, I learned a lot about living on my own. I'm an only child, so sharing a room was totally new! Plus, I had to learn more about cooking for myself and for managing my time better. This information will stick with me forever, and the new life skills I've gained were definitley worth it! Going to college has changed my life for the better, and I will never regret it!

Attending Central Washington University has been very rewarding form my academic career thus far in many ways. I am originally from Fairbanks, Alaska which is a small city and I was not exactly sure that I would be able to adjust to being at college very easily. Central has offered me a very effective program for my intended major and minor (Elementary Education) and the resources that are offered by my proffessors are invaluable. The students on campus are friendly and my class size is never too large which allows me to have a more personal relationship with my professors. I really do enjoy being a student here at Central and over all I am satisfied with my decision to attend this school.

Due to my lack of financial ability to attend University I feel that I have gotten more out of the short time I have spent at Central Washington University than others have. The school I attend serves many students who are fortunate enough to have their parents pay tuition out of their personal pockets. These fortunate students do not seem to have the same gratitude or yearning for knowledge as I feel towards my school work. Due to my financial status and that of my parents, I pay for university through FAFSA and out of my personal pocket. Central Washington University has become my home and I have settled in to this town. I work on the university campus and am the the acting vice president of a campus club. Since I pay for school completely on my own, I have embraced and valued this school from the first day. I find an education far more valuable when working for it on my own and am aware of what is at stake if I don't take it seriously.

The most important knowledge I can take with me that I’ve learned while attending college, is not letting money be the issue. In my experience, my family was unable to pay for my college education and unfortunately I wasn’t eligible for grants within financial aid. However, I knew that attending college would only better my future, and I couldn’t give up my dreams just because I couldn’t pay for college. I have experienced family members and friends drop out of college because of financial issues and it breaks my heart. To me, there is no better investment than college, and although it’s not easy to overcome the hardship of being in dept, I have confidence in knowing that my education will help me pull through and lead me to bigger and greater things in life. Attending college puts a greater value on life, especially when students can just put aside their worries for financial need and just visualize the bigger picture. There is no way in knowing how valuable it is to attend college until you can realize all the opportunities it has to offer and disregard all the obstacles; from which anyone can overcome.