Willamette University Top Questions

If I could go back in time and talk to my high school senior-self, I would talk about being more organized and disciplined. My parents used to talk about being organized but I didn't really listen to them. I thought I could continue to be disorganized and still keep a handle on everything. I soon found out at Willamette that the difficulty of courses, rivaling those at major ivy league schools, and the fast pace of course progression required me to be organized and disciplined or I got behind extremely quickly. My assigned reading from every course was more substantial than any high school class I'd taken, including my Advanced Placement coursework. Of course, my high school senior-self probably wouldn't listen to me anymore than I listened to my parents!

I remember how stressful I found the college selection process. There were so many to choose from, and I was convinced that making the wrong decision would ruin my life. But in the end, I had to make a decision, and to be honest, if I could go back I would probably choose a different college. However, that doesn't mean that I'm not happy at Willamette. It has its faults, but so does every other school. My experience has been what I've made of it. I find the academic rigour a little lacking, so I create my own projects, participate in internships and talk to my professors outside of class. The campus is a bit small, so I make sure and take advantage of the great Outdoor Adventure Club on the weekends. There wasn't a club for Catholic students on campus, so I took advantage of the ease with which clubs are created at Willamette and started my own. So, during the selection process, relax. Choose carefully, of course, but know that not everything will be perfect, no matter where you go, and be alright with that. Wherever you go, you make your own experience.

Since I"ve been at college I've relished the ability to take classes about things I'm interested in, in a broad range of topics. In my high school there was a "plan" for graduation, and there was little room for leeway in classes. In college there are many different classes you can take to fill the same criteria, and I love the freedom of choice. I've also made many friends who share similar interests that I have, and I was able to join a queer-straight alliance for the first time, something I've always wished to do but couldn't because I went to a small, rural high school. All in all, my college experience so far has changed my life because I have been able to experience so many different things that I never could in high school.

I'm learning many new things that I wouldn't otherwise have the oppourtunity to. The same definitly goes for people as well! Social networking is an important part of college and it is an important skill for later in life. I love college! It has taught me to be more independent and responsible. Not only all of those things but if anything you should go to college for the experience!

I’m mid-way through my career at Willamette University, in Salem, OR. The last two years at Willamette have supplied me with skills that will be sustainable well beyond the next two. Here I’ve gained an ability in community building, analytical thinking, reading, and writing, creative communication, various fine arts disciplines, not to mention real-life work experience and a grip on who I am that eclipses any experience I’ve ever had before. The thing I love about college is how everything I’m learning inside rooms is relevant to my life - it’s incredible how intersectional my life here is, as each semester experience builds on the last to inform my education in a really widely liberating way. Despite how overwhelmingly expensive WU is ($48,000 a year and climbing), I squeeze every benefit I can from each lecture, study group, social justice group meeting, project, -- you name it, I’m involved and thriving in it. This place has sprouted in me an ability to thrive under unending pressure, and a joy in accomplishing tasks and resting in that place of progress -- a balance that I hope to live out for the rest of my life.

The best thing I have gotten out of college so far is independence. Sure, a majority of students say this about their experience but no student can tell their high school friends that it's easy to be away from home. In the first few weeks, you are asked to mature and to know everything about the school. Professors or departments are not going to chase you down for things. You have to make a concious effort to close that gap and search for things yourself. But along the way, you may ask for help; the staff get paid not to see you suffer. They get paid to help struggling students succeed.

When I started college here, I didn't know for sure what it was that I wanted to do. Being here at Willamette University has helped me to realize my love for science. The small size of this college allowed me to take advantage of opportunities not usually available to freshmen students. I was able to get a research internship during the summer that has allowed me to experience first hand the kind of work that research scientiests actually do. This experience has not only helped to confirm to me that I am following the right career path; it has also provided me with valuable connections in the scientific community and experiences which will help me to get a job once I graduate. With a strong science program and great teachers, I know that Willamette University will continue to help me acvance on my chosen path in life.

My college experience has taught me so much about myself. I have discovered how I learn best, what I need to do to retain information effectively and grown infinitely more confident in my ideas. In high school I would hesitate to speak without first weighing the thoughts in my mind, afraid that someone might prove me wrong or think poorly of me based on my answer. I now have no qualms about speaking first, and I even present unfinished thoughts with the hope of sparking a good debate. I feel that I am getting so much more out of college than a simple grounding in facts. I am truly becoming a life-long learner, and I have finally come to terms with the fact that an education is worth the price.

Be genuine. Nothing in the college experience is going to wear you down and force you to seriously question what you doing with these four years of your life than trying to look good for your future. It isn't productive either. You will have ample opportunity to volunteer and participate in clubs that make you look "good." But taking time to tutor a kid or participating in the student run emergency medical service on campus is simply exhausting, if you only halfway care about the activity. In this exhaustion, it is nearly impossible to find something that you are fully, truly passionate about -- even if it is looking you in the face. If you find that you are spending a substantial amount of time on an activity, course of study, or club that you find moderately (but not very) interesting, do not be afraid to give it up. The free time will enable you to explore new opportunities. I wasted nearly two years on activities that only halfway interested me, because I had not realized this. Find you passions first. Then, enjoy yourself as you become increasingly proficient. After that, plan for the future.

The first thing I would tell myself is to focus on school. By doing this I would be able to figure out what I wanted to do and to tell myself in the long run doing what I enjoy the most is the best path to go. I would also tell myself to stay away from relationships and to avoid getting married at such a young age to lesson the burden of college life on myself. I would also tell my self as I rogress through school to keep my focus on the future and what I want to do in life. I want myself to be able to have the best oppertunity to be succesfull with the job I want after graduation.