Becoming a Better Student by Noemi

Becoming a Better Student by Noemi - January 2016 Scholarship Essay

“I have everything under control” were the thoughts in my head the summer before my first semester in college. I have attended plenty of workshops, had lots of help with the college application process, and I felt like I could handle it all. During the workshops I attended, it was clear to me that time management, good study habits, and lots of work was going to happen in college. All throughout high school I received great grades. I was a straight A student for the most part with a few exceptions, therefore I knew I was prepared for college and all the hard work that comes along with it.
Now, my first semester of college is over and I can honestly say it was hard. I did not have everything under control like I imagined I would. At first classes started off easy and then the workload started to pile up. Procrastination became my new best friend as I was struggling to keep up. I was homesick, I missed my friends, I was extremely stressed out, and I simply lost control of everything. Despite all of that I managed to get a 2.5 GPA, which I am not proud of but now that I know what college really is about. My New Year’s resolution is to get my grades up and become the college student I know I can be.
Once the clock hit 12:00 am on New Years I immediately knew 2016 was going to be the year for me. I decided I had to change a lot of things when it came to my school work. Like I mentioned before, in high school I was a straight A student and I don’t want that to change. In terms of how am I going to improve my grades, I set a goal to go to the library 6 hours a week to study and do homework. Last semester I stayed in my room too much and there was a lot of distractions. I’ve been to the library a few times and noticed a difference in how I focused. In addition to going to the library more often I plan on getting a tutor or attend the professor’s office hours. Last semester I had trouble with a few classes but I decided to just stick through with it and not ask for help. I’d rather get a poor grade on an exam than go to my professor and go over the material I did not understand. But now I know that it is okay to ask the professors for help, after all that is their job.
Becoming a better student doesn’t necessarily mean getting better grades and improving your academics. Getting involved in student organizations can also help me become a better student. I always mentioned that I would become more involved my second semester of college and I plan on doing just that. Overall, this new year is going to be great for me! I prepared to study hard and do everything possible to make the rest of my first year in college worth while.