Connor's "Expectations vs. Reality" Reflection Essay

Coming into college, and even more specifically the University of Maryland, I had a good idea of what living on campus and taking classes would be like, thank to having UMD alumni as parents. In terms of how this semester went, I say it went pretty well considering that it was the first time I was away from home for such an extended period of time.

I did relatively well in most of my classes (A's and B's in most courses except MATH140), and I was used to how the assignment submission system worked because we used the same website in my high school. The workload was a little different than what I was expecting, as the assignment schedule depended on what days the classes where held, and when the professors decided to have them due. Also, midterms were much different than I had expected. Having some classes just not do midterms at all, or some courses having multiple (though I guess MATH140's "midterms" were just tests) was way off my expectations, as it seemed in high school a midterm in the middle of the term, no matter the class, was an inevitability.

In CPSG100 specifically, it was a little different from what I was expecting, but that was only mostly because of some of the later things we learned about geology. I expected mostly the climate change lessons and excursions (except for the cleanup one, that one threw me off a bit). The way we were assesed in this course was a bit more lenient than I thought it would be, with no final and just small quizzes along the way, with no midterm. I had the most fun on the Washington D.C. scavenger hunt though, as that was the first time really just exploring a city (even though I've been to D.C. many times) with others my age without parents/teachers/chaperones supervising everything.

If I had to pass off some information to an incoming freshman, I'd just tell them to make sure they make the most use of the amenities and activities on the campus, and that even though getting an A in a course is something that you should strive for, unless you are planning on becoming a graduate student, just passing the class and keeping your mental health in check is more important.

Last modified: 10 May 2022
Back Home