Coming to the University of Maryland, I didn’t know my expectations. I’d never been to college, so I didn’t know “what to expect.” However, I can happily say that I’ve enjoyed my time at UMD. So far, my college classes have gone the way I expected. The schoolwork is a lot more independent-driven. In high school, while they gave you some space, at the end of the day, they were still chasing behind the backs of some students, reminding them to finish their work. In college, professors don’t care at all. Whether one student fails or another ace the class, they could care less since they're getting paid; from my perspective, that's the vibe I’ve received from the majority of my professors. However, I like this vibe because it lets me know that everything depends on me, no matter what happens in college. The class structure is what I expected. Classes are fast-paced since we can’t meet every day like in high school, but it's nothing that one cannot manage. Regarding SGC, I’m delighted with the way the course has gone. Some topics that I wasn’t expecting to go over during our time were fallacies and some information regarding Vikings; however, it was something that I enjoyed learning about. I was hoping to learn about the different dinosaur eras and things that happened during them, and I thoroughly enjoyed that lecture. The outside activities are kind of what I was expecting. The part I was expecting was reading books and answering discussion questions; however, what I was not expecting was making our page about ourselves for future uses. This is something I was not expecting but something that I’m happy that happened. Compared to my high school experience, UMD has been a much better experience. It’s not that high school was a bad experience, but there's something to UMD that my high school experience couldn’t compare to. One factor I think is the cause for this is the people I’ve met at UMD. I had the same friend group in high school since middle school, so we never cared to reach out to other people and make new friends. However, at UMD, meeting new people is something everyone has to do, whether they like it or not. In my case, I’ve met some fantastic people at UMD who have made each and every day a fun ride. Whether it's been a bad day or just any typical day, hanging out with them has helped make every day fun. Another factor that has led to me enjoying my college experience over my high school experience is the dorm life. While I’ve always had my small group of friends, I’ve always enjoyed having alone time from the world's noise. At UMD, there are so many places to sit down and recharge and refresh for upcoming things. The final factor that has helped me enjoy my college experience more than my college experience is my independence. While I had my level of independence during high school, it did not compare to my level of independence at UMD. I think that this independence has helped me mature much faster than I was expecting. I’m happy about this because I know now that I’ll be able to make much more rational decisions and make fewer mistakes as I go on throughout my college life. Advice for future SGC students? Well, honestly, I don’t think it's terrible to take breaks during college. I came into college thinking that 24/7, I lock myself into my room or the library, study, eat, and repeat, and I’d enjoy it. I couldn’t have been more wrong. While it's crucial to study, it’s equally important to make new friends and enjoy yourself because college will go by much faster than expected. Another piece of advice is to take classes that you want. Yes, there will be times you’ll have to accept that one class that you may not like, but there are literally hundreds of courses at UMD, and only taking courses for the efficiency of Gen Eds is an idiotic idea because if you end up hating what your learning, it's only going to hurt you in the long run. Since I’ve only been here for a few months, this is all I can come up with, but I genuinely believe these are critical aspects of college that I’ve learned will benefit upcoming first-year students. Outside of academics, as I previously mentioned, the people I’ve met have helped make my time at UMD something very special. I cannot express how lucky I am to have met them. Another highlight of my college experience was realizing that I genuinely enjoyed my major. Coming into college, I had always known I’d “wanted” to do Computer Science; however, honestly, that had been driven by monetary reasons(they make a lot); however, I’ve come to realize that while I still love the money aspect, I’ve come to appreciate and love what Computer Science truly is. I’ve loved my experience at the University of Maryland and cannot wait to see what my future holds.