By Ben English

Early in February a representative from Bryant and Stratton College in Albany came to Galway to speak with each of Mr. Swain’s classes about what one can expect attending college and about some of the major differences between the high school and college experience.

One thing that stood out from Ms. Heather Flanigan’s presentation to me was the fact that once in college you have to take all the responsibility on yourself to get work done and to attend every single class. There will be no teachers reminding you to get your homework in or to retake tests, and no one forcing you to come to class every day. It is up to you to decide what you want to get out of college. Making a good impression on your professors and teaching assistants is important, no matter if you attend a school with a class of 400 or 4,000. Getting to as many classes as possible will ensure that you are informed about due dates and test dates, and stay on top of assignments and notes. If you are paying a lot of money in order to attend a school, you might as well get the education you paid for and graduate with a degree and a plan for the future.

Another point Flanigan emphasized was the benefit of taking advantage of summer courses as a high school student preparing for college. Many colleges offer programs over a few weeks during summer vacation which give you the credit benefit of a full college course, but at a fraction of the cost. These classes not only earn you credits at a greatly reduced expense, but also may allow you to skip over certain course requirements in college as well as explore different and new subjects. After being exposed to material you would otherwise not be exposed to in high school, you may be able to better decide what direction to take when you graduate and are putting together your course schedule.

Ms. Flanigan livened up her presentation with amusing stories about her college experience, including anecdotes about rooming and shopping. This brought a more informal feel to the presentation, and as senior Annie Oakes remarked, “I learned to beware of creepy roommates.” Overall, students seemed to think the presentation was informative. Senior Sarah Czyzewski commented, “I learned the importance of staying focused in college, and of getting your money’s worth out of four years at school.” Junior Duncan Peters added that, “It was a good heads-up of what to expect.” There were both positive and negative reviews of the relaxed presentation style, which some thought was off-putting and detracted from the information being given.

For juniors and seniors, this presentation had a more immediate impact—college is a reality looming right around the corner. Freshman and sophomores, start thinking about the future of your education: colleges, areas of study, keeping your grades together and making a good impression on your teachers. High school will go by sooner than you may think.