Current
and Future Ivy Leaguers,
Checking
in from Durham, North Carolina here at the number one ranked basketball school
in the nation. First off let me apologize for my very tardy response. I know
that I hate hearing excuses but for those of you who are sympathetic I hope you
will understand when I say that over break I was enjoying being home for the
first time in four months as well as sleeping for more than six hours for the
first time in four months. Secondly I hope you can understand that coming back
to school for second semester has been wild and crazy and also did not lend
itself to a response. But my excuse aside here is what my experience at Duke
has been like and how the ILC helped me out.
First
off, college is way different than high school. Your mom and dad are not around
to tell you when it is time to go to bed, nor are they there to tell you that
you can't go out on a school night. (Also they are not there to do your laundry
which thankfully I learned how to do while being and ILCer.) In college it is
your responsibility to manage your time and get everything done. Managing
homework, soccer, and friends has been a challenge for me. However, I learned
during my time with the ILC at Cornell University that if I get things done
earlier I will have more free time to do the things I want to do. I have tried
my best to use that strategy here at Duke, but real college is more stressful
and demand a little more from you that summer college. My advice here would be
to practice managing your time efficiently with the once course you take over
the summer but keep in mind somewhere that in college you will have the work
load of that one course times four.
College
is also not the same as high school. The quality of work that is expected from
you is higher and everyone you go to school with is just as smart if not
smarter than you. I felt a little insecure at first because a lot of students
came from private high school and had taken courses that weren't offered at El
Cerrito High. Many of them talk of how challenging their schools had been and
how many AP's they had passed. Let me be the first to say to you that no matter
how many AP's you took nor the course offering at your high school compared to
another you were accepted for a reason and thus deserve to be at that school. I
struggled a lot with feeling like I fit in academically first semester but now
starting my second semester I am more confident in myself academically. So my
advice to you all is to remember that you were accepted into whatever school
you end up in for a reason because they thought you were smart and capable
enough and ultimately you deserve to be at that school.
Aside
from the amount of work and having to manage time some of you will be traveling
far away from home like myself. Being in a new place with a zillion new people
can be over whelming and scary. It also lends itself to cold spreading. I was
sick for the majority of my first semester at Duke. Not having my mom to take
care of me was rough but definitely helped me grow up. So word from the wise
you will most likely get sick during your first year in college so start
talking to your parents now as to how to get and what to take to make you
better.
All
in all Duke as been an amazing experience for me. I have grown so much as an
individual. I would not have felt as prepared without my pervious experience at
Cornell through the ILC. The ILC previewed college for me and allowed me to
prepared for some of the things college throws at you like time management and
laundry.
Sorry
for my late response,
Taylor
Doty
Duke
University '16
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