Advice from RHS Alum at Denison in Central Ohio

Hello ILC!

This up coming week is the much dreaded midterms week here at Denison. I must say that coming to Denison was the best choice I have ever made. The first few weeks here were pretty scary, I felt unprepared for my classes and I was shy in approaching my professors for help. The work load was completely different than the one in Richmond High School, the material was much harder! And I must be honest I learned the hard way to approach my professors for help and to study a lot more for my tests. From these first weeks here at Denison I have learned so much that I wanted to share with current High School Seniors.

One, study, study, study! Everyone always tells you this but really, in college you can no longer leave the studying for the night before and I learned this the hard way! You must always be studying even when you have no tests coming up. This is something you guys should start practicing and getting into the habit of doing because it is really hard to do once you are in college.

Two, once your in college, really take advantage of your professor's office hours! If you don't understand something get into the habit of asking your teacher, don't be afraid to ask for help. You may feel like you are being annoying but your professors can really tell that you are really putting in an effort to learn the material, creating close relationships with your teachers and professors can only help you.

And three, learn to balance your time well. Time management is really important because part of the college experience is the course work and having fun as well, but you should really learn to prioritize, education should always come before socializing but taking a break wont hurt you either.

I wish you all luck on the college application process and one last thing. Choose the college you want to go to and really stay true to what you want in a college. If you say you want a small, liberal arts college with small class sizes don't choose to go to UCLA because you will be miserable. Don't choose the school that your parents want you to go to because you will be miserable as well. Choose the school that you think will be the best fit for you! Good luck on the college application process and enjoy your last year in high school because once your get to college you really need to put on those batteries and dedicate yourself 250% to your education.

Thanks,
Carla J. Ramirez
Denison University '14
Cell: (510) 734-8076
E-Mail: Carlajramirez@yahoo.com