FROM OCCIDENTAL

Hello Mr. Ramsey and the rest of the ILC,

Once again, I would like to appologize for my delayed response. I currently do
not have internet access, and have been unable to check my emails on a regualr
basis.

First of all, do not underestimate reading and writing at the college level. My
Politics 101 class, for example, required us to read between 2 and 4 chapters
every week. We were then expected to have digested the topics to the point where
we could apply them to between 2 and 5 lectures per week. The lectures were not
about the text - that would be easy. Instead, they were guest lectures about
work in various parts of the political field. We were expected to apply the
reading directly to the practice exemplified through the guests and their
lectures. I know you may be wondering how we had so many lectures for a class
that did not meet every day, (only two days a week to be exact) but many of the
lectures we had to attend in addition to regular class time. The midterm for
that class consisted of two 12 page papers. For the final we were given eight
full essay prompts & told to complete as much as we could in three hours. You'll
find varrying challenges depending on which classes you take; however, they will
all be challenging. Don't underestimate the study skills you learned in high
school, but be prepared to refine them - you'll need to.

Although academics are the main part of college, and should occupy the majority
of your time, there is a lot more to the college experience than going to class
& doing homework. The social aspect, primarily for students who move out of
their homes, is not necessarily easy. Finding one's place amongst a whole new
set of peers is not as simple as it may seem. College is full of student with
extraordinarily different backgrounds; and guess what: you're all smart enough
to get into the same school. People will be very friendly for the first couple
of weeks, until they get settled into their routines. Realistically, you may not
find the people you want to spend time with studying, hanging out, or whatever,
in the first couple of weeks. Do not let this discourage you. Rather than
investing your effort into who you spend time with, focus on what you spend time
doing. Trust me, if it's something you truly enjoy, the people you're with
matters less as you realize that it's not the people around you who dictate your life. Besides, you'll grow into multiple groups: study groups, roommates, dormmates, classmates, ect. This is especially important, because you will not enjoy your college experience as much if you spend all your time doing what someone else wants to do. Be creative and have fun when it comes to ballancing everything. Be wise when it comes to juggling work and play. You will have to spend part of your weekend working, although the fun around you will seem like it never ends. You'll always be able to find people doing both, so don't worry if you can't always go with them. As I alluded to before, you must do what is best for you. Also, remember to keep your
priorities straight. Potentially you'll have four years with these peers,
professors, campus officers, etc., so make the best of it.

Sincerely,
Ramiah Davis