Entering college as a freshman is known to be a crazy switch from high school. Over the past Thanksgiving break, many college students returned home to see family and friends, and just to get a break from college life. Some MHS CO’24 alumni shared their initial college experiences. They answered the probing questions: What is their favorite and least favorite part of college? How are they doing overall? These alumni, including –Larissa Granja, Sara Kravitz, Shuyi Chen, Mekleit Abel, and Ryan Coggswell, shared their insights.
Larissa Granja
College has been an experience, but I like it much more than high school. My favorite part of college is the freedom. I thought the professors would be more strict but it is the opposite, my professors are very lenient with everything.
I’m a business administration major with a concentration in finance at Northeastern University and I’m enjoying my classes; they’re all pretty simple. I never thought I’d say this, but I adore Statistics—I can do and understand everything. It is simple and so fun, but I do owe it to my professor because he’s the reason why I love the subject and class so much.
I also love how many people there are here, especially the amount of international students. Hearing how their lives are back at home is so fascinating because it is so much different than ours.
I was excited to come back for the break, but I do go home often. Being able to go to school in Boston means that I get to go home all the time.
Sara Kravitz
I’m attending Fisher College in the Back Bay of Boston and I’m absolutely loving it! I am a General Studies major, and I’m in pretty basic classes for my first semester such as Macroeconomics, Public Speaking, English, and Math. They’re all easy courses but they are structured differently than high school. Most of my work is done in class so I use the time I would do homework for studying instead.
I also got extremely lucky with my professors because I love all of them and don’t have a single bad thing to say about any of them. The professors will put in as much work as you do. I love how my professors know me as a student and they are willing to let me figure things out on my own but if I ever need assistance they are there for me without any questions being asked.
My favorite part about college is getting treated like an adult. During high school, there were so many rules and restrictions about what we wore, what we said, and even the amount of time we were allowed in the bathroom. In college, none of those things exist. You can wear what you want, you can say what you want, and you can get up and leave class without asking to use the bathroom.
I was more than excited to be back for the break. However, I am a commuter so it’s not like I haven’t been home in three months, but it felt so good to spend a week at home without having to make the commute into Boston. I don’t have a “least favorite part” about the environment at Fisher College but I absolutely despise the commute. I take the orange line and the green line every morning.
During the week, I work two jobs and go to school so I’m barely home. It was nice that over Thanksgiving break I could just sit down have dinner with my family, see people I haven’t been able to see in a while, and sleep in!
Shuyi Chen
I love college. It is interesting to be in a new environment. I’m a Business Administration & Communication double major with a concentration in marketing at Northeastern University and I am enjoying it so far. My classes are fun and interesting, except for accounting. I hate accounting.
My favorite part of college is the new people and experiences and how the classes are scheduled. I love coming home for the break. My least favorite part of college is the workload between small amounts of time.
Meklit Abel
I’ve been enjoying college so far! It’s such a new and exciting experience to be in a different environment, meeting new people, and figuring out my routine. I’ve managed my time well, which has made it easier to stay on top of my work and not feel overwhelmed. It’s been a good mix of fun and growth, and I feel like I’m learning a lot inside and outside the school.
My major is Marketing, but I’m still deciding if it’s what I want to stick with long-term. So far, my classes have been interesting, and I’ve been able to stay on top of my work, which feels good. I’m learning a lot, and it’s exciting to see how some of the things I’m studying could apply to different career paths, even though I’m still figuring out exactly what I want to do.
My favorite part is the independence and the chance to create my path. Meeting people with different backgrounds and interests has been fun, and I’ve started to find a community where I feel comfortable. It is also great to have the freedom to explore new opportunities and try things I wouldn’t have done before, like attending events or just learning how to balance everything on my own.
As much as I enjoy being at school, I was looking forward to coming home. It was nice to have some downtime, spend time with my family, and reconnect with friends. Since my college is not that far from home, I can go and visit whenever I want, but the break still gave me a chance to relax and reflect on how the semester has gone. I missed my friends from college a little when I came back though.
I think the hardest part is how busy everyone always seems to be. It can feel a little tough to make deeper connections with people because we’re all rushing between classes, clubs, and other commitments. I’ve met a lot of great people, but sometimes it feels like there’s not enough time to get to know someone beyond just casual conversations.
Ryan Coggswell
I like on-campus life because of the many opportunities students have to explore. University life consists of expanded free time and a greater need for self-discipline and motivation which is something I highly enjoy.
I am a nursing major and I have enjoyed my classes so far. Although there are not a lot of nursing-specific classes in the first-year fall semester, the introduction to the concept has been exciting.
I was excited to come back for the break because I enjoy seeing family, friends, and even the places of home. Since I attend a university that is just about two hours from Malden, I can come home relatively often.
My least favorite part of college is communal living, especially as a freshman, which leaves all students prone to a wide variety of bacteria and viruses that spread like wildfire. There have been massive waves of illnesses spread across dormitories and the campus as a whole.
