Opening Bookend Assignment

Growing up in the 21^st century makes it inevitable that you’ve encountered cultural representations of college, images of higher education, and people who have opinions about what college is and does. Different experiences in your life, most recently the college application and selection process, have also shaped your understanding of what you will experience in college, what you’re expected to accomplish, what college will be like for you, and what you will be like in college.  

You probably already know that not all of your expectations will be accurate.  Every student approaches college differently, and thus every college experience is unique.  And, of course, college in Fall 2020 will be different from any other year in the history of higher education. 

For this assignment, we’d like you to think about what you expect from your college experience and how various encounters, events, and conversations in your history influenced those expectations. More to the point, we’d like you to consider who you will be as a college student, how you’ll learn, and what strengths and assets you’re bringing to college with you.

In roughly 500-750 words (about 1.5-2 double-spaced pages of type) describe what you anticipate for yourself in the coming year: 

• What personal skills, experiences, and strengths do you bring to college with you? Given the expectations you have for what college will be like, how do you imagine your particular skills and experiences might emerge as assets for you in college?

• What do you imagine written and oral communication (writing and speaking, reading and listening) will be like at the college level? How do you imagine you’ll learn to navigate and learn more about those things?

•  Do you anticipate any challenges? If so, what are some of those? How do you expect you might deal with them?

Keep in mind that this is not an admissions essay! You’ve been accepted, and we’re so glad you’re here! This is more of a time capsule, an honest index of who you are and where you are now at the beginning of your college career. You’ll write this assignment again at the end of the semester, so imagine you’re writing with your future self as your audience.