 Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Linkin Park, and Avril Lavigne were very popular. › I jammed to Justin Timberlake, Eminem and Missy Elliot

 The Sopranos, South Park, 24 and Buffy and Vampire Slayer were popular shows. › I was always watching MTV- like Real World.

 Lord of the Rings, Monsters Inc, The Ring and Spiderman were popular movies. › My favorite was Shrek and Oceans 11

 A major event at the beginning of my senior year was the September 11 th terrorist attacks. It was a shocking experience, and very difficult to understand. It changed a lot about our lives.lives.

 I was having such a great senior year that I really didn’t think about college.  I spent most of my time with friends.  I had a boyfriend, but he lived far away.  My grades were decent, but I had trouble getting my ACT up  My favorite class was Foods II, so I thought about going to culinary school.

 Read up- › Check out the college and career center, search online, and read any other info you can about the schools you are interested in.  Ask around- › Do you have friends or siblings in college? › Ask what the best and worst parts about their school are.

 Check majors- Decide on something that you would like to do. Does the school offer your major? How is the reputation?  Apply. This step is important- don’t forget to make the deadlines!  Decide on living arrangements.  Visit the school! › If you can, go for a whole weekend or a few days in a row so you can get the feel for the whole experience. › Not just the weekend!

 During my senior year, I was working in a restaurant and enjoyed it.  I decided I wanted to major in Hospitality Management.  My goal was to manage a nice restaurant in a big city.  I ended up applying to two schools, Kendall College and Johnson and Wales University.

 I visited Johnson and Wales in the fall. Providence, Rhode Island seemed like a beautiful city and the University was impressive.  During the school year I was offered a scholarship and strongly considered attending.  In April I sent in my room deposit and waited to find who my roommate was…

 During May I got cold feet and I withdrew from Johnson and Wales.  I was scared to go so far away, take out loans for school and leave my family, friends and move further from my boyfriend.  I decided that summer I wanted to move to California to be closer to my boyfriend.  We broke up in September. 

 I had not applied to a back up school… and missed all the fall application deadlines.  I decided to work for my family for a semester and save money for college.  I applied and was accepted to Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago for Spring 2003.

 I was commuting from home to school.  I had classes three days a week and I worked full time the rest of the week.  I was taking general education classes, but wasn’t really sure what my major should be.  I noticed some of my professors taught at my local community college…

 I decided I wanted to transfer to Illinois State University or Eastern Illinois University to study education, specifically Family and Consumer Sciences.  I was paying twice as much for tuition at NEIU, so in the fall of 2003 I started classes at Oakton Community College.  I kept commuting and working to pay for school.

 I took as many classes in as I could to get all of my general education classes done. Also to get my GPA up.  I visited and applied to both universities.  I was accepted to both and now I had to decide….

 I chose Illinois State! › I had visited several times and always had fun. › It had a nice facility for my major. › I knew some people who went there and liked it. My new boyfriend also attended. › It was big, but not HUGE. › It was just over two hours away from home. I was almost 20, but it was like being a senior in high school all over again!

 I had to chose a dorm.  I picked a lifestyle floor, so my floor mates would have similar interests.  I didn’t know any girls, so my roommate was random. A little scary!  I attended a transfer student day and was able to pick my classes for the fall.  Now I just waited for the first day…

 What kinds of things do you guys think you will be packing?  Some examples: › Clothes- seasonal items first! › I-pod/ movies › Toiletries › FLIP FLOPS!!! Don’t forget these › School supplies › Computer/TV/ Game System › Basic tools- screwdriver. hammer etc. › Personal items you can’t live without, like your blankie! (DON’T WORRY- 54% of college kids still sleep with one!)  How do you know what you need to bring if you are living with someone????

 We packed my Dad’s suburban full of stuff.  My boyfriend had moved in early so he could help me  We got there at the end of the day so the line wasn’t long. Some people had waited for many hours.  I was sad when they left. I already wanted to go back. By the end of the night I had made some friends and I was feeling better.

 Nerves!  Walk to your classes once before. › A practice run!  Teachers are cool › they know that many of you are new to this.  You will get a syllabus for each class- › this outlines the topics that will be covered, as well as due dates for important assignments. It will also have contact info for your teachers.  Get a calendar and put important dates in. › Color coding helps!

 1. TRY NOT TO SCHEDULE BACK TO BACK CLASSES!  2. Begin the first day of class.  3. Establish a routine time to study for each class.  4. Establish a place to study. Not your bed!  5. Do as much of your studying in the daytime as you can.

 6. Schedule breaks.  7. Make use of study resources on campus.  8. Find at least one or two students in each class to study with.  9. S tudy the hardest subject first.  10. Be good to yourself.

 Please think of two questions you want to learn the answer to during this unit.

 What is a credit hour? How many hours do you get for an average class?  What is an RA? What’s a TA?  About how many classes do you take a semester?  What is FAFSA?  How many hours do you need to graduate with an associates? A bachelors?