I like MaMa Buddha also attended Bethune-Cookman college (at least my freshman year)
I was very disappointed when I arrived on campus. I wanted to turn around and go back home. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif The only thing that kept me there was the fact that I felt bad becuase my dad had taken off of work to drive me to Daytona Beach from Detroit and he wasn't even using sick days so he didn't get paid for missing work. I felt that I owed it to him to give it half a chance. I just had to adjust to a different environment then I was used to. I attended a boarding school from the 8th-12th grade..and expected things to be the same.. boy was I wrong.. the food was terrible.. I didn't even have a room when I got on campus and I had to move in with the R.A. on my floor until a room opened. Everytime it rained our floor would flood. When I went outside to walkt to class I would literally kill something in the area of 50 frogs http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/eek.gif because they just covered the sidewalk and you had no choice but to step on them. My advisor wouldn't help me pick my classes..I still remember his DR. CLAYTON http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/mad.gif I couldn't stand that man...The resources weren't worth two cents...I could go on and on and on.. HOWEVER, no matter how bad things were the one thing that I will always admire the professors that I had during my freshman year. They mad sure that I was on track and as a result I got a 3.3 my first semester at school and I'm sad to report that wasn't even my best effort..just imagine what I would have received had I put my all into it. I loved the spirit of the school...My circle of friends that I was with EVERYDAY consisted of 10 people 5 male 5 female.. we ate together. studied together..exercised together.. snuck off the yard together... walked all the way down that looong street to the movies together.. The girl on my floor were so close they called us the "First Floor Mafia"
We all got busted sneaking out the last week of school and we cried together in Dean Page's office because she told us that if she was going to put his write up on our records and we could never join Delta (we all wanted to join) My times at B-CC were the best in my ife and the friends are the best friends that I have ever had. I am still in touch with my friends from B-CC. Even after I trasfered to Michigan State they still stayed in touch with me and I with them. I felt like I had a family when I was at Bethune Cookman and for that reason I will always love that school. So overall my freshmen year sucked because the school was lacking in a lot of areas but it made up for it with the love...

[This message has been edited by REALITYBLACK (edited November 06, 2000).]

my freshman year was great, socially. i got a boyfriend, went to all of the parties, in short, i kicked it. my grades reflected it too. i got 1 a, 1 b, 2 c's and a d. my parents were not pleased. they threatened to send me to community college if my grades weren't vastly improved by the spring semester. so, i learned to balance all of my activities. the biggest transition was governing myself. i had to make myself go to class, study, etc. no one really knew if i skipped class, so, i had to understand that if i was going to be successful, i had to go to class and study so that i wouldn't die :0)!

My freshmen year was okay. I commuted because the school was only 20 minutes away. In a way, I wished I had used the housing scholarship I was awarded. I feel that there were many activities, organizations, and people I missed out on by not staying on campus. Even though I though I didn't party during the week, my grades were not the best that they could've/should've been. I really didn't have the guidance I needed, so I ended up wasting two years on my first major. There are definitely some things that I would do over freshman year, if I had the chance.

My Freshman year was Da Bomb! I learned how to be a good student yet enjoy college life. I learned not to party during the weekday because I had early classes the next day(7am) http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif I learned to hate my room-mate (but ended up loving her cause she's my LS!) http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif All jokes aside, I basically started to grow up and learn how to depend on myself to get things done. Wihtout learning the things from Freshman year, where would we be? http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/confused.gif

My freshman year was definitely a learning experience. I moved from the Midwest to a Southern HBCU, and I was DEFINITELY not ready for the Black College Experience! I was very social and made lots of friendships that still stand, but by the end of the year, I lost part of my scholarship due to poor grades. Basically, I learned that college is all about juggling classes and social activities to have a well rounded college career.

When I was in high school my mother tired to keep me in the house to study and get good grades (which I did) I was able to go out on the weekends however my curfew was early for a teen. I also was not allowed to go to teen clubs etc.

I loved my freshman year fo college. I made so many friends! I got a chance to go to parties and experience life away from home. The only regreat I have about my freshman year was the fact that I kinda partied to hard. I know if I would have gone to school while living with my mother I woul dhave graduated form collge in like 3 years and would have been Magna Cum Laude or something!

1993. Freshman year at the Convent, otherwise known as Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas located in the aptly named White County. Oh how I hated HU. I only went there because my parents told me that if I didn't go there (I wanted to go to Alabama St. where my then-boyfriend Torrick was already attending or MS State with my best buddy Ernest) they would not pay for it and of course I didn't know a doggone thing about loans and stuff and how I could have declared myself independent and got more financial aid.

Anyway, HU (or Searcy) did not have a large black population. I think out of about 10,000 students only less than 150 were black. In the town, blacks made up about 15% of the population. And of course we were not united. There was so much drama all the time among us. In town and on campus.

I felt abadoned during my freshman year. When the recruiters were trying to get me to come there, they would call me and write me letters and send me cards for graduation and my birthday. One even came to my school, so you know I felt like a big dog!! :D Once I got on campus, it was like, "Well, we've got you now so you are on your own!" :confused: I wish I had realized then that the recruiters are paid to get you to come to their school, nothing more, nothing less. I didn't receive any guidance from my "advisor" about my classes or didn't have any information about tutoring or anything like that. With HU being a Christian school, there were no Greek orgs. or any other social orgs., just academic and church-based groups so it was like going to church all day everyday. Even on weekends. They took attendance at Sunday worship services!! :eek: HU kinda had this cultish atmosphere. If you were female and you were about your studies or just having fun and not trying to get a husband or become a Sunday school teacher, then you were looked at as an outcast. Kind of like The Stepford Wives, only it was The Stepford Students. The administration was cold and the faculty was basically unreachable. I was so miserable. Don't get me started on my roommate. I'm not knocking anybody for wanting to be closer to the Lord but this chick was running for Jesus' Best Friend!! She was so heavenly minded she was no earthly good. Everything was a sin to her!! Watching The Simpsons, talking on the phone past 9:00pm, watching 90210, listening to music other than gospel, reading books other than The Bible, wearing your hair a certain way, going out on dates with more than one guy (she felt that a Christian shouldn't date unless she was thinking of marriage. Hey, I was 18 and the LAST thing I wanted was a husband!) just everything I did was condemning me to an eternity in Hell. I think my parents would have loved her. She dropped out as soon as her boyfriend proposed to her right before Christmas break. I got kicked out before Spring Break. (Grades, not expressing an insane desire to learn all the verses to Jesus Loves the Little Children, things like that.)

I wished I never went there to tell the truth. I wished I had kind of stood up to my parents and went to school someplace else but in their infinite wisdom I think they thought HU was best for me. I mean had I gone to ASU with Torrick, I would have never finished my degree. I'd have a bunch of his kids but no degree. I think me and Ernest would have done nothing but party all night and sleep all day had I gone to MSU with him. I did get my degree 9 years later from Saginaw Valley State. Sorry this was so long but I had to rant about the Convent.

Re: Your Freshman Year in College
 

It was a beautiful thing! I was wild and free. I clubbed Wed-Sunday every week (I was at FAM so we kicked it off right on Wednesdays at the Moon); chilled on the Set some Friday afternoons; played spades all night long with friends, scrambled to get my homework done and still got a 3.88 somehow (luck b/c i'm sure not that smart now). lol

sc

My freshman year of college was ok I guess. I had finally gotten rid of my high school boyfriend, he was such a cheater. I got a brand new boyfriend, he was so fine. I think I could have done so much better academically than what I did. I had a 3.5, but now I think about it, there is no reason why I shouldn't have gotten a 4.0, those classes were so easy. I had a lot of fun my freshman year. There are things I did my freshman year that I look back on and I think, "boy was I dumb" but it was all a learning process.

I had fun and met a lot of people Freshman year, but it wasn't great overall.

After getting over the initial culture shock, I then had to deal with incompetent personnel as well as rude professors and campus workers. I was taken aback that people felt that they could talk to any kind of way simply because you were a student. I had to remind several people that I left my mother back in California.

I also had to get used to some freedom being taken away. I didn't have a curfew at home, but the school had their own little rules in place. We didn't have a set curfew, but there was a time where they didn't want you hanging outside of the dorm. We also had room inspections and things of that nature.

I thought about transferring several times when I was a Freshman. However, I am glad that I didn't because I made some very good friends and met a lot of interesting people that I otherwise would not have encountered.

My freshman year was alright. The first semester I spent talking to my Mama about how much I hated DC. I hated the following: food, public transportation, the locals, the availiabilty of parking, weather, sky, clubs, music, h*** everything. BUT I loveeeeeeed Howard!!!!!!

Once I got over the shock of no longer being in the best place on earth. I just dealt with it. I knew why I came and that was bigger than my desire to get the h*** out of dodge. During my second semester, I devised a plan for my early graduation. I followed through and got the h*** up out there.

I never found anything, outside of my school, that I was remotely interested in. If I had went to visit DC before my freshman year, I would not have went. HE works in mysterious ways and knew what he was doing. All the while I just whined and flew home to Texas as much as possible.

Now I work in Texas and vow to never leave again!

My initiating chapter includes Goucher College and I also know sorors on the faculty. Frankly, those who I know attended there had to venture off campus and make the most of their experiences, like joining a sorority.

Please forgive me for crashing, but since DirectorDST99 seems to be in a position of authority, I wanted to share something. My academic advisor, while a lovely man, did not speak sufficient English. My first term, I had three classes back to back, five days a week: Russian, French, and Spanish. Needless to say, I ended up dropping my weakest language (Russian) - too late for the add/drop period, but I found a loophole through a woman who would become a sorority sister. I didn't want to file a complaint against my advisor, so I stumbled through my first two years, leaning more on the advice on my sisters than him - he just rubber-stamped everything. He even managed to submit the wrong majors for me!

I'm fully aware that I should have done something sooner, but as I said, he was a lovely man, and I didn't want to ruin his career. I was very blessed with great sisters who helped me select the right classes for my majors, and guided me through other big decisions.

Socially, I had a great time! ;)

Transfer Student Experience
 

My freshman year, was sort of weird. I was in an "institute" type school. For 18 months, I attended a business school. I didnt know how to do my search for college. Initially I didn't want to go to college. Last minute I chose this school because it was the only college that visited my HS. We were taught that college was too expensive for us to go, so if we wanted to go to college we should just stay local.

When I transfered, I was nervous and I was not an outspoken social type person. I didn't know how the system worked. They assigned a Caucasian girl to assist me with my problems on campus. It bothered me because she was about to pledge and she wasn't nearly concerned with me and my issues. I didn't understand why people flagged, dropped classes. I cried because I failed 3 classes and barely passed the others. This process was going to push my graduation date back. It bothered me and once I got the swing of things, I vowed that I would not allow another female or student to go through the same things that I went through. I am so proud of the organization that we started on campus that would enable African American females to navigate the campus better: academically, financially, everything!!!!


But I wish I would have done the search earlier, had people who encourged me and a better support group. I would have started this college as a freshman, not a transfer student.

Here are some things I learned/did during my first year of college:

-First alcoholic beverage...California Cooler on the rocks
-How to play faces, hears, and quarters. Learned not to lose in order not to have to drink
-Learned and mastered Bid Whist
-How to make Everclear punch
-First hangover
-What roadtrips were


Hmmm, everything but education..:D