Leah Rawlings is 17, and at least six hours by car from home in Maryland. When the freshmen arrived on campus, she admits that she was homesick. But that didn’t last long. She’s made friends, gets along with her roommate and likes living in Moore Hall. The only thing she wishes for now is time to explore the city -get a “feel” for it, she said.
Rawlings belongs to the largest freshmen class to enter the halls of Winston-Salem State University. They number more than 900. A business administration major, Rawlings said “college isn’t as hard as everybody made it seem… it’s all in what you make it.”
She said she chose Winston Salem State because, of the schools that accepted her, it was the closest to home. “I got accepted into Alabama A& M, but it was too far away from home.”
After making her first trip back home, Rawlings said she quickly got over her feelings of homesickness. In fact, she said she missed her friends here.
Already, she is a board member of the fine arts committee and the National Association of Black Accountants. When she graduates, she’ll become the first of her four siblings to do so. Her goal is to be an accountant.
Although Rawlings has not found university life too difficult, many students do and drop out. Reasons vary.
The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Education Trust has set up an interactive Web site that allows users to examine graduation rates at 1,400 colleges and universities around the country.
The online tool, found at www.collegeresults.org, also allows users to see how its graduation rates compare with similar institutions that serve similar student populations, and examine graduation rates by students’ race, ethnicity and gender.
The graduation rate at WSSU, for example, is 47. 6 percent, while at South Carolina State University, it’s 48.6 percent. At North Carolina Central University, it’s 48.77 percent, and at Elizabeth City State University, 50.5 percent. The Education Trust plans to regularly update College Results Online with the latest federal and state graduation data.
Wendell Bradsher is another 17-year-old freshman accounting major. A native of Roxboro, he is also getting used to campus life, and said “no, never that” when asked if he had felt homesick. When asked why he is an accounting major, he said that he didn’t know, he just likes math.
He said he had visited the campus several times before enrolling, attending events with his aunt, a Ram graduate. He added that he likes everything about college life, including Brown Hall, although he described it as “a little hot, but we deal with.”
His most difficult day so far was the first day of class when he was trying to find all of his classes. But Bradsher said that the upperclassmen helped him out when he asked for directions.
Here are 10 Do’s and Don’ts for freshmen:
– Do avoid accumulating credit cards and credit card debt.- Do learn to balance a checkbook or keep records of ATM withdrawals.- Don’t stop looking for scholarships.- Do talk to your professors, stop by during office hours.- Don’t skip classes, even though you might be tempted.- Do visit your academic counselors- Do your laundry during non-peak hours.- Do separate colors.- Do eat healthy, and stay way from too much caffeine and sodas.- Do call home – often.