Sasha Campbell was ready to leave home. She packed her bags in August with new, bright raspberry- and lime-colored dorm room decor and, ick, ballet slippers.
She wants to be a dancer, but not that kind of dancer.
Brian Erickson was nervous.
He hoped his clothes were cool, the sort that fit right in, and that he’d make a circle of good buddies at Orono, like the ones he was leaving in Auburn.
Saada Ahmed wasn’t sure how she’d divvy up expenses with three new roommates, all strangers. Her mom teased: you’ll have to share your bulk toilet paper.
Alison Coleman was excited but pragmatic. A three-sport athlete, she figured she’d get comfortable in classes before going out for any teams.
Val Elie wasn’t sure she was ready. No matter how much she thought about it, it just didn’t feel real.
Brian, Sasha, Saada, Alison and Val are off to their first year of college.
They’re anxious, ambitious and, clearly, a bit daring.
All five have agreed to give us an inside look at what freshman year’s like.
The Sun Journal will chronicle their experiences during the next nine months.
First midterms. First bout of homesickness. First time a roommate plays “Hey Ya” 18 maddening times in a row.
First all-nighter. First who-knows?
Expect insight. Expect ups and downs.
Expect to learn something.
Only about half of Maine high school graduates go to college. Getting that figure higher, and making that transition easier, are the aims of several state and private efforts.
It’s our aim, too.
Lots of people who start college don’t finish. Only 14 other states have a lower rate of adults with at least bachelors degrees. And degrees equal money, even in Maine.
By following five students through the school year, we hope to take any mystery out of the process and get others thinking about college.
We’ll take readers to each student’s campus once and regularly update how they’re doing. They’ll put things in their own words every week using online diaries, or blogs.
Ten more freshmen, also local kids off to college, will blog and answer a pressing question every two weeks, from “Seen signs of war protest or support on campus?” to “Honestly, how’s the food?”
Readers are encouraged to check out the blogs and any of our students’ profiles at sunjournal.com and offer feedback or their own college tales. (Only keep it clean – we’re not trying to corrupt ’em.)
Choosing a major, going the distance
Brian, an Edward Little graduate, wants to be a mechanical engineer. Sasha, an Oxford Hills grad, wants to be a modern dancer. Val, from Lewiston High, wants to work with children.
Alison and Saada, also from Lewiston High, aren’t sure.
“It’s so hard for me, because I want to help other people, but I also want to make money,” said Saada, an only child who headed off to Suffolk University. She was a pharmacy helper in high school.
Money’s certainly a college incentive.
People who stopped their education at high school earned a median $25,051 last year in Maine, according to the U.S. Census.
The same for those with a bachelor’s degree: $36,221.
That’s a half-million dollars difference in a working lifetime – if they stay in Maine. The gap’s bigger in other states.
Several Maine high schools, including Lewiston, have started exposing kids to college well before they have to make the big decision.
Val hadn’t planned to go right after graduation. Then she took an early childhood education class at Central Maine Community College her senior year. She liked the one-on-one contact.
Her major at CMCC this fall: early childhood education.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do, so I was going to hold off,” Val said. “I took that class and it made me decide.”
Getting to college is just the first hurdle. Dealing with its many challenges is the next.
A varsity athlete and top-10 student, Alison isn’t sure how she’ll handle the first setback at college.
“I haven’t really learned how to fail yet,” she said. “I know you can learn from failures, but the last thing I want to do is disappoint my family.”
In Maine, about 70 percent of high school seniors intend to go to college. Come fall, about 55 percent do it.
But once a student walks through the door freshman year, it’s no cakewalk.
At the University of Maine around 56 percent of the incoming Class of 1998 graduated in six years.
The rest, just under half, transferred, took longer, or dropped out.
“That freshman year in particular is a struggle as much personally, socially and emotionally as it is academically,” said Colleen Quint, executive director at the Mitchell Institute, a program set up by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell to encourage college aspirations. “Everything is new at the same time. Students are solely responsible for themselves.”
Getting up on time, homework, laundry, problem solving.
“Most kids will bump their shins a couple times along the way,” Quint said.
She encourages deep breaths. She’s heard from Mitchell Scholars, strong Maine students awarded scholarships for college, horrified when they get their first D in class.
Her advice: “It’s just going to be different, but that’s OK, that’s why you’re there. You wanted something more, just give yourself some time.”
Join something, just not the credit card club
According to the Department of Education, 64 percent of Maine students who go to college stay in Maine. Another 20 percent stay in New England. The rest scatter.
The five freshmen mirror that.
Val, Alison and Brian are at Maine schools. Saada is in New England, Sasha in New York.
Cost was a big factor for Brian choosing the University of Maine. The school offered free tuition.
The average college student here will graduate with a bachelor’s degree owing $15,343, according to Quint. (That’s their own debt, not anything parents took on.)
Our students’ financial situations range from scratching together scholarships and loans with no college aid to almost full boats.
Dale Stair, director of career and support services at CMCC, said the transition from high school to college can be easier if students expect college to be different.
Ask for help instead of waiting to be asked. Look ahead on syllabi from those daunting first-day-of-class handouts – and know what reading’s coming up, when papers are due.
Join something: “You automatically have friends and people to bounce stuff off,” Stair said.
Work at the balance between job and school, and be wary of wallet candy like credit cards.
It’s all good advice intended to help students weather the first year. The Maine Compact for Higher Education wants another 40,000 people to get college degrees in Maine by 2020, to raise the state average to the New England rate.
These five are on their way.
When she got to school, Sasha went ahead with her new decor. The bright colors play off the bright lights of Brooklyn out her 16th-floor window.
And on his first night at UM, Brian found seven people to play poker. The other guys all had a good sense of humor.
Saada moved in early and was excited when her roommates finally arrived. They brought the furniture. She doesn’t think she’s gone so long without TV and the Internet her whole life.
Val’s been surprised at how scheduled everything is in college and that how, now, she’s got to plan everything for herself.
Alison just couldn’t resist. She joined the JV soccer team – a good blend of sport and fun that works with her academic load.
They’re off to a good start.
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