Frankie Calabrese Barton
Notre Dame
Q. How has your college experience been so far?
A. I have been having the absolute best time in college. I go to the University of Notre Dame and I’m a double major in Environmental Science and Global Affairs. I went in random with my roommates and through that I met some of the most amazing people!
Q. What have been some of the biggest differences you’ve noticed between college and high school?
A. Something I love about college, moreso colleges on the larger side, is that there are just so many people to meet. In high school, if you do something embarrassing, it feels like everyone knows and everyone remembers, but in college you can meet so many people which you will never see again.
Also, this definitely varies between colleges and majors, but absolutely nothing in high school could have prepared me for the amount of homework I have here.
Q. How have your goals or interests evolved since high school?
A. My goals and interests have evolved so much since high school. I think that something no one anticipates is how much your plans will change when you get to college. My major and my new career aspirations are so not what I thought they would be even just a couple months ago.
Q. What advice do you have for current high school students preparing for college?
A. Keep an open mind! I know everyone says it but the college application process is such a gamble. Anyone who knew me last year knows that college apps took up my every waking thought – just for me to end up at the college I least expected to go to.
ALSO To anyone who is planning to go into STEM, I 100% recommend taking a chemistry class in high school, whether it be AP Chemistry or not. Otherwise your first General Chemistry class will be brutal.
Q. Would you recommend the University of Notre Dame to any upcoming seniors?
A.I would 100% recommend Notre Dame to anyone! I think that a lot of people don’t know a lot about the university, and before getting here I had some preconceived notions but it really is an incredible place. Yes I do now live in Indiana, but I have professors and classmates that are from all over the world and, in my opinion, the community is unmatched. Plus we have a pretty good football team GO IRISH!
Allison Treanor
Loyola University
Q. Can you walk me through how your college experience has been so far?
A. How my college experience has been so far: very freeing. It’s so nice being able to create your own schedule, and have so much free time to do it. Especially in a big city like Chicago, everything feels so much more open than it did in East Lansing. I can do so much more, and have time to do it.
Q. What have been some of the biggest differences you’ve noticed between college and high school?
A. Biggest differences: At least for my first semester, knock on wood, all my professors are a lot more chill than my high school teachers. They are very friendly and laid-back, and much more interested in doing their job and actually helping students learn. The work is also very different, it is mostly outside of class, but it rarely feels like a lot. There is definitely an emphasis on free time to explore and do your own thing
Q. What advice do you have for current high school students preparing for college?
A. Advice for current students: Well, the first thing that came to mind is that I’m currently recovering from self-inflicted food poisoning, (so firstly it would be that sweet tea can spoil if it doesn’t fit in your mini fridge and you leave it out for five days) but more importantly, I only had junk food to eat in my dorm while I was really sick, so make sure to pack some animal crackers, apple sauce, soup, etc that you can eat when you’re too sick to leave for food. On that note, get the fridge and microwave. You will at some point. It’s so helpful. I’ve also been taking vitamin C and elderberry supplements, and knock on wood again, haven’t gotten sick, so I would bring those as well.
Auset Pope
Central
Q. What has your college experience been so far?
A. So far college has been pretty relaxed. I have decent professors that are very understanding and willing to help if I need anything. The dining halls are a repetitive cycle of blandness. We always have the pizza option or the salad bar, the burger and chicken sandwich bar (which you have to order your burger or chicken sandwich), then we also have the vegetarian bar (I don’t eat there) and that’s about it.
Q. Favorite thing about college
A. My favorite thing about college is the quality free time you get to have if you have the opportunity to have a light schedule. You can really do whatever you want whenever.
Q. What is one piece of advice you would share with our new seniors?
A. To the new seniors, enjoy your last year! Even if you don’t enjoy school, go and have fun and make the most of it. Remember this is your last year tuition free and your last year to have friends and family close that love and support you.
Q. Can you talk a little about what made you apply to your college?
A. I wanted to apply to Central because I heard that the school had a good journalism program. I also wanted to become a student here because of the dorms. I didn’t want to do communal bathrooms and live in such a tiny room with another person. Also, out of all the schools I applied to, Central gave me the most money.
