Things I’ve learned in college

Andrew has finished his first semester and now shares his experiences.

By ANDREW VO

Andrew Vo

    
Should I be back in school after the holidays? Well, if I were an ordinary student in high school, I most likely would be.

But since I’m a 15-year-old (going on 16!) college student, I think I’ll relax for a while longer.

My school, Chapman University, has begun Interterm, where students are able to take up to four credits of classes between the fall and spring semesters. Although many students have decided to do this since it is included with their tuition, I decided to take a nice break after my first semester at Chapman to relax and gear up for the next semester.

Two words summarize how finals week went: absolutely mortifying. 

Taking a test that ultimately provides a big chunk of your grade tends to get on my nerves a lot. But there were a couple of interesting events that kept my sanity in check. The first one? When my 12-year-old sister bumped into Chapman University President James Doti as she walked around campus with my family, waiting for me to finish taking a final. 

President Doti invited my sister — not me — into his office and gave her an autographed copy of a newly published children’s book he wrote, and asked my sister — not me — to visit again in the near future. Something tells me that my sister’s chances of being at Chapman University have increased tenfold, and she’s not even in high school yet.

And as for me, my chances of leaving a legacy at Chapman University just skyrocketed. As finals week progressed, it felt gradually less tense. After taking my last final exam, I ran to the school gate and shouted in joy, “No regrets!” Yes, I did get some strange looks.

But I have no regrets. To sum up the fall semester, I received my final grades and am happy to announce that I will continue at Chapman with my scholarship still intact and have met the requirements to remain in the university’s Honors Program. It’s been said that the first semester at college is the hardest, and although I slightly agree (I don’t have a second semester to compare it to yet!), I also think that there are so many lessons to learn from this experience.

Here’s a small list of things I’ve learned:
    1. Always talk to your professor.
    2. Go out and get involved in campus.
    3. Unless you find time to exercise, the Freshman 15 is not a myth.
    4. Using a locker to store your books is a great investment.
    5. Be prepared to stay on campus school from morning into the night. In other words, bring snacks.
    6. College is by far one of the best experiences ever.

The spring semester doesn’t start again for a while, and I’ll relax with my family while I have a chance  before get back to the books. I’ll see you then.

-Fifteen-year-old Andrew Vo, child actor turned college student, is writing a column throughout his first year at Chapman University in Orange, Calif. Follow Andrew on Twitter @VoAndrew.