College Life

by Monica, Dalia, and Tek

My group interviewed people who have experienced college, what it is like and what their experiences were like. We interviewed Emmanuel, a student at Laney College, Mr. Manzar, who attended college in London, and Ms. Liza.

Emmanuel is a cool guy with a lot of ambitions. He really works hard toward his educational goals and loves to make new friends. His friends call him Acostic. He did not have a high school diploma so he took an entrance exam (English and math) before he got accepted in college. He started going to college in the fall of 2007. Emmanuel is thinking of transferring to a four year university which is UCLA probably. He is still waiting to hear from the school. He prefers college over university because college helps you get ready for university. It makes you mature and is also influential in life activities. Emmanuel felt overwhelmed and couldn't wait to be in a diverse environment. He says he absolutely advises high school graduates to attend Laney college. ''Laney college is one of the best colleges of all time. The costs are very cheap and you take class according to your own pace," he says. Emmanuel says community college is very different from a four year college because community college helps you get ready/prepared for the bigger task (university).

Our second college interviewee is a woman named Ms. Liza. She was involved in many after school activities. For example, she volunteered with people with disabilities and took sign language. She started going to college when she was 18 years old after she graduated high school. Ms. Liza did not think about transferring to a university because she liked her college. She preferred to go to college instead of a university because she wanted to go to a small college and wanted small classes. Ms. Liza said college was very exciting. Ms. Liza's advice to a high school graduate is that going to college will help you have more options and in college you can study many interesting things. ''I think it can be a very good place to learn about themselves and the world," Ms. Liza said. Ms Liza thinks community college is very different than a four year college because a four year college is more expensive and you get a different degree. She recommends understanding the difference and choosing the best school for your needs.

Finally, our last interviewee is Mr. Manzar, a teacher at Oakland international high school nicknamed "Manz." Mr. Manzar was actually a college student in London, and he had to take A.P classes before he got accepted to college. He started going to college in 1989 about 21 years ago. Mr. Manzar did not think about transferring to a university because he loved college too much. The reason why Mr. Manzar preferred college better than university is because college provided students with additional skills to get students get ready for university. "I felt good at first but also nervous because I had too much work to do and also I would advise students to go to college because you can make a big difference and get a job." Mr. Manzar says you can’t really compare community college to a university because college helps you get prepared for a university. He says college life is very hard and you have lots of things to do.