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What is FYE?
FYE-101 is a Parkland class dedicated to preparing incoming freshman for the novelty of college life and the stressors associated. It places great emphasis on balancing the personal life and the life of academics; promoting the preservation of a student's health as they progress through their college journey. As many students are transfers or those preparing to transfer to other colleges the lessons are universalizable in nature. On a functional level, the class is a way to introduce new students to the facilities and tools available at parkland and in their general college experience.
Why FYE?
There are almost innumerable reasons why one should take this course, the most prescient for me was that it is a requirement for parkland pathways students! The ways that one studies in college and in high school ought to be different, both have different demands in quantity and quality of work. FYE provides the knowledge necessary to make a smooth transition between the two. It teaches students about the various services parkland makes available such as course planning software and a peer tutoring program. Of note are the lessons on student health, college is the period in which most mental/emotional disorders reveal themselves. Handling the stress of being away from home and the high workload of college can be made far easier if one is of both sound mind and body. Enrolling in your first year — while it may not be required — is greatly recommended for these very reasons.
What does FYE Teach?
FYE will teach you how to accurately assess yourself; not by giving you personality tests and reducing you to an average score, but by looking at your development both as a student and as a person with ambitions. By looking into your past and introspecting on your current position, FYE helps you form a plan for your future as a student and eventually as a graduate. It shows not just how to ask yourself where you want to go, but also the tools you'll need to get there. I was never very good at studying; I glided through most of my classes just by route memorization without writing anything down. This was not sufficient for my AP courses. Here I was with a far difficult workload than had been asked of me prior and I lacked the tools to deal with it. That semester I learned to ask for help. FYE will teach you not just how to study but how to optimize when, where, and with whom you should study. The conditions are just as important as the notetaking itself!
Common Problems
There is of course, a reason why this class is provided and recommended. Every student must face their own seemingly unique problems as they enter college. For me and for many others, the student experiences depression or loneliness. The learned helplessness that results from mental instability can affect all facets of life, but most importantly it affects the student's academic life. Meeting new people can be hard as well, in high school one might have stuck with the same group of people without the need to connect with others. In college there must be a balance between social and academic life; too much or too little of one impairs the other. Learning what you want from a social group and from your academic life in FYE is one of the ways you can address this common problem.
Future Solutions
What one gleans from this class is conditional not upon what is taught, but upon what is practiced. If you are focused and diligent in this class, you will perform better in your other endeavors! The class provides a basis for the student to grow upon what they have learned; one need not stop learning about how to optimize their study habits further. In both career and in life, if you are diligent and open-minded to improvements, you will succeed.
In Conclusion
I sought not to summarize the class in this essay as if you're reading this, you've already taken it, or you've already enrolled. Rather I want the reader to understand that what they put into this class, they will get back in manifolds. FYE forced me to look at my past academic history and to understand that I needed to change my habits if I wanted to succeed. If you are someone like me, who struggles with schooling yet still seeks knowledge, this is the class for you.