[Draconian]

Hi everyone, I wasn't quite sure where to post this, but I guess I am techinally a college student 'cause I take some courses at a community college an stuff...and I was wondering since you guys have experience if you could help me!

See, I got accepted into a school, and in my opinion, I just barely made it. My english is horrible, and my SAT reading scoreswere low and lower than the average accepted into that college. I want to go to this college, but I'm scared that I won't be able to do well, writing-wise. I'm guessing all the college courses are writing intensive. My brother tells me that I can't write for crap and its true. All of my friends write better than I do. My grammar and style is completely shot. My schools have never formally trained me in grammar.

I'm worried I won't survive there. My math is great however. Do you guys think I would do better at a college like PennState that has lower requirements and SAT scores? I'm not saying that PennState would be easier, but at least people with my english score average would be there so maybe I wouldn't do as badly?

THANKS SO MUCH!

[dunpingy]

why would you voluntarily ever reduce yourself?

step up your game man
writing skills are easy to improve, if you make a concious effort to do it

[watcher]

i was a horrible writer when i applied for colleges. the best grade i ever got in english was a B, and most of my essays i did in high school i got a C/C-. however, that didnt stop me from learning how to write in college, and over the next few years, i picked up writing as a hobby. considering i hated writing or even reading, it was surprising that i wanted to write for fun. whether it was essays or short stories or poems, i started writing and writing and writing. eventually, my essays in school got A's and B's and i sincerely enjoyed writing. I almost wanted to write for a living, but it was not a stable enough field for me. So i did the second best thing, and wrote code. hehe

you shouldn't limit yourself to lower opportunities. step up to the challenge and improve yourself. how long are you going to be scared? are you going to back down from a good job opportunity because you suck at something? believe in yourself and get better. so what if people say you suck at writing now? you can change that later. isnt that what it's all about? isn't that the goal of an education, especially college?

[Brusky]

whether it be the 'harder' or 'easier' school, you should choose the 'best' school for your better education. afterall, you're going to college to learn and make something of yourself. you'll never get anywhere if you're too scared to take the risks to get better. =]

[tuxed0sam]

you're forgetting that going to college is for learning and not testing your high school and own personal level of education.


you were accepted based on where you were at and the potential to where you can go. in my opinion, if you're going to base on what school to go to...you have to look at how far the school can take you and not how far you think you can take yourself.


also, tell ur bro to STFU.

[ChunJin]

Most colleges will have "standardized tests" to see your level. Based on your level, they will place you into the appropriate classes. So you won't be thrown into a class above your level.

Don't worry too much about the "hard" or "easy" aspects of college =). You have a life time to learn.

[knickstorm]

yea neither should be the lone standard. Visit the colleges, go to the one where you think you'd feel most comforteable in. Look at teh town/environment/facilities, faculty, etc and then make a decision.

[stellabella]

It is SO weird that you bring this topic up because my SAT essay prompt today was about the same exact thing. My argument was that it was better to set higher expectations for yourself rather than low expectations, otherwise you'll never learn in life.

[DKYang]

You won't have problems, you will just get better. If you ever have problems you could always ask your teacher for more help, that's why they have office hours, to help students if they want it.

I sucked at writing essays when I started college in fall and I was put in a regular class with regular people. My first essay sucked, got a D but wasn't a major project type. Since our whole class was horrible, our teacher gave us tips and etc and guess what? I got A on the first two and maybe a B on the last one, advertising essay sucks. You will do better if you try hard.

[itrayya]

i think college should be about advancing your education.
the education is more important.

i have bad math skills but i still have to take 2 years of math in college too.
im not going to back down because im scared.
even more, you should step up and take the challenge.

dont degrade yourself by quitting.
upgrading by challenging, even if you dont do 110%, the effort wouldnt be lost.

good luck.

[twinkl]

Don't let one little score scare you... MOST people (save the math/science majors) end up liking writing more than math as they get older. Grammar can be learned. Writing in college is simply about communication of your thoughts. If you can think, then you should be able to write with enough practice (through assignments and reading).

What are you planning to major in? Sure, all students need to know how to communicate their thoughts clearly through writing, but it's not like everyone has to have the skills of an English major.

[sphynkter]

i say go for the harder college. college is a lot of money, so you want to get your money's worth. you don't want to easily graduate. you want to work hard for your degree so that way it actually means something to you. also, unless you are majoring in english writing, you don't have to worry that you're not the best writer. you will get put in a writing class that is workshop styled like most freshmen who aren't majoring in english. don't worry about it. pretty much all college students hate writing haha.

[melee]

you shouldnt worry about your english score. its not that big of a deal- If you excel in other subjects, you can get away with a C in ANY english class. I know first hand! Go to the school for the major/location etc, not for little factors like "skill" decide for you. Skill in any subject can always be improved, even if you dont have natural talent.

[frigillicious]

i say go to the college that you really want to go to. my grammar was horrible when i got out of high school because like you, my HS didn't focus on it very much. they were more focused about getting us INTO college bc our school was really ghetto and not many ppl cared to go onto higher education. but hey, if you have the chance to go to a great school and that's where you want to be then i say do it.

when you get to college they'll train you to write better by either placing you in courses specifically geared towards bettering your writing skills [that happened to me along with probably half, if not more, than the ppl in my class] & there's always tutoring if you need help. plus having your peers edit your papers helps a lot too; you can pick up on techniques that work for them & might work for you too.

it's a learning process-- you don't have to be spectacular at everything when you first enter college. it's all about enhancing what you have and finding out what you like ...so don't be scared it's a good learning experience!!