The most common refrain I’ve heard in the past few weeks sounds something like this: “You’re so lucky you’re still in Stern!” The line stems primarily from friends who graduated last May; although we entered Stern at the same time, they have since left the walls of Stern College while I remain inside. I am, as the expression goes, a “super senior.”
Within my first year of studies I realized that I would not be graduating at the expected May 2013 date. I could have done so—I received full credits for spending a year in Israel, and was on track to complete the 128-credit requirement necessary for graduation—but I chose not to. For anyone in Stern, this is a route I highly recommend. If you went to Israel and intend on graduating in only three years—pause for just a moment.
In Stern, there is a standard expectation that students enroll in seven courses per semester. As upperclassmen can attest, and new students are surely discovering, seven simultaneous courses generate an incredibly heavy workload. While running from class to class, preparing a presentation in between, studying for a test afterwards and attempting to write a paper-that’s-due-tomorrow, actually enjoying those classes and devoting time to each becomes exceedingly difficult. If a student knows she has more time on her hands, she will likely significantly reduce her course load per semester.
Once classes and work become more manageable, students have more opportunity to become involved in student life on campus. Running a club, planning events, editing a newspaper and the like are all time-consuming endeavors. Many students find that involvement and investment in student life greatly improves their YU experience. As SCW senior and Al-Pi-Darko club-head Alyssa Greenberg puts it, “taking an active role in student life helps me feel that I’m not only gaining from the atmosphere here but involved in creating and building it. Seeking involvement in Stern has definitely enriched my experience here.” The more time one has, the more time one can invest in campus life and, in turn, enhance one’s own experience.
For all those concerned with finishing up and starting “real life,” I say, why the rush? This is the time for us to take classes we enjoy, explore new interests, and build relationships with professors and peers. When else can we take a history class that piques our interest, or a math class we had never considered before? Now, more than ever before, we have the opportunity to take advantage of the phase of life psychologist Jeffrey Arnett calls “emerging adulthood,” a phenomenon sweeping the nation. Twenty-somethings are taking time to explore different paths, rather than rush into the one job they will occupy until retirement. Arnett claims, “American emerging adults value the freedom and independence of the stage of life and seek to make the most of it.” Adulthood will come, and most of us will settle down in the course of time—why not enjoy the benefits of college life while we can?
It is no surprise, then, that friends tell me, longingly, how lucky I am to still be in college. Many of them have begun working or studying in graduate school and miss their college days already. They say, half-jokingly, “Never graduate!” YU even has a fifth-year scholarship fund specifically for this purpose, “to ease the financial burden of a fourth year on campus after Israel in a way that encourages planning for the best use of four full years on campus.” New students can seriously improve their college experience from the get-go by choosing this plan, and senior students can prolong growing up for a little while longer. Just consider this: looking back on your life in 40, maybe 50 years down the line, will you wish you had spent one more year working, or one more year learning, growing, and enjoying the freedoms of your college experience?
The Perks of Being a Super Senior
The most common refrain I’ve heard in the past few weeks sounds something like this: “You’re so lucky you’re still in Stern!” The line stems primarily from friends who graduated last May; although we entered Stern at the same time, they have since left the walls of Stern College while I remain inside. I am, as the expression goes, a “super senior.”
Within my first year of studies I realized that I would not be graduating at the expected May 2013 date. I could have done so—I received full credits for spending a year in Israel, and was on track to complete the 128-credit requirement necessary for graduation—but I chose not to. For anyone in Stern, this is a route I highly recommend. If you went to Israel and intend on graduating in only three years—pause for just a moment.
In Stern, there is a standard expectation that students enroll in seven courses per semester. As upperclassmen can attest, and new students are surely discovering, seven simultaneous courses generate an incredibly heavy workload. While running from class to class, preparing a presentation in between, studying for a test afterwards and attempting to write a paper-that’s-due-tomorrow, actually enjoying those classes and devoting time to each becomes exceedingly difficult. If a student knows she has more time on her hands, she will likely significantly reduce her course load per semester.
Once classes and work become more manageable, students have more opportunity to become involved in student life on campus. Running a club, planning events, editing a newspaper and the like are all time-consuming endeavors. Many students find that involvement and investment in student life greatly improves their YU experience. As SCW senior and Al-Pi-Darko club-head Alyssa Greenberg puts it, “taking an active role in student life helps me feel that I’m not only gaining from the atmosphere here but involved in creating and building it. Seeking involvement in Stern has definitely enriched my experience here.” The more time one has, the more time one can invest in campus life and, in turn, enhance one’s own experience.
For all those concerned with finishing up and starting “real life,” I say, why the rush? This is the time for us to take classes we enjoy, explore new interests, and build relationships with professors and peers. When else can we take a history class that piques our interest, or a math class we had never considered before? Now, more than ever before, we have the opportunity to take advantage of the phase of life psychologist Jeffrey Arnett calls “emerging adulthood,” a phenomenon sweeping the nation. Twenty-somethings are taking time to explore different paths, rather than rush into the one job they will occupy until retirement. Arnett claims, “American emerging adults value the freedom and independence of the stage of life and seek to make the most of it.” Adulthood will come, and most of us will settle down in the course of time—why not enjoy the benefits of college life while we can?
It is no surprise, then, that friends tell me, longingly, how lucky I am to still be in college. Many of them have begun working or studying in graduate school and miss their college days already. They say, half-jokingly, “Never graduate!” YU even has a fifth-year scholarship fund specifically for this purpose, “to ease the financial burden of a fourth year on campus after Israel in a way that encourages planning for the best use of four full years on campus.” New students can seriously improve their college experience from the get-go by choosing this plan, and senior students can prolong growing up for a little while longer. Just consider this: looking back on your life in 40, maybe 50 years down the line, will you wish you had spent one more year working, or one more year learning, growing, and enjoying the freedoms of your college experience?