Reflection

Ben Thompson
BA 1041 Section 003
Making College Count Reflection
Jennifer Rybski
16 September 2013 The University of Cincinnati is one of the most renowned research institutions in the country. Every year, millions of prospective college students look to find the college or university that suits their needs best. I was lucky enough to find the University of Cincinnati. This university offers an experience like no other university can offer, I am blessed to be a part of the bearcat tradition, and a student of the University of Cincinnati. At the University of Cincinnati I am a member of the Lindner College of Business, I will need to find great study skills, and join student groups. As my senior year of high school was approaching I needed to start applying to colleges. I applied to nine colleges across the country ranging from Indiana University, the University of Alabama to the University of Cincinnati. After being accepted to many schools I was forced to decide which one of these fine institutions I wanted to attend and make my home. After talking to my parents and my college counselor, I decided that the University of Cincinnati was going to be the best school for me. I chose to attend the University of Cincinnati for a few very unique reasons. The University of Cincinnati, or UC, felt like it offered the best all around college experience. UC’s great location in the city and beautiful campus offer a big city feel while still having the smaller, secluded campus feel. Unlike many of the other schools I visited, UC seemed to be the most modern and cleanly looking. I felt that the school must take a lot of pride in their students if they take so much pride in their campus. My first visit to UC was early last fall when my high school chorus and football team came down to Cincinnati to have a dual concert and football game against our sister school St. Xavier. Following the concert we went to the UC Recreation Center and I immediately fell in love. The Recreation Center offers so many different things to occupy time with. I came back on a visit with my parents to the school for a formal visit. On my formal visit with my parents, our tour guide got my parents hooked on the university. My parents, who both were business majors in college, were very interested in the business school here. When we came to the Lindner College of Business and found out about the co-op program and learned that UC started in, we were all very interested. With my parents background in business I decided that no matter where I would attend school, business would be my major. My parents and I came to the realization that the UC co-op program was going to give me an advantage over the competition when it came time to apply for careers after school. As I learned this summer from reading Making College Count, by Patrick O’Brien, taking notes and creating a strong study habit is crucial to succeeding in college. My plan for college classes is basically a more rigorous version of my high school study plans. In high school, I spent three hours a night outlining and reviewing my class notes so I could retain the class information. In college we take fewer classes and we have more time to study for each class. This extra time to study has so far been very nice and I can tell that I am starting to create a strong college studying routine. Both my parents and Pat O’Brien talk about the importance of networking. UC offers great ways to network. Networking in the Cincinnati area with the help of UC is made easy by all of the student groups that all work towards achieving real world experience and knowledge. After looking at the large list of student organizations that there are at UC, there are so many groups that I found to be interesting. On the first link of activities and groups I found the University of Cincinnati Sales Leadership Club to be the most interesting. I found this club to be very interesting because my parents are in sales. If I had a more formal understanding of what sales was like I could see if that was something that I would be interested in doing. My father always talks about how important sales are to make, and he told me that he could see me being a salesman because I love to talk. I look forward to learning more about the University of Cincinnati Sales Leadership Club. On the second link of LCB Student Organizations I found two groups to sound very intriguing. The first one of these groups was Beta Alpha Psi. Beta Alpha Psi is the Accounting Honorary, a close family friend of mine told me about his experience with this group while he was at Ohio State. The only bad thing about Beta Alpha Psi is that I have to be a sophomore to join. So I’ll be joining next year. The second group that interested me was Alpha Kappa Psi. Alpha Kappa Psi is a Professional Business Fraternity at UC. By possibly joining Alpha Kappa Psi, I hope to be able to expand my networking capabilities and learn new things about business and Greek Life at UC. Joining a fraternity is something that has always interested me and I hope that I have the opportunity to meet people who become some of my best friends for the rest of my life.
The University of Cincinnati is a very exciting place for me to be a part of. I am very excited to start working towards becoming a college graduate. Through my college process, I feel that UC will give me the best chance to succeed and develop into a young, knowledgeable, businessman. At the University of Cincinnati, I am a member of the Lindner College of Business and I am proud to be a member of this select group. I am going to figure out great study skills to succeed academically. Joining student groups will help me meet other students and start networking for the future.