A Guide To Life As A Student
By Sienna Chlipalski
If high school is supposed to be the worst time in someone’s life, then what is college!? Really, in high school you have drama, not knowing who you are, peer pressure, pressure to get into college…
But when you actually get into a post-secondary school, you’re supposed to feel relief right? Well that relief wears off really fast when all of a sudden you’re moving to a new city to go to a brand-new school where everything is much harder than anything you learned in high school. Oh, and yeah, by the way, you now have to pay close to $6000 a year if you’re planning on going to University (that’s not even including books!), and around $3500 if you’re going to college.
Money Matters
So where are you supposed to get that money!? Either it’s working your butt off at some lame job that pays you minimum wage – while sucking out all of your energy and fun that you used to have. 
Or, you’re going to apply for OSAP. Now applying for OSAP sounds like the easy way out – but it’s not! OSAP does give you a loan based on financial matters, and they also are a great way to get bursaries and scholarships – but when you’re all done school, you have to pay it back! Most people forget about this, and they spend all of the extra money OSAP gave them on clothes, cars, trips, or fancy restaurants. But guess what – OSAP does not forget the money you now owe them – and they will come after you for it. OSAP has now even changed their policy of allowing you six months to re-pay the loan, interest free. Now, the day you graduate, is the day you pay your first installment.
Most people opt for the third option – doing both. Many students work part time through the school year, and full time during the summer to help pay for their tuition. If they don’t make enough to cover their living costs and tuition for the school year, they get a little bit of OSAP on the side to help pay for things. This is arguably, the best way to go about paying for your post-secondary education.
Stressful Times
While paying for school may seem like the most stressful part of attending post-secondary schooling – it is a small piece to a giant puzzle.
Stress from school stems from many parts of a person’s life – I mean, school isn’t your life right!? It may seem that way when you enter into post-secondary education, because a lot of what you’ll do at school is - guess what? – studying!
Just going to school and studying outside of school can take up most of your time – and when finals and assignments are due, it only gets worse! That is usually when stress comes into play.
You’ve finally gotten into a post-secondary school, and ended up
finding a way to pay for it – now you actually have to go. With schedule in hand, you wonder how on earth you will ever get to all of these classes, and get all of the subsequent work done. Immediately, you feel stressed, and you haven’t even attended a class yet!
Luckily, the internet is full of insightful information on how to deal with stress appropriately, and avoid the other tempting ways to deal with the stress of school.
Making The Right Decisions
Stress, if not handled in the right way, can lead you to deal with it 
in ways that might just make it worse. Some ways to deal with stress that are not healthy, but seem to work, are tempting. Alcohol and drug use will get your mind off of the problem, but only while you’re on it. That makes someone want to use it over and over, until they don’t even really care what the problem is anymore. Of course, occasional alcohol use is fine, as long as it isn’t a way to deal with stress. Going out and partying is fun – and you need fun in your life so that school doesn’t completely take over! But always make sure that drinking or drug use is not a way to deal with stress because it will only cause you bigger problems later.
Food can also easily act as a way to deal with stress – and it is most commonly known as the Freshman 15. Now, gaining or losing 15 pounds is not a big deal – as long as you’re healthy. 
But, sometimes, gaining 15 pounds can lead to gaining 30, 50, 100, pounds. That is when you’re putting your health at risk – dealing with stress by eating. I know, it seems a lot better than drinking or doing drugs, but gaining or losing excess amounts of weight can do a number on your body. I would know – I gained close to 70 pounds during my post-secondary education – something I am still trying to get rid of. Eating may seem like the ideal way to deal with stress but severe health problems can occur not only during your post-secondary education, but years and years later.
Another way for students to deal with stress is to simply, not go anymore. To be able to drop out seems like a very tempting idea to many students, and many consider it. But, while it may be easier now to drop out, it could be much harder later to get back into school. 
According to Statistics Canada, in 2005 there were approximately 946,000 people attending post-secondary education in Canada. 482,000 went to University, 505,000 went to College, and 311,000 went into other education. College had the highest dropout rate with 25%. That means one quarter of students who went into College in 2005 dropped out. University had the highest graduation rate (69%), and also the highest continuing rate of 15% (meaning that they’re staying longer to complete their degree). Sometimes, that’s all it takes – taking a little longer to complete your education is nothing to be ashamed of. It means you’re smart. You know the best way to go about getting an education for you.
Source: Photo Courtesy of CartoonStock
All In All...
Life as a student is not all glamorous like it may be played out to be in movies and TV. The reality is that it’s a lot of hard work. It’s a lot of studying, working, going to bed late and getting up early.
But there is also a lot of fun that happens while completing your post-secondary education. There are parties, dates, sports, making new friends, hanging out with old friends, and believe it or not, life does happen when you’re in school. So I suggest buying a camera & scrapbook – you’re going to want to remember these years.
P.S. - For Seneca Students
If you’re a student of Seneca College, there are many websites designed to help students. Success Strategies is one of them.
For a complete guide on everything from services at Seneca, to degree transfers, visit Student Services.
Source: Logo Courtesy of Seneca College