Asking for a letter of recommendation can be intimidating, especially as a first-year. Most classes are larger, and there isn’t quite a strong faculty-to-student relationship, given that you’ve only known them for a semester, and for some, it takes time to come out of their shell and communicate with their…

College applications will have you looking everywhere, and one of the most complex parts of it can be the financial aspect of it. Nearly three years ago, during my senior fall, I remembered going through the hoops of deciphering tax returns, emailing schools, and searching the internet for “what if”…

College is all about finding yourself and your passion in an almost endless pool of possibilities. A major aspect of that development is declaring a major. For a lot of people this can be difficult and take time, especially for first-gen students because we do not have a family or…

Many of my classes are humanities-based, and most of the time, the way we’re assessed by the end of the semester is through research papers. At WashU, we get introduced to research-style writing during our first year, through our required College Writing course. Students get to choose from a range…

Congratulations! You made it through this semester of college! I want to remind you that you are doing a great job in your academic journey. Whether your grades did or did not turn out the way you wished you persevered. We all can agree sometimes we can fall short in…

Looking for what to do during the summer is a challenge. In my first year of college, I was lucky enough to have secured a fellowship through WashU’s civic engagement institute, Gephardt. I was able to receive a stipend and work for a non-profit that provided immigrants with legal aid…

I finally finished my Sophomore year of college on May 12 at 7:04 pm, when I submitted my research project of 17 pages! This semester was tough, a lot of it depended on me holding myself accountable for time management. For example, three of my classes required me to turn…

Graduation is soon approaching. The intensity of graduation is starting to build. I am a bit nervous about the future and what to expect while being in graduate school, but I know that there are good things in store for my future. While graduation is only a couple of days…

The most dreaded but most anticipated time of the year is upon us – finals week and the end of the school year! During this time it is important to remember that this week is only as hard as you make it. Studying for finals and working on final projects…

As first-generation students, we are always under pressure to do well in school and eventually graduate. Senioritis and burnout are not uncommon in students  (particularly at the end of a semester). Senioritis manifests itself as a lack of ambition, low academic achievement, and an overall sense of indifference but it…