Overcoming a academic Challenge - Scholarship Essay Example

I have always believed in setting high academic goals for myself. I do not come from a family where academics were stressed as being most important. I have been taught the value of determination, flexibility and hard work by my family, but academic progress was not stressed. I worked hard through high school for all of my grades. During my sophomore year, the idea of going to medical school started to form in my mind. The more I learned about biology and life sciences, the more I realized I wanted to be a doctor.

I knew that I would need good grades so I spent more time on homework and less time on Facebook. At the end of high school, I was accepted to Miami-Dade College. This is a community college that was affordable and could get me on track towards medical school. I worked hard for good grades, and have now been accepted to the University of Miami. While I was excited to transfer, going to the University of Miami has presented me with my greatest academic challenge. The classes at the University of Miami are completely different than they were at Miami-Dade College.

The pace of the learning is very rapid. Information is presented in large chunks during class time. I have found that I sometimes leave class wondering how I will remember everything that was presented. The professors teach differently at the University of Miami as well. They are very professional and require the student to be responsible for her own learning. They are always willing to help explain things I do not understand, but I need to go to them to ask. They are not willing to let students just glide through their classes.

This is especially true of the tests that these professors give. There is no way you can guess your way through the material. You must come prepared or you will fail. Overall, my greatest academic challenge is adjusting to the more challenging academic standards since my transfer to the University of Miami. Thankfully, my family taught me how to deal with challenges that confront you in life. The first thing I changed in order to overcome this challenge is to reduce the amount of time I spent with friends.

I am the type of person that enjoys an active social life. I never study with friends because when I am with them I want to have fun. I found that being successful at the University of Miami required be to spend less time having fun with friends and more time reviewing class notes, lectures and reading in my textbook. This has not been a pleasant adjustment, but it has been a necessary one. My friends can not believe I stay in and study most Friday nights now. They tell me I need to go out to have fun and I tell them that right now medical school is more important than going out for me.

Other changes I have made that are helping me overcome this challenge are taking advantage of university tutoring services and visiting with my professors during office hours. I know that I will always have academic challenges. Reaching my goal of going to medical school will make all of the sacrifices I am making now worth it in the end.