Steve Talks About Fairleigh

Steve Wall, who graduated from the Craig Upper School in 2004 and is currently a Junior at Fairleigh Dickinson, addressed the 11th & 12th graders on November 1st. He stressed that college “is a different ball game” from high school. “You are not in school all day and can make up your own schedule.” “You can choose to either sink or swim.” He commented that there must be a balance between social activities and academics saying that one could go to a party every night if one chose to do so. “However,” he added, “hopefully you are mature enough to see that you need the skills for down the road.”

Steve is taking a five-year program at Fairleigh leading to a Master’s degree in education. It may take him as long as six years to finish because he is not willing to “fly right through and enter the work force.” Steve believes in allowing enough time to absorb the information in college, “you want to do well, but also leave enough time to take the information with you later in life.”

Having originally enrolled at Monmouth University as a freshman, Steve found the student body at 6,000 was just too large. Fairleigh, at 2,000 students is “a whole different social milieu” and actually offers greater social opportunities. “You see more familiar faces on campus with a smaller enrollment.” Fortunately, he was able to transfer all his credits.

Steve is commuting to Fairleigh from home and, although he said he might miss out on some social events, he claimed the dorms were not that great. However, he is thinking about joining a fraternity that just started on campus.

When asked the advantages of registering as a student with learning differences, Steve mentioned priority registration, extended time on tests, and schedule accommodations. He said that 12 credits is the least a student can take a semester and still be considered a full time student.

Steve’s final words of advice to the 11th and 12th grade students were “It is what you learn and the experience you get out of college rather than what college you go to that is important.”