After going to New Paltz for 7 semesters, I thought it would be a good idea to switch things up before I graduated. I will always have a special place in my heart for Kingston University, and I’m glad I got the chance to take classes in a new environment. At first, I was terrified to even go near the campus, and didn’t know what to expect from my teachers and fellow students in a totally new country. Well, I am happy I decided to go for it. My first class of the week is a 3 hour class on Monday mornings, and I have not taken a morning class since my sophomore year of New Paltz. Getting out of bed was not easy, but I learned more about myself in this class than ever before. During the course of the semester, I got to write and film a short film that I worked on completely by myself. I am nowhere near done, and have run into some pretty tough obstacles along the way, the biggest being my main actor quitting halfway into the film. I am now starting fresh with 3 weeks left of class, and it has been the most difficult yet exciting project I’ve ever worked on. Since I’ve taken many music classes with New Paltz, working with a computer and film equipment was not as nerve-racking as I thought it would be. In fact, I think it might be my calling, and my teacher said so as well.
My second film studies class is on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and was my first experience ever with a class split up into a lecture and seminar. This class is different than any one I’ve taken at New Paltz. The lecture is one hour on Tuesday, and two hours on Thursday. This is the same for my literature class at the end of the week. I love this set up, since I know when I have to go listen, or when I have to be prepared to participate. It just makes a lot more sense to me.
My last class is a study abroad class called British Heroes. We learn about certain heroes in British history and go on field trips, so I can’t really complain at all about it.
There were a few differences between classes here and in New Paltz. First, the lecture/seminar set up. Second, I have to swipe my student ID card to get into all of my classrooms. This would have been a problem in New Paltz, since I lost my ID card a total of 14 times over 4 years. I’ve learned to keep an eye on my belongings here, and still have the same ID card as I did in the beginning of the semester. Third, for most of my classes, our entire grade depends on a final, and our own independent work throughout the semester. It’s really up to me to decide if I want to learn or not, and it’s made me much eager to do work on my own time and schedule. However, I have to do extremely well on every assignment since there have not been many. Fourth, professors are called tutors and classes are called modules. Lastly, my tutors switch every few weeks, so I never really know who to expect. This can be both exciting and disappointing, depending on the day.
I really do love my school and I’m comfortable walking around, everything is easy to find, and everyone is kind and respectful. I’m no longer scared to move to a completely new place and make new friends.
Alyssa Schwartz, an English major and Music minor, is studying at Kingston University in England. She loves to write, and cannot wait to share her upcoming experiences!
Kingston University vs SUNY New Paltz
After going to New Paltz for 7 semesters, I thought it would be a good idea to switch things up before I graduated. I will always have a special place in my heart for Kingston University, and I’m glad I got the chance to take classes in a new environment. At first, I was terrified to even go near the campus, and didn’t know what to expect from my teachers and fellow students in a totally new country. Well, I am happy I decided to go for it. My first class of the week is a 3 hour class on Monday mornings, and I have not taken a morning class since my sophomore year of New Paltz. Getting out of bed was not easy, but I learned more about myself in this class than ever before. During the course of the semester, I got to write and film a short film that I worked on completely by myself. I am nowhere near done, and have run into some pretty tough obstacles along the way, the biggest being my main actor quitting halfway into the film. I am now starting fresh with 3 weeks left of class, and it has been the most difficult yet exciting project I’ve ever worked on. Since I’ve taken many music classes with New Paltz, working with a computer and film equipment was not as nerve-racking as I thought it would be. In fact, I think it might be my calling, and my teacher said so as well.
My second film studies class is on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and was my first experience ever with a class split up into a lecture and seminar. This class is different than any one I’ve taken at New Paltz. The lecture is one hour on Tuesday, and two hours on Thursday. This is the same for my literature class at the end of the week. I love this set up, since I know when I have to go listen, or when I have to be prepared to participate. It just makes a lot more sense to me.
My last class is a study abroad class called British Heroes. We learn about certain heroes in British history and go on field trips, so I can’t really complain at all about it.
There were a few differences between classes here and in New Paltz. First, the lecture/seminar set up. Second, I have to swipe my student ID card to get into all of my classrooms. This would have been a problem in New Paltz, since I lost my ID card a total of 14 times over 4 years. I’ve learned to keep an eye on my belongings here, and still have the same ID card as I did in the beginning of the semester. Third, for most of my classes, our entire grade depends on a final, and our own independent work throughout the semester. It’s really up to me to decide if I want to learn or not, and it’s made me much eager to do work on my own time and schedule. However, I have to do extremely well on every assignment since there have not been many. Fourth, professors are called tutors and classes are called modules. Lastly, my tutors switch every few weeks, so I never really know who to expect. This can be both exciting and disappointing, depending on the day.
I really do love my school and I’m comfortable walking around, everything is easy to find, and everyone is kind and respectful. I’m no longer scared to move to a completely new place and make new friends.
Alyssa Schwartz
Alyssa Schwartz, an English major and Music minor, is studying at Kingston University in England. She loves to write, and cannot wait to share her upcoming experiences!
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