Kaylie Wang is a English freshman and Mustang News opinion columnist. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang Media Group.
I started college a month early. It was the best decision I’ve made at Cal Poly so far.
Through the Quarter Plus program, I took eight units (two general education courses) in the four weeks before my first year at college. In a small cohort of roughly 200 freshmen, the program allowed me to ease into college.
After completing a short application, I was notified that I had been accepted. I was placed into two classes: Western Art (ART 112) and Public Speaking (COMS 101). My classes were very doable, but students taking other classes were stressed with exams.
Many students I’ve talked to have not heard of the Quarter Plus program. Luckily, one of my childhood friends went through Quarter Plus the year before me. She introduced me to the program and encouraged me to participate.
One of the main reasons I chose Quarter Plus was because I wanted to gradually transition into college. Instead of immediately moving in with 5,000 other first-years, I had time to adjust while barely any students were on campus.
I was intimidated by the transition from a public high school with 2,000 students to a large public university with about 22,000 students, according to Cal Poly’s university website. During the four weeks of the program, the only students on campus were Quarter Plus students, the football team and other students from summer programs.
Everyone participating in Quarter Plus was housed in elewexe, one of the yakʔitʸutʸu buildings. Since it was just a small group of students, I felt very comfortable walking up to people or sitting with new people at the Vista Grande dining hall during meals.
Quarter Plus was also just fun. I often heard students say that Quarter Plus felt like summer camp. All of our classes ran on the same schedule, and we were sent weekly sign-up surveys for fun activities like hiking to the Architecture Graveyard at night, spending a day at Avila Beach, buying groceries at Target or arts and crafts.
Signing up for Quarter Plus also felt like a no-brainer since my high school ran on a semester system, so I would have had a three-month summer break. Quarter Plus meant I moved into college around the same time as my friends from home, so I didn’t feel lonely before my school started.
Additionally, I was able to get ahead by earning some GE credits and learning good study habits on a reduced schedule. Every class was assigned at least one learning assistant, another older Cal Poly student in charge of running study sessions during the week.
The small class sizes and the study sessions made me feel comfortable asking for help. The learning assistants were very approachable, and I received a lot of college advice (like about when to secure off-campus housing) just by talking to them.
Before I knew it, the four weeks flew by, and I had to pack up, say goodbye to my roommates and move to another dorm. When school started, I felt overwhelmed. Suddenly, more dining options were available instead of only Vista Grande, club events were constantly happening and there were so many more people on my dorm floor and around campus.
I don’t think I reached out to as many people in the first week after move-in because I was used to living in my previous dorms. It felt strange to have to meet so many more people.
It was quite bittersweet to watch the campus liven up because, as much as it was exciting, I missed the energy of Quarter Plus.
While it initially felt like my worst fear came true–not being able to connect with people at the start of college– the best part of Quarter Plus was meeting so many amazing people.
When I started fall quarter, I felt a great sense of comfort recognizing familiar faces around campus. I started the year with several friends and caught up with people I met from the program.
Kaylie Wang, opinion columnist
There are even a few people who live on my floor and building who participated in the program with me. We don’t have classes together anymore, and we’re no longer confined to a small social group, but it’s still reassuring to know I can always feel comfortable striking up conversations with them.
If you’re an incoming first-year, I cannot recommend Quarter Plus enough. Four extra weeks of school may seem like a nightmare to some, but it is worth the chance to transition slowly into a new, chaotic college environment. I will cherish the precious memories I made and the people I met during my experience, and I know you will, too.
