Former Graduates Attest to College Payoff

While Campolindo has a reputation for being a top caliber school, the extent to which it prepares its students to succeed in college may best be revealed by its most recent graduates.

Andrew Tseng, a freshman at Cornell University on a pre-law track, said, “I feel like Campo definitely prepared me because although the classes here are difficult, I feel like Campo was very rigorous, so it really taught me how to be diligent and it correlates nicely with what I’m studying.”

He added that the workload “isn’t so bad” compared to what he dealt with at Campo. “A difference I did notice is how much self-discipline is required because at Campo you have daily homework, but here it’s more like can you keep up with the material,” said Tseng. “It depends on how hard you work and how much effort you put into it, and that affects what you get out of it.”

Alex Kholm, a freshman at Pepperdine, agreed that he felt well-prepared for college. “Campolindo has a reputation for being a school that gives its students many opportunities to grow and discover themselves. Coming out of Campo, I felt sure of myself and felt capable of taking care of myself both personally and academically,” he said.

Kohlm also thinks that the installation of the block schedule is “helpful in preparing students for the future in giving them time to work on homework and meet with teachers.”

On the other hand, former La Puma business editor and current freshman at UCSC, Samuel Ganten, said, “For the most part, Campo didn’t prepare me for college… The AP classes were the only ones that prepared me in terms of workload more than content.”

College and career counselor Joan Batcheller believes the school does prepare students, and those who have a harder time in college do so for other reasons. “Some of our students that have trouble at college have had parents that made everything smooth for them and so some of our kids are not emotionally prepared for being away from home,” she said.

According to Kohlm, some of the main differences between college life and life as a Campolindo student are more freedom and flexibility. “You get to choose your professors directly, choose what time you want each class at throughout the week, and choose whether or not you want to go to class,” said Kohlm.

Tseng said, “I enjoy most of college, not gonna lie. There’s a lot of freedom, a lot of independence.”

Tseng’s advice to high school seniors would be to “maintain relationships with your teachers because it’s going to help you in the long run,” and “don’t spread yourself too thin, just find a couple of things that you care about and become really invested in those.”

Kohlm advises current students “that it is necessary to work hard in the present so that later it becomes easier to relax. If I relax now, I’ll be working hard later.”