Arizona State University-Downtown Phoenix Top Questions

Greetings; I am you. No more questions, now, only ears: Following high school, I visualized that college would only be deemed unnecessary if I could work for myself in the ideal world. At age 19, I was the owner and founder of South Carolina's first modern cyber cafe. After successfully franchising selling my business, I find myself back to square one; jobless with little education. Little did I realize that despite my valiant efforts and unique experiences from owning my own corporate entity, college was still, to my amazement, valued higher than any experience in this wonderful world. Listen, young one, to my words ? college is never as stressful as it may appear in the eyes of a ?younger me?. If you are to succeed in an immediate college degree, your life will statically remain secure for the ages to come, whether you have the knowledge to work for yourself or whatever path your will entails. Just remember, my mirrored friend, that you will succeed no matter what choices lie ahead. With my words, you will surpass succession with college. Only then will this reflected image smirk back with confidence, knowing I--?we?, are secure.

I didn?t partake in a single college tour before beginning the application process. That, however, did not stop me from applying to schools I thought I wanted to attend. Upon letters of acceptance, I made my final decision based on my family?s suggestions. I accepted the invitation to attend Arizona State University- a large, warm-weathered school that offers reduced class sizes on a separate campus. Unfortunately, it?s only my second semester and I already realize how much my opinion differs from that of my family. I would much rather enjoy living on a large campus with extracurricular activities and a broad social atmosphere. Although warm weather is an advantage, I also miss being in a state with all four seasons. All in all, if I could go back to high school, I would tell myself to think independently from my family, while keeping my financial budget in mind. I should have found out which type of atmosphere suited me. Most importantly, I should have visited colleges in and out of state, sat in on classes with other students, and eaten meals in the community to ultimately figure out the setting in which I was most comfortable.

If I could go back in time and give high school senior me some advice about college life and the transition between high school and university, I would first and foremost tell myself to relax! There is absolutely, positively no reason whatsoever to be so stressed out. Not having a roommate will not doom you to a friendless college existence. Don?t think too much about the cafeteria food, odds are there is no cafeteria worker purposefully putting hairs in your food as some misguided form of revenge. When you walk into the wrong classroom, which you will- twice, laugh it off, odds are the people in there have done the same thing at least once in their college life. Take the work in stride, as much as the teachers threaten and scare you, failing is not a possibility because, contrary to how it seems, your professor wants to see you succeed. Perhaps the most important piece of advice I would give myself is this: live everyday to it?s fullest, open your eyes and take everything in because it goes by fast and you?ll want to remember this for the rest of your life.

I would tell myself that it really does pay off in the end to do your work, and listen to your teacher about developing good study habits before going to college. I also have learned that patience is a virtue, and that rushing in college gives you a D not a B. I would tell myself that life wasn't easy, and to take an easy on my family. After all they are going to be the most support you have in your life expcially in college where things get rough.

If I could go back in time, I would have told myself to really appreciate being in school. I recently moved to an area where no one really goes to college. I am truley blessed to have had this opportunity. In this economy, it is very important for a young adult to sign up for school. I would have also told myself to relax. I often times overload myself into all sorts of events. I have a job, volunteering, and school on my plate. The more stressed, the less I was actually thinking about the true problem at hand. Another thing I have learned is to keep up a relationship with your teacher. Never be too shy to ask or answer a question and always let your teacher know if something tragic has happened in your life to impede on your learning experience. For me, I have to deal with the stresses of having a boyfriend of five years join the military. I let some teachers know in case I do not want to talk about certain issues like the war.

The advice I would give my high school self would be to stop stressing out about college applications and enjoy your senior year. If you do not get into your first choice it is not the end of the world and you just have to take advantage of the other great opportunities waiting for you in the future.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to learn how to study and take notes. Thats pretty much the basis of college life. Having these two skills come in handy when one wants to succeed in college. Not only do you need to learn how to study and take notes, but you also have to have good time managment. When your organized you find time to get all of your work done while still being able to have a great social life (and if you don't socialize your college experience will be extremely stressful because its nice to just relax and have fun with friends after a hard days work of racking your brain with studying)

The advice I'd give to myself as a high school senior is to get procrastination out of my system as soon as possible. Due to my procrastination, I struggled a little bit with college life because it was so fast paced and deadlines came up before I knew. Also, doing things at the last minute didn't seem to end with a good grade like they did in my high school career. I believe if I would've fixed my procrastination before I left high school, I'd be sailing on easy street or at least nearby. Procrastination has been my one and only hinderance to my education. Well, I'd also tell my former self to learn how to study which is something that I didn't readily pick up in high school since I never studied nor really ever needed to. College really changed that mentality. After a semester of college, I'd tell myself to quit procrastinating and to invest in a studying strategies guide and learn it well.

I would tell myself to get as many facts as possible about the school. I would get information on the library,health services.transportation and career services. You have to be the one to take this into your own hands. Don't be stupid and with blinders on when starting out. I would also tell myself that it is going to be hard without having your parents help you with all your need. You have to be more independent than you were in high school. Getting help from your college counselor is helpful along with your peers in college. I have grown so much from college. I think know I have learned alot. I think I wouldnt been ready last year. I would tell myself to take one step at a time and to be patient and get all the facts you need. This is the best advice I can give myself.

After receiving mixed advice throughout high school and now experiencing college I would go back and tell myself to give greater respect to the teachers who pushed me to achieve so much more. For those I listened too and those I did not. Their experiences in college probably were quite different then my own but the teachers in my years of high school cared for my education and future. Knowing this I would have achieved so much more if I took all their advice much more seriously.

I would definitely tell myself not to procrastinate! Some of these teachers don't mess around when it comes to due dates and turning that paper in an hour after it is due is not acceptable. Waiting until the last minute doesn't help you out any when you're already under enough stress. I would make sure to tell myself to get stuff done as soon as possible and not leave it until the night before to worry about.

Don't worry, Josh. Things won't always go the way you plan them, but rest assured in knowing they will always work out in the end. That's how they have so far, at least. You may not have the slightest clue what you want to do with yourself for the rest of your life, but you've still got time. You WILL figure it out, even if you change your mind a few times throughout life. One of your strongest points is your ability to adapt to situations. You'll be doing plenty of that in college, and I have little doubt the skill will grow as time passes. I know you, Josh, and I know the biggest adversary you face is your own fear of inadequacy. That somehow you won't make the grade. You know what? That's okay. Everybody's afraid. Use it for something good. Turn that fear around and use it as something to drive and motivate you. Eventually, the fear will disappear altogether, replaced by confidence and pride in what you've accomplished, all in the face of adversity. Just keep doing what you love old friend. You'll do just fine.

I would advise myself to avoid declaring a major until after my first semester. I started out as a business major, however, I became incredibly passionate about the poor, and ended up going into Social Work. By only taking general classes, you can begin to acquire general requirements and sample classes on topics you might be interested in. Something I also would have told myself as a high school senior is to get outside of myself and serve others while in college. Because I do not have classes everyday, I have more time on my hands. I like to volunteer my extra time at an afterschool program. It is so fulfilling and so worth it to impact the lives of those kids.

One of the major things I struggled with my senior year of high school was finally determining my major. Of course I had many things I wanted to do for a living; however, none of them seemed perfect. Since graduating I have changed my major about two times; going from pre-med to nursing. I was so determined to become a doctor that all my other options just were not as important to me. If I could go back and give myself advice, I would tell myself to have an open mind and experience what my school has to offer. Nothing is set in stone and it is perfectly normal to change your mind and adjust as necessary. People go to college to get a degree to do what they love. If you choose too fast, it could be a big mistake. All you need to do is contemplate your options, take advantage of what your university has to offer, and breathe because life takes time but is certainly manageable.

All college alumni's and faculties talk to students about how they need to learn time management, or study skills, and while these are good points, my most important advice is to wait until you have attended a class before purchasing the books. All classes have a reading list when you sign up for the class, but surprisingly, not all of these books will be used. Textbooks range anywhere from $50-$250, and although most schools offer a buy-back program, the money received back is less than spectacular. There was an English book required for my freshman English class, and I just procrastinated on buying the book at the beginning of the semester. We were never assigned any assignments requiring the book. I lucked out by having never bought the book, and saved some of my valuable money.

If I could go back in time and tell myself about college I would say be prepared to have the time of your life, but also to study like you never have before. I would also say you have your entire life to be crazy and do dumb things so try and get through school and get a good steady job so that you can have a great life. It all starts now, this is the rest of your life sitting right before your face so make it well worth your time and your money. If anyone can do it, it is you. Be very driven and motivated, don't let anyone put you down. It is a long road but it will be worth it in four years when you are an amazing nurse!

If I could go back in time I would give myself to visit the campus I was trying to go to more than once. It allows more time to interact with teachers and get a better feel of how the school is run. I would tell myself college work is harder in that their is alot of information to retain and there are not always study guides to help narrow it down. I would tell myself to keep up the good work becuase once I get through the core requirements I get to take fun classes like forensic psychology. I would tell myself to just relax and take it one day at a time. As long as I keep focused on the work that needs to be done I will be fine and be able to succeed in everything I do. And last but not least I would say dont doubt or second guess yourself because you ultimately decide your life so do everything full out, without regret, and with family and laughter becuase small things should never be taken for granted.

I would try and tell myself about the responsibility of the independence that comes with graduating from high school. You can hang out with your friends until 3 AM, but that is not going to get your paper written for Cultural Anthropology, and it is surely not going to help you stay awake for a 2 hour lecture on the sport of Cricket playing in Papua New Guinea. I know that I probably would not have listened. I would have told myself to be more proactive in looking for scholarships during high school. The potential return from of writing a 500 word essay completely eclipses the minimum wage job you take every summer to try and weather the torrent of constant tuition and fee increases. I would tell myself not to worry about getting overwhelmed, get involved, meet new people, take an interesting course and stay busy. Staying busy helps a person stay on top of their responsibilities, you can always cut down when things get too crazy, but it's easy to fill unoccupied hours with Facebook and Netflix. I would tell myself it is all worth it!

The greatest advice I could give to my past self would be to try something new every day. During high school, there were many opportunities to get involved with the school through extracurricular activities and sports. There were times when I was conflicted about whether to try something new- join the volleyball team or see what speech and debate was really like. However, I chose not to pursue these interests and instead focused on the sports and things I was already good at. Now that I am in college I can see that if I had just chosen to try something new, I may not have been the greatest at it, but it could be very fun. College offers many new opportunites to experience different things, but I feel as though I missed something in high school. Now that I have learned from this error, my perspective on life has changed. Just because you aren't the best at something does not mean that you cannot try something new. Life is all about experience. You may fail at some things or exceed in others. The only way to learn about yourself is to try.

Every grade counts! You are going to be making the biggest change of your life, you're moving across the country to start over enjoy your classes and make good friends, its so easy to get lost in the crowd but remember that you can do this you just need to stay focused. You are better than C's so if you get a C don't think "eh, oh well" C's hurt you're GPA and by the time you realize it may be too late. Remember you're morals and remember to be yourself. College can either make you lose who you were or develop into a better you, stay strong, stay confidant and always remember to study.