Augustana University Top Questions

Augustana College places a high value on community. When I came here, I expected to maybe find a few close friends. Instead, I have met some of the best people I know-- and the college has given me the tools to realize who is in my true community. My community includes everyone around me; my friends and teachers, the people of Sioux Falls, and my neighbors around the world. Coming to Augie has given me a more enriched world view and has allowed me to look at the world from different perspectives. Where Augustana lacks in size, it makes up for in heart. The students here care about each other and the world around them, and that's one value that I will take with me for the rest of my life.

I have found myself and my lifelong goals. I went into college not sure of what I wanted to do with my life, but through the classes and career help I was able to narrow my options and choose an educational path that is both engaging and fun for me. I have also found some lifelong friends at college from varying backgrounds and from different majors. They have introduced me to many activities that I now find the most enjoyable and wish I would have known about sooner. I believe my college experience has changed me into the person I am now, and I've definitely matured at college and accepted myself and others more than I ever have in the past. It has brought me closer to others and closer to myself.

If I could send a message back to my graduation, I would tell myself to take more chances. As the classic overachiever, I spent my early college years playing it safe: keeping my nose clean, attending a school close to home, studying topics I already knew, taking classes from teachers who shared my strongly conservative values. I avoided many opportunities to grow by keeping my boundaries small, afraid of where rejection, uncertainty, or failure might lead. It's been thirteen years since I graduated from high school. This fall I will return to college, finishing my degree to expand the margins I should have stretched when I was younger. I wish my teenaged self had realized how many topics are worth exploring and how much you can gain from being rejected. Shaw said that youth is wasted on the young, and as I gain experience I see what he meant; now I know more of the largeness of the world, but three children and a mortgage limit my ability to discover it. The distinctive strengths of youth are best traversed by the young -- once gone, those opportunities are much harder to catch.

Understand the balance between work and fun. Learning this skill is crucial - not only to success in college, but also to the rest of your life. A well-balanced individual is familiar with two nuggets of knowledge: that dedication and hard work are vital to personal success, and that relaxation and strong relationships are necessary in shaping a joy-filled life. Upon reaching college, you will learn quickly that collegiate courses are significantly more difficult than in high school. Don't let your intellectual capabilities go to waste! Set your goals high - soon you'll find yourself reaching them. Remember that studying is work - not leisure. If you approach your work with the right attitude, you'll soon find it rewarding. Many college students try to work at college, and see fun as an irresistable evil. Don't make this mistake! Make conscious decisions to relax, make friends, and enjoy your time Remember that fun should be intentional. With the right attitude, your leisure will enhance your life. Work hard, have fun. Mastering this paradox may not make you all-powerful, but it is one way to help better your college experience and the rest of your life. Good luck!

Given the opportunity to approach my high school self I would love to tell her that no matter what my final college decision is, that I will be happy and find my place in the community wherever I go. In the midst of my senior year I saw my college decision as one of the hardest and most important of my life. I now realize that no matter what my final choice had been, I would have found a place to fit in and be happy with wherever I was. Understanding now how I can make the best of any situation I would remind my high school self that wherever the wind blows me, that I will land in a nice place; the surroundings may vary but I will always be the same person at heart and will find myself in any city, any state, and at any school.

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior I would remind myself that plans change and that this is not a bad thing. It's not that no one has ever told me that plans can change during college, I simply never gave the concept much thought. As a high school senior I thought I knew what I wanted to do with my life. However, when I entered college last fall I decided to change my major within the first week of classes. It was kind of a nerve wracking experience, full of uncertainty and anxiety. I had no idea what I might want to go into, but I knew that my current major just wasn't right for me after all. So, I decided to switch to an undeclared major. Here I am now, half way through my freshman year, still undeclared and completely content. I?ve realized that I have time to figure out what I?m interested in pursuing. Though I made it through the transition from "declared" to "undeclared" major it would have been helpful to remember from the start that this change is fairly common for new college students.

College will be the greatest time of your life. You will find lifelong friends here. Your education will take many paths, but you will find your way through it all.

Look for the hidden gems. Augie is a small, private, Liberal-arts college in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (a.k.a. the Middle of Nowhere!), and yet it's arguably one of the best schools in the upper midwest. Over 80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of our students who apply get into medical school, and the Augustana Band and Choir have done international tours in places like China, Tanzania, South Korea, and Spain. A college need not be a huge state university or a famous name in order to provide an outstanding education and experience.

When going to school for undergraduate, do not focus solely on finding your one thing you want to do with your life and beat it to death. Learning how to love to learn is the most important and integral tool you can ever develop. With this college is no longer a chore, but development of who you are. So do not get too caught up in concentrating solely on your major. Figure out a a few fields you'd like, take courses in them as well as from other fields too. By the end of freshman or into sophomore year you should have a feel for what you want and you can go from there. Be diverse in your education, you've got your whole life to do work in your major.

First, look for colleges with academic programs and student activities that interest the student, as well as college and class sizes, religious affiliation, and surrounding population size. Next, tour the campus to get a feel for it and see if it is the right fit. The student should see if they are comfortable and can visualize themselves there. Besides touring, students should talk to professors and current students, and eat in the cafeteria. Once at your campus as a student, it's important to meet new people and get involved, even if doing so feels slightly out of your comfort zone at first. Having a feeling of belonging to an organization, club, or sport can help a new student fit in sooner and feel connected to their college. Having your dorm room door open while you are in it, especially during the first weeks of school, invites other students to stop in, say hi, and make new friends. Form study groups for classes that are tougher or go to designated tutors - students who are smart use tutors in college to keep up with classwork and understand concepts. Finally, balance socializing and schoolwork to make the most of your college experience.