Central College Top Questions

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would simply say to myself, "Take a deep breath, trust your gut, and have fun!" I would tell myself to take a deep breath and just calm down because I often stressed too much in high school and I still do in college. I now know how important it is to remain stress-free in school because it can affect academic performance as well as emotional well-being. In high school and the beginning of my college career I wish I had known how important gut feelings are and how they will always be the strongest feelings you will have. One major thing that I wish I had known was how important it is to have fun and savor the memories I made in high school and the memories I am making now, in college. High school and college only happen once and the people I meet and memories I make will last me a lifetime!

If I could go back, I would tell myself to breathe, because no matter how hard I thought it was going to be, I would survive. Coming to college can be scary and a large adjustment, but if you surround yourself around positive people and continue to look forward even when everything is not going your way, you will make it through. Most of all, never give up on your dreams because someone else told you so. If you can find something that makes you truly happy, stick with it, because if you work for something that you love, it won't really be work; it will be fun. Lastly, make sure that you stay close to your parents. Even though college is your chance to get away and be free, without their support, times could get rough. Remeber that they have always been there for you, and always will be, even in the worst of times.

Zach! Listen up closely because what I am going to tell you is very important and will give you a head start compared to everybody else. You are going to double major in Biology and Biochemistry once you get to school and be a pre-med student. You need to take every possible AP class available to get you Gen Eds. out of the way. Especially take AP English so you get your writing intensive finished for your first year here. Also, if you take many AP classes you will already have a very good idea of the study habits you will need in college to get good grades. This will help you transition smoothly into the academics of college. Then, once you get here take what you need for classes first so you can take what you want later in your academic career. In addition, show initiative by talking to your professors about extra credit opportunities, work study, or even doing research with them. This will lead to getting to know your professors better so you have a personal connection with them. Finally, for the social aspect, say "Yes!" often to opportunities but use it wisely.

I would advise myself to stay focused on my academic studies, and give my future after high school some serious thought. This would require things like, observing other people and gaining some insight about many different goals people set for themselves. From watching siblings, other relatives and friends that have already gone on to college and transitioning into adulthood, you can get a better feel for what direction you would like for your life to go. Next the soundest advice would be to make sure that whatever you choose to do as a career, it’s something you enjoy doing, and be confident that's what you really want to do until retirement. In addition have a back-up-plan, something else you can do to make a living just in case your other plans do not work. Finally I would advise myself to be ambitious and not loose sight of my goals.

I would tell myself to start saving my money freshman year.

If I could talk to my high school senior self, I would have given the advice to to be patient when getting into college. Going into college I was very eager to succeed right away; get good grades, make best friends, become well-known on campus, etc. However, after attending my first year of college I found that all these things did not come right away. In fact, I feel that many of them have yet to come in my sophomore year. But, that is just fine. Just because these may not all happen during your freshman year does not mean you are failure. It just means that you are still finding how to manage your time, and figure out which priority comes first on your list.

If I could go back in time, I would tell myself as a high school senior, to get more involved. I would try to participate in more extra curricular activities and other programs outside of school. I have never been a big joiner, but now that I am on campus, I wish I had. It is kind of hard for me to get used to joinging clubs and activities, since I have always avoided them. Joining activities in high school would have helped me open up a little and made things easier now in college. Clubs and activities in college help relieve stress and give you an outlet for energy and socialization.

I have gained a ton of friends that I will never forget, and have met some wonderful professors that will help me when and if I need it.

This is my first year in College. To my regret, I wish that I would have had a counselor that would have explained to me the classes that I actually would need in order to go to a 4 year college. Now at the Community College I am attending, I am having to take classes that I should have taken in high school to be able to transfer to a 4 year college. Unfortunately there are so many people attending the Community Colleges at the moment that it is hard to get into your classes that you need and actually have a schedule where you can have a part time job on the side. I am glad that I was able to actually go to College and do believe that because I am driven, that I will succeed in being able to complete the requirements need to attend a 4 year College. I look back on my high school days and totally wish I would have put more emphasis on what I would need once I graduated in order to be able to attend a college and not a community college.

I have gained a lot in college. Physically I haven't gained much more than a few pounds, but mentally I have grown a large amount. I have learned a lot about myself through living on my own. I have discovered what I believe is my true self by creating a brand new friend base and becoming a far more responsible young adult. Of course, I have learned a lot in my college majors of physics and mathematics, but through self discovery I want to change my major in order to become a councilor after college. I have experienced many kids' hardships in discipline, money problems, family issues, and academic load. I try to help these people as much as I can and through listening to their stories I have managed to avoid any major issues myself. I have had more experiences in college than I can fit in a 200 word essay, but to sum most of my experiences I can say that I have opened my eyes to what really is important to life and that hard work can take anyone to the places they want to be.