Chaminade University of Honolulu Top Questions

When I was in high school, I thought planning for college and my future would be so easy. I thought it was just knowing what college I wanted to go to, what I wanted to major in, and what career I saw myself in. I was completely wrong. I didn't think of the finance, the courses i would have to take, how many credits I want to start with, the tuition, where I would stay and so much more. I should have done deep research about college. Preparing for college academically, for example high school GPA, wasn't so hard but it didn't mean i was prepared completely. The most important thing i had to do was to prepare ahead of time which is something i still need to do. An advice I would give myself is do deep research and prepare. If I was still a high school senior, I would ask college students about college life concerning academics, resident, social, mentally, and emotionally. I would searchdifferent scholarships that will help with my tuition, learn more about financial aid, and much more. I just have to be prepared.

Amy, Since you will be starting at Chaminade's nursing program next fall I have some advice for you. First, if you take the bus in the morning, remember a blanket. It gets cold and you will thank me for the sleep you can catch up on. Second, remember your academic planner and find an accountability partner. Calendars are nice physical reminders of due dates and accountability will help keep your goals out in the open. Finally, save up your money accordingly and look for as many scholarship opportunities you can. I know finishing this last high school semester was hard and your brother finally out of the psychiatric hospital took a toll on your drive. But, you are strong, dedicated, and have proven you are ready for college. Do not take my word on it, listen to your mom because she is normally right (okay more than normally). College is still like high school in that they both are for hopes of a better education. In a couple weeks or so, maybe even less, you will feel at ease. Sincerely with much blessings, Wisdom from an undergraduate.

Knowing what I know now about college I would tell my high school self to not worry about what the future holds and to explore. Explore whatever interests you, take courses that spark your curiosity, and learn more about yourself. I entered college with a set plan of studying business and getting my degree in business. My first year of college I took business courses without even really thinking out what I wanted to do with that degree and I only chose that path for the sole reason because I wanted to graduate with something within four years and get a job as soon as I could. I slowly realized after taking a bunch of business courses that I was unhappy and I wanted to seek something else. So my second year I did just that, I explored with art courses that led me to interior design. I believe that taking that time to enroll in different courses and learning about what I liked and didn’t like helped me to learn more about myself and what majors interested me.

Going to a large college without visiting it can be difficult. Make the effort to visit so you can see what all is involved with the amounts of people, etc. Make some visits to smaller colleges, too. But what matters most can be the friends you make. You may feel overwhelmed by the number of people at school, but you are not the only one who feels that way, and what is going to make all the difference once you get used to it, are your friends. These are life long relationships, and they want to support you, so don't be afraid to open up. As far as feeling alone with difficulty in engineering, again, you are not the only one. Talk to your friends about it. Try talking to a career counselor about what you like to DO, what classes do you take because you enjoy, not what you're good at in school or what you think you should do because you feel like you have to find the hardest thing.

Being a college student has been both tremendous and challenging. Tremendous in having the oportunity to expand my academic horizons and work hard to achieve my dreams. It has been challenging in always trying to make sure I had enough funding available and falling back when my family encountered challenging times. I was a successful student in high school; so successful that I felt invincible to every challenge that came my way. Little did I know that one day, I'd face the rare challenge of seeing my family fall apart and at the time, try to keep myself together. If I could go back to being my high school self, I'd say, "Don't forget why you're leaving your family. Everything you do from here on out is for them. Despite the hardships that will come your way, don't ever let it take your eyes off the goal of completing college. Don't forget that your every accomplishment is a step closer to a beautiful home, being able to help mom pay for the electricity on time, and health insurance for dad." With scholarship opportunities, determination, and faith, I'm back and ready to succeed.

If I were to go back to myself as a high school senior, the best advice that I could give myself is to be determined. I believe determination would help a student strive for the best in producing quality work. In addition, being determined benefit students in times of stress or when school-work can be quite overwhelming, it serves a motivation for a student to work harder.

Hello 18 year old Jenny, I’m Jenny from the future. I would like to let you know that your life is about to change and be ready for the ride of your life. I know you might be tempted to go to the beach every day since you are leaving boring old Massachusetts and heading to beautiful Hawaii, but STAY FOCUSED. Most importantly balance your time and get a job. The money situation will be tight but hold on because if you work hard and higher your GPA, you can get the school scholarship (which you’ll end up getting by the way). It might seem hard at first to be balanced but it is possible and worth it. Another good bit of advice is sign up for as much scholarships as you possibly can because you don’t want to be struggling. Please take my advice because if I knew this now I would be in a much better position financially. Be responsible and have the time of your life! ***BINGS BACK TO THE FUTURE**** ( where I hopfully win this scholarship ) :D

I started my college career right after high school and by the end of my first semester I discovered I was not ready for college and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. I have called the Marine Corps my home for the past twelve years and I have no regrets for leaving school early to join. However, if I had the opportunity to go back and talk to myself, I would certainly express the importance of setting goals to focus on during college and showing the discipline to finish the course work to obtain a degree. Express to myself how fulfilling and satisfying if was to obtain my Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees. More importantly I would have at least forced myself to complete an Associate’s degree before entering the military. Thus making the attainment of a Bachelor's degree that much easiler and I would have been able to do it in a shorter time period.

You can never do too many scholarships!!! Those nights that I wanted to just hang with my friends or be lazy at home doing nothing, that time should have been for applying for more scholarships. Unless you are born with a silver spoon, college is pretty expensive for most people. You are going to need as much financial help as possible during the minimal four years of college. Especially for the students that plan on going to school out of state. Tuition is extremely high for non residents, and that doesnt even include if you are going to city with a higher cost of living or not. Nevertheless, do not limit yourself to attending schools that are close to home or with "friends." 99.9{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the time you will lose touch with those high school "friends" anyway. But choosing to go far from home for school not only intoduces you to a new world of opportunities, cultures, and life; but it ultimately expands your horizons for a more exciting,worthwhile future.

Talitha, please attend college directly after High School! The reason that I urge you to do this is because with higher education comes freedom. The freedom to go any where and still have the ability to get not just a job, but a great job! It allows for financial freedom! It allows for freedom in everyway! Attending right out of High School allows for an easier transition as you will go from attending school to attending college. It also saves time! It saves the many wasted years of trying to succeed but never really getting any where. The transition is easiest if done immediately.