Champlain College Top Questions

College is more than the campus you walk through and the classes you take. It's a time of your life the flies by faster than high school ever did. It's the last time you will ever be made to read and write and do home work. You might feel elated by this as a high school senior, but let me tell you, as a college senior, you are saddened. This is the last time you will ever be made to read and write and do home work. The last time. So enjoy every second of it! Enjoy the all-nighters and the twenty page research papers and the chapters upon chapters of reading, because this is it. Delve into everything your teachers give you. Don't brush it aside. Live it and learn it and question it with vigour. Treat everything you're taught like it's the last thing you'll be taught because in four years that feel like four days, it will be. When you're finally on that stage and you get that diploma, feel grateful and take all you've learned and promise yourself that this is not the end, but the beginning.

I would tell myself to keep doing my work, stay in school even when times are tough and listen to my teachers and parents! There is a whole world out there to discover and good times are ahead of you!

Dear Colleen, At 2:00 PM today, you will officially be a high school graduate. At 2:44 PM, you, still in cap and gown, will be at the town transfer station, selling cold soda in an entrepreneurial effort to make the $2,000 you need to accept your place at your first choice college. Graduation parties can wait—you need to be sure down to the last lucky penny. Don’t worry. You’ll make enough to pay your first semester, and second semester, you’ll pull three nine-hour-days a week to pay it again. And still, don’t worry. Come junior year, you’ll spring the $400 to travel for Spring Break and you’ll make eight new friends working with Habitat for Humanity more than one thousand miles from home. And you’ll still have enough to send home when Rachel has the accident, and you’ll still, somehow, have $2,000 to your name when you start applying for scholarships again before your last year of college. Money isn’t everything. Money isn’t even anything. Make your living, and live your life—don’t worry. Love Colleen

If I could go back in time, my advice would be the obvious stuff. Work harder in high school and you will have a better chance of being successful in college. Teachers always told me that I was doing okay and I hardly put any effort in. I was a B/C student, but you don't realize how hard you need to work until you enter college. I also wish I had focused more on getting better grades. I'm attending a school that costs 44k per year. Scholarships come easier for those who were successful in high school.

Assuming I could return to advise myself as a high school senior, there is one lesson that I would have benefited from immensely. After graduating, I was unsettled about my lack of career and education plan -- I had assumed the path would have become clear by then. Consequently, I spent two years fretfully considering a course of action, feeling as though I had to race to make up for my tardiness. I was unaware until later that this was a common struggle among recent graduates. Were I able to return to that worried eighteen year old, I would explain to her that there is no right or standard path to be taken, that finding the best path for me might take some time, and that education is, really, a journey that should be continued throughout life. I have learned the important lesson that this journey does not end abruptly when the standard stopwatch runs out of time. If I could advise my younger self, I would tell her to take her time, that it is okay, there is no rush. This is one lesson that I would have benefited from, and I want to share it with current students too.

Your closest friends still sometimes make mistakes. Don't write letters when you are angry. Sometimes understanding your perspective means abandoning their own, and they can't just do that because you ask them too (even if you think you are right). If someone is unwilling to bend to fix a problem, you should not be so concerned with your relationship with them. You should not have to bend over backwards for someone who won't bend for you. Your family will be your best friends if you let them and your worst enemies if you don't; get your attitude right. They will always love you. When you need to rock the boat, make sure you don't capsize. It is okay to eat your feelings every now and then, just don't make it a habit. It is okay to revise your beliefs once and a while. It is healthy to admit you are wrong on a regular basis. Ask for help when you need it. Try new things, it will help you get over your fear of change. Enjoy your life, because it is actually pretty cool.

"Don't feel you have to put up with something negative that you have the ability to change." I was placed (as a single child and native Vermonter) in a dorm room with three extremely bossy and disrespectful girls from Massachusettes who all had siblings. This was too much to deal with on top of settling into college and keeping up with my academics. Although my grades didn't slip, my social life was essentially non-existant. I would go home for a weekend to visit my family and get away, and I would come back to find dirty dishes and laundry all over my bed and my space that didn't belong to me. I became very depressed because I wasn't making friends. This was a really dark time for me. Eventually I decided that I'd had enough and made a room change by the second semester. I began making friends and am now currently living with a best friend and roommate of over two years! Having the power to change my environment to suit my needs was a valuable lesson I learned my freshman year, and what a difference it has made.

I haven't started my college experience yet, but I will be very shortly. I hope to gain perspective and a more helpful, friendly attitide towards others.

So far, I've really enjoyed college. I feel like it's really expanding and changing how I think in a very positive way. The lectures, the discussions, I love them both. Just hearing my peers opinions and thoughts, no matter how different from my own, is always a worthwhile experience for me and I'd never stop attending college, no matter what.

As a professional, I was at first scared and anxious to return to college at the age of twenty-six. My experience so far at Champlain College has been both positive and encouraging. The professors are extremely helpful and open. I am constantly motivated to share my opinions and look forward to attendning classes every day. How many students can honestly say that! The benefit to attending college in such a small state/city is that many of the professors have ties to local businesses, allowing students access to internships and job opportunities. I am truly blessed to attend such a beautiful college, nestled in the middle of Lake Champlain and rolling mountains.

College has shown me who I am. I have realized my potential and am now working harder then ever to fufill it. I also see what a hugh impact someone with my major, criminal justice can make. I have also gained more direction in my life. I now know that I either want to work in the FBI or become a lawyer in the foster care system.

Diz, You got out of that house and have your freedom, but you need to make sure that you don't loose focus. I know having three roommates is not ideal but you just need to find other places to relax and get work done (your dorm has a great stoop with big stone steps and a bench!). Don't get caught up in new romances with people, especially not ones in your dorm because then you will dread doing laundry, because it will not help you in the long run. You will face challenges that you need to overcome because if you want to work for the federal government they will know what you did. Trust me, they go there. And as much as I don't want you to repeat high school where you worked away so much of your time, you need to prepare for the troubles to come. Also, just sell your car. It is going to die within the next year anyways and let's be honest it has been nothing but trouble and sucked up all your money. Buy a horse.

I sometimes think when looking back on my highschool career, I wish I took more time to spend that extra few minutes on studying or more time on homework, I tell myself that I would be placed with more opportunities. This is all true but I also believe that everything happens for a reason and I was given the opportunity to attend the great school that I am at now. If I could go back and talk to myself as a senior I'd tell myself spend less money,save for all that was needed to be paid for. I'd say dont stress out, get things done as they come, to make friends and to have balance. Lastly I would tell my little senior self to spend a massive amount of time with my friends and family, especially my family. I found that I missed them far way more than I thought I would have, my school is a almost 5 hour drive it is hard to get home when I just want to give my parents, siblings or pets a big hug. I would give myself a small tip, bring a lot of quarters for the laundry machines.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would tell myself so many things! First I would tell myself to calm down. I remember my unbelievable nervousness about the transition from little high school to big college and from living with my parents to barely seeing them; but in the end it really wasn't that bad! I was worried about making new friends and keeping my focus on my schoolwork but each has come easily to me here. I would tell myself to prepare more while still in high school, such as developing productive studying methods and better time-management skills. I would encourage myself to take more pride in my work and exert greater confidence.

Research your school, visit and ask students lots of questions!

My advice to parents and/or students is to first seek out a location where you feel comfortable, yet you still feel that you have room to grow. I would personally reccomend a small college, which enables you to have a connection with the professors. Choose a school that offers your major but don't worry whether or not your school specializes in that specific division. College is about acquiring basic knowledge for the real world; it's about learning how to learn. Many of the skills you require for your major are mastered in an internship or on the job. No one knows what the future will bring, so do all you can now to learn for the sake of learning simply to better yourself; the rest will come with time and practice.

I believe that visiting colleges is very importaint. Visiting is how you really get a feel for the kind of people at the school and if you think that you would fit in well. Also to look at more than just what the freshman housing and classes are like. Look at the types of housing available for the upperclassmen, and what kinds of classes and internships you have to do as an upperclassmen.

Visit the schools you're looking at, it's probably one of the most important things you can do. You get a sense of what the environment is like, especially if you go during the school year when students are taking classes. You get a better sense of the scope of the school in person than you do from select pictures on the school's website. Also, try to go to a school with a lot of majors so if you change your mind after first or second semester there's a better chance the school will have what your interested in and you won't have to readjust to another school. Many students change their mind about their major after experiencing it. Finally, be outgoing, people are usually really friendly and are looking for new friends like you.

Right down a list of exactly what you want to find in a college (classroom size, location, activities, etc.), then rate your selections based on this information. Also, make sure you visit ALL the colleges of your choice because you really do get the feeling like "this is the place for you" when you step onto the campus that is right. Definitely get involved with things such as orientation because this is the time to make friends, and get involved once on campus. No one needs to know about your high school life, so now is the chance for you to become who you want to be and portray the image you choose. Make sure you do plenty of research on as many schools as possible before making your decision. And don't go just because all your current friends are going!

Visit every school you may be interested in. Take a tour, talk to faculty and students, and explore the surrounding area. If you can, sit in on a class. Meet with the financial aid office to ensure you are getting the best package possible. Once you know who your roommates are, talk to them and work out what you're each going to bring and your interests and pet peeves. Lastly, make sure you get insurance on your phone. They fall in pitchers, puddles, and toilets far too often.