Clarkson University Top Questions

Learn how to study more effectively, especially for subjects that are not interesting to you. The most valuable lessons you take away from high school are more about learning strategies than it is about absorbing information. Use college to learn more about thinking critically and analytically, not just how to spit back information to prove you have learned it. Question more to get everything you can out of everyone who teaches you. Following your own passion is more important than following a career path that someone else thinks is more beneficial. You do not have to know what you want to be "when you grow up" but you need to do what you love, no matter how many hurdles seem to be in the way. There is always a way to pay for everything if you work hard enough to find it, so take every opportunity you can to explore other places. Always choose to learn from experience rather than out of textbooks. Most importantly, learn to find and celebrate pride in what you have accomplished but never, ever let that be enough. Always strive for more from your teachers, your mentors, your peers, and most importantly, yourself.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior knowing what i know noe about college life and making the transition I would tell myself to always be focused and have my mind on the future. It is easy to lose touch with the world and lose motivation if you steer away from your original passions or motivations. In particular this may happen as a resut of discouragement due to a bad test grade and the such. Grades are important but under the surface your reputation as an engineer stems from your knowlege and intelligence rather than your grade, so i now constantly remind myself that its the studying that counts. I would also stress the prudence of evaluating mistakes so that they don't happen again , especially those mistakes that arise from poor studying.

I would warn myself that college is not like high school. You need to study more and get help from professors when needed. I would also tell myself to relax and enjoy the time at college; it is hard work, but I can do it. I would tell myself to pace well and apply for as many scholarhips as possible. I would encourage myself to join a club, like the ECO or sustainability clubs right from the start because they help the environment and make real changes around campus. I would lastly tell myself to believe in myself; that I know who I am and that I can do anything that I set my mind to.

It gives me the ability to obtain knowledge and the passion to pursue my interested research areas. In addition, this university offers me a lot of experience to communicate with people and skills to solve problems.

My father never graduated college. Three and three-fourths years into his experience he stopped. Never returned. This haunted him throughout his life. Not in the way that drives some people to addiction and depression, it was something subtler than that. Something that rarely came out. Something that was really only noticeable if you knew to look and if you were looking. Something that, truthfully, would have been impossible to know in any view but retrospect. There are only three people in this world that know that he never graduated. None of us know why and none of us ever will. For two of us, this is something that carries its own subtle weight in its own subtle way. The difference for me is that I understand what that mix of shame and pride in his eye was when I accomplished something. The difference for me is that, no matter his past, he still built the future he wanted for me and I can remember that look simply as pride. Just pride.

Be involved with a number of different groups, all of which do different things, and overlap very little. Then narrow down the number of groups that you are in so that the five groups that you want to be in get the time that they deserve. The groups are vague. There could be the group of people that you sit with at lunch, that?s a group. There are the people that do yoga with you, that?s a group. The people that you live with are a group. The people that you worked with on the group project also count. Once you have your groups that you enjoy hanging out with: expand. Spend some time with one particular person from one group and meet their friends. Then meet their friends? friends. Soon you?ll meet someone that you already know. The circle will be complete and you can start again. Doing this means you know a lot of people, and if you spend enough time in each group then these people will see you as a person that they enjoy hanging around.

Given the opportunity to go back in time and speak to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to better research the weather and climate of my accepted school, so that the fiasco which happened my freshmen year when it became apparent I was totally unprepared for such a cold climate would not have happened. Transitioning from a high school in Texas, to a University in New York (almost Canada), I was in no way prepared for the temperature difference, and until I had acquired the proper clothing and knowledge, the beginning of freshman year was fairly miserable and cold. The experience definitely brought about a sense of humility, and taught me more abruptly, the consequences of a lack of preparation. Despite being a good learning experience, I would not wish that frigid experience on anyone.

If I was to go back in time as a high school student knowing what I have been through this past semester, I would have to tell myself that I need a strict study schedule. I would also tell myself that not to let peer pressure influence what I know to be the right things to do, even though everyone else is partying and out havig a good time, That there will be time for all that later. Also that there is a time and place to go have fun without the influence of drugs and alcohol. Always remember that your family and close friends are there for support.

The knowledge and experience I have gained through college has transformed my lifestyle completely from high school. First year transition was rough and I went through life lesson moments. I would tell myself to always stay true to what I want to do; to not get caught up in the new lifestyle, but explore on my terms. I would read more books and newspapers to enhance my vocabulary and become knowledgeable of what is going on in my community to the world. I should never stop learning. I would have liked to have more of a mindset that there is so much more out there and the opportunities are endless. College has opened up so many doors and has let me see what I am capable of and how strong I am. I know when I was in high school I did not always believe in myself or thought I was limited to options, to opportunities really. But through everything I have gone through I have done more than I thought I would accomplish in a lifetime. I would tell myself that everything will be okay, that I will experience some ups and downs, but that I will be happy.

Think long and hard about your decisions in the future. You never know what is coming around the corner so be prepared and focused to handle whatever situation comes your way. Also have fun!