Collin County Community College District Top Questions

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior I would make many recommendations. First off, just because a good amount of students at your high school are able to afford a four year university, this does not mean you have to attend one. Angie, check out all of your options, use your resources, just because others have an idea of what they want to do or where they want to go, doesn't mean they came to the conclusion on their own behalf. Don't be afraid to ask for help! Talk with your parents about what might be best for you. Realize that you don't have to be embarrassed when it may take you longer to finish your education, if you allow yourself to get embarrassed you won't continue with your journey. Consider a community college as a REAL option, not a go between to be able to say you're in school every couple of semesters. If you use it as a "go between" and not take it seriously then you will end up where "future Angie is today." Nine years later finally figuring out, that it can be done!

In the past four months, I have often said that exact phrase, if only I knew then what I know now! This past fall I returned to college to follow my childhood dream. I am currently attending classes at Collin College, in Plano, Texas. I was laid off for a year with no luck finding a new job. I've spent fifteen years as a restaurant manager and wasnt very happy with my life. I just completed my first semester back to school. I made the 'President's List' with a 4.0 GPA. It was the first time I had ever accomplished something so spectacular! I am convinced that I made the right decision. If I could go back in time, I only have one thing to say to myself, "Do whatever you have to do to finish your edcation, Sandy!

I want to give all high-school students an advice before going into college. first, do not worry about money, fill out your fafsa if necesary and that will help you get a load of you back. Second, when you are trying to decide where to study, do not go by "what my friends are going to go to" it is very important that you concentrate on yourself. dont worry about other friends and where they are going to school. distractions can become your worst enemy. Third, give yourself enought time for school. do not take extra credits if you think you are going to be pressured. remember that exam week can become really stressfull. we all deal with jobs, friends, family, sports, homeworks and some extra things but you have to remember that without school you wont go ant farther. so give it the importance that it dicerves. And last, organize yourself, try to make the correct decitions. it is alwayse good to have a ggod relationship with your teachers that way you feel more confident with then and they will help you with anything you need, dont be a extranger.

If I could go back and talk to myself during my senior year, I would tell myself that I need to volunteer more and I would also tell myself that if I work just a little harder, my grades would have improved dramatically. I feel that volunteering helps your chances of getting a scholarship, and I spent my entire high school career doing theatre after school and working. It was difficult to balance work, school and theatre in one day. I would also tell myself that grades are a big deal, and even though I made decent grades, with just a little more effort, I could have done amazingly.

I would tell myself to do exactly the same thing I have already done. I would take my core classes each semester until I figured out what I wanted to major in, and in the meantime, I would try to find jobs that reflect my own desires and strengths, in order to find an idea of which careers I might want to pursue. I would focus on my priorities, make good grades, and not let anyone tell me that I could not be successful in whatever career I might choose. I would tell myself that anything is possible if I do the work and effort into something that I am passionate about.

College opens people up to all kinds of new things, but at some point they need to evaluate what is good and what is bad. Luckily it only took me a semester to start to grow up. Though I know I was young when I got a good work ethic; I would have liked the knowledge in high school. Since I have been on my own I have realized how expensive everything is, and though I consider myself financially savvy, I can not imagine paying all the bills my mom had to pay throughout my life. Knowing how much everything is makes me want to work hard and study even harder, because I don't only want to make money now, but in the future. If I could go back and tell my high school self anything I would say stop being so lazy and study, you have great potential, and be nicer to your mom! High school was only a year ago for me, but those life lessons are so valuable that the sooner they are learned the better.

The advice I would give myself would be , First, work on scholarships well before your senior year. The longer you put if off, the harder it will be to finish. Second, DO NOT SLACK OFF YOUR SENIOR YEAR! It is a very good idea to try really hard and take the classes that you know will be challenging. This will give you a good head start for college. Last, but not least, visit colleges and get a good idea of what you want to major in. College visits can be very fun and knowledgeable. Be smart when deciding where to go and make sure to get the most out of the college of your choice.

To be honest, I think I did really well in my high school decisions. I do think I could have took a little more time out of my week to do more research on scholarships. I now realize that money doesn't grow on trees. As for my family, they really don't help out much with my spending costs as they used to when I lived with them. So, that makes me want to apply myself and time to apply for more scholarships. Also, I think I could have lowered my standards from looking at universities and just looked for cheap community colleges. They do the exact same thing as a University, except cost a lot cheaper. I had my mind set to the University of Texas at Austin, but when it came down to it with no financial aid, I realized that community college was my best choice. I also would have pushed myself to learn how to study. I didn't really have to study much in high school because I understood in class. You really have to learn how to juggle your studying, with your social life and your job. After that, it's a breeze.

If I could go back in time, I should have applied for scholarships and studied harder. I went straight from High School to this training school and got my medical assistant certification. I wish I started college right away or applied for nursing school. But life is full of suprises, so I went back to school in 2006 part time. I believe it would have been much easier to stay in college right after I graduated .

As a high school senior I was convinced college wasn't for me and that I did not have the intelligence to do well in my classes. I would tell myself that showing up and getting to know my professors will help me the do well in class. Do not procrastinate is a very important message that I unfortunately had to learn the hard way. I would say even though I may not like a professor I can still learn in the class by being open to every thing that goes on and using the materials needed for the class. Some more important advice would be to check for my books on amazon since the book store can be overpriced. Also always carry scantrons especially final exam week. The most important advice would be to have confidence in myself and not to give up even if I feel so overwhelmed by all the work I sometimes have.