Colorado State University-Fort Collins Top Questions

I have learned a great deal of new things during my first year in college, but being able to go back and give myself advice would be a huge advantage. I have enjoyed all parts of my college except for a few exceptions. I love the location and chance to play sports, but I do not like the large numbers that attend my school (20000). I would tell myself to follow my heart and travel out of state to a smaller school, which hopefully offers a chance to continue playing sports.

Although senior year of high school was one of the best years of my life, I would tell myself to take more AP classes. Work on getting ahead so that in college I wouldn't have to take classes that "weed-out" students who aren't up to snuff. I would try and get as much college done in high school so that I wouldn't have to worry about all the prerequisites. If I mess up one semester, that could mean an extra year of college which I can't afford. Still have fun, but remember that all the hard work now will pay off big in college. The teachers in high school are more caring than professors in college.

I would tell myself to stay in school and to study hard. I would tell myself that it is extremely important to get good grades and to strive to get A's in all my courses. I would tell myself to be involved on campus and to start thinking about my future career goals early. I would tell myself to explore all my interests and take advantage of any opportunities to study abroad or to volunteer internationally. I would tell myself to be disciplined when it comes to due dates and deadlines and not to procrastinate or wait till the last minute to complete assignments. I would tell myself to get my writings published and to make sure to get acquainted with staff and faculty as they will come in handy when applying for scholarships. I would also tell myself to apply for any and all scholarships that are available because you never know which ones you will win and the more scholarships you earn the better off you will be financially in college.

What would I do, given the chance to speak with the girl I was in high school? What would I say? I think I?d start with the practicalities: Unless you are a genius you won?t keep a 3.8 in college. Don?t obsess over it. Start studies and projects early. You can't breeze by in college. If you're having trouble in a class by the first test, get tutoring. There?s nothing shameful in it. If you?re doing badly by the third test, drop the class. ?Withdrawn? looks a lot better than ?F?, and you?ll have to retake either way. Don?t hate yourself if classmates are doing well while you struggle. Ask them how they do it. Panicking before exams doesn't help. Niether does cramming. Trust me. Caffine, despite what people say, is no substitute for sleep. Then I'd tell myself something truly important: The world is meant to be explored. Try everything. As my last piece of advice, I'd say "Stop bieng afraid. Most of the things you dread are going to happen. But they're not going to destroy you. They're going to make you learn."

College is not all about fun and learning about time management. College is about sacrifice. Once you?re at peace with this fact, integrating into college will be relatively easy. What you don?t know about college is that no one can have it all. By the end of four years you will be either a socialite, serious scholar, or a regular student. The socialite is the college student who will go out almost every night (or at least every weekend) and party throughout first and second semester. The serious scholar is the student who will diligently go to the library to study. And the regular student is the student still trying to figure out which of the afore mentioned students he or she wants to be. Spend your first semester as a regular student. Find out through your own ways which student you want to be. Your decisions do have consequences! So don?t do anything reckless and keep in mind that having fun at parties are even better when that 5 page essay doesn?t loom over your head throughout the night.

The richest and most successful king of ancient Israel once gave an example of wisdom: an ant. An ant doesn't have someone telling it what to do, nor does it have a five year plan, but it works it's butt off and stores food and therefore lives through the winter. I would reiterate these lessons to my high school self, if I were able to, along with their inherant real life applications: work hard at whatever you do, always pursuing wisdom, because what you do now shapes the man you will become. So don't waste your life by chasing after other things besides wisdom. College has opportunities galore. Opportunities to get involved in activities that will shape you into the person you will be as an adult, for good or bad, and you need to know that making poor decisions, or passing up the right opportunities, could be disasterous to the person you want to be. So be proactive, and live in a way that seeks truth, and you can't go wrong. Also don't fool yourself into thinking someone is going to lay out your life for you. It's your life now. Live it.

Attending college requires a lot more work and dedication than high school coursework ever did. You can't simply "skate" through it with little effort. You have to be prepared to study for extended hours. It is a challenge you will really appreciate as you learn how to open your mind to new ideas and diferent ways of thinking. The instructors are brilliant academics who help you embrace interesting educational concepts. You have the opportunity to meet a lot of new people, from many different places, cultures and walks of life, not just the instructors, and you will make some amazing new friends.

I would grab my past self by the collar of her shirt and tell her, "Don't be an idiot in college. Just because you're surrounded by a bunch of distractions, focus on getting through school. Don't declare a stupid major that has no future. Don't horse around with a bunch of future ex boyfriends because you'll regret it for the rest of your life. College is about getting an educationnot drinking yourself silly. Sure it will all work out in the end but don't you want something better for yourself? For your children?" I wish I could have focused more that first year. I may have a 3.6 GPA but I could have been a straight A student and I would have been closer to getting out of school if I would have focused on a "real" career. I had no goals just like everyone else, I wish I could have been unique and focused like I am now. I should have thrown my cell phone out the window and just dealt with school because now I don't have the money to complete what I started.

If I could go back in time to speak to myself as a high school senior the first this I would discuss, would be the down time I took in between high school, and college. I have taken nearly four years in "transition" , because I was afraid to start the next chapter. Not knowing what that chapter might entail, I eventually came around and did the very thing I should have done nearly four years ago, and began my training for the future years. Do not dodge success, when some day you'll do what you are avoiding, and the only thing that hurts about it, is that it took so long to jump.

During my senior year teachers pressure you trying to make sure that you are prepared for college. Teachers twice the load of homework and college prep tests to make sure you can handle the work load and pressure. Through all this hard work I would tell myself to make sure to spend equal time on each class, but to also make sure that you don't focus all your time on your work but that you give your brain a break even before a test. I focus a lot of time on all my school work but in college I learned that you need to give your brain a break and take time to soak things in. Sometimes I would focus for hours on end on one thing, but even five minutes away from it will help you absorb things a little bit at a time. This is especially important before tests and finals so your brain doesn't get fried with too much information at one time. "Don't fry your brain with too much information at once but relax and take a break to take in all you are studying a little at a time."