Colorado State University-Fort Collins Top Questions

Dear High School Self, I am here to tell you how important it is to quit procrastinating. Although doing things at the last minute has gotten you this far in life you will soon realize the importance of getting things done and turned in on time. Missing deadlines will cause you major setbacks in reaching your goals. To ensure this won't happen plan your own deadlines at least a week in advance of the actual deadline. You will forever regret the scholarships you don't get and the programs you don't get into because of your dalliance. I would also like to beg you to apply for as many scholarships as possible. Going to college full-time to become a Nurse will be way more stressful if you also have to work full-time to pay the bills and feed yourself. Scholarships will be your key to success in your future. When you do receive scholarships be forever thankful to those who make reaching your career goals possible.

The biggest advice I would give myself is go to every single class. I have found that showing up to class is half the battle when trying to do well on tests. My first semester as a freshman, was full of new exciting experiences and even though I pulled off a 3.5 gpa, I kick myself knowing that I could have done so much better. I would stress the importance to the high school me that it really is worth every single minute of my time to spend with my professors, and that breakfast at Denny's with new friends or an extra hour of sleep is isn't as valuable. I would tell myself that being and excellent student and having excellent grades has always been very important to us, and so in college I would need to put in extra effort to be great, even if that extra effort seems unimportant at the time. I would tell myself that we want to succeed, we want to succeed very badly.

You do not know what you want to do. Just like everyone said you will change your major a handful of times. Pick the school that gives you the most options and is most laid back. No matter where you graduate from, you will get a job. The key to success is to be open minded and live one step at a time.

In 2004, I dropped out of high school and obtained my GED. I was a sophomore. However, I would have told myself, at that critical juncture, not to be so easily bogged down by my parents' divorce and to go to class. I feel that, had I completed that school year, I would already have finished my undergraduate studies by my current age of 25. It wouldn't be easy, but I'd try to motivate myself to stick with it and pursue education passionately. I've always loved to learn, but I let my fleeting circumstances seem more important than my future in academia. I greatly regret having ever held that unbalanced view of school, so my goal would be to persuade myself that I'd be better off in the long run if I didn't drop out.

The first thing that I would tell myself is to fill out as many scholarships as possible. While applying for schools I should pay attention to climate, environment, and cultural of the surrounding environment as well as what the school has to offer. I would make sure to tell myself to be realistic while applying to schools, but also don't let anyone tell me I am not good enough to go to a certain school. Lastly, I would tell myself to stay focused and keep my priorities straight because academics come first. Overall, have fun. Being in college is a once in a life time experience.

I would tell myself that college really isn't what some people make it out to be: huge campus, hard to find classes, difficult teachers, etc. The campus grounds depend on the student population and whether or not it is a two-year or four-year school. It is easy to get around them once you have been there for a few days or so. The classes are not really hard to find, it's mainly all about figuring out where each of the buildings are and getting used to the time limits in-between classes. The teachers themselves are generally nice people; they are serious about their classes and teach you only what they are supposed to. All in all, college life really isn't bad and attending is nothing to be worried about; if you could adapt to high school, then college will be no problem.

All too often we fall into believing exactly what our parents have taught us. However, college is an opportunity to grow into the person you truly want to be. It is a time to learn about different perspectives and form your own opinions and beliefs. College is all about the experience. I would tell myself as a senior in high school not to worry; don't sweat the small stuff. It is okay to take chances and make mistakes because in the end it is all lessons learned. Talk to people, anybody and everybody. Make great friends. I would tell myself to live in the moment because college goes by quicker than you'd think. Make the most of the next four years. Take it seriously enough to avoid spending the next five years in school, but enjoy it along the way. Work hard, play hard.

If i could go back in time and talk to myself as a senior their is one main thing that I would do to prepare myself even better for college life. I would tell myself that I need to slow down, enjoy highschool and living with my parents, but to focus on my school work. I don't know how many times I have run into problems here at CSU that I look back and go "Gah if I had just studied a little harder in highschool, I wouldn't be having these problems". Another thing I might tell myself is to embrace the change. Once you get to college, at least for me anyways, my life turned a complete 180. I've always struggled with change, so if had learned to except it in highschool, than when I moved to the college life it would of been a million times easier.

College is nothing like you were expecting it to be, your expectations were way out of the ball park. Don't spend your days day dreaming of what your days at college are going to be like: relaxing, making friends, going out constantly. You will be quite disappointed. The one thing you are expecting the most is that you are going to meet many new people and life long friends but the truth is this doesn't happen right away. You are going to struggle to find yourself and to find your spot at such a big university. Just prepare yourself for the battle you are about to enter. I'm not saying that you are going to hate college, what I want to get across is that you are going to be at war with yourself constantly trying to decifer who you truly are. My best advice to you is to be yourself and don't change to fit in. The right people will come your way in time and when that does happen you will become the happiest person in the world. Believe in yourself and as the Beatles say, "Let it Be".

I would advise myself to go to college right out of high school. I would tell myself that there were a lot of financial aid programs and scholarships for young people, fresh out of high school, with a 4.0 GPA. I would tell myself to believe in myself and never let anyone or anything bring you down, or crush your hopes and dreams. I would tell myself to keep studying really hard and that I could achieve anything I wanted to. Lastly, I would tell myself to never despair; keep trying and never give up.

If I could go back, I would tell myself to look for and apply for every scholarship available. I would tell myself not to give up so fast on the financial aspect of college. I would encourage myself to join in more extracurricular activities for my first year in college. I would also remind myself to save as much money as possible, for not only for my bachelors degree, but also for graduate school. If I could go back, I would tell myself that GPA isn't everything and that most schools look for community involvement, too. I would go back and tell myself not to put all my eggs in one basket, so to speak. I would tell myself to go on many campus tours to see where I felt the most at home at. If I could go back, I would tell myself that it is important to look at the college where I would be the most successful at the end of the day.

I Must apologies, I simply could not do an essay of 200 words. I had to do a poem, a free formed sonnet. Normally a sonnet has every other lines last word rhyme. It goes in an A,B,A,B pattern till the last lines having the same ending word in an A, A, pattern. But I figured that Life is not bound to structural rules, you will always get something new. I'd rather make my sonnet express how life is (especially high school), unstructured, flowing and not something entirely expected. If I could go back in time I'd tell myself to smile I'd tell myself to climb That it's only for a wile The top is almost here Can't give in to fear Because the end is almost here Soon I will get to cheer It's not time to let go the wheel Because you still need to steer Trust me, I know how you feel So Get in that car and put it in gear Soon that letter will be here The letter that says you're admitted here

Dear Self, I know high school was a great experience for you. You made a difference because you were involved in everything! College is a whole different game and it is full of choices that are not only tough, but will change your futures direction. I know you value staying debt free but please do not work full time. Sacrifice the time in the summer and apply to as many grants and scholarships as possible to keep school costs low. In doing so, college can be an enjoyable time full of adventure mentally, physically and emotionally. Furthermore, please say yes to every positive experience. Take advantage of every opportunity to grow and discover who you are becoming in the now and future versus whom you were in the past. Let the past go and start new! Discover who you are as a fun lovely adult, while still maintaining responsible qualities any good citizen should process. Make good choices but good choices are not always the fun or easy choices. College is the introduction to the rest of your life so work hard at it now so you earn the right to play hard later! Best of Luck, ME

Knowing what I know now about college, I would go back and tell myself that I should have taken homerowk and tests a lot more serious. Now that I am in college it is a lot different. The work load is a lot heavier I have as much as two chapters per class in one night. If i could go back I would have taken the time to actually get my time management together and putting an effort into my homework instead of being forced to be able to do it now. Also i would have taken my tests a lot more serious. In high school if you missed or did bad on a test it was ok, you could make it up or do extra credit. College classes have maybe three exams and a final and your exams are majority of your grade. Plus if you miss the exam there is no make up you take a zero for that grade. If i could tell myself to do anything differently it would have been to actually take my academics as a whole a lot more seriously althouth i ended with good grades i did what i needed to pass.

If I had the chance to go back in time and tell myself something about college-life, I'd remind myself that when I take an online class to check and double check the dates on when things are due. If I don't, I'll end up missing a HUGE final that's due, and it'll drop my A in the class down to a C. I'd tell myself not to take Humanities class online, because it's difficult without the lectures. I'd also tell myself that going to school four days a week ontop of working is going to drain me of energy. I'd warn myself to go to school only two days out of the week, for the first quarter, and spend the extra two days off, studying and catching up on precious sleep or the road ahead will be very difficult, especially with Math. Lastly, I'd make sure I knew how to correctly use an audit system to find out what classes I REALLY needed, so I wouldn't end up taking pointless ones.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself in High School I would convey a lot of information to myself. Number one when I ask myself how this will relate to the real world the answer is it will come up on college exams so listen and learn it do not skate by and think you have escaped the tropical storm because a hurricane is swiftly approaching. Also the calculus and physics classes I chose not to take, take them it will make the transition and class load so much easier. Another piece of advice I would relay to myself is to focus on having fun in high school before college starts and your studying non-stop just to squeek by. Lastly enjoy the home cooking because dorm food is not the best in th world but it keeps you full and focused just like the mini-wheats commercial says and focusing is the number one attribute to being successful in your college years.

Now that I have spent about a year and a half as a college student, the most important and critical advice I could ever give my past self would be to go to bed consistently before midnight or, better yet, 11 or 10pm. Back then I would stay up late, pull all-nighters, and procrastinate all the time, always ending up hungry and sleep-deprived. Now I am exhausted from going all around campus and cannot find much to do late at night just because I have gotten my act together and get all my work done way before the last minute--which, admittedly, is still extraordinarily strange. Having free time is a little bizarre, but nice nonetheless. Plus, I can go to bed and wake up easier at 6 or 7am, something that would be next to impossible; my body and mind possessed zero motivation to move so early in the day. Sleep is a wonderful thing high schoolers take sorely for granted, as well as several college students, but once one realizes the joy of waking up with slightly more energy, school is much more fun--or just bearable enought to get through without a nap.

I would be sure to tell myself that college classes are not easy and they will consist of most of your free time outside of class. Make sure to practice good time management skills before going to college because that will be the hardest part for you. Do not get caught up in the party scene because it will not pay off for you in the end and will only reflect poor results. If I could go back in time I would also tell myself to research and apply for more scholarships so I would not be so stressed out about money and would not have to work as much in my free time. I would also make sure to look for jobs prior to moving into the dorms. One last thing I would make sure I knew would be to make sure to make time for myself so I won't be as stressed. Find a stress release place early in the year.

Believe in yourself. It's OK not knowing what you want to do because it's expected only that you will go to college and graduate, those answers will come. If you don't believe in yourself who will? Take these steps so that you don't have to stress over the small stuff and set yourself up so that the great moments and decisions can come when you are ready. First, go to a state school for your core curiculum. They are relatively affordable, maybe not as affordable as community college, but there is no guarantee that community college classes will transfer if you need them to. Classes that don't transfer mean you will pay time and money for them again. Second, do your best. You can get As; college is about taking tests, figure out how to take that classe's test. Those As will give you opportunity for scholarships and admission to premium schools for your undergrad or graduate goals. Third, become a better version of yourself. Enjoy the first few weeks of parties, but then work on yourself. Find volunteer opportunities... soup kitchens, fundraisers, etc. You will like yourself, others will notice too.

live your life to the fullest because you won't be able to go back; live without regrets. Also, what you learn is important for the future and will make life easier for you. Finally, it is scary at first but eventually you will feel great about becoming independent and becoming a mature adult who will go on and do amazing and spectacular things in the world.