Community College of Allegheny County Top Questions

Realize what kind of learning you like. For me, at least, the kind determined the topic. I’m bad at doing problem sets, I don’t like exams, and I feel no personal obligation to, or connection with, my professor or teaching fellow when I’m in large classes—and therefore don’t do my work. So I take small, writing-heavy classes. The sooner you realize that this is how you and I work, the better.

I would tell my high school self that school is expensive. I was suppose to attend Virginia Commonwealth University for Visual Arts and Art education. At the last weeks of summer my father became sick and went into emergency surgery. Because of the tightness of money, and because my parents were in the process of a nasty divorce (and still are), I had to stay in my home town and work as well take care of my father for the months after his surgery. If I could go back to my senior year I would make sure I could save enough money, more than I did, so I could afford the Universities I was accepted to, instead of having to live at home and go to community college. It has been especially difficult because I grew up in a virbally abusive household and having to stay around the people who have caused me pain is distracting and depressing. I know I will overcome this, some how I will get out of my situation and make it to the universities I have always dreamed of attending.

If I could go back in time and talk to my high school self, I would go back and tell myself not to waste as much time as I did on searching for the colleges that include my intended major. I would tell myself just go to CCAC and get my Associates degree, then choose a great four year college to get the rest of my education. CCAC has teachers that are not quite at the high school level but aren't at the four year college level either, which makes it an easier transition. Also, the transition into the "real world" is easier because there are lots of people of various ages and backgrounds who are there to learn. There are so many services offered at the college to help the students understand and succeed in their education. Also, I applied very late and lost out on some scholarship opportunities. I would go back and tell myself to apply early so I wouldn't have missed out on anything.

I wish someone had told me my senior year would pass in the blink of an eye. I would have taken the time to soak it all in. Some of the best moments, both in and out of school, were had in those nine months. I would have spent more time laughing so hard I cried with friends who now live all around the country. I would have stayed out past curfew and broken some rules with those same people. I would have tried to be home for more of Mom’s home cooked meals, because let’s face it, cafeteria food isn’t anything to write home about. But most importantly, I would have lived life a little less cautiously. Once you leave the comfort of high school, the real world awaits. The world of bills and 40 hour work weeks, of never getting enough sleep or enough time to spend with those same people who helped you pass that algebra class. This is the advice that I would have wanted to hear.

The advice I would give myself if I had the opportunity to go back in time: Don’t stay in a relationship with someone who disrespects you, who doesn’t allow you to follow your dreams or give you encouragement with your goals in life. Don’t allow anyone to bully you, stand up for yourself. Also, don’t allow yourself to bully yourself. You can be your hardest critic but you should love who you are. Embrace the real you and find out what you truly love and want to become instead of listening to what others want from you. Don’t believe others when they say that you can’t accomplish something. Allow those words to push you toward your goal! Turn the negative comments into positive ones and use that as fuel to your fire! Focus on proving those people wrong! And despite how you feel at this moment, time really does fly by, years pass and you wonder where the time went. Enjoy the rest of your high school days and live it up as much as you can!

Wishing that I could go back, the advice I would give myself is that NOBODY, ABSOLUTELY NOBODY, IS WORTH COMPLETE UNHAPPINESS! I would have told myself to do what my heart wanted to. I would tried so hard to convince myself that everything is possible if you put your mind to it. I would have let myself know that I would be so much happy going to school where I really wanted to. Learning knew things, meeting new people, seeing new places, and having great college experiences is what I would have told myself is what I really needed. I would have told myself that even with thousands of dollars in loans, at the end I would be happy and would not look back and always wonder what if! I would tell myself to do what I love to make me happy and no one else!

Learning to manage my money and pay my loans off in a timely manner has taught me that money does not just grow on trees (mom and dad) and that taking care of myself is important so that I will not be sick and miss work or school, ending up short on cash to pay loans. I am managing my time much better and am able to accomplish all that is important to me. I am enjoying the fact that school means a better job and/or more pay as I learn more. Learning has a purpose now, not just to get past the next test but to better myself in the work place and be able to speak intelligently to others.

I would tell myself to figure out the college of your choice based on what you want. You can listen to the advice of family members and friends, but ultimately it is your decision and you can't go to a certain school for anyone else. When I was a senior I had a boyfriend that was a year younger and would be staying around here for another year, parents and grandparents who all wanted me to go to the University of Pittsburgh, and a best friend that had her mind set that we were rooming together at Penn State. It was all so overwhelming and I couldn't take the pressure. In the end I ended up making the decision to go to the community college around here because I didn't know what I wanted to do for myself. Being there the past two years and looking to transfer I have come across this problem again but I know now that I have to choose what I want and not let everyone else in my life confuse me.

I would tell myself to have studied more, because knowing is so much better than not knowing. All in all, I made high honor roll in high school but was not worried about it as much as I should have been. I would have told myself to have taken more science classes and to really appreciate my biology teacher more. Appreciate Mr. Shiver more, even if you think he's too strict now he will prove to be beneficial in the long run, and boy was he ever! Take your time figuring out life, you've got time to understand yourself and what you what to do the rest of your life, there's no rush. Also, don't worry about what others want you to do, worry about what you want to do. It's your life, not theirs. Live life, your life, the way you think it should be lived.

I would tell myself not to stress as much about high school work as I did. After attending a semester in college, I realized that high school wasnt as hard as it seemed to be. I also didn't realize that i had far less to worry about in high school.