Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach Top Questions

What should every freshman at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach know before they start?

Mackenzie

If I can go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior knowing what I now know about college life, I would tell myself to just be myself. If you choose the correct college and you are truly studying what you love to do, then your peers will have all the same things in common with you. You will meet friends for life and you schouldn't worry about making freinds or fitting in.

Brent

Dear Me, Your first semester is gonna be rough. Since you decide to go to college 1000 miles away from anyone you know, you're gonna feel like you don't have any friends. You're gonna want to go home, you're gonna wanna quit. You're gonna feel depressed and bored on Saturday and Friday nights when youre not doing anything. Going fromm being a popular guy, with alot of friends to just another member of the crowd is gonna be hard on you.

Caitlyn

College is an amazing experience because it can be challenging, fun, crazy and demanding all at the same time. You may think that you have no time now as a high school student, but when you get to college you realize how much time you really had. Enjoy every minute of your time throughout school because you only have those experiences once. You may have a best friend in high school now, but that changes. You'll meet amazing new individuals who actually have goals similar to yours in the future and that gives you an instant connection. The most important thing to remember is to be yourself! No one cares what you wear or who your friends are in college. There will always be a place for you to fit in and those people will love you for who you really are. Stay committed and dedicated to yourself and aspire to be the best that you can be. Try everything you can (safe things, of course) because you shouldn't let anything hold you back from a new experience. College in the end is what you make of it, so study hard and most of all... enjoy it!

Andrew

I felt that I did very well preparing myself for the college life style. I enjoy being in college more than I did being in High School. I've always done a good job challenging myself in order to succeed in college. Although, if I could go back in time, I would tell myself to expect the unexpected. When a student in High School thinks of college they imagine being on there own and not having their parents around telling them what to do, which to a teenager, sounds like a good idea. High School students are "babied" throughout their whole education. In my current position, I'm being trained to fly airplanes. This training can be very exhausting and stressful. On top of your average and basic college classes, I take extra classes and hours out of my day to fly. I enjoy flying tremendously and I realize that not everyone gets this opportunity, but I also realize that this is what I've worked for. If I could go back in time and tell my High School self anything, it would be that in order to get what you want, you have to work harder than anyone else.

Max

If i could go back to seinor year, I would have took a calculus class in high school. I would have still took calculus 1, because I would have understood calculus more. I could have spent more time studing for my harder classes, such as coding. I took AP Physics, and physics 1 was my easiest class. I fcollege classes are taken in high school, it helps a bunch during college.

Heenal

When I went to college I already had more or less of an idea about how college life was going to be like because I went to the North Carolina School of Science and Math which is a residential high school where you live there for your junior and senior year. Even though I lived two years away from home, at this high school there were plenty of restrictions that we had that did not prepare me to the freedom of college life. When I moved to Embry Riddle in Florida, I had so much freedom and there was so much that I could do and wanted to do but not enough time for everything. All through my first semester, I had to learn time management so I could keep my grades up and do things that I was interested in. I struggled through my first semester because I had poor time management skills. If I could go back and talk to my high school self I would tell her to learn to get in the habit of making a schedule that prioritized what is important and what could wait. I would have saved myself from so many sleepless nights.

Aaron

If I could talk to my high school self, the first thing I would tell him is what to expect in his first semester chemistry lab, because that class was hard! I'd also tell him not to take that class at 8:15am, or any class at that time, as he is not, and never will be, a morning person. I would tell him to stay strong through the mediocre school food, and to start seriously looking for a car earlier than I did. I would also tell him to start the scholarship search earlier. I would also tell him that the people who said "no one will clean your bathroom for you in college" were wrong! Also he should be reassured that at Embry-Riddle, social awkwardness won't matter, as everyone is too busy studying for outgoing social gatherings to matter, plus the friends he's going to make from day one will help bring him out of that shell a lot. Also, he should take some of mom's mashed potatoes with him. He's going to miss those.

shannon

I would tell myself to focu more on your studdies. You are doing marvelous in college but not good enough to reach your highest potential. Keep up with all of your school work and make sure to work hard in everything you do. Give your all in everything as always but work harder to obtain your goals. Learn from your sister and don't be what everyone thinks you'll turn out to be, if bad.

Zachary

If I could go back and talk to myself I would most likely yell at myself to do more scholarships. It is imperative to to as many scholarships as you can in high school as you can as so many scholarships out there are geared toward high school students. No matter how insignificant a scholarship seems or how little of a chance of winning you have it is worth an hour of your time to go from never winning to possibly have a significant portion of your college semester paid for. My other piece of advice is always make time to study. No matter how much you work and relax and whatever else you do there is always time to study because that is the whole reason you are there, to learn and get an education to succeed. Work around your study schedule because that is the most important part of college ever and the key to your future.

Robert

take more advanced technical classes and don't goof off as much.

Miranda

Don't freak out. Things happen for a reason and will work themselves out if your just doing what you're suppose to do. Go to a social event at least once a month. It's hard being in a new place and not knowing anyone, but making the effort to just show up will go a long way. Go see professors durring their office hours at least once a week, even if you have to make up a question or pull something from later chapters. This will not only help you learn but help you get to know the professors and more importantly for them to get to know you. When you get to your last couple years you'll need refferences from faculty members for internships or jobs, and they can't help you if they don't know you, so make the effort to at least say hello. Remember to breathe. Things get stressfull and hectic, but that's no reason not to pick up a book once in a while just because you want to, just remember not to binge read, especially if you have class the next morning.

Katja

If I could go back and give myself advice about college, it would be do not give up. Classes are not like high school classes. They're difficult. You're not going to be the smartest in all your classes. I would also tell myself to get help from professors. Most of them love seeing students interested in their class. They want you to come to office hours and ask questions. I wish I would have taken advantage of that while I could.

Charles

In all honesty, I would go back to my former self and make sure I know about scholarships. I would hound and stress the necessity of scholarships. Undoubtedly, I am more than stressed now with college and I wish I could change this. I would advise my past self to start trying to get as much money and scholarships as possible in order to not only fund books and tuition but housing and food as well. I would never change out of this university as I wish to pursue my degree here, so I’d make sure my past self understands the amount of stress I’ve been under and make sure he knows the importance of tuition scholarships. I would also stress the importance of a job. It’s good to have a job to continually get ahead on payments, I didn’t think it was manageable but I found out later, that it very much is. It helps for out-of-pocket expenses and occasional luxury to help relax and recover from the day-to-day stress of a college environment. In essence, I would continue to remind my past self the importance of finding and saving money.

Mark

Take the harder classes like physics and calculus because they were never going to end like advisors had told you. In addition to, be more open to people. Even though you are the high school jock, most athletic, and involved with many clubs, I feel like you could have known your peers on a more personal level and maintained better ties. Lastly, dont tie yourself down so long to a girl that is going to tell you not to communicate and interact with other people because she didn't like them and had a weak image of herself and constantly worried she would lose you. People have a lot to offer if you give them a chance and one day you will benefit from showing somebody kindness even if it was only skin deep.

Oluwaseun

Time is an important asset that should not be wasted. Apply to scholarships, learn a language, go out into the city more and keep a photo diary. Do not waste your life away with a boring commute between home and school preventing yourself from achieving the bigger things in life.

Devin

If could talk to myself as a senior I would try and motivate myself to work harder and try enjoy my time as a high school senior a little more. As a senior, I found that most of my thoughts revolved around getting out of high school and getting to college. However, as I left home and entered college I realized how much I didn’t do in high school. Even though I held A’s in most of my classes I still found myself unprepared for college level material. I realized academically I did not push myself hard enough to really understand the concepts, instead a just flowed through the material. Furthermore, I realized when you focus on the future, you can’t enjoy what’s going on now. The largest advice I wish I could give myself is have fun now with friends and family as they aren’t always going to be there. I went from living in New York to college in Florida. As nice as Florida is I still wish I spent more time with friends and family. These words of advice now act as a reminder to myself of what to focus on now.

Ella

If I could magically go back in time to when I was a senior in high school, I would tell myself to NEVER give up on my dream. Being in college is hard enough as it is trying to transition to a new life, living away from your family, trying to make something of yourself. Add on top of that a need for a private student loan with no one able to cosign? It can be devastating. Watching your dreams come to a standing halt all because you cannot afford to continue? Its heart wrenching. They tell you to apply for more scholarships and grants, to not give up. But after filling out your 178th application with no response back, when do you say enough is enough? When do you throw in the towel? Never. I’d tell myself to never give up. I’d tell that girl standing awkwardly at the entrance of her soon to be university to stay strong, that her dreams could be achieved, it may take a while but eventually, she’d find a way to make it happen. Even if 3 years later she’d still be trying to accomplish her dream. Thank you.

Jonathan

Chance is something that everyone goes through. Making the right choices is the easy part, the hard part is to maintain in those right choices. Having this experience of having to leave the university that I was attending to was the most regretful choice that I could have done. The transition from high school to college is a very complicated one, taken from which there are many emotions to be fulfilled and dealt with. If I could talk to my younger high school self, from the many things that I would tell myself not to do, it is to maintain the opportunity given at hand. Not realizing that it would push my goal four years back, it is the sole advice that I wished that I knew back when I was joining college for the very first time. Maintaining with school and social life is not easy to do, but I would tell myself that never let your dreams die, no matter how hard it gets, no matter how complicated it might seen, and no matter how unreachable it might look always maintain them alive for that is the future; maintain God’s will no matter the circumstances.

Coleman

Perserverance! The more you have, the stronger you will be. All of your friends will change so dont hang with the 'not so clean cut' ones. Always do the best you can; no bogus crap. Be sure to ask questions. It's better to look like an idiot and have an A in the class than it is to look cool and have a C. Stay focused. there isnt anything more detremental than lack of focus; it will kill you in you future! Learn to balance. The more work you put in, the more fun you should have later. There has to be a balance. You wont retain any information if you are tired and arent interested anymore. Dont stress, enjoy yourself!

Taylor

I have learned a lot and grown up a lot since I graduated from high school. College is definitely the time for you to figure out who you are and what you want to be. If I had to give any advice I would tell someone going into college to stick to what they believe in and don't just do things to follow other people. Be an advocate for what you think is right. I always ask myself, "Is it something my mother would approve of?" If the answer is NO or you have to think about it for a while, then it is probably something you shouldn't be doing. Don't be afraid to be different. People will respect you and if they dont, you don't have the right group of friends. On another note, I would strongly suggest you get involved on campus. It is a great way to meet people. I was fortunate enough to play a college sport so it was easy, but if you don't play a sport then go to the athletic events or get involved with something you enjoy. Most likely you will meet similar people that way.