Emporia State University Top Questions

What should every freshman at Emporia State University know before they start?

Lester

Young Lester, you have been adequately prepared for the challenge of college life. Stay focused on the task at hand and go to class. Your study habits are good but if you aren't in class to take proper notes or to ask questions, you will struggle with completing your degree in 4 years. Before you know it, you will have real responsibilities and the goal of finishing your degree will continue to be pushed back until you look up years down the line feeling like there is unfinished business. You value education so don't lose your focus. Don't lose sight of what you started out to do. Use your time wisely, go to class and be the student that you know you are.

Christopher

Starchild, don't go to college in Wyoming. You have 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} body fat and Wyoming has ten-month winters. Do you really want that? Do you want to put on seven layers of clothing to ride a fixie bike across town to audition for that 80s hair metal cover band whilst resembling the StayPuft Marshmallow Man? Also, dude, you have narcolepsy. Surprise! Go see a doctor. He'll say it's just depression, but you tell him that future you found out that you are physiologically aroused every 33 seconds while you sleep and you get virtually no NREM sleep. Your options are cocaine or Ritalin, but you don't want to go to jail, so get a prescription. Also tambien, buy as much Nintendo stock as you can and sell it the night before the 3DS is released. Unless there is a law against insider trading via time travel, then just don't get caught. If you follow my advice, you will never feed breakfast to Dennis Rader in his cell at the El Dorado Correctional Facility, but it was remarkably uninteresting. However, you can use it as an icebreaker with strangers nevertheless. Tell people he was polite.

Felicia

As a high school senior I was really ready to get out in the "grown-up" world. But at the same time I was really worried about my transition into college and what college life would be like. There is alot of small little things I worried about. If I were to go back in time I would tell myself to stop worrying about all the small things that don't matter. I would assure myself that I had made the best choice in going to Emporia State University, and that the experience would be the best thing I could imagine. I would also advise myself that the "grown-up" world is not all it is cracked up to be and enjoy the time I had left as a high school senior.

Taylor

To better prepare students for college, high schools should promote better study and learning habits, present students with more opportunities to experience real world jobs and application, and promote genuine learning and the retention of that learned material. Too often, students enter college and become overwhelmed by the work load that they encounter. They fall victim to copious amounts of stress, leading to anxiety. In addition, upon entering college and beginning the course work, students often change their major. This is because the student’s ideas and expectations for specific classes and majors do not match up with the reality of those classes and majors. Finally, in college, students are expected to not only retain the information that they learn, but also apply it, since the learned material will be essential for their desired career. However, in high-school, class work often become a series of memorization of information that is later forgotten. Until the system is adjusted, the transition will not be easy. Take as many college classes as you can while in high-school, experiance as much as you can, and enjoy those four short years.

Courtney

Know who are and who you want to become. Take risks and have fun, but remember that every decision has consequences. Think about how the choices you make today affect tomorrow, next year, or twenty years from now. Surround yourself with good people: friends who will better you, challenge you, and encourage you. Surround yourself with people who bring you closer to your dreams, not just people who are looking for a good time. Stand your ground on important issues. The people who made you feel stupid for your ideals will not matter in five years; so don't give them the time of day. Take the time to get to know people, and learn their story. Many people are simply misunderstood. The most unlikely people will become your friends if you are willing to listen, to learn. And don't be afraid to share your story either. Learn to trust people every now and then. Most importantly, learn to trust yourself and know that failing and failure are two completely different things. Get back up. Try again. Work Hard. Believe in others and believe in yourself. You can achieve whatevery you set your mind to.

Michelle

Stick with school!! It will be worth it in the long run!!

Kandace

It will be okay that you are not sure what you are wanting to do in life, one day you will decide and accomplish great things. Find the passion you once had for basketball and take it with you to your next team. Start your college career with a clean slate and spend money wisely. Attend all of your classes and dont be afraid to ask questions, otherwise you will fail. In the hardest of your times don't be afraid to ask your parents for help, so your problems do not become worse. People are there for you, you just dont know it yet, especially your family. You will make friends that are going to stab you in the back, but stay positive and put your anger towards you school work, not each other. Most importantly you are going to make mistakes, but used them as learning experience because you do not know what the future has in store for you. You have a plan, someday you will find it.

chelsea

Do not be afraid of rejection or embarassment. You have nothing to prove to anyone and if you don't beat those feelings now, you will miss out on everything. Money is not the most important thing right now. It feels good to be stable, but working extra and uneccessary hours will consume you and before you know it you will have missed absolutely everything. Stop looking ahead and appreciate what is now. You can't focus on all of the negative things and put all of your efforts into changing them. If you do this you will look back and wish you could do it over, live in those moments again. Never take friendship for granted and spend more time with your family. Just be a young college student and have fun while you can instead of spending your freedom trying to play grown up. More importantly than all of these things: GO TO CLASS and DO WHAT YOU LOVE! Or you will miss out on expanding your knowledge and hate yourself for not being bold enough to just go for it.

Kelseigh

I would tell myself to actually put myself out there way more and join in more organized groups because that's the best way to make friends and get involved.

Melissa

I would tell myself to not give up when my classes started to get hard. High school isn't all there is to life, and even though we do the best we can college is not the same. I would tell myself to grow up and just ask for help when I got confused. Teachers are there to help us learn, but they are not able to help when you do not ask. I also would tell myself to not worry so much about how shy I was. Instead of worrying about making friends in the future, I would remind myself to spend time with my high school friends. Along with all of this, I would tell myself to enjoy my senior year even more.

Monique

If I could go back and give myself advice when I was a high school senior I would be telling myself that the people you keep in your environment can have impacts on how confident you are in yourself and your future. It’s okay to be selective about who you spend your time with. It will be okay that one minute you will feel like a queen of the world and later that day you will feel completely defeated. As quickly as these emotions come they will leave you as well. It’s invaluable to learn that your defeats are lessons and they don’t make who you are, that is something I wish would have realized. Don’t wait, you’re good enough already. If I knew the struggle I would be having now being a “non-traditional student”, single parent and having to work and go to school I would tell myself to stop underestimating my talents, I hadn’t even begun to even realize that talents I have. Trust your instinct. When you don’t have anything else, no sleep, no book, no friends, you will have your instincts.

Jordan

Often times I find myself deep in my own thoughts. I think about the things I know now that I would have given a million bucks to know at this exact time two years ago. I would tell my high school self to slow down, to take it all in, enjoy the time I had at home with my friends and family. So many times I told myself "I can't wait to get out of here". Now, I find myself wishing for a weekend at home. More importantly, I would tell myself to stop trying so hard to impress everyone, just "be you" I would say. I would put back those pair of shoes that I just had to have and think about all the groceries I could by in the future with that extra money. In all honesty, I would love to change these things and many more, but the fact that I can't makes it that much sweeter to me. These are life lessons that have helped shape and fine tune the person that I have become. All those things left unchanged are what made me who I am and for that, I am thankful.

Emily

I would simply say that I would remind myself that college is a chance to start over and be true to yourself, regardless of where you go. At the same time, remember who you are and don't let anyone change that; you are the only person in your life that you have to please.

Jenna

To whom it may concern, If I could go back I would have tried harder in general education classes even the boring ones like college algebra. I would also suggest getting involved sooner than waiting till you make friends. Also take advantage of the free events on campus even the cultural ones. College is the time to learn about you so take advantage of every opportunity. Also find out if your major will allow you to have overseas opportunity. I would have found the library sooner and suggest picking a night one day a week and reserving a study room. This is beneficial to getting your homework done. As you work on transferring into college life take advantage of your moms home cooked meals by purchasing freezer bowls. Also a great life fact you may move into the dorm with your best friend. Don’t be mad when you find out that you are better friends than roommates. Thank you for considering my application. Jenna Kinnett

Sarah

I would have told myself to save as much money as I could. Don't buy anything that you don't absolutely need. I have faced some really tough times during college because living on your own is expensive. You have to pay for absolutely everything and it is not cheap. Even with a roommate, the cost of living is high. Having to worry about whether or not you are going to be able to pay your rent is extremely stressful. It makes focusing on schoolwork hard because you are working, what seems like forever, just to be able to keep up with the bills. The other thing I would tell myself is to become more involved in the school. When you are involved you will make more friends and the college experience is so much more fun. It is nice to be able to take a break and just relax for a few minutes with some great people. You never know when you will need someone to talk to or help you with some homework.

Candace

I would tell myself to trust the system and enjoy myself. I would congratulate myself for graduating and getting into college with straights As.

Michelle

First of all, don't worry about the transition. College is great and you'll love it. Be outgoing and get involved; you'll make friends easily and have a lot of fun doing it. Everyone says that, but it is really good advice. You won't regret any chances you take or any friends you make. Go out of your way to be nice to people. Be outgoing, try new things. Worst case scenario, you discover you don't like something, and you move on. College is all about trying new things, discovering who you are, and making new friends. Enjoy yourself, but don't forget to work hard. Whatever you do, don't hide out in your room. College is one of the best parts of your life, live it! That being said, don't overload. You can only participate in so many things before you get overscheduled. Also, as attractive as procrastination may seem, in the long run life is way less stressful if you get assignments done ahead of time, rather than at 3 in the morning the day they're due. Most of all, remember to enjoy yourself and live life to the fullest.

Christina

Take some time during your senior year to find everything you think you're passionate about. Right now, you feel like you can do anything (and believe me, you can), but it's smart to tinker in the interests, hobbies, and even careers that you think you'll enjoy. Shadow an orthodontist (since you want to pursue a major in Biomedical Sciences), a publisher and editor (for that Creative Writing degree you tried), a college theatre director (yep, you tried a theatre major, too), and a business professional of some sort (as boring as it sounds, you might find you like it). While I'd never say that I regret all of the degree changes I made, it certainly could have saved some time to do a bit more searching in high school. Good luck! Keep up the good work!

Shelby

When deciding on a school, choose one that will make you feel at home and welcome. A large part of your education and success will depend on if you are meeting all of your needs. Don't choose a school just because it is close to home or one your best friend is attending. Choose a school that fits you . This will lessen the chances that you will have to transfer. VIsit all of the schools that you can see yourself at and take every opportnity to ask questions and find out what they're really about. It helps to sit in on lectures to see if it appeals to you. Choose the school that you want to go to, in the end you will be very happy.

hillary

After my first semester as a college freshman, I learned that my study skills and strategies I learned in high school were not sufficient to be a successful student. I quickly learned that studying, in addition to doing the homework and listening to the lecture, is the key to success and telling myself that earlier on could have helped greatly. I found myself frequently needing to put in extra time for studying and having to make sure I understood the many different concepts. I would encourage myself to study at least two or three hours for every hour I spend in class. Looking back I wish I knew that every instructor had a unique teaching style. I would explain that some instructors teach from the lectures and others from the book and the ability to discern between teaching methods is the one of the fastest ways to succeed in an education. If I could tell myself to improve my study habits, to study outside of class, and learn how to differentiate between teaching methods, it could have increased my success greatly.