Florida State University Top Questions

If I could go back in time I would begin my education at a junior college instead of going to a university. When I graduated from high school I wasn?t sure which university I wanted to attend. I decided to begin at the University of West Florida, which is located in my hometown of Pensacola. My plan was to transfer to a different university after I received my Associates of Arts degree but because of the economic situation many universities were not taking transfer students from other universities. I knew that I wanted to spend the last two years of college in a different city and so I transferred to my local junior college. Transferring was one of the best decisions that I could have made because it allowed me to save thousands of dollars and provided the same opportunities I was receiving at the university. Even if I had known which university to attend after high school, community college still would have been the way to go. It?s not always fun staying home to attend school after graduation but in times like these it?s the most economical choice.

Assuming I had the ability to break the space-time continuum and enter the fourth dimension to talk to my former self, I would procede with extreme caution. Talking to myself as a high school senior would risk changing my entire future, but I would be willing to take the risk to provide myself with some necessary advice. I would assure my 8-month inferior, not to mention vastly unexperienced, self that the transition can be done with the right attitude. I would be sure to encourage myself that college life is whatever you make of it, that you alone control your own happiness (except in this case where your future self breaking the laws of time also plays a role). I would stress the importance of preserving relationships with old friends, but not letting that hinder the acqusition of new friends. I would assure myself that the independence merely helps illuminate how under-appreciated home may become. I would return to the future leaving one last word of wisdom from my new wealth of knowlege. Tell Mom care-packages are a ripoff but homemade meatballs are a blessing.

If I could have an excellent adventure like Bill and Ted and find a magic phone booth to go back in time and talk to myself as a senior, I would tell myself to take as much advantage of living at home as possible. College life presents a transition to new found independence where everything now relies on you. Although some people have the luxury of having their parents continue to cook for them and do their laundry, others, such as myself, are left using coin machines that only half dry your clothes and getting take out from the grimy cafeteria that thinks a pile of mush is actually edible. If I had known the magnitude of how good I had it at home, I would have stuffed my face with homemade lasagna and rolled around for days on my queen size mattress. I would have told myself that although you may be anxious to get away from home and become your own person, you have the rest of your life to enjoy that freedom but only a couple more months to come home to the smell of fresh baked cookies, dinner on the table, and no bills to pay.

I would tell myself that leaving home really isn't as bad as I thought it would be. It's not like nce you o to college you wont ever go home. Transitioning to college life is a fun and exciting experience, It's not worth getting worried and worked up about before you leave. As far as friends go, if they are your true friends, you will stay in touch. People change and things happen, you're not always going to have the same friends throughout life. Besides, the friends you meet in college are life-long friends. My main point of advice is this: Don't be afraid of change, embrase it!

The greatest advice I would give my senior in highschool self would be to learn and master good study skills. Studying in college, behind actually showing up to class, is key. If you don't study, you're not going to learn the material or remember it. Paying nearly 12,000 dollars to go to school to get a degree for a career and to not study for tests seems like a massive waste of money. The skills, concepts, and life lessons learned in the college years are those that are most important for the rest of your life.

I have always been a self-driven student. Making straight A's and being in honor societies was a casual thing. However, I was very stressed out and anxious my entire senior year. My academic success was the same as it had always been, but my self-discovery and my passion towards school were not present. I would've told myself that college shouldn't be perceived as four years of chaos and pessimism, but as a journey to find acceptance and what you are meant to do for the rest of your life. If I would've known that, I would've been more optimistic about coming to FSU. I would have told myself to be the person I know I am, not who I am expected to be. Which in return, would have made that last year of high school one full of happiness.

I would tell myself not to stress out! As a senior, I stressed about not getting into a good college, but now I realize that I got in at the best place for me, and ended up where I know I am suppose to be. Also, I would say to slow down and enjoy the moment, I feel that I was in such a rush to leave home and experience a new enviornment that I did not fully emerse myself in the great moments of my senior year and my family and friends I love at home. Also, I wish I would have taken more AP classes, because I only took one my senior year, I feel it would have been a lot easier for me in college to have some of my basic classes done with.

Knowing what I now know about college life, and the transition, I would go back and tell myself to keep my stuff together and work my hardest. High school was a blow-off time for alot of stuff, but I still managed to graduate with a 4.56 weighted GPA. I'd tell myself that no matter how much you don't want to study, no matter how much you hate it, it's worth it. If I'd learned how to effectively study in high school I'd have a much higher college GPA. My GPA suffered because I didn't know how to really study when I started college at 17 years old. Studying is key. No matter what field you want to study: Journalism, business, biology; you need to know how to study. Reading is reading, not studying. Everyone's studying process is different but once you learn how you study the best you'll be golden.

Buy an extra spatula and give it to your neighbor on move in day.

When you leave the confines of high school, the world is overwhelming with opportunities. The difficult part in entering a univiersity culture is knowing what opportunities to pursue, and how to make the most of them. As a young adult, you have liberties and freedoms you did not have a child - and some choose to abuse these liberties through destructive behavior. Use your time as a college student as means to experience the world at it's fullest. This is the time when you can test out careers through internships and volunteer work. This is the time when you can devote your mind soley to areas of your own interest. Pursue the unreachable, attempt the impossible - because now is the time when you have the resources and contacts to become the person you want to be.