Fort Hays State University Top Questions

If I could return to high school and hold a conversation with myself, I would tell myself to choose my mother's alma mater. Fort Hays has been the best university for me and looking back I wish I would have chosen to attend this university instead of attending Kansas State University. I would also have to remind my high school self to not sweat the small stuff in class and to really take the time to get to know my professors. Since I started attending Ft. Hays, I made a point to know my professors and that has made all the difference in my education. I wish I had taken the opportunity to do so while attending Kansas State, but Ft. Hays is a much better fit for me and I would tell myself that I should stick to a smaller university because I would excell much more by doing so.

The first thing I would tell myself would be to not worry and stress so much. It is definitely a big change from highschool, but not anything that I can't handle. My biggest fear was being around so many strangers. I would remind myself that most people are afraid of the same things that I am. The last thing I would tell myself would be to cherish the ease of highschool. College is so much more work!

Life isn't about you in high school, you learn from it and then grow from every experience therein and thereafter. Look for opportunities to grow and snatch them up, do things you love! Especially those first two years of college, everyone is new and looking for their own identity live it to the fullest. This is the time to soak in everything that is offered that you may be interested in. Once there in things that you truly can identify with and find yourself indulging in look around you, these people are crucial parts of your life. Invest in those around you, that also helps you grow more than words could express. Live life on life with other people, its not where you go necessarily but how you go. Go with an open mind and heart to explore every opportunity or door opened to you. Assess when it is good to go along with the crow and when it is okay to stay home and read a book or two, finding time and prioritizing now will help you the rest of your years in college and beyond. But most of all have fun you only live this life once.

I would begin with telling myself that no matter what happens everything will work itself out, but hard work only makes it better. The problems that I would have would be insignificant and I would better prepare myself for the tests at the end of the year. I would make sure I completed more scholarships. Once I graduated high school, I would reassure myself everyday leading up to leaving Texas for Kansas that college is going to be fun, and even though I lived high school being shy and kept in the shadows, once I started my new beginning I would become outgoing and have more friends than ever before. I would tell myself to tell everybody bye because it was going to be seven weeks before I would get to see them again, and I would remind myself to grab the acoustic guitar so I would not forget how to play. I would tell myself to not pack the highheels because once I got to college I would not want to go partying. My last words to myself would be once I started college, everything would mellow out. Just live it and don't worry to much.

I would tell myself to not get to wrapped up in my boyfriend and to make more friends in general. I am now a sophomore in college and I don't have very many girlfriends. Your first year of college when you're living in the dorms is the time to make as many friends as possible and I didn't take advantage of this time. I was always in my room talking to my boyfriend who still lived back home. I would have also spent more time relaxing and maintaining the relationships that I had at the time because I feel that I have lost some of the friends that I came to college with.

The advice that I would give myself would be to put school first, and that the rest of your life will come after. Life flies by so fast. School is but a short, small period of time in a person's life, yet it can lay the path of your life to come. Love can wait. Families can wait. When you have education , it can help to make all other choices in your life smarter and smoother.

When I was in high school, I didn't research my college choices, nor did I have any preparation. I didn't know to apply for scholarships. I didn't even know what a Pell Grant was. So I went to a local Community College because I didn't have the funds to pay for a 4 year university. I didn't research my school or the major and had no clue what to do once I was there at school. I eventually quit after my family moved to FLA. I made several attempts to return, but it never came to fruition. Now in my 30's, in a dead ended career, I am unemployed and don't have any real prospects. I did not build equity in my future by diversifying my strengths, I fostered my ignorance by not looking into things and listening to my counselors and teachers. As an adult now providing for a family, I realize the mistake of my ways and how I need to change to make a difference, not just in my life but in that too of my family. The key is to research your options and to not give up.

Given the opportunity to speak to myself as a high school senior, I would have advised myself to become more involved in extracurricular activities. I would have taught myself how to budget better so that I would not have had to work as much and I would have greatly encouraged myself to join clubs and scholarly groups. During my actual senior year of college I did join the agriculture club and it was the best year of college I experienced. I would also encourage myself to not become wrapped up in the typical college life of alcohol and parties. I had never experienced those things before I went to college and it was too easy to be influenced by it. After my freshman year, I resolved to focus more on my education and less on my social life. I still had fun and I felt proud that my grades and health improved. There are so many other negative influences that are hard to resist in college. I would advise myself also on the importance of finding good friends who value the same things you do and want to gain the same experience. They can be an invaluable support.

Going to college is a bigger step than one can imagine. It is different from waking up and walking to school each morning. In college, everybody is more focused to accomplish their own goals, even outside of the classroom. To put things in perspective, I spend less time in the classroom in college than I did in high school. I have much more free time to myself. However, that time must be used for homework or studying. Additionally, as a music performance major, I must dedicate a lot of my time to practicing a particular instrument as well. This sort of focus was difficult to obtain at first, but you have to love what you're studying in order to motivated to practice. Also, colleges are notorious for the amount of forms you must complete. Get your FAFSA finished as soon as possible! Finish the application process at your college of choice before summer hits! If you procrastinate, all the work will catch up with you, and you will be pushing a lot of work into a short amount of time. Get it done before it is too late!

I would say, to always do the best you can. You can never let yourself down, no matter how much fun college can be at times, never let yourself down. Stay towards your goals, strive everyday for sucess and of course this is no joke this is the real deal what you are going to be who you are and your life/future is after this.