Georgia Southern University Top Questions

education is important. not something to joke around about, focus on your career, stay focused and work hard it will pay off in the future

If I could go back and tell my high school self anything it would be to focus on my classes and use every tool at my disposal to get the best grades. Had I known then what I know now, I would have studied so much more. Absorb as much knowledge and information as possible. Hey, don't worry so much about being accepted, popular and liked. If only I hadn't spent so much time socializing and more time doing homework and studying I would have increased my grade point average. Making friends is very important, but too much social interaction can prevent you from being highly successful. It's also important to take time for reflection and study. I would tell myself to get more sleep and feed my body healthy food. Oh and please read more! I would remind myself of that and spend my Sunday afternoons reading and resting for the week ahead. I would also ask myself to look down the road at the path ahead of me and decide what my goals are for the future. Don't wait until your in college to decide, start now!

Looking back there are numerous things I wish someone had told me before I started college. I think that, given the opportunity, I would go back and tell myself how important it is to set a scheduled time for studying. College isn't like highschool where one can get buy studying for a test the period before. If you want to excell you need to study ahead of time (and over time) and classes should be reserved strictly for listening to the lecture. I think I would stress the importance of a schedule and of reading the textbooks, It's easy to tell yourself that you have time, but eventualy that time runs out.

College is fun and you will do well. But you also need to listen to the rest of my advice: You can’t scrape by without studying anymore. It doesn’t cut it to just glace over the notes five minutes before class starts now. Once you get done with class for the day, go to the library, and read or recopy your notes. Spend 30 minutes per class. That’s a fair amount of time without being too excessive.

As you head to college there are some things you should know. You are a very smart girl, although you have breezed through high school excelling in all your courses, you NEED to learn some study habits. You never had to study before, but you are now entering into a world you know nothing about. So reading and studying are going to be your new hobbies. Ask as many questions as possible and write down any notes that you have. Develop a note taking method that you will understand. Also, don’t be in so much of a rush to be included in the “cool” events. Trust me, there are always going to be exciting events that you can attend later. Make sure you have all your work completed before stepping out. Create an agenda that will help you create an internal schedule so that you will have a format on how to get things done. Show discipline and stick to the schedule. This will later provide you more structure on how you run your life. You have to start taking things seriously. Grab the bull by the horns and stay focused on what you want. You can do it!

College life for me has consisted of working full-time and going to school full-time. Not exactly what I had in mind when I was a senior. The first thing I would tell myself is that this is reality, not some dream world where senioritis should take over my life and school is simple. I would tell myself that it is hard to look back on my high school career and know all the things I would and should have done differently. I would encourage myself to take those honors or AP classes and to even do joint enrollment with a college. I would encourage myself to apply for more scholarships and work harder to get an academic scholarship so I don’t have to work as hard as I do now to pay for college. Lastly, I would remind myself that there is a better life out there waiting for me too. If there was a way for my senior self to see how much I’ve matured and succeeded, all of my decisions then would be different.

You can still have a good time in college while being able to concentrate on your work. TIme management is very critical is having the optimal college experience. Most of the time, your weekends are your best bet for being able to go out and have a good time. Unless, of course, a project or test is coming up that following Monday or Tuesday. Having a good balance of your school work and free time is the key to success. Also, do not be afraid to go to teachers for advice. Many of them are willing to help students, but many students are afraid to ask. This can come in handy, especially for tests. Sometimes teachers will give you hints or extra help on the parts of the class you don't understand. Take any opportunity you can in order to further your learning, and know there will be plenty of time to have fun throught your college career.

Knowing what I know now there are definitely a few things that I would tell “my high-school self”. The first would be to be proactive. In high school there are constant reminders, explanations, and check points to keep you on track with whatever you may be involved with. In college however this is not the case. You are on your own and this is the time to teach yourself the true meaning of taking responsibility. Another piece of advice would be to know your requirements. Throughout my college career I have gotten myself into classes and even organizations that have had an adverse affects on my academic career. Being able to correctly identify what is required of me would have helped me to build a more balanced college life, and would have left me in a slightly better position than I am in currently. My last recommendation would be to have fun. These will be some of the best years of your life. Handle responsibilities while still allowing time to enjoy this amazing privilege and experience.

We have heard parents tell us, “You do not attend school to make friends, but to get an education.” As much as we do not like to listen or agree with what our parents have to say at times, they are absolutely correct when it comes to the purpose of school: to receive an education. There were so many distractions in my senior year-the coursework, college scoping, applying for scholarships, as well as preparing myself for the end of high school and for the beginning of being on my own away from home. Yet, the biggest distraction was my friends. Some of the friends that I had in ninth grade were no longer attending school with me; there were people I believed were my friends, but we no longer spoke; lastly, there were people whom I never spoke to, and we were becoming the best of friends. Saying all of this, you cannot allow yourself to fret these little things in college, because it is not what really matters. Trust me, it’s great to have a circle of friends that you can have fun with, but you are paying for college, it isn’t to be taken lightly.

Stay focused on your school work and don't have too much of a social life.