Hiram College Top Questions

If I could go back in time as a high school senior, I would tell myself to experience all of the aspects of college life and not worry so much about grades. College is meant to be an experience. If I knew then what I know now about life and getting a career, I would tell myself to do more extracurricular activities, take different classes outside of my major and just have more fun. Once you graduate from college and start looking for a job, your prospective employer doesn't ask for your grade that you received in physics in your freshman year in college. All that they care about is if you have a degree and from where and if you are a well rounded and interesting person who is intelligent enough to figure out the job that you are appying for. A good college experience can lead you to being that well rounded and very employable person.

I would tell myself that the studying and dedication doesn't stop here. Yes, you are going to graduate, but its just the beginning after graduation. College is not all about partying, drinking and football games like the movies say. You must work hard. However its not just all work and no play. It is possible to balance out the two and still have fun in school. There will be times when you just want to give up and quit school because it gets tough. But don't give up! Four to five years later when you have your degree and your making your money, you will be so happy that you didn't give up. You will be able to look back and see how hard you worked to get where you are. Hardwork pays off!

Dear Senior Jes, Although mom and dad have not put any money aside for you for college you have to do what you always do, go it alone. Yes, college is an option; please don't take six years to figure that out. You are smarter than that, take your ACT's and yes the SAT's. Take the extra babysitting job in the summer, save the money to pay for housing and books. Live on campus, find a mentor and become obsessed with the library. You can make something more of yourself, you do have an option, and they’re not willing to give it to you so you have to take it! Sincerely, Jes - from your future, with a future

At Hiram, I have been able to get involved in numerous activities around campus that have helped me to build on skills that I will need in my chosen career path. I have learned patience and the realization that everyone learns in a different way through my two years as a Teaching Assistant, Peer Mentor and as an Orientation Leader. I have learned organization and communication skills through my work as Student Body President. I have also learned leadership and public relations work by being Co-Chair of Hiram's first annual Relay for Life. By going to Hiram I have seen that the world is a much different place than the community that I grew up in. I have met so many wonderful people who have taught me their values, cultures, and ways of life and although I have some problems with Hiram, I am not sure I would have gotten the same experience that I have received at a different college or university.

The opportunity to study in a college has given me the chance to learn all kinds of things, more specifically about visual communication, technology, and on the way about history, cultural communication, art classes, computer information and the english language; also, through this adventure I have met so many people with so many different cultures and languages and have learned about their lives, after sharing with these people I have become more open minded, more knowledgeable about what goes on all over the world; and more importantly, made new friends. Aswell as friends I have been guided with very skilled and helpfull staff like my English Teacher John Liffiton and my cultural communicatio professor Annaliese Harper and Graphic Arts teacher Patrick Burk. It is overall a unique experience that everyone should have the opportunity of having it and that unfortunately for financial reasons are not given this chance.

I have only been at Hiram since August but already I have learned a lot. I have gotten a lot of one on one attention from my professors . I have learned how to be more independant with a little help from the faculty staff ,much to my mommy and daddys dismay. I think that Hiram has helped me realize my dream of higher education from which I will go on to get my masters and then ph.d I thought I wanted to attend a bigger school, but I am so glad I chose the small rural college I attend.

I have learned a lot about how I learn best and what academic subjects interest me the most. I have also been exposed to opportunities and people that I would not have been otherwise. The professors and classes at Hiram are awesome and capture my attention. The campus activities and clubs are very active and always consist of fun ways to get to know other students. The campus is beautiful and feels like home. It has been valuable for me to attend because not only are the academics wonderful, but the people are amazing too. It has also been valuable for me to grow up, live on my own and be exposed to new experiences. The most valuable part of being in college is that I have learned that taking risks is okay and have tried many new things as a result of that.

I am a freshman at Hiram, but I have done post- secondary education classes at Kent State University during my high school education. The college experiences that I have had taught me responsibilty. Besides responsibilty, it has given me the opportunity to want more; it gave me reassurance to my goals and gave me the ability to have higher ambitions. It is so critical to attend college. Reason being is, not only does that shiny diploma on the wall say "you successfully received more education", one gets to become passionate. Not in one subject necessarily, but in many. There are so many new things to become more passionate about , and college lets people discover those in more ways than imaginable. Once a person gets passionate about something, they will become more ambitious and will dream of being something great. High school gives a person the foundation of dreams, but college gives the person everything else to build those dreams.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would have more than enough to talk about. The first discussion I would bring up is that critical thinking is one of the most important tools in decision making. There were so many times I would act on impulse when making decision and it was not the best policy. I believe that in conjunction with not taking every single thing so seriously are important tools to having a good senior year. Being a high school graduate, I sometimes look back at all the drama that I did not have the ability to overlook. Being in college if the same situations happened to me again, I would either handle them differently, or just brush them off. The last topic I would try to cover is not burning too many bridges. Just because I was leaving for college, does not mean that I needed to be closed off from the people "I thought" I was not going to keep in touch with. In all honestly, those people I closed off, are the ones I find myself going to for guidance.

Looking back, I have to say that there really isn't much that I wasn't prepared for in the jump to college life. The only piece of advice that I would have to give myself in Highschool that I know of now is to apply to far more scholarships than I did, given that now I am facing bills I am unable to pay without extra financial support. Other than a higher degree of scholarship hunting, I would simply confirm a lot of suspicions I had about campus life so that move in day wouldn't be quite so nerve-racking.

I would tell myself not to keep myself so sheltered. THe biggest mistake I made was keeping to myself and not getting out and meeting new people my first year. I missed out on a lot of fun people and fun times because I spent all my time doing homework or waiting to talk to my boyfriend from home online. If I could do my first year all over again I waould go to more campus events and open up more to people in order to make more friends. This is exactly what I have done this year and Ive never had so much fun. I have met amazing people and I have fun along with staying focused on my school work. I have the best of both worlds.

Make a list of your college choices with "Pros" and "Cons", including location, tuition, consider the scholarship opportunities, discuss the money you or your parents will owe or pay and go on an overnite stay to get a feel for the atmosphere; don't follow your girl or your friends. College is about new experiences and adapting to a different environment than what you are used to. Watch my 3 minute video posted on Facebook on what to bring to college. Thank you for any consideration to provide me a scholarship. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=550019904148 Christopher Sabo Junior, Hiram College Hiram, Ohio

My advice to students and parents looking for the right college would be to actually go on campus visits, they are the best way of making sure the college has the right "fit". While you are on these visits, talk to some of the students, ask them for their honest opinion of their college. Also, find a helpfull staff member and ask them why they think their institution is a great place to learn. I would even suggest going on overnight visits to the campus, a campus can be one way on a visit day, but you see its true colors when you stay a couple of days. My final word of advice is to make sure that you feel comfortable when you first arrive on campus. Try to imagine yourself going to the school, sitting a classroom full of students, does it feel right? If it does, chances are, you are in the right place!

To find the right college, it would be in best interest to go with what feels comfortable. If a college that is part of the selection group does not feel right for you, or your child, then it most likely is not a place that will bring success. It is almost cliche to say that people go with what they know, but when it comes to spending a lot of your money and time to receive higher education, going with what you know would be best. Also keep in mind what features you want out of the college, and the college experience. Making the most of a college experience would include extracurricular activities that would be of interest to you but would also benefit you in the future. By choosing to do certain activities and extracurriculars you can really expand and broaden your life experience. These activities, extracurriculars, and campus events can really have an impact on the social network, and future career network, for your life in and after college. Becoming involved on campus is the most beneficial thing that any person will ever have the chance to do in life, and I would take advantage.

Ask students outside of those who work for the school.

Trust yourself first before trusting college advisors.

Make sure that a lot of research is done before chosing a school, especially if finances are a problem.

go for the academics and not the sports

Vist the campus. Talk with students, faculty, and staff. Go with your gu feeling, you'll know what college is right for you. Get involved!

The best advice I could give about making the right choice is to choose a school based on what's the right fit for you. I feel the biggest mistakes some of my friends have made is going to a school purely because it is where their boyfriend/girlfriend/parents. went to college. The choice you make now is going to affect you for the next four (or more) years, not your parents or your friends. If it is the wrong choice, it will make everything about the transition to college more difficult. In order to make the most of the experience, besides making sure you are somewhere that you feel comfortable, be certain that you do not shut yourself off from the other students. Make friends with the people on your dorm floor early. Don't go home the first few weekends, even you are homesick, because this is the time that bonds are made and you are able to really get to know people without the stress of a classroom. Be sure to focus on classwork, too. As tempting as it is to just have fun, education is the main reason for college and freshman year is crucial.