Iowa State University Top Questions

Hey Joey! This is me from the future (only a year-ish). I just wanted to let you know what you should do when you first start Iowa State University. Join a club. Go to the club meetings. Talk to the people in the club. Build connections with people. You always thought you didn't want to join a club, volunteer, or even venture out of your comfort zone. Stop sticking to your group of friends on your floor and go meet new people. It's not hard, especially when those people you meet have similar interests as you (*chough* the club meetings help with this *cough*). That's the only advice I have for you. If you do that, you're in the clear. Sincerely, Me / You / Us / Joey

#1) College is fun and exciting, but keep in mind, you're still human! You'll still have bad days, you'll still have to go out of your way sometimes to make friends, and you won't like all your classes. And all of those things are okay! Just be prepared for disappointment sometimes. #2) Do things that are outside of your comfort zone. College is a time for exploration and new experiences, but you can only make those things happen if you make the effort to get out there and do something. #3) Surround yourself with positive people. Keep in mind, some of the friends you make in college might just become your friends for life. So don't waste your time on downers. Choose people who lift you up and make you feel good about yourself! #4) Despite what you may think, you will miss your parents. Answer their calls! #5) Finding a happy medium between social life and academic life can be difficult. Remember to study, study, study, but don't forget to have FUN!

First, I would tell myself to not worry so much. You will find all of your classes and if you can't, someone will definitely help you. Don't be worried that everyone will know you're a freshman; nobody will and if they do, they don't care. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, but make sure you learn from them. If you need help make sure you get it. Nobody is going to judge you for needing help and the only one you're hurting if you don't get help is yourself. Put yourself out there. Especially as a freshman, everyone is in the same boat. Everything is new and a lot of times, if you're worried about something, someone else is too. Finally, slow down and enjoy it. The days go slow, but the weeks fly by. Before you know it the year is over and you're on to the next one. I guarantee that one day you'll be sitting on campus watching high schoolers on campus tours wishing that you could go back and do it all again.

Knowing what I know now about college, I really wish that I could go back and tell myself that college isn't high school. It sounds silly because CLEARLY college isn't high school, right? But it's easier said that acted upon. I treated college like it was high school. I didn't study, because I didn't need to in high school, I waited until the last minute to do homework, and I tried to work too many hours per week. Well, it didn't take me long to get overwhelmed with schoolwork, and my lack of studying produced failed tests. Another thing I did, was skip classes. I learned that once you start skipping, it doesn't stop. You start thinking to yourself, "I didn't miss much last time I skipped, and the professor posts the lecture online anyways." But trust me, you won't look back at those slides, and you'll just keep missing things. Especially freshman year, it's "nice" to skip classes, it's like a break, but you'll get "addicted" in a sense, and your grades will suffer. Once you start it's hard to stop. Don't skip class.

If I could go back in time to talk to my high school senior self I would tell myself, or do whatever it took to get the point across, DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. I know this is always a point that is given, but most people do not take it seriously and I feel as this is the biggest component to being successful in life. If you get a homework assingment on Monday and it is due on Friday at 6:00 p.m. do not wait until 4:30 on Friday to rush through the assingment to get it done. Most likely if you have that much time to work on it in college, its probably not easy and it takes time to achieve greatness. I would then sit my high school senior self down in front of a pad of paper and tell myself to take good notes. I would tell my past self all the essential things I would need to know in college that would make me even more successful. I would be very precise knowing that these notes would be the guildlines to my own success in the future. Last words, don't lose the notes.

Take as many classes as possible to prepare for college.

I would tell myself to study harder, pay more attention to small details and concentrate more on school than other things. Prepare yourself by researching the classes and be prepared before class.

Earlier this year I was questioning if I made the right choice coming here so early out of highschool. If I could go back and realize what I would do different or recommend others do is take as many classes at a community college as you can. Basically gen eds and maybe some elective courses. You come here to learn about your major and what your job will be not math and english. Your paying to learn about what you want to do so why not take classes before you get here. Also I have found that the earlier you start studying for something the odds are I did a lot better than not studying. If I would have known and could have prepared myself for how social everyone was going to be the first week I could have made a ton of more friends. So I guess just be a lot more social and that will take away some stress from being away from home.

Learn how to study now. Once you are in college you will not be able to do well in classes without studying because it is much harder and part of the test will be over subjects that were not covered very well in lecture. Don't be afraid to go out of your comfort zone because in the next 4 years you will be out of your comfort zone on a daily basis. Also, enjoy high school while you can, don't take it for granted because you will miss it, even if you think you won't, you will.

The advice I would give myself as a high school senior would be to stay dedicated to higher education and to seek couselor advice when I get weary. I believe listening to my own thoughts, and not that of an experienced adult, led me to stray away from college like I did. I would advise myself to challenge my learning capabilities and to take the AP courses when they were offered to me. I would push myself into applying for scholarships, even if I didn't have a game plan at the time. If I was rejected for scholarships, I would just be back at square one and no less further. I would remind myself that I can make my own path and that the one laid before me is a path I can take, not the path I can make. I would tell myself to look into the future and see where the path chosen is leading to, and if it's where I want to be. And if it isn't, change it.