Iowa State University Top Questions

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior I would tell myself to prioritze more. Clearly school is important and studying needs to be a top priority, but so does family. It is hard to remember as a senior in high school that one day soon you will be out on your own and won't be able to come home to your family and have dinner together. Spend time with your family and enjoy being a kid while you still can. Teenagers are always in such a hurry to grow up and get away from their parents that they seem to forget how much they actually need them. In general, just remember to slow down and stop trying to rush through life. Family is important, make sure they know that.

The advice I would give myself is not to be scared of the academics. The classes are definately college level, but I am completely capable of completing them and there is so much help you can recieve from professors, tutors, or even classmates. As for the transition, I would tell myself not to worry about making friends because it is easy when in the dorm. I would tell myself that I will meet my life long friends my first year of college. Also, I would make sure to tell myself to get involved as much as possible from the beginning and work harder than you think you can. Worrying stops you from going out and exploring. Have the courage to try to new things because you will find out they are your new favorite activities. Don't be afraid to go to professors and ask for help, they are on your side. Over my first year of college, I learned a lot about myself and continue to grow through Iowa State University and the experience I get from my jobs. Iowa State gave me courage and confidence and I would not change a thing.

Lauren, school has always been easy for you and you know that. When you get to college, you aren't going to be able to get an A in chemistry just by skimming through the chapter the night before. Read the chapters ahead of time (this goes for all of your classes) so that when you attend lectures you know what questions to pose and can see how the information in the chapter is applied to problems in lectures and recitations. Never skip an extra credit opportunity. Believe in yourself.

High school, for most, turns out to be the best four years of their lives. I, for one, could disagree with this statement. Going through high school I did everything I was supposed to. I got good grades, was on the student council, drum major in the marching band, captain of the swim team, and held a steady job for almost three years. If I were to run into myself during time travel, I might urge myself to take a few more risks and spontaneous. Instead of sitting around with my friends in a basement on a Friday night, maybe drive to the city for a midnight run for our favorite hamburgers. Instead of being dedicated to just one sport, try different sports all throughout the year. Maybe I could have found my groove in a different instrument, rather than just playing the flute. Don’t get me wrong; I had a good time in high school. But what if I changed things up every once in a while, what if I took more chances. Maybe high school could be great.

I would tell myself to schedule a harder year and to make myself work harder to make the transition easier for myself.

College is a huge change, not only because of the work load but also because of the independence. I had no clue how strange it would be to be living on my own and having to make a schedule including laundry, cleaning, etc. Also, the amount of studying needed to pass a college course surprised me. I have always been one that everything came easily to in high school, so i did not need to put in a lot of effort. In order to smoothly transition into my college life there were of number of minute details that I had to focus on that could have been focused on in high school. First, I had to learn time management. In high school, I should have spent more time reviewing notes from class before a test was anounced rather than cramming the night before. Also, I wish I would have realized how much easier it was at home when my parents were there to help. In college I have to do everything for myself. I should have offered to help more at home just so I could begin to work out a schedule for completing the little neccesities.

Believe in yourself and do everything with confidence. You will be able to handle everything thrown at you if you believe in yourself. At the same time, if you are struggling with something, don't be afraid to ask for help. There are always people willing to help and many options on campus that offer assitance. One major key to being successful in college is to not constantly worry about every little thing and let all the small things stress you out, because that will be exhausting and will run you down in the long run. Constantly worrying is no way to live life. While school and getting involved are both very important, you have to make some time for fun to allow yourself to relax a little bit. This can be playing sports with friends or simplying playing some video games, it doesn't matter. One last thing, don't worry about making friends, just be yourself and they will come naturally. Just don't be afraid to talk with people you don't know, because that is literally everyone on campus. Overall, go into college with an open mind and positive attiduce and things will be great.

As a high school student I never really put an emphasis on the importance of my academic work. Like most high schoolers, I could usually slide by without studying or doing all of my homework. If I could go back in time I would tell my senior self that I need to try harder and focus on studying. I never really developed any study skills in high school and at the beginning of my college career I struggled quite a bit. I was in luck when I found out that my school offered a course that taught you new studying strategies. I jumped at that opportunity and excelled in my course work. Also, I would tell my senior self to really look at scholarships that are offered and try my best in the application proccess. You really don't realize the importance of money and how precious it is until you get into college and having known there were so many opportunities for scholarships that could have lightened the load would have been a major help. Developing better academic habits and realizing the importance of money and scholarships would be the two things I would tell my senior self.

The first thing you need to know is that sleep is definetley NOT overrated ! You will really regret being tired late in the semester because your sleep schedule is off because you think sleep is for old people. You can definetley survive on little to no sleep at all but sleep is one the most important things that is often overlooked or ignored as most people feel they can live off of naps, these people are crazy do not listen to them because it's not the same as a good nights rest. Secondly you need to let mom deal with the money the first year. Don't spend all of your extra scholarship, FAFSA, or loan money at the mall. Its nice to be fresh but its not worth being in debt. I would say if you get one thousand or more dollars back save at least half if not all for the next semester. Lastly you need, need neeed to sign up for classes on time. If you wait too long you will be forced to wait until the next semester to take a class and you don't have time to waste!

1) Assume more responsability, because in college you will be fully responsible for yourself. Now there is no one to wake you up and force you to go to school but being responsible and not procrastinating is vital to succeed in college. 2)The transition from high school to college is not easy but making friends makes it all more enjoyable. 3)Learn about football, you won't want to miss any games. 4)Even though you're a minority latino student there will be many Puerto Ricans in the university, so don't be nervous about being the only one.