Kansas State University Top Questions

From my college experience at KSU I have gained an excellent education with professors who teach in their own unique ways that often benefit their students more than themselves. Through the faculty and staff on campus and community members, I have seen where honor, integrity and a passion for what I do in life can take me. My college experience at K-State has and will hold me to a higher standard of living throughout the rest of my life. As I sit here brainstorming the hundreds of valuable things I've learned over my past three semesters in attendance at K-State, there's just one word that keeps popping into my head: family. This is the most valuable thing I have gained attending KSU and its meaning has been demonstrated to me over and over through the faculty at K-State and Manhattan community members. This is most valuable to me because where challenges may arise in life, I know I can always depend on my K-State family to be supportive, accepting, and encouraging of me and my endeavors.

I have gotten to understand that maybe what I thought i wanted and what I really want are two different things. After mulitple changes in my major I have figured out that I want to help people and take care of people. I work as a Nurses Aide now I know do not want to be in this field forever. I want to help people and take care of children like a social worker would.

This college experience has had a tremendous impact on my life socially and educationally. Class is the main part of school. I have taken several online classes and several classes on campus I would deffinately say I enjoy the on campus classes a lot more. I have gained knowledge of things I thought I knew how to do but I really had no understand of before. Such as how to teach with students with learning disabilities and how they learn. Without attending college I would not have gained this knowledge.

So far being in Southern Maine Community College has been a lot of fun, but every night all I can think about is the debt I'm in. I grew up in a family full of debt and I went to college so that my family in the future wouldn't have to go through that. Unfortunately, college is so expensive that it put me in debt as soon as I was out of high school. How am I supposed to lead a successful life if everywhere I turn my debt is haunting me and taking away my sleep. It's not fair that college is advertised as a way to get a better life with lots of luxuries, but how are you supposed to get to those luxuries if your in over your head in loans. In conclusion, college may be fun in many ways, but at the end of the day the only experience I get is the experience of losing sleep and peace of mind.

Away at Kutztown University in the summer of 2008 I felt a sudden rush of confusion! Did I really want to be a teacher? Did I really want to sit in a classroom for the rest of my life? Education is the absolute most important aspect in my life; yet, did I really want to pursue a career in teaching about it? The best decision I made was to come home and attend Gloucester County Community College for two years. It is now 2010 and in the fall of 2008 I realized EXACTLY what I wanted. I knew who I was; I love people, I hold the door open for them, I smile at everyone I see, I lend a hand every chance I get. Nursing is the best profession for me! I was blind the whole time after high school, just wanting to get away and get the experience. I just received my letter of acceptance to DREXEL UNIVERSITY! I am so thrilled because I know that their education is one full of benefits. Attending school is so gratifying and valuable because I learned what I was supposed to do with my life; I learned my purpose.

In my short time at Kansas State thus far, I have been provided with an education, friends, and a home. There are amazing professors on campus that truly want the best for their students. It can be challenging, but they are preparing us for success. Not only do they provide us with the education we need, but they prepare us for life after college. They encourage us to do our best and are always available if we need extra help. Even though KSU has many lecture classes, the professors will still get to know their students, which shows they do care. Outside of academics, KSU has provided me with multiple opportunites to be involved on campus and meet people from all across the nation. I have found some of my best friends here at KSU and I owe that to the school for providing me with those opportunites. Kansas State University is a home. Kansas State University is a family. It has been valuable for me to attend KSU because I am getting an excellent education and a great college experience. My experience here will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Save up as much money as you can because college gets expensive fast. If possible, don't buy textbooks from the campus bookstore because they are way over-priced and they won't buy them back for very much money if at all. Keep your social and academic lives distinct from one another (have fun, but don't neglect your classes), and get a good night sleep as best you can. Trust your academic advisor in which classes to take. Get a bike for around campus if possible and eat at the dining centers because eating out all the time is an easy way to waste money. Plan out your classes and academics and make a personal budget (and don't stray from that budget). Intersession classes are a great way to accumulate general credits. Take advantage of the recreational, tutoring, and career services offered (they may be "free", but you're paying for them one way or another). But most of all, enjoy college!

If I could go back in time to talk to myself as a high school senior I would tell myself that living in the dorms is a great experience, take up anything new to experience it you only get to be a freshman once. Maybe not living with my best friend from high school as a roommate, meeting new people is a great way to make connections and make friendships to last forever. Taking up Rowing was a good experience so do it for a year meet people, and to see how being an athlete for a D1 sport feels like. Even though you have to get up early for practice don't go to bed so early and miss out on Dorm-life at night! Then then next year just enjoy being a regular college student! Also, I would tell myself to get a job as a senior in high school so I don't have to struggle as much as I am now in college, even though it seemed like I was too busy in high school for a job. Kansas State University is a great school and that I do not regret anything about going!

I would tell myself to get involved in high school, even if it means being new to a club as a senior as long as I have something to put down on college and scholarship applications. It would also help with getting involved in college because I'd have experience instead of starting out clueless. I would also tell myself that studying is important, even for an easy class and that I'm going to need to work hard for grades. That being said I would tell myself to put more effort into Stats and AP Government instead of being satisfied with a "B," and "A" would be more rewarding and would have been great practice for what college courses would be like.

My college is six hours away from home, I started out not knowing anyone, and it's the longest period away from home I've ever spent, so this has definitely been the toughest transition I've ever faced. That's why my one piece of advice to my high school senior self would be to take advantage of every opportunity I got to spend time with my friends. The memories I made during senior year and last summer mean more to me now than I could have ever imagined. My strongest support system has been my friends. While family is great, my friends are experiencing some of the same challenges, and being able to talk to them has helped get me through some really rough times. New friends can be good, but it's the old ones that I value the most. I know them, they know me, and sometimes I just need someone I can vent to, knowing that they will be there to just listen and not judge me. I think Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best: "It's one of the blessings with old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."