Lee University Top Questions

Senior year. The big one. The final year of your childhood. Soon you'll graduate, and life will change as you know it. You'll be thrown into an unknown world of independence, twelve-page long research papers, and ramen. A transition like that can be daunting, and I know you're nervous. What if you don't make friends? What if you fail all of your classes? You don't have to be scared, though. College isn't as frightening as it seems, believe me. You'll get the hang of classes, and meeting new people will get easier every day. Don't waste your time worrying. I know on some days you feel the opposite: you can't wait to leave high school and start making your own decisions. It's great to be excited about the future, but just make sure you enjoy the present too. Stay engaged. It's easy to get "senioritis" and not focus on studies, but college classes are more manageable if you didn't slack off your senior year. Plus, you'll regret not trying your best. Don't worry. You got this. Just be yourself, and everything will fall into place.

I can see myself as a high school senior, and I wish I could go back and tell that girl that everything was going to be okay. As a senior she was dealing with her mother and father divorcing and although she did well in high school, she started making choices that showed she was losing control instead of maintaining it. I would tell this girl to stay strong and to focus on school and her sports, rather than bad influences. Maintaining this focus into college would help her be successful. I would tell her that the freedom she was looking for was in her books and her success at school could help her fulfill her dreams. I would also tell her that she can complete college and get the financial aid that she needed. I see her struggling to figure out how to close the gap between the sports scholarships and tuition. I would tell her to reach out to the staff at the admission's office and ask for help! In fact, I would tell her to stop trying to do everything herself and reach out to the staff at her college, they are there to help her!!

Simple Advice By Caitlin Reed My high school self wasn’t too scared of the concept of college. I did some dual enrollment at a local community college. I knew how to interact with professors and other students and it wasn’t that different from high school. My biggest worry was leaving home to live on campus. There is never any guarantee that dorm life will go smoothly. If I could go back to see my high school self, I would tell her that girls aren’t actually that mean when they grow up. I would tell her that she will become a dorm peacekeeper and work towards harmonious living. She would also need to know that people can still be geeks in college, and that she definitely will not be the only one. All my high school self needed to know was that she wouldn’t be alone.

If I could go back and talk to my high school self, my biggest piece of advice would be to avoid judging people by their appearance. I learned through the people I met at Lee from all over the country and all over the world, that amazing packages may be wrapped in rough edges or bad reputations. If I had lived that in high school, I may have been able to reach people I walked past, or befriend those who needed it. Transitioning into a college that accepts everyone as they are, and making friends with people I never would have imagined being close to in high school has changed me greatly. I look back on my senior year and wonder who I may have been close to, or who God could have used me to reach had I not been judgemental. Although I was friendly, it was almost hypocritical. While I am proud to say that I no longer have fake smiles and secret assumptions, I do wish I had learned this lesson while still in high school. So, in conclusion, the cliche statement "Don't judge a book by its cover" is filled with truth.

If I could go back in time I would tell myself to work harder, and be less afraid. I was not a poor student, but I definitely didn’t apply 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of myself to my work like I should have. I made decent grades, but I didn’t always make sure that I was paying close enough attention that I could reiterate the information a few years later. I would tell myself to not let the fear of the unkown world that is college get to me, but rather to let it inspire me. This would have made my transition to college smoother, and I could have gotten a lot more accomplished than I did. In addition, high school is one of the most influential times of one’s life. If I applied more of myself at that time in my life who knows what kind of impact I may have had on my peers and those around me. Every chance I get I try to remind high school students to focus less on getting out of high school, and focus more on having an impact in high school.

Breathe. I was so stressed out and concerned about grades, GPA, and paying for college, I couldn't relax. The last year of high school goes by in an instant, and when you're that preoccupied with worries, it's easy to miss out on important things. If I could talk to my senior self, I would say to calm down. Enjoy this time. Cherish the last moments you have in these classes, with these teachers and friends. Take some time for yourself; have a pampering day. Believe and trust that everything will work out, and that no amount of worrying will help matters. Learning how to handle stress properly in high school would've been greatly beneficial for my first year of college. Just breathe, Kaitlyn. Everything turns out just fine.

I know you think college is going to be a wonderful experience. A place where you can get away from who you are at home. A place where you can get away from your depression (yes, you have depression. You just refuse to admit it). A place where you can get away from your co-workers and your not-so-friendly friends. But the truth is, college is not as wonderful as you think it might be. Don't go all the way to Tennessee assuming you'll be best friends with your roommate. Yes, you already know her. But she will change in ways that you do not like. Your so-called friends will backstab you. And you'll regret your entire first semester of college because of how depression will overtake you second semester. But don't dare worry. You'll find people you can go to about anything. People that are willing to pray for you and encourage you when you need it. Truly lifelong best friends. And you'll be angry at God and thank God for everything that happens. But don't worry. Just trust God and you'll be fine.

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior getting ready to go to college, I would tell myself not to be so nervous about leaving home and meeting new people. College is not as frightening as I was expecting, and I wasn't the only one nervous on move in day. It is a new experience for everyone, but eventually you will get used to the campus and the way the school is run. I also did not realize, at the time, how much I would depend on my friends and family for support over my first few years in college. I would have tried to form better relationships with my friends before I left.

Alright kid, listen up. I know that you're freaking out because this is your senior year of high school, you're leaving home, etc. Don't listen to people when they say the workload in college is going to be the death of you. Do you remember how it was in your junior year and you had so many panic attacks because you had a ton of work to do? College is easier than that! In fact, you are going to be one of the few students who can actually get their work done efficiently and on time, and still get more than four hours of sleep. Please don't misunderstand me here, I'm not saying the workload is not difficult, but it is something that you can handle. You're the one who the teachers would always expect answers from questions because you actually know what is going on. You've got this chick. College is the time to just have fun. I will give you a heads-up though, when you go cliff jumping for the first time, don't think about the height. I hope these words of advice help you. Good luck. Have fun.

I would tell myself that even though I was very successful in high school that college academics require much more work and determination. I would alert myself to the fact that not getting a 4.0 grade point average is not a devastation, that grades do not define who I am. This would allow the transition to be easier and less stressful as far as academics are concerned. I would tell myself to enjoy my time more than I stress out over homework and to not put as much pressure on myself. Due to my dedication to school in the past and in the present, this advice would have really helped me to better transition into college life. Allowing myself to have fun with friends would result in having more friends that I could rely on when times got hard. I would also be less stressed about my schoolwork because a few B's would not make me a failure.