Longwood University Top Questions

In my experience at college, I have learned a lot in a short amount of time. First and foremost, I have learned how to be on my own and take more responsibilty for everything that I do and everything that I need to do. I have also learned how to better manage my time and how to minimize my stress level. I have learned the true value of what it will take to fulfill my dream of becoming a teacher. Longwood has already started to prepare me for what I will face in the world of teaching and how to handle situations. I have already learned so much about goal of becoming a teacher, and I still have 3 years left at Longwood! Longwood is really helping to prepare me to become the best teacher I can be.

The main things that I would tell myself, as a high school senior, are that to make better choices when applying for colleges. Although I am currently enrolled at Longwood University, I feel that I made a mistake in my decision of coming to this school. I don't really fit in and I wish I had done more research when applying to schools. I have now applied to five other transfer schools that fit my personality and would be able to encompass my lifestyle, likes, and dislikes, which is something that I was not able to understand when I was a senior in high school. I feel that I began giving up on school work and caused myself to get way too stressed out way too easily. I now know how to manage my time and my stress, which is something I was not able to do back then. It's important to keep your friends circle close during that year, as well, and I started pushing mine away because I thought I would never talk to them. Innovations in technology are bringing people closer together and that's something that I have learned and have now embraced.

I would tell myself to consider a school with more of an ethnic variety and to perhaps even consider University abroad. I would also tell myself to make more investments , apply for more scholarships, and to have meaningful relationships with people based on common interests.

The main points I would make to myself would be, don't procrastinate, don't keep your head in the clouds, and pay attention to English class. As a double major in history and sociology I found that I as a student was very ill prepared for writing papers and citing properly. Asking for help was something I rarely did in high school, and that is something that carried with me to college up till recently. Making the transition was simple for me; I have always been a social butterfly, so that was never an issue. I also got involved early in our school GSA, which I am now the historian for, and being more active in other organizations would have been beneficial, especially the school newspaper. In a nutshell I would say that the best preparation for me, while still in high school, would be getting those bad habits broken of not procrastinating, keeping my head out of the clouds, and paying attention in English class.

I would encourage you to take more Advanced Placement classes, because they save an enormous amount of tuition costs when you score high enough on the exams to receive college credit. You also save time for classes you need to take, rather than general education courses. When coming to school, do not always expect your roommate to be your best friend. If you assume they will be, and they turn out to be the opposite of who you would choose as a friend, then you are more likely to get hurt. I would encourage myself to find a church that is what you are looking for at the beginning of the year, rather than waiting. Having a good foundation in my faith would have eased some of the difficult transitions. Also, maintain healthy living. It is easy to do this in high school when you play a sport, but at college, food is available all the time and laziness attacks. I would encourage a regular workout and healthy eating. Moreover, sleep is a necessary element of health, so make sure you are getting in as much sleep as your body needs.

I wish I had the chance to go back in time and speak to myself as a high school senior. I remember I was apprehensive about attending community college before transferring to Longwood University. Jealousy consumed me as I watched my peers brag about what colleges they would attend that next year. I had a high enough GPA to attend most colleges, but a four-year university was not in the budget. Transferring seemed my only option, but I was ashamed to tell others I was going to community college. Now, after having attended community college for a year and transferring to Longwood, I see that I am a stronger person because of my experience. Community college served as a stepping stool in my transition from a high school student to a college student. I was able to experience the more rigorous classes, while holding a job and still living at home. It was a character building experience, and I learned a lot about myself during that year that I had dreaded as a senior. If I could go back, I would tell myself to be confident of my choices for my future, and not worry about what others thought.

If I could go back in time I would talk to myself about the living situation in college. I would warn myself about the problems living with other people. I am used to having my own room and didn't realize the problems that would come with sharing. I knew that there might be problems with cleaning, but I never thought about the academic aspect. Peer mentors and other people warn you about it, but I didn't really listen. It would have helped to hear it from myself. They may have friends over when I want to study, so I have to find a place to do work. I would have probably found a place to do that if I had warned myself before hand. There are times for studying and times for fun, and I would have warned myself that my roommates weren't going to have the same agenda as me.

The one thing you will struggle with in college is spending money, save the money you make this summer - YOU WILL NEED IT! You have the study habits down but you will have to get used to learning past the grade - what you learn is college is what is going to make you a successful professional, do not just focus on getting a grade focus on obsorbing all the useful information your professors will give you. A good grade is great but if you are not slowly progressing to a competant professional, it is all for nothing.

I would have told myself to straight up CALM DOWN. So much time my senior year and the summer before college I spent worrying over this and that. College is a big change but it's not the end of the world as I knew it. I should have spent more time relaxing and enjoying the time I had left in high school and over the summer with my friends instead of wasting time freaking out. If I just calmed down, organized and got everything for college together in an orderly fashion I could have saved myself so much stress. (and probably a few acne breakouts too!)

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, there would be a couple pieces of advice I would give myself. The first would be that it is not a good idea to room with a friend from high school. This may seem like a good decision because you would feel more comfortable living with someone you know. In reality, it is better to room with someone you don't know well so you can get to know them and meet new people. Also, getting involved in activities around campus is very important to keep yourself active and on the right path. It is also very imporant to learn to balance your life between your friends, schoolwork, and your personal life. Balance between those three will elimnate stress and make the transition to college a lot smoother. Once you learn to balance, college will be a lot more enjoyable and you will learn the technics to stay focused and motivated as well.