Mary Baldwin University Top Questions

In 10th grade, I became interested in an early entrance program that enables bright and driven young women who are ready for a challenge, to skip high school. Mary Baldwin?s Program for the Exceptionally Gifted (PEG) www.mbc.edu/peg offers motivated students age 13 to 17 a way to accelerate their education by enrolling full time as a residential college student pursuing a bachelor?s degree. Now that I am a sophomore at age 16, and a Biochemistry major, would I do it again? Absolutely. To date, in college I?ve studied General Chemistry, Biology, Medical Anthropology, Calculus and Ethics among other liberal arts classes. In this upcoming semester I will delve deeper into Genetics, Anatomy, and Biology of Women. I?ve had the opportunity to study alongside other talented young women as intellectual peers. The opportunity to reach my goal to become a medical researcher earlier, has made my journey an immensely exciting experience while enabling me to study independently. The PEG program, specifically its science program and research opportunities, will be my stepping stone to medical school at an early age in my quest to find cures to the many diseases that plague the human condition.

I did not attend college directly after high school, as many of my friends did. I sincerely wish I could talk to my high school self and tell her not to let the opportunity for a traditional college experience pass her by! For years, I could not pass young people proudly posing for pictures in graduation attire without wanting to cry. I think I could have been very happy in college. I would tell myself not to be afraid and to embrace the experience. I would like to have attended a college in another state, to get some distance from my family and learn to stand on my own feet. I would tell her to enjoy finding out who she is, and to not apologize for it!

The advice I will give myself is be yourself by not letting others influence you. Stay focus on your career goals and don't stress out. If you need advice from your teachers or peers ask because the will help you. Don't wait to the last minute to do your work and turn in all assignments on time. College is not real hard all you have to do is manage your time properly so you can complete everything you need to on time. Making friends with your peers is helpful so you don't have to spend your whole college experience alone. Also joining clubs on campus is a fun experience where you can meet alot of people and maybe go to other colleges to compete and get to know other college students.

If I could go back in time and give myself advice, when I was in high school, I would say one thing: do not stress over college, it is very similar to high school. If I had known that college would be almost the same as my high school environment was, then I would not have tormented myself over what to expect when I started college. I would have been more relaxed and performed better, academically, than I did. And the most important thing is that I would have been more at ease, had more fun, and taken more life experiences with me. If I had had that advice I would have been less stressed, so I would have studied better, and I would have participated in more campus activities.

One thing I would definitely say to my high school senior self would be to not expect college life to fulfill my exact expectations. I had a certain picture in my mind of how living at college would be, but I have learned that if you enter a situation thinking that you know exactly how it will be, there will always be disappointments. Sometimes certain aspects of college life drive me crazy, but you just have to learn to let them go and appreciate all of the benefits of college life, such as the close friendships you will make and all of the opportunities which will allow you to expand yourself and your knowledge. There are certainly disappointments, but there are also aspects of college life which I did not expect and which are some of my favorite parts about being at college, including the unforgettable moments that come from living in a dorm. Overall, my main advice to myself would be to keep an open mind and to enter the college life willing to embrace and accept every part of it.

If I could go back I would definitely be straight about putting my priorities first, and staying focused, and being you, because it gets hard even though you want to be focused on your education, you can get caught up in the drama, fun, and being close to others. I would also remind myself of how important it is to stay up on the financial aid process, and how important it is to ckeck on your account and just get scholarships, because they are available all year round. Also to take advantage of the resources that surround you because if you don't have many people to lean on their is always someone there, and something you can use to help you and build you, to remind you and boost your confidence that you can make it, and in the end it will be worth it.

I would tell myself not to be so concerned with what other people think. I would tell myself to work harder and and spend more time on homework and papers. Most importantly, though, I would tell myself to take advantage of every opporunity that comes my way.

Hit the ground running! Jump into new challanges and try new things. You will make new friends and keep your old ones. There will be people you connect with, and sometimes they'll come from unexpected places. Get involved! Your niche is there, just waiting for you to find it. Hundreds of opportunities are right in front of you, so grab them! Travel abroad, it's an amazing experience. But most importantly, try and figure out who you are and what you want to do with your life, and embrace it! Take chances. And be bold. (Boldy Baldwin!).

I would tell my self to prepare better, to study more, and to ask questions. I believe those are some of the most essential things that a college student needs to do in order to survive college life. It's been difficult for me because I've never had to ask questions before and now that I need to, I don't really know how to ask, what I should be asking, or how to go about explaining my confusion. I didn't really study much in high school either, but here it's necessary if I want to get at least a D on the test.

To Parents: Allow your kids some breathing space. Do not force them into a particular school or a particular major; that school or major may have been the perfect fit for you or may have been your dream, but let your child find their own perfect fit. Maybe they will have to try four different majors before they find the one that will lead them into a career that will genuinely make them happy...and that is okay because that is what college is for. However, do not allow them to waste their four precious years. Do not tolerate binge drinking, skipping class, or bad grades. Pull them home or withdraw your funding if you have to, but do not use their explorations of a new world as an excuse to tie them down unless it is actually going to harm them or lead to irresponsible behavior later in life. Maybe they need to be in a play, or take a sociology class, or leave the business department...it will be okay. They will find their niche, and you will be happier because they will be happier...even if they do not have the lucrative job you always dreamed about.