Minnesota State University Moorhead Top Questions

I would tell myself to pay attention, and go to class. It's not as easy as one would think. To get ready for the best time of my life, and the hardest.

The first year of school goes by extremely fast. I would tell my past self to slow down and make sure to pay attention and enjoy the entire experience.

I would advise my high school senior self not to make best friends or join a group or people too quickly when I arrive at college. It is better to be friendly to everyone and see which friendships develop. Spend equal amounts of effort on the different friendships, instead of focusing on one or two people. As you get to know people better, you may discover that they are not as compatible with you as you had originally thought, and that other people, who you dismissed earlier on, would make really good friends. It is more difficult to build a friendship with a person you have known only casually for a long while, than it is in the beginning when everyone is new and looking to build friendships. Also, write down the dining hall meal times and schedule a time in your day to eat, so that you make sure you get to eat before the dining hall closes. A few days of a rumbling stomach is not fun. Also, make your planning diary your new best friend; it's going to save your life in college. There are too many assignments and meetings to remember on your own.

I wouldn't live at home. As much money as it saves, it really slows down the involvement at school. In high school I did everything; I was in every club, sport, and leadership programs. But at my non-traditional college, not only do other students not reach out to meet new people and make new friends, but as soon as class is over I just want to go home.

Concentrate on academics and not my social life. Focus and study hard.

For the entire duration of my college career I have had to work mostly two jobs to get by. This has decreased the amount of time I could have spent expanding my education and taking classes that I wanted to take instead of ones solely for my major or my general education. I came to this school as it was just starting a new liberal arts program which made things more difficult. If I could have afforded it, I would have gone to a school further from my hometown so that I could have had more opportunities to experience new things. If I could go back I think I would have wanted to be more active, but again with work it made it difficult. I also think I would have picked a major that would have better facilitated finding a job. All in all, I have made some great friends and learned about myself, I think the only way to do that is just to go in head first and learn from each experience.

Take the time to slow down and pay attention to and enjoy what is going on around you.

Don't wait forever to go. It's not like highschool, and it's actually fun learning when your doing it for yourself and not because your being forced to go. There will be a few tough classes but as long as you go to class and make an honest effort you can get through it "just don't quit", and most importantly the hardest part about school is getting correct answers " be persistant and don't give up until you are convinced that you got the right answer

I gave myself the best advice from the get go--think outside of the box and be optimistic! Yes, there are times when college gets rough and both socially and academically you may struggle, but you're doing it for a reason. I was right in not taking my full-ride volleyball scholarships as academics are the most important and you need time to be involved on campus. I would say that just being open to a brand new experience is the basic mindset a new student needs.

I would tell my self to breathe and try very hard to stay calm when trying new things. And i was also tell myself to remember as much and take as many pictures as i can because everything goes by so fast.