New Jersey Institute of Technology Top Questions

If I had a chance to give advice to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself it is okay to be DIFFERENT from the rest. You may not fit in, be popular, but things can be DIFFERENT for you. Focus on your studies and bettering yourself, so that one day you can show the world how beautiful "DIFFERENT" can be. I would tell myself not to worry about making money and to pursue what makes me happy. Do not be concerned with making money, or choosing a career path that many people want to choose, choose what's right for yourself. Finally, I would advise myself to not lose myself in college. I would tell myself to remember my aspirations, focus only on how to achieve those aspirations and seek help when necessary. Remember who you are and stay true to who you are no matter if there are those that dislike you. Stay true to your convictions so that you may inspire many future leaders, future "YOU'S" to create a DIFFERENCE.

I would tell myself to take high school very seriously, and not waste time. Work harder than everyone else, and graduation with the best GPA and high school resume possible, not only would this allow me to get accepted in the best institutions but also give me a better chance of recieving merit based scholarships.

Every time you thought a course was stupid and the teacher was an idiot, you were the idiot. Every course in highschool that you didn't bother to do the homework in because it seemed pointless effected how much you'll have to spend on college down the road. By spending an extra 15 or 30 minutes a night studying you could have shaved almost whole semester off your college debt. However, even before you go off to become an engineer take community college courses first. Call and make sure your school will accept the credits, but it will be far cheaper than taking all of your core classes on campus. You could easily balance a job inbetween community college courses and save up money for paying down your unsubsidized loans so the interest doesn't pile up. The more you have to borrow for college the longer it will take before your life can get out of the slow lane and into the fast lane. Nobody will ever ask you if you're sure you want to borrow five thousand dollars at a time, it's your responsibility to pay this back one day so be smart about it.

You need to start working hard from day one to keep your grades up. Freshmen year is the easiest year to do well so don't mess up because it will take several semesters to recover from one bad semester. Also start preparing early for opprotunties to enhance your resume for grad school/ work. Don't look at the fact that your friends arent doing much other than classes. Take intiative and start projects, internships, research projects to help yourself suceed. You were to focused on your personal/socil life and let your academics slip. You need to find the right balance and in the long run it wont matter much if you focused on academics more than social life. True friends will always be there and support you while you overcome academic obstacles. Although it may seems that classwork is eating up all your time, you'll always find that you have time from friends. Just don't ignore , procastincate or let work buidl up before its too late.

Get involved with community service programs and do well on your AP's and Math especially! I cant begin to explain how much easier sophomore year and all of college in general would have been if I had taken these courses more seriously. Even though I may not have known exactly what I wanted to do at the time and some things seemed like theyll never be needed in the future i should've just learned them anyway because they were important. Life is funny that way. Do research on your college, ask questions, visit it, do not be afraid to get out there. The course load at NJIT is huge and if I had gotten a 5 on the AP english exam, studied for SAT's and payed attention in Calculus I'd be breezing by right now. One other important thing is to not procrastinate so much with FAFSA and financial Aid in general. Most of the easy to find scholarships are for highschool seniors and if I had gotten into the honors program I'd be set right now financially. Also, resume builing is important so whatever makes you look like a oustanding/ outgoing citizen is perfect.

Freshman need to understand that while I'm sure you are tired about hearing that you need to learn to manage your time well for college, it is a complete truth. The workload can be overwhelming for people who aren't mentally prepared to sit down and do large sums of work for multiple classes on top of each other during the course of the week and even over the weekend.

Dear past Me, Get ready for a lot more work than you're used to. You might hear that college is experimenting and parties every day. That is so far from the truth. You will have time for friends and family. However, you have to start learning how to manage your time. The professors at college aren't as leignant as high school teachers. They don't take late work and usually don't have time for excuses. The work schedule is also different. Instead of doing most of the work at school, you'll be doing a lot of work at home. Try not to waste any free time you have because it will come back to haunt you later on. Most importantly, don't procrastinate. The work at college is not something you can do on the train or overnight. The assignments will just start to pile on if you don't keep up. Lastly, try to be outgoing during the first couple of days of college. Make friends who you can count on later on because you might be working with or for them in the future. Sincerely, Present Me.

My experience as a fresh-faced college student would have been much easier had I known that I could have earned more credits taking AP courses. Tuition is becoming harder to afford and I could have saved a lot by working harder to score better on AP exams. I also would have given my former self a lecture on the pros of community college; I was extremely reluctant at first because of the reputation of my local college but it turned out to be a practical choice in terms of affordability. I also would have persuaded myself to continue community service in addition to my current part-time job so that it would reflect better on my transfer application. In addition, I would have worked harder on my pSATs so that I might have qualified for the National Merit Scholar status.

One major advice I would give myself if able to speak to my high school teen being is that I need to know what it is I want to be before I'm handed off my high school diploma. The fact of the matter is that if you go into college undecided you will be wasting precious time in starting your life. But to give yourself the chance of knowing what it is you want to do before actually attending college means you can get a head start on being able to interact with the future image of who it is you want to be. See whether or not it is actually worth it, and off of that encounter base your decision on whether or not you want to continue with the specified major you had originally picked out for yourself. Two things you learn that you will never get back in life is time and money, and being in College is teaching you how to establish yourself using both in the best and most efficient way possible. After all its the begining of leaving everything behind and starting on your own.

Excelling in the math and sciences have assisted me in making my decision to apply to a school that is more technology-based than liberal-based. I would have become social quicker, joined in on more activities and volunteered my time to causes that inspired me, which would have make me a more diversified student. I would tell myself that it's never too late to become a part of something that makes you feel good about yourself. When you feel good about yourself, you attract others that feel the same way. Making friends in college is so different than making friends in high school. You can have a fresh start and make it work for you. College life is what you make of it, not what others remember about you because there is no background.

If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to take it easy and slow. I rushed my classes at Waubonsee Community College becuaase I just wanted to get done and go to North Central. I was taking and still am taking six to eight classes a semester and working two jobs. In doing this I can't just focus on a few classes so I don't do that well in all of them. I also would have liked to tell myself that I can do it! No matter how tough it gets, I can get through anything. I wish I would have known how tough times were going to get but even though it was hard at times I made it. I would have also told myself that I can get into North Central and I did. Now I'm probably going to wish in another two years that I could tell myself all of this again but I hope that I learn from these experiences and know that I can do anything. So what I am going to tell myself now for going into a four year university is; enjoy it. Get involved!

Don't say no to anything. Thinking back to when I was in high school, I wanted to do so many things that I said no to. I do regret not doing these things. I wanted to volunteer at the hospital but I did not. Now that I am older, I realize that volunteering would have not only helped me find my desired career, it would have made someone's day special. Also, I would tell myself to expect the unexpected. Seeing all of these other students getting scholarships made me want one, I never thought that the hardest teacher I have had would nominate me for the All-Academic Team. In addition, I would tell myself that transition is not hard unless you make it to be hard. I have seen many other students that I have graduated with give up because they thought it was too hard. I felt that making friends, talking to teachers, and volunteering for school programs have helped my transition be the best possible. Also, I would tell myself not to stress over the little things and not to procrastinate. This advice would have helped me take advantage of every opportunity I have had.

Looking back, there is plenty of advice I'd like to have had. As a third year college student, I'm proud of how far I have come, and excited for where I will go. Through high school I battled a lot of mental health issues that held me back, so I can relate to all the struggles teens go through. I was afraid to step out of my comfort zone, and I was afraid of failure. I now tell graduating seniors that I know to not be afraid and just go for it. You never know until you try. Keep your chin up and your head in the game. College is a great experience and your education will never let you down. Always remember: you CAN do it!

College life is a phase to learn, enjoy, feel the fun & joy of life and not just mere books and theoretical concepts. Its a phase which serves as a turning point for any individual. Taking a person to heights or the lower end lies on how an individual acts at that moment. Its very critical that a student makes the right decison and choices as and when needed. Its a phase where each and every moment is to cherised. Do not spoil the moment. Good luck !!!

Knowing what I know now about college life, the best piece of advice I would give myself is to not procrastinate on homework. Keep track of the class syllabus to make sure you are on top of things or even getting assignments done in advance. Staying on top of your coursework can help in so many aspects; such as not being stressed about having your homework done on time and being more prepared for tests. This is one trait that I intend to take with me.

The advice I would have given myself as a high school senior would be not to be scared to put myself out there and to truly get used to the idea of good time management and planning. I think this because college offers a whole other freedom to everyone and it's important that you don't carried away and adjust as easily and quickly as possbile.

I got out of my college I got confidence, knowledge and responsibility. In high school it was hard for me to communicate with other people and to get involved into a conversation. Once I got to college I started talking with other students from other countries which helped me interact with them and express myself more easily. In college I took a speech course which prepared me to speak in front of an audience and be more secure about myself. Now, I am working as a Technical Support which involves interacts with people globally. College gave me the knowledge I needed for my career. In the beginning I did not have the slides idea of what a computer was. Now, I help users troubleshoot technical problems with their computers. I know that the knowledge that I acquired in college is going to help me throughout my life. Be responsible is one of the major experience that I got in college. The responsibility to be on time on class helped be on time at my job. The responsibility to present my homework on time helped meet deadlines at my job. For these reasons college was very valuable for me to attend.

Out of my college experience I have learned that it is not something you can take lightly. At first I thought it was going to be like highschool, meaning that I didn't have to study very much to get good grades. But that was not the case. After nearly failing my first physics exam I decided I had to get serious. I studied really hard and awarded myself by spending some time with friends in the game room. The studying payed off because I aced the rest of my exams and ended up getting an A in the class. I was incredibly happy and had learned my lesson. Procrastination is no longer something I do and I know that my future depends on what I learn in class. I have learned that it is important to also balance studying and social time. I realized that the stress can have really bad effects so I had to find time to relax and I found that I enjoyed college a lot more than high school. By attending I feel that I am growing as a person and that soon I won't have to depend on others to support me.

To socialize with your classmates and learn how to work better in a group. This has been valuable to me out in the real world this apply this form of teamwork. This is very useful.

I have grown a great deal since the day I started college. Working with Instructors that completely understand the material and with students that are earger to learn, has been a wonderful exprience. I feel that I have matured as a students and it will help me in following my career. Following deadlines, and keeping trake of grades has help prepare me for the work place. In school, the harder that I study, the better grade I recieve. In the work place, hopefully, the harder I work , the better my paycheck looks. It has been a great value to attend.