Newman University Top Questions

I would tell myself to tour more schools and have a better idea of what I was looking for before I visited them. And although I am an athlete, and a lot of the decisions would naturally come from the athletic side of the school, I would encourage myself to look at the academic and the social sides of the schools as much (if not more) than I look at the basketball part of the school. I would make time to ask some better questions to get a feel for the attitude that is behind the school, town and community because I would venture to say that that attitude encompasses so much of the life that takes place on and around campus.

When asked the question "where are you going to college?" and "what are you going to do with your life?," I was mortified by my bland and dodgy answer that basically meant I had no idea. I would cheerfully approach that kid with the wisdom of having made these difficult decisions and survived the consequences of them all, thus far. As far as direct college advice, my former self would get very little; situations of this magnitude and our ability to cope with our life's decisions make us the people we are. However, the young college applicant would get three major points of advice: work hard but dont forget to enjoy yourself (after all it is college), trust in your own decisions (you have slightly more intelligence than you give yourself credit for), and finally make lasting friendships and experience as much with those people as you possibly can. The learning experience of college as well as life is so much more than the knowledge you manage to soak up. Learning is making the most of your situation and using past mistakes as future stepping stones to greatness.

I would tell myself that college isn't near as scary as everyone makes it out to be. My entire impression of college changed within the first five minutes of my very first class. I would remind myself to work hard in school and make my last semester high school grades as best as they can be. I might also save myself the time and money I spent looking at other schools across the state, becuase Newman University is the only place I can see myself attending college, and the only place I can be generally happy getting an education.

If I could go back in time, as a high school senior, I would have taken basic courses at the community college & focused on developing better time management skills. Time management skills is the biggest thing as you have a lot of free time for the first time for many & it's a challenge to develop the discipline during the semester to manage it properly. Taking courses in the summer proceeding college would allow one to better rebound from mistakes made during the 1st semester of college & would give a person time to practice managing studying & socializing successfully. There's an old saying, "a closed mouth cannot be fed", many first time college students shut out help from family & professors which is wrong so take advantage of resources available to you & foster those relationships instead of shutting them off. Don't be too proud or ashamed to ask for help even when you think it's too late.

I would expect to tell myself to be ready for what many call the real world. This cliche is true for me since I grew up in a Christian community that was for the most part very decent and didn't include what many others do in their free time. I would also tell myself to really give some deeper thought in what I really want to do with my life. I realize that I need to love my job and that pursuing a lot of money is always an unachievable goal. With that being said, I would tell myself to find a job without considering the amount of pay that the job would earn. I would rather have a fun job that had a decent and livable wage than a job that I would regret gonig to every day just so that I would receive a generous paycheck. Another aspect to look at would be to not give in to peer presure. This is the road that ultimately fails you in the end leaving you with almost nothing to accomplish in your life time. All these reasons would have made me a better college student.

I would tell parents do their own research about the institution and not to believe what the college says because they can distort. I would look at the majors that interest the student and check the availability of the classes offered. I would tell them to speak with students on campus about what they think about the university. I would speak to professors in the field of study that you are interested in and see if what they say has a positive effect on you because they will be the people that you will spend most of your time with. I would also look surveys that are conducted about the University that can be found on other websites. The most important thing would be to visit the school multiple times and see if you get the same good vibes from the campus, students, and professors that you speak with and if it does then make your decision about the university.

Try to get invovled in extracurricular activities. I am currently not involved but I am trying. Be sure to visit as many schools as possible and do not forget about those close to home. They tend to be the most beneficial and will help with financial aid.

take campus tours more than once. Show up to the campus without setting up a tour

I think it is important to find a school with a strong academic reputation and an excellent campus life. The academic reputation is important because the student is at the school primarily for academics. He or she needs to be given the kind of education that they pay for. I would also recommend that they look for a place that has study abroad and internship opportunities. Study abroad will help the person develop in a way that they might not be able to at home. Internships are also important because they can offer the student the experience necessary to get a job upon graduation. Looking for a strong campus life will help the student to develop socially and build community. When there are a great amount of activities to attend it become easy to meet people in a fairly casual environment without dealing with drugs, alcohol, and the like. This allows one to be his or herself and still make friends. I would recommend living on campus for at least two years as well (even if from the same town) to help the student become involved and meet diverse groups of people.

deeply research the school and definetly get a campus tour during the schools' semester