Northern Kentucky University Top Questions

I would have told myself to play college softball and contacted the coaches. It would have helped me financially with my academics. Plus I would have better prepared myself with what field that I wanted to study so that I could be more prepared for my degree. I changed my major three times and I finally know what I want to go into full force.

As a student who attended Notre Dame Academy, I was focused, solely, on optimizing my education. The most important aspect of high school, for me, was to generate the highest GPA and ACT scores as humanly possible. While these numbers were critical in applying for colleges, they DO NOT define you. What I have learned in college is that intelligence is not definitive of the scores you attain, but rather by your ability to question the unknown and gain insights for more unique thinking and perspectives. Most people have a abhorance towards wrongness. Being wrong is equitable to failure to some, but through my experience in college, being wrong is the definition of progress and achievement. Through being wrong, you can expand your thinking to new levels and activate new creative potentials that you may never had reached otherwise. So, for all those high school students nervous about not getting into the college of their dreams due to insufficient GPA or ACT scores, don't focus so much on the numbers, but the quality of the answers, whether they are wrong or not.

The advice I'd give would be stay true to myself. You see, for four years I was planning to attend Eastern Kentucky University and be a Forensic Chemistry Major. I was second guessing myself in the middle of my senior year, but I never did anything about it. I made it three days at EKU--classes hadn't even started yet. What did I do the entire time? I cried. I didn't want to be there, nor did I want to study what I was planning to study. My mom ended up calling NKU and they said that I could transfer if I dropped out of EKU and enrolled at NKU right away, which I did and I became an English major. It was the best thing I've ever done. It was what was true to my heart and what I'd needed to do. I'd tell myself to switch because it was the right thing for me and it'd have saved me a scholarship and I also would've had more time to prepare for my experience at NKU. I'd also tell myself "positive outcomes only"; my way of accepting whatever happens.

The biggest advise I would have given myself at the time would have been to stay and finish. It has taken me seventeen years to go back to school and complete my GED and to attend college. I am now on a path to a higher education and have not been this excited in years. I just wish that I could go back and tell my younger self to stay and finish school.

If I could go back to high school, I would tell myself to relax. I spent every Saturday, Sunday and weekdays at work. I missed out on a lot of things. I never went to prom or homecoming. I wish I would have advised myself to stop working. Although the money I made helped a lot with school, the memories I missed out on weighed more. Even now as a first year, I still spend forty hours at work. I wish I learned my lesson. Sure, money is everything. It makes the world go round but, some things have more baggage.

If I could give my high school senior self advice, the first thing I would tell her is to start studying as soon as you get notes. Simply showing up for class is not going to cut it in college. I would tell myself to get involved in activities early on in the year, and enjoy the beautiful campus. I would remind senior Marissa, that money isn't everything and to give herself a Friday night off everyone once in a while. I would tell her to look up as many scholarships as possible, because school is not cheap. If I could give my senior self advice, I'd tell her to cherish every moment of her last year in high school. I'd tell her to keep in touch with her friends, because the transition can get lonely. I'd tell her that it will all turn out fine in the end, and not to stress out over the first week. I'd tell her that no matter how tough things get, it will all be worth it. I'd also senior Marissa not to compare herself to others, because she's like no other person.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high schooler, I would tell myself to push myself father than my comfort zone. I would tell myself to take multiple AP classes because college is expensive.

The best advice I could give myself as a high school senior is to make my grades the most important thing to me. When I was a senior, I was concerned with my social life, making as many friends as possible and when the next party was going on. Now that I am in college, I realized that I missed out on so many opportunities. I missed out on some great scholarships because my grades wern't high enough. I also missed out on academic awards at graduation becasue of my GPA. In high school, grades dotn't seem that important because of other things in your life going on, but in reality they're the most important thing. College has made me realize that school and making good grades come before any thing.

I would tell myself that studying is the most important thing in the world. Asking for help immediately is crucial, go to the study sessions, attend all of the SI meetings and set up a tutor even if no help is needed but just to make sure to grasp what the professor is asking and what the professor wants out of the work we are giving because it can be very difficult understanding the concept of why. I would also tell myself to read over the summer, any book just read because once college starts if you are not comfortable with reading and your comprehesion is not as good as it should be then studying is going to be ten times harder than what it should be. I would also tell myself to read over all of the syllabus and see what is needed for class and what to expect out of this class, I made the mistake in not reading the syllabus and was lost for the first class of my college career which is not a good start. Overall I would tell myself to work hard and never lose sight of my goals.

Give it all you've got. Don't hold back, get out there and explore the world! You've got your entire life in front of you! So you don't know what you want to do or major in? WHO CARES! Even more reason you should get out there and see what options their are. You're good with kids but not sure you want to do something in early childhood? So take that opportunity to see what else it out there. Ever considered yourself an Astronaut? Librarian? Forensic Scientist? No? Not the job for you? At least you explored those opportunities! Hang out with people that are like minded, hang out with people that are so unlike you that you can't stand it! At least you can say you've met everyone! Don't live your life with a bunch of 'What If's...". Be the person you dream of being!