Ohio Northern University Top Questions

Open up to those around you, because the world is an inviting place if you give it a chance. Don’t make excuses for yourself for why you can’t attempt to socialize and find the kinds of friends that your parents and their friends always have stories about from their “glory days”, because you could miss out on the chance to meet some of the best people you will ever encounter in this world. They enjoy watching the Game Show Network just as much as you do, and appreciate all your poorly made puns, because these people who started out as just your classmates understand you and you understand them. These are the friends you will remember for the rest of your life, so open your door and find them. You don’t want to be the woman years from now who can’t recall a single good story from college that doesn’t involve environmental research. Make those hypothetical stories a reality when you enter the halls of Ohio Northern University next year, because it is possible, even for an awkward sapling such as yourself. You are capable of anything, even socializing.

It's October 9th 2013 and I'm alive. Senior year I reeked of failure and social awakwardness. I had no plans and goals for after high school. Instead I found myself tangled up in my own madness. I became that nervous villian lurking behind my fellow classmates who were destined for greatness. Me? I was destined for being alone because; nobody wants a weed inside their garden. I treated every senior acitvity like it was waiting at the doctor's office. It's uncomfortable, long, and dreadful. I wished my senior self knew that you didn't need to already have your life planned out by 17. I'm turning 20 in 26 days and I'm still working out the kinks in my career and education path. Depression yanked away the good parts of me and left me broken for two years. I wished I tooked a deep breath and looked at the joyful things in my life. I was editor on literary magazine and I had created wonderful friendships with teachers over the past four years. I now reek of hope and good memories.

I would tell myself, "Go big, or go home." There I was, with the ability to apply to any school I wanted, but I limited myself to staying in Ohio because I was afraid to drift away from my comfort zone. Now I am at a school, that I fit into academically but not always when it comes to other ares, such as finances. Ohio Northern is definitely full of many kids who don't have to work for anything. They can simply call their mom, dad, or grandma and ask for whatever their heart desires. As an independent student, I don't have this luxury. I knew college would be difficult with the lack of a support system in place, but I would tell myself, to not only get a summer job, but 'Save, save, save.' Emergencies happen all of the time and we never know when one may occur. And I'll just say, I have had more than my fair share. I would tell myself that, "A lot of people you depend on now, won't be there 3 years from now... and at first, it WILL hurt. But tomorrow is a new day."

To say the least, I loathed high school. Not knowing where to start with my future; college was something I couldn’t even grasp. I took the SAT once, ACT once, and I applied to one college. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte and got differed, because my SAT score was too low. If I could go back I would probably smack myself in the face and yell “WAKE UP! This is your entire life, take this seriously! No one else is going to do this for you!” Sebastian from the Little Mermaid puts it best, “if you want something done, you’ve got to do it yourself.” Instead of just waiting around to see if my parents would help or if someone else was going to magically put me into their University. I know now that if you want to achieve anything it comes with small steps that turn into huge accomplishments. For example, I have now lived on my own in a one bedroom apartment working and going to school full time. Therefore, every task I do puts in motion a goal, from taking out the trash to reading a chapter for school, and creates a dream.

I would tell myself to not stress over the transition. It's not nearly as lonely as I thought it would be, and it is very easy to stay in contact with loved ones back home through phone calls and Skype. Do not be afraid to talk to the people in your classes and/or orientation group; they are just as scared and unsure as you are. Those people will be your first friends at college, and they help ease the feelings of homesickness. Another piece of advice is to try to move in early. I did move in early, and it really helped cut stress on my first official day as a college student. Orientation runs smoother knowing that you are already moved in and can just go back to your room and relax. The last piece of advice that I would have is to tour the campus as many times as possible. It helps to know where all the buildings are even if you do not have classes in them. You never know what building a group's meeting will be in. Lastly, walk through your schedule before the first day; it is a big time saver.

If I could go back in time to when I was a senior in high school, I would talk to myself about time management. Going into college, I expected to have less free time than I do. Sometimes I even have so much that I put off my work for a few days. I would tell myself to work on time management in high school so that it wasn't so hard to manage things in college. Make a list of what needs to be done and when it needs to be done, but make sure to schedule breaks in between. Being self-disciplined in time management would make life so much easier.

If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to get more involved and have more fun.

Oh, Felicia! Don’t procrastinate! Those nights of choosing Grey’s Anatomy over completing your college essays were NOT worth it. You should have finished your college applications in the summer, taken you driving lessons and test, and began the year with enough time to attend numerous academic clubs and community service days. You could have applied to top notch schools through early-decision and the pressure of them monitoring you would have been worth it. You should have applied to numerous scholarships and contests earlier. Since you would, in the future, need to move far from home and live on your own, you definitely should have taken mom up on those free cooking lessons. Ramen will be your best friend soon. That list that you should have made, detailing every single much-needed college dorm appliance would have come in handy. Become acquainted with grocery lists, budgets and laundry. Avoid slackers and party animals. Just because it looks like soda DOESN'T MEAN IT'S SODA. Professors are not all boring, humorless, middle-aged “meanies.” Love your body. Study the campus map hard. Remember to apply for work-study early. I’ll always love you. You were built tough.

The first thing that I would tell myself as a high school senior is to relax. Do not stress out before college, you will make friends, you will make an impact on the campus, you will find a job, and everything will work out, just breath. Next I would say college is a time to reinvent yourself, make the best of it leave the past in the past. Put academics first and drama last. Focus on yourself no one else will focus on you and you are not being the best if you are being the best in every thing, then you will only burn out. Cherish every minute of college and talk to everyone, you never know who will be your best friend, business contact, or even a relationship. Last but not least, you will suceed and be the best you can be.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a High School Senior I would advise myself not to waste a single minute of "being a kid". I would also advise myself to be more responsible with my school work because that will affect my financial aid for college. I would tell myself that I may think I have all the answers but I definately do not. I would remind myself that my family is always there to lean on when things are tough.

I have learned how to live on my own. I have had to learn to rely on myshelf and my own judgement on the choices I am making. I have also learned to juggle time better, when you have to do laundry, study, take test and manage to get a shower in when you can it is all a balancing act. The lessons I am learning are life lesson as well as class lessons.

I have learned how to build relationships with new peaople and have acquired great social skills. I have learned that studying is more than just reading back over your notes. I have learned about many different subjects that I was never interested in before I came to college. I have even learned a lot about myself. College requires you to be strong, and I think I am stronger than I have ever been. So not only has college provided me with a bast array of knowledge, but it has also helped me discover myself as a woman and my peers as human beings. College is not just education, it is a life experience.

I have learned how to use many skills such as study skills and math skills. This school is preparing me for, and is going to help me complete my degree in pastry arts and so far has taught me at a decent level. For a community college the professors are very interested in seeing their students grow and are very helpful compared to some other schools teachers. It has been valuable for me to attend CSN because since attending there I have gained much more knowledge. I am now better in all the fields I need to be good at to enter my program and I have all the knowledge I need to become what I want to be in life, all thanks to CSN.

There are so many things that I have learned in my college experience that it will be very difficult to name just a few. The biggest one is probably self-confidence. Transitioning to college life was an adventure to say the least. I questioned whether I would be able to handle living on my own and handling obstacles as they arose. ONU made that transition very easy. I learned that I can handle "real life" when I come to that step of my life. The second most important thing that I have gotten out of my college experience, are the best friends that I could ever imagine. My friends have gotten me through tough times and I can't imagine not having them in my life. Finally, I have learned how to balance my time evenly amongst all of my commitments. Playing a varsity sport in college while managing a Pharmacy curriculum is not an easy task and I had to learn really quick how to do it. Also from playing a varsity sport comes the practice of working toward a common goal with a team of people. I have loved my college experience and wold not change a thing.

Throughout primary and secondary school, many people learn to give a large amount of focus to learning the most material possible and becoming academic giants. The smartest people in the class are the ones who tend to be most recognized while everyone else is looked upon. This leads students to believe that academics are the one and only key to success. However, in college, I have learned otherwise. Being the smartest person across the board is not necessarily as important as showing a willingness to learn, presenting my best effort, and always asking questions whenever I have them. In fact, this is what college is soley about in addition to teaching me how to live independently and interact with others. It is highly unlikely that I will remember everything that I am taught over the course of four years. In fact, work places will even offer extra training and reteach anything that is needed to help me do my job. It is the valuable hard working skills I develop in college and the willingness to be humble and learn that will carry me throughout life wherever I go.

So far I have learned alot about the engineering world and how to succeed in it but I know there's still so much more to learn. My favorite classes so far have been Discrete Math and Religions East and West. Most of my professors have been very helpful and kind and the ones that weren't helped me learn how to study and learn better on my own. I am currently the Philanthropy Chair of the ONU chapter of Phi Sigma Rho, an engineering sorority, and have learned alot from my sisters. I've also found alot of friends through the fencing club here on campus. I enjoy the sport even though I'm in no way a pro and the members are all very quirky and what some might call nerdy but I love everyone there and can't imagine what going to another school, especially one that didn't offer this sport, would be like!

There are many things I have learned and taken from my experiences at ONU. The most important are communicating skills and independence. I have always kept to myself or my family. Here at ONU I am majoring in Athletic Training, and it has forced me to be more socialable. Everyday I am working one on one with Athletic Trainers and athletes. I have learned how to communicate with them on a professional level and how to feel comfortable while doing it. I am also pushed everyday to work out problems on my own. Although my professors are there to guide me, they also encourage me to be independant and not always lean on them for answers. After graduating from ONU, I plan on attending grad school for Physical Therapy. As a PT I will be working with people everyday. To be successful, I will need to have strong communication skills with my patients and their doctors. I will also need to be able to design rehabilitation programs on my own and not depend on others to do it for me. The skills I have obtained thus far from ONU will most certainly contribute to a successful future.

The best advice I could give myself knowing what I know now is that I found out that a college education does impact your career earnings and promotions. I graduated HS in 1975 and thought that I did not need to go to college because working and making money was easier than reading and writing. Low and behold here I am with two children in college along with myself going back to school and I don't kknow how I will pay for it. I have over 25 years in my profession and have peaked out to where I cannot obtain a higher paying job because of my lack of education. Although I believe this is not fair it actually does happen in the real world. People in my profession with less experience and a college degree earn 25- 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} more than I do, that alone would help pay off at least one tuition. So be it, although there are many successful people without college degrees there are many more with them. Be smart Donald, take advantage of every program offered to you because you never know when you might need that information later on in life.

Knowing what I know now about college life there are a few pieces of advice that I would offer myself as a high school senior. First, don't focus solely on GPA. Yes, it is important to learn and to do well, but an A is not everything and a B isn't the end of the world. Second, supplement your academic studies in class with participation is professional organizations or extracurricular activities that interest you. These provide a great way to meet people and network, apply what you have learned, gain real world experience, as well as to have fun. Making the transition from high school to college is hard. Living with the people you go to classes with can be hard so there are a few things you should know about this as well. First, give yourself some freetime alone. This allows you to refocus and maintain your sanity. Second, forgive people. When you live with people you are bound to find nitpicky things that annoy you. Don't let them get you down. Focus on the positives and give people more credit. Most of all, learn and have fun, because you will never be in college again.

First, I would tell myself to not slack off. When I was a senior I stopped studying as much because I did not have to. These study habits carried over into college. I would tell myself to keep up with my study habits becuase then Western Civilization would not be so hard! Next, I would tell myself not to worry about money. That was the biggest stress. I would tell myself that I got the scholarship that made my dreams possible! Also, I would say that people love and support you and they are willing to help pay for the rest. Finally, I would tell myself that deciding to live on campus was the best decision. I have had the chance to meet a ton of new people and step out of my comfort zone. In conclusion, I would tell myself that everything will be fine and you will do great (you end up with a 4.0).