Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus Top Questions

If I could go back, I would tell myself to start my education earlier. I waited to attend college until I was in my late twenties and this can make coping with campus life a bit difficult. Many students only have their education to worry about and I have family, work, and school responsibilities that take up my time. As a high school student, I gave little thought to my life and career path. I should have focused more on what I wanted to do with my life and attended college sooner, but I'm glad that I had life experiences. I would tell young Sara to stretch her comfort zone, meet people and be more outgoing because that is how you make life long connections at school. Start right away and make friends. Be helpful to those around you and work hard for your education. It's worth it!

"Plunge into every opportunity with an open mind and an open heart. It is important to understand that what you get out of each and every experience depends on what you put into that experience. Always challenge yourself and never settle for anything but your best; strive for excellence not perfection. Get involved in different activities and embrace new experiences and in everything you do give it your best. Always remember to stay focused and work hard and to follow your dreams. Meet new people, and make new friends but cherish your old friends. Surround yourself with positive people and try to see the good in everyone. Remember to take chances and live with passion. The next four years of your life are going to be the best four years but they are going to fly by so make them worth remembering! P.S. Study abroad in Rome, it will be the best experience of your life (so far) !?

College is an experience unlike anything you have ever experienced before, so give yourself time to adjust, and don't panic if you don't make best friends, get stellar grades, and have the time of your life right away. For the first time, you may be confronted with material that is actually, conceptually challenging and not just piles of busy work. College professors don't hold your hand- it's up to you to keep up with the material, seek help, and monitor your progress at all times. If you don't keep up with the material, you will find yourself in a crunch before exams, and exams make up the majority of your grade in most classes. Drinking really is as pervasive on a college campus as it is rumored to be, but that doesn't mean you have to get caught up in it. There are plenty of alcohol-free ways to have fun and other students who don't drink, so the excuse that "everyone's doing it" doesn't hold. It is easier to be a complete non-drinker than to drink a little because the pressure to drink excessively will be ever-present.

Relax. College isn't as challenging as you think. You will meet wonderful people and figure out exactly what you want to do with your life. There will be bumps along the road, but they will help to shape you into the person you are to become.

Do not waste your time rushing a frat. They suck.

I would tell myself to consider other options besides the university in my hometown and to look for a small school where I would be more comfortable. I would tell myself not to be so afraid to go away and try new things, not just stick with what is right here. I would also tell myself that it's worth the extra money to live on campus and make friends. College is a great time to explore and I wouldn't want myself to miss out on that if I had another chance.

Try to experience as much as you can whether it is for figuring out what I want to do in life or just for having fun . Also use your time wisely because 4 years go by really fast. Study abroad is must and manage your money wisely for the future.

I would advise to make as many friends as possible and to socialize more. But it is also important to focus on your studies, because gpa is everything here, if you don't get above 3.0 then it will be sometimes hard even to get in to the major of your choise. As an upperclassmen having 3.0 is crusial to get an internship or a full time job. It is also helpful to ease a transition to college is to joinn many clubs and do other extracurricular activities, just to take a break of studying. I think the most a student can learn about himself and others is outside the classroom, so the worst you can do is stay in your dorm all day.

I would encourage myself to research much deeper into what my college choice offers for my major. I can not emphasize enough how important it is to be open to other choices when deciding where to persue your studies. When I was accepted into my first choice college I lost sight of the most important factors: practical financial aid and distance from home. No matter how dedicated you are to a college or university, availability/lack thereof financial aid will make or break the experience. Being accepted to the college of your choice is merely the beginning of the battle to achieve your academic goals. As a college senior there are already numerous opportunities for stress and college is one off the most important. The imporatnce of family support, i.e. distance from home when considering college is highly underestimated until you actually find yourself on your own with just your books and totes while your parents drive away. I know personally the impact it has from losing my mother amid my freshman year of college. Most importantly, I would advise myself to really take my time with this decision and to not be afraid to ask for more help.

I would tell myself to make sure and pick the best college for you. If you don't know what you want to do right away, it's ok to take a year off and figure life out for a while before going to school. If you start right away and don't know what you're doing, you can end up wasting a lot of scholarship money and taking longer to graduate.

Visit every school before you apply and get to know as many people as you can while you are there

Go with the mindset to spend extra time on easy classes so large tests don't drop your GPA.

I would encourage people to start out slowly, and not rush into things. Life is so fast and is gone before you know it. Be open to new opportunities and to taking risks.

Take advantage of all the oppurtunities that come your way. Get out of your comfort zone. Accept new experiences and find out who your true self is.

I have always been a good student but college, especially at Penn State, was a complete blast! I met my amazing close group of friends and enjoyed football and beer just as much as the next guy (or girl). However, I did choose a pretty tough major and found myself struggling sometimes to keep up. If I were to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I'd adamently stress that in order to play hard, you must first work hard. Having the balance is ideal but sometimes the "play hard" aspect can take over. Knowing that you are in college to get a great education and put yourself in a position to get a great job in the future is what students should remember everyday. If you work hard, you deserve to play hard - but remembering there is a give and take is key.

I would tell myself to take high school more seriously. Even though it doesn't seem important as a teenager, a good education will take you much further in life. A career that you enjoy and really want will be much more fulfilling than living paycheck-to-paycheck working a job straight out of high school with no education beyond that. Life experiences may seem to be all you need to succeed when your young, but once you get older you start to realize that it takes more than that to get where you want to be.

I wish i would have gotten a job at a place that was similar to my major. In high school all i wanted to do was make money so i was a waitress and now all im trying to do is get experience for my major.

Don't be so hard on yourself. That's what I wish I would have believed. Other people gave me that advice and I just figured they were being nice. They weren't. Transitioning to college is hard. Sometimes you may cry or may feel like giving up and going home and THAT IS OK! Everyone goes through that, and don't let your friends tell you otherwise. We all get scared and start to doubt our ability to make it through. We all want to go crying home to mom and dad and get a big hug sometimes. Just get involved in something that makes you happy and you will find friends and you will learn how to handle those feelings and you will adjust to college life, I promise. In fact, eventually those feelings will go away (and only come back during finals :) ). And if those feelings don't go away, don't give up. There are plenty of people, both professional and more casual, that are willing and happy to listen. Take advantage of that. Basically know that whatever you are going through, a bunch of other people are going through it too. You are never alone.

If I could go back in time, I think that I would have taken my senior year alot more seriously. Senior year, I did pretty well but I could have done much better. I think that because my teachers were so lenient with us Seniors that we could just slack-off, but now I see that they were just preparing us for college.

I would definitely prepare myself by working on my time management skills. In college, you have more freedom, which makes it very easy to get off track. In my case, having a challenging major, being in a sorority, holding positions in other organizations, having a boyfriend and friends, and trying to stay in contact as much as possible with family can sometimes be overwhelming. However, learning how to time manage can save you from being stressed in the future. I learned the hard way and learned how to time manage while I was in college. Now, college does not seem that bad.