Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College Top Questions

If I could go back and give myself advice for entering college I most certainly would. The transition from college to high school is overwhelming and I believe that sometimes, students in high school need to hear advice from students who are currently in college rather than adults. I would tell myself that the transition from living at home to living at school is indeed a big change, but it is not nearly as scary as everyone makes it out to be in their head. You learn more about yourself and your capabilities when you are living away from your parents or your traditional home life and it is a necessary change at this chapter of your life. The second thing I would tell myself is to not stress over the minor details. As long as you work hard and stay focused on your ultimate goals, everything will fall into place. I am in no way saying that it will be easy reaching your goals, but as long as you are willing to put in the time and effort to succeed, it will happen. How determined you are reflects your success.

I would have told myself to focus more on learning study skills and improving my GPA in high school. I was so worried about having fun my senior year, I think part of me thought I would never have fun again because I was leaving the people I grew up with. I also would have told myself there is a great big world out there and Selinsgrove high school is a small shell in the world. I would show myself all the different cultures and really cool people who are out there, and not to be nervous around them because they are different from me. I would also tell myself that even though I was really envoloved in high school and super busy, I should stay envoloved in college. There are people out there who need help, and rather than enjoy all the free time of sitting on facebook, it's really important to give back. Lastly, I would stress how key it is to learn balance and time management early in your college career. I could not have got through partying 6 days a week, and I know people who didn't. Classes are the most important thing, period.

College is attainable. There are so many ways to complete a college education. Do not be afraid to work 'menial' jobs to accomplish a goal. Life is too long to not get started on it now. As time goes on, more and more help is available in the form of scholarships and grants. You just need to keep you eyes and ears open and to apply as often as possible. The most important thing to remember is high school and the cliques and the personalities of the teachers is....this is not the real academic world. Take what you need and leave the rest behind. Do not foster a hatred for the entire educational system based on one small town representation of what the world has to offer. Find a true mentor and work hard.

I would tell myself to get into more clubs and take more ap classes. Being well-rounded is very important for college so being in many clubs helps with that. Also, I would tell myself to stay closer to home. Family being one of my most essential values makes it hard to be away from home. I try my best to make my family proud because I know I can be anything if I try. With the transition, to keep myself busy, I took 17.5 credits this semester and was accepted into the most prestigious club on campus, Lion Ambassadors. I feel that I did all I could to prepare for college, I just wish I would have filled out more scholarship applications like my mom said to because I hardly received any financial aid. College is expensive and the price goes up every year. I wish I would have listened to my mom.

Making sure I had a better idea of what I wanted to major in. This would have made me dicide better where I wanted to go.

I'm discovering that I have an interest and strength in business law. If I could go back to high school I would take more classes that are relevant to this area. I feel like I was well prepared for college as far as math and writing, but I could have used more preparation in accounting, finance, economics. However, for a good portion of my senior year I thought I wanted to be a pharmacist ! Actually, I could have been more focused and prepared if I had thought about my strengths and not followed the advice of teachers who simply tried to push me into a career just to make money!

The advice I would have given myself is to get involved as soon as possible in campus activities and organizations, because it is a great way to meet people and to really be a part of campus. I would also tell myself to learn how to manage my time as a senior in high school, because it is tough to adjust to college life and to also learn time management skills.

I would say go for and do not even think about not going to college. The past two years have been the best years of my life, I've met a bunch of new people who are all really close friends of mine now. High school seemed liked a joke compared to college and i am very glad that I came here.

I would say to try harder freshman year and do a better job of managing my time between work and class

I would advice myself to appreciate what I had. I would remind myself about how my parents pay the bills and stock the fridge. I would also reassure myself to be open with new people and just go out there and meet as many people as I can. College is its own unique world and it only happens once, and it goes soaring by. Even while you're in college you know that it's going fast. But there's no way to stop it. I would remind myself that tests and things aren't all that life is about, that life is finding beauty in the small things. And to find these small things we need to experience as many different things as possible. Also that you need to love yourself in order to help others and to succeed. People lose sight of what's important, and I would tell myself, that college is when I need to hold tight to who I am so that way my future involves the person I want to be and not who the world influenced me to become.