Rutgers University-Camden Top Questions

I would tell myself to go to college part time as I worked. Also to put more money away in my saving account also.

Dear Kristen, All this stress that you’re having in high school won’t matter in a few months when you start college. I know you’re nervous about it, but try not to be. Those mean girls you walk the long way to avoid in the hallway? You’ll never see them after graduation? That failed bio quiz? So unimportant. College is your new start and the beginning of the lovely new you. Talk to the ‘weird’ kid sooner, she’ll be your best friend sophomore year. Go to all the campus events, even the lame ones, and be sure to talk to one new person there. Smile, smile, smile, it’s how you make friends. Don’t be shy like you were in high school, everybody in college wants somebody to talk to. Transitioning will feel weird, but you’ll get through it super quickly. Study hard, but not too hard, and above all have fun! Remember, you never get your college years back so live them up and make future me even prouder than I already am. Love, your future self PS. The pizza in the dining hall is nasty. Avoid it like the plague.

If I had the ability to go back in time as a senior in high school, I would tell myself to learn how to study better. In high school, I was able to study for a test or quiz for roughly an hour or two and get an A+ on it the next day. When I came to college and used those same study habits, I was lucky to get a B+. I would also tell myself to get more accustomed to studying in loud places by myself and studying until two in the morning and waking up five hours later. Starting my first semester of college was rough for these reasons. I wasn't used to studying in constant noise almost all the time, studying more than I did anything else. The last thing that I would really make sure I did was learn to study in groups. Studying in groups helped me improve not only my test scores but of my overall understanding of the material. You get to understand the material through different points of views and are able to understad it differently than your professor teaches you, if it doesn't make sense to you.

I would tell myself to enjoy high school while I can. I was in a hurry to graduate and I did not enjoy all of the special senior moments with friends that I could have. You can only be in high school once and there is no need to rush through the easiest time of your life. I would also tell myself to be prepared to study a lot more than I did my senior year. I love college now but I was not as prepared with my study habbits as I could have been. In college you gain a lot more freedom and I would tell myself to not try to grow up so fast, it comes fast enough.

Never let your studies get behind and always strive for excellence! The harder you push yourself to complete your education, the more you will appreciate it when you establish your new career. Never quit on anything that you start! Go to college as soon as you graduate high school. I would suggest before you graduate if you are eligible. I was 29 years old when I started college. I had two small children and worked full time. My husband worked 24 hour shifts so I was pretty much a single Mom most of the time. Those extra obstacles were very hard to juggle, especially all at one time. Go ahead and get your education while you are young and before those unexpected moments in life pop up! I completed my AA degree in a little over two years and I graduated with a 3.96 gpa, Magna Cum Laude. I sometimes took 4 classes a semester on top of working full time and raising two children. The longer you wait to start your college education, the harder it is to get started back. I learned my lesson the hard way but I couldn't be happier with the outcome!

Returning to my senior year; there at least two things I would tell myself. First, is to confront my fears and walk through them. We all have fears. Use your fear to fuel the motivation and desires you hold dear. One or two times of talking to myself has shown me that the fear was just that a fear; nothing more. The sense of accomplishment and pride have been so worth each step through my fears. Second, do not let nayslayers give you advice. Nayslayers disable and set limitations. Looking back, I can see that limitations and disabilities can and often are overcome victoriously. No longer do I allow family and friends to tell me I can't do something based on an hearing impairment. In every area of my hearing impairment; I have overcome circumstances to perform that electrical job, that farming job, that server job. Today I can and have overcome my desire to be an health care provider. Yes, I would tell myself to examine others words of wisdom. If it is not true then not to own it and move forward. Yes, I can!

Work hard and get good grades, because college is harder and high school is only preparing you. The second thing that i would tell myself is that i need to go to college to get a beter job. I now have been out of school for 8 years and I understand the need of good college education. I would tell myself that i will eventualy be going to school and it is harder because now i have to also have time for my family.

People are not going to hold your hand. If you go to Rutgers you must work hard or you will fail.

I wouldn't change anything; my highschool experience was great. I was part of a charter school, so most of my work was done at home--very much like a college. My advice would be to just keep going!

When I was a high school senior I felt that I had to have my entire life planed out. Knowing what I know about college life now, I would go back in time and tell my high school senior self to relax and that everything would come together when I am in college. Everything doesn't have to be planed out before you graduate high school. I would make sure my senior self would have more fun, enjoy more time with my friends and create memories. The only thing I should have focused on was working hard and getting myself into a good study and work habbit so I wouldn't become a slaker. The transition from high school to college is the easiest and fun part. It is the transition from college to the adult world is what I really need to worry about. However I would tell my high school self we picked a good college and they will help us threw it and everything will be ok.

I would have advised myself to do better in the beginning of high school and research more scholarships

i would have started right out of high school..its a great experience and is beneficial to your future

Dear High School self, Get your act together and start sleeping, you're going to need it. At Rutgers, you're going to need to get organized, and quick. A lot is expected from you. They raised the bar and now it's time for you to shine and rise above it. This isn't high school anymore, you can't just breeze your way through, start studying and keep track of all your homework, because no one else is going to do it for you, you're a responsible adult now. Stay healthy while you're at it too. You're going to need to be getting up a lot earlier now since you will be commuting so get your sleep, but it's worth it though. You'll love Rutgers Camden, I promise. Get organized, study, and remember to have fun and enjoy the opportunities Rutgers provides you with. Enjoy your next four years at the great RU Camden. With love and Care, Future College Self

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, knowing what I know now about transitioning to college, the advice I would give myself would be to first, brace yourself and be prepared to do more work than you have ever done before. Be prepared to speak in front of a large class, be prepared to write essays and have your teacher use your paper as an example even without your consent. Also be prepared watch movies that you may have seen before but now you are expected to relate to it sociologically and express your opinion. In addition, classes you took in high school, you will more than likely have to take again in college but it will be totally different because it will be taught in more detail and at a faster pace. Also you will register for a class that has a teacher who has been using the same teaching method for years and will never deviate from it, even if its not the best method for learning but you will have to find a way to make it work for you. That is what college is all about. Adaptation !

If I could go back in time to tell my high school senior self something I know now that I probably wished I knew then, it would be to follow your heart and do what you (meaning my high school self) feel is right career-wise and take whatever anyone else says about what she should do with her life with a grain of salt. Because I listened to other people about what I should pursue in college, eventually I began to believe that it was something that I wanted to do, and I soon failed at achieving this goal. If somehow I could go back in time to tell my younger self either in person or in a letter of all the misfortune I've experienced over the years because of the mistakes I made as well as my regrets, perhaps it would make my younger self at least a little stronger and reassured that her initial ideas regarding career paths were the right ones.

I would advise myself to try my hardest and not fool around my first year. Keep focused and you can achive anything you set your mind to. I would also advise myself to interact more with the groups and activities there are on campus.

Courage. People always say it is not the absence of fear, but the act of doing whatever it is you fear despite the fear. So use your courage. These people hated high school melodramics, labeling, etc. This is a fresh start, but it all depends upon you. Take courage and let them see you. They may not like it, but you will never know if you do not try. As for your old high school friends, do not try to cling to them as a lifesaver. Being a transfer student and a commuter will make it easy to hide. Make an effort to stay on campus. Attend the activities no matter how ackward it may be to begin with. These people are not going to follow you home and guess that you want to be friends. Courage. You have your high school friends to laugh about the attempts at during break.

Don't assume you can just absorb the information. Read the text. Study your notes. Re-read the text. It is not the professor's job to spoon feed you. Your success is up to you. But don't forget to have fun, meet new people, and have new experiences.

I would have listened to my father and counselors a little more. As a senior, I was in the top 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of my class. I was a member of NHS, varsity baseball, and other clubs. I should have taken advantage of all that I had earned academically. I had an opportunity to apply for several academic scholarships but I procrastinated applying for them and after graduation I found myself without any financial aid to pay for my tuition. I enrolled at the local community college . While work is a good thing, I have had to get a job and put in more hours than I probably would have had I done my part applying for schoalrships. No telling what I may have been awarded. My advice to me would be to listen to what my father and my counselors had to say. Follow through on that advice. Take advantage of all the schoalrships that are truly available. Do not procrastinate.

I would stress the importance of going to college and getting a good base for your future life. I would tell myself to focus on a career choice instead of focusing on boys , shopping and friends. I love my family and my current life, but if I would have went to school first instead of getting pregnant at 19 , life would have worked out a lot easier. I currently am an RN with an ADN. I am pursuing my BSN then masters, but it would have been alot simpler prior to having a family. Go to school , then worry about having a husband and kids. That way when you do have a family , you can have more time to spend with them.