Saint Ambrose University Top Questions

I would first tell myself to not care so much about what other's think of me. My time in college spent trying to impress other's cost me a great deal. While the party lifestyle is appealing, it is only temporary. I would tell myself to put forth my best effort. I spent the first two years in school wasting away. After I got in trouble I went from almost failing out to getting a full time job and making straight A's. In life and in school you are capable of accomplishing wonders if you put your mind to it. I would tell myself before deciding on a major take a variety of classes, and choose a major that makes you happy. After I spent time refelecting on college, I realized the most heplful piece of advice would be to listen to my parents. If I had have listened I would not have made many mistakes that I did. When a mistake is made keep your head up, and never stop going forward. I would finally say for every decision you make think to yourself does this get me closer to what I want for my future.

If I could go back and talk to myself as a senior in high school, I would definitely tell myself not to be scared. College has been an amazing experience, and I was very worried coming into it. I was afraid I wouldn't fit in and I wouldn't find friends. I would tell myself to just be outgoing and friendly, and everything else will fall into place. People in college are much friendlier than they were in high school. There is no reason to be afraid that you wont find where you belong. There are so many opportunities to get to know people, just take advantage of those and everything will be fine!

I would tell myself to not go home nearly as often as I did. I went home almost every-other weekend the first semester of my Freshman year and missed out on a lot of things happening at my school. It was also very hard to make friends at school when I was gone so often, I never had time to hang out with the people I was meeting at school. I hated school that semester because I was never there. As soon as I got involved in things and couldn't go home, I made more friends and started loving college. I know this would have happend a lot sooner if I had just stuck it out and stayed at school most of the times I went home. Not going home very often, at least at first, is the best advice I think I could give myself. Making friends in the place I'm supposed to be for the next 3 or so years of my life is much more important than seeing friends at home, having friends at school makes you a much happier person, helping you do much better in school.

As I am sure all current college students would do, most of them would go back to their high school self and say “Be more social”, or “Be sure to get involved with this earlier” or “Choose this dorm because it’s better than this one”. If I had the chance to go back and talk to myself again as a high school student, believe it or not I would actually have nothing to say. All the advice I would have given myself would be redundant because I heard it all throughout senior year of high school and through the summer. Saint Ambrose gave me all the input/guidance I needed to make the most out of my college experience. Every situation I have been involved in this far has shaped and changed me in different ways, and I believe that without them happening I would not be the person I am today. So giving myself unnecessary information would sort of be a waste of time; because I can truthfully say that I would go through everything all over again...no regrets.

I would tell myself to be open to new ideas and trying new activities and groups on campus. By talking with and becoming friends with people that are different from you, you are able to better understand yourself and why you believe what you do. This in turn will better develop your values, and thats what college is all about. With this in mind it is important to stick to your values and not try or do something because "everyone is doing it" because in reallity not everyone is doing it. Their are other people on campus with your same values, more than you would think.

Knowing what I know now about college life and the transition after high school, I strongly advise to get organized. Apply, apply, and apply for as many scholarships that pertain to you and definitely get an early start to avoid feeling overwhelmed and rushed. I would also strongly advise to avoid spending money on unnecessary things, because once you are in college you are going to remember buying that expensive new outfit and wish you saved it to buy your now expensive and necessary textbooks. Getting involved in as much as you can in high school, and being an active volunteer are smart things to consider. I would also strongly advise you to be more social and explore outside of your comfort zone, because in college you will be new people almost everyday. My last piece of advice would be to have an open mind to new possibilities and to keep a visualization of where you want to be in the future. To work hard to make that visualization become a reality some day.

Cassea, high school is going to go by faster than you think. You need to plan for your future. My advice to you is to explore different careers through job shadowing. Find out what it is like to work in different careers and what really interests you. Take more duel credit classes from your local community college to earn college credit in high school. Life in college will be much simpler if you do. The more college classes you can take in high school, the earlier you will be able to graduate from college and save on tuition expenses. Take time to study each day and review the subjects. Prepare ahead of time for upcoming tests and research papers by organizing notes, making flashcards, and rereading the material. If you don't understand it, request a tutor or extra time with the teacher. Ask questions until you truly understand it. Grades are important. Study hard. Lastly, remember those calls from work asking you to come in and you came up with some lame excuse as to why you couldn't? That is going to cost you. You need to earn and save as much money as you can for college.

The advice I would give myself if to keep going no matter how rough things can get. I would tell myself that I need to buckle down in my school work because I am not going to get by in my classes without studying like I am use to. The people that I have in met in high school will eventually change but the ones that mean the most to me will always be there in the end. I would tell myself to keep my options open and to expect to meet some crazy people that will forever change my life. Times are going to get more stressful then before but I need to stay organized and ask for help even if I feel like Im going to be a bother to someone else. My last piece of advice to myself is that now is the time to open new opportunities and to take it and run with it. I am going to be a new person and it starts today!

When a person is a senior in high school, older people with more life experience will tell him to “enjoy this last year.” However, the senior year of high school is also a transition into major changes that will take place in the student’s life. The advice that I would give myself as a senior would be to pursue my academic passions with persistence and intensity. I would tell myself to perform all of my responsibilities with excellence. Sometimes it is easy to allow yourself to do enough work to get the job done. Having this type of work ethic will not prepare a person to succeed and excel. College is not a place for procrastination, but rather a place for preparation and study. It is also a place where a person can experience many types of activities, clubs and organizations. It is important to participate in activities which fit a person’s talents and personality. The experiences gained from both academics and extracurricular activities will prepare the student for his future. Whatever the student pursues, he should be a diligent worker who takes his schooling seriously. Anyone can succeed in college if he has passion, diligence and discipline.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to stop fretting over my grades so much and worry more about the skills I am learning. At my high school I didn't have to work very hard to get straight A's, but I find it harder to get good grades on tests in college. College is not supposed to be easy, but my problem was when it became time to take the tests, I didn't know how to study. In college professors don't always hand you notes or tell you what is on the test. Most professors will just lecture at you. In high school as well as college, I suggest not taking classes to get an easy A, but take harder classes that you will take more from. Explore different study methods to discover how you learn best. Don't fret over your grades as much as asking yourself what can I take away from a class that will better prepare me for my future career or even skills needed for life in the future like time management, problem solving and budgeting.