Saint Edward’s University Top Questions

Dear Jacque, Please listen to mom and apply for scholarships while you still have the resources to do so. You have no idea how hard you are going to have to work with only the grocery store income to live off of while also paying tuition. You will do it and succeed, but trust me. You will have a huge burden lifted off your shoulders if you just apply for scholarships now. You have done such a good job trying to make good grades all through high school while also helping mom with your brothers and sister. If only you knew how hard it is for mom to make ends meet while take you all to school, pay for all of your band fees, sports fees all while needing to pay rent, buy clothes and food for you all. You will see how valuable the little things in life are and how hard it is to pay for gas to get to school while debating whether or not you can afford groceries one week. You will succeed with all of your hard work and determination, so don’t give up. Your future self is very proud of you. Love, Jacque

I need to provide backstory for what follows; throughout high school and college I was overweight. I struggled to excel in school as a result of having poor eating and stress habits. In 2011 I began addressing my lifelong weight issue by signing up for a gym membership and hiring a great personal trainer. I also switched careers and moved into the IT industry. Over the last 3 years I have lost 120 pounds, wiped out over $90,000 in student loan and other debt, and I fell in love with information analysis. The one thing I wish I could go back and tell myself as a high school senior would be to develop a game plan to handle stress and find a way to lose the weight faster. My time in college would have been better if I has done so.

I would tell my former self to go out and make friends at least twice a week. Making friends was the most difficult part for me during my first year of college, because I was nervous to go out. All college students are like this, and it's okay! Friends in college are friends for life. In high school, I imagined that college would be full of party-goers, and do not get me wrong, it is! However, it is absolutely fine if you do not participate in such adventures. I felt the pressure, and I now understand that friends will love you no matter how you choose to spend your weekends. Go swimming, go bowling! Do something sober, and your friends will join you just the same.

Be prepared to be the only person who will hold you accountable. Your professors don't care if you sleep in and miss a class, nor do they care that you have the chance to spend the majority of your day idly engaging in fun or leisurely activities. You are the only person responsible for your success, and if you choose to take the easy route, you'll only hamstring yourself in the future. Understand that simply because you can play video games all day doesn't mean it's acceptable to do so. Focus on your studies, prepare for exams, and don't expect to coast through school as you did in High School. The game has changed, and you'll have to rise to meet the challenge or you'll be lost in the herd.

The transition between high school and college was much more difficult than I ever could have imagined. I ambitiously signed up for 18 credit hours my freshman year, had a work study job on campus, and joined any student organization that would let me in. I stretched myself so thin, I lost myself. I became depressed and I missed a lot of class and work because of it. If I could go back and give myself advice as a high school senior, it would be this: Do not overwork yourself. Your expectations for yourself are too high. There’s nothing wrong with being "good" despite how badly you want to be "great". Mom and Dad love you and will support anything you do. They are your motivation. Do not ever forget that. Study often and study well. Finish all of your assignments at least three days before they are due. Go to bed early and wake up early. It is not a sign of weakness to ask for help. Most importantly, stop feeling guilty every time you need to relax and always remember to love yourself. If you do not love yourself, you will never truly succeed.

I would tell myself to take as many college level classes as possible. I took five courses that granted me college credit in high school. I wish I would have taken more to save money and so that I would have time for more of the classes that I truely enjoy and that encourage me to learn more. I would also tell myself to study as hard as I possibly could, because the grades in college aren't as easy as the ones in high school.

If I could talk to my High School Senior self, I don't think I would have him change a thing. Though I have changed my major and changed my school, the experiences that I've had and the people I've met are not something I would change. I would allow high school Taylor to continue on his marry little way because I know that what he would experience would change him, mold him, and give him the experience necessary to make educated decisions about his professional life and what to do when he hits a roadblock. I am confident in my path now, and wouldn't want anything to change; so why would i meddle with it? Though I probably would tell him to not wreck on his motorcycle!

If I could go back to myself as a senior in high school I would tell my self to move onto campus at the start of the year, instead of waiting till the second semester. I would explain that even though the cost of school would go up tremendously, I would fit in more with the people around me making the sense of loneliness vanish, It would lower the stress I got from having so many classes one after the other. I would have more time to do homework, and procrastination would almost vanish, there would always be time to do my work at some point in the day. I wouldn't have to get up at 6 a.m. everyday to get to class, I could get up at a time that was closer to my class times. I wouldn't have to try to find a place to be between classes, as I would always have the dorm. College life, at least the first year, is meant to be spent in dorm. It brings you closer together with your class and makes you feel like you belong.

"Alejandra you can do anything, don't be discouraged by failure it will only reassure you of what it is you really want." A sheltered life transitioning to conducting everything yourself is a drastic change. Educating yourself about everything your local college has to offer is essential, with this knowledge you will be able to enter the institution with a clear understanding of what it is you want and how to achieve it. Academic advisors are the greatest tool provided to you, an appointment is necessary, through there help you will be able to make a structured plan for each semester. Having a plan will help eliminate time wasted and accelerate your path towards graduation. Deadlines tend to arrive fast, you must stay organized and on top of all deadlines, if the opportunity to complete something long before the deadline you must take advantage. Lastly, you must prioritize, educating yourself is the important thing you can do, it might become overwhelming and stressful yet you must always choose school, there is no regret like that of not having tried. Education is for your future.

Chill the fudge out, everything will be ok. In fact, better than ok. You will feel more free than you ever have before. Friends will not be instant though, and the first week or so will become depressing. However, nothing lasts forever, and friendships will soon come at you from everywhere. Privacy also atill exists even with a roommate; they are in your same situation, everyone is, and everyone has no idea what to do or where the ARTS building is. My biggest piece of advice is to be chill and not to stress out. Do as much artwork as possible before moving out (because you will have NO free time for drawing), and yes, season 3 was awesome.

Dear High School Hannah, As you approach this new and exciting time in your life, it is easy to get wrapped up in things like SAT scores, GPA's, class ranks, tests, and college applications. You have a hectic and stressful time ahead. However, this is the las year that you will be spending at home with your friends and family. When you are away and don't get to see them everyday, you will miss the little things like making apple cider and decorating the Christmas Tree, or laughing with the friends that you have had for years. Now I'm not saying you are never going to see them again, but you should appreciate them whil you are there and have them close. All of the things leading up to college are important, but the people that you love are even more important. They will be your support system for the rest of your life. When you feel down and just need someone to talk with, they will be there. Cherish this support and love, because it is special. So as you sit down to study for that SAT, make sure you save time for everyone around you.

Kathy, colloege is not a joyride you must prepare yourself for the ultimate test in life "success" success only comes after hard work and determination. Everyone is going to tell you that it's ok to slack off your first year, guess what that's not true you must work hard to complete your goals nothing is handed to you. You must grasp life and never let it go your going to need to be organized, determined and open minded remember the key to do things right is to seek help when you need it. Life will always have obsticles; the thing to remember is not to give up once you have given up it's hard to get back up and do things right. when you rush you tend to mess up take one day at a time and sooner a later you goals will be completed and sucess happen.

If I could go back in time and talk to my high school self, I would tell myself not to worry so much about financial issues. The only way I could attend college was with the aid of scholarships, loans and grants. I do not receive aid from my family. I started at community college, but I wish I had known the financial aid opportunities at universities. I definately think that attending the community college was the best decision financially, but I do feel as though I may have missed out on some of the important experiences that I now get at Saint Edward's--such as the student organizations and honor societies.

do everything the same, but join more clubs

Id do like Brad Paisley, 'and if i could write a letter id send it to myself at 18, I'd prove it's me by saying look in your closet There's scholarship letters no one would know about. Then I'd say I know it's tough When you study for months, I know you wanted an "A" and it is't fair But its a dare. You got so much going for you, going right But I know at, 18, it's hard to see next week. You'll make it through and you'll see You'll write this letter to me. You should thank everyone who spent so much time. they see diamond underneath and polishing you 'till you shine.Tonight's the bonfire rally and you're invited but you're staying home Because if you fail thats bad. But you'll get an "A" And you'll write this letter to me. You got so much ahead, you'll make new friends. I'll see you when you graduate. Study more, Take a breath so you won't worry. I'd say have a faith and you'll write a letter to me.

If I were to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, now that I have some experience of college life, I would give myself five pieces of advice. First, those dreams of a bigger and better life… well after high school you will definitely be on the track. There is way more beyond our tiny hometown! Secondly, the relationship between our mom and us will get better. Mom means well and has a good heart. I know her over protectiveness is a bit much, but she is really afraid of seeing us go off away from home. Third, roommates are temporary, do not heavily read into her different habits (like not cleaning her side of the room or how she loves to keep the room at 68 degrees). Fourth, be sure to be assertive and state your ground! You are woman! Let them hear your roar! Five, leaving high school friends to a new chapter is not that bad. After you start college, you will see who your real friends are. The ones that keep in touch and go out their way to hang out without you, those are true friends.

If I could go back in time, sit myself down and proceed to have a heart to heart with my former self my message would be simple. I would tell the former me, that within the next year I will grow enormously as a person. So many changes will happen but as I stay grounded and keep an open mind, I will not fail. Stay true to yourself, stay grounded, stay open, stay possitive. With that I can never go wrong.

The best advice I could give my highschool self would be to be more confident in the area of study I wished to persue. While that uncertainty led me to persue more challenging and exciting goals in the long run, I have seen too many peers who started their college life with no direction and ended up either transfering or quiting. In the end they built up a few credits but wasted a lot of time and money. No one has enough of either of those things to waste on uncertainties.

In high school, I was surrounded by other students who seemed much more wealthy than my family. Not to say that my mother and I are poor but we definitely did not have as much financial leeway as the other families in my high school. I let this get to me and woud often ask my mom for money so I could buy the latests clothes, shoes, purses, etc. In high school, I thought this kind of stuff was important. Coming to college and being exposed to other types of people has showed me that money should not have a say in what kind of person you are. I have become much more appreciative of the value of a dollar. I would tell myself, as a high school senior, that there are other things in life that are much more important than fitting in. It is much more important and satisfying to surround yourself with people who like you for who you really are, your personality. I'm a much happier person now than I was in high school because I chose to focus on other things besides material goods.

Dear past self, I am writing to you today to give you some sound advice about the upcoming choices you are about to make. I made some poor choices during this time and it led me down a path that I wish I could reverse. First off, I know you think that music is all there is in the world but you would do well to look into your other passions, computers perhaps. I also know that the idea of going back to school right now seems hard but trust me, it’s for the best. In my relative past, I was given some advice that gave me the strength to do what I am now doing and would like to share it with you now. Sometimes in life you just have to do what needs doing whether you want to or not. Once you accept this fact your road will become clear. Again I know that it may be hard to accept this at 18 years old but I got myself into this mess by not looking far enough ahead and I would rather you not do that too. Sincerely, Your future self