Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Top Questions

If I could go back and give advic to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to get more involved and not to be so timid about trying new things or meeting new people. Saint Mary's is a very small school and a very close nit community, so it's important to get out of your dorm room to do things and meet people.

I would tell myself to make sure I search and apply for every scholarship I see prior to attending school. I was would also tell myself to remember to stay true to your morals and your thoughts instead of falling for peer pressure. You don't have to try hard for people to like you, just be yourself. Always remind yourself why your there and you have a "mission" to accomplish, make school a priority. Also in college you can eat anything you want and all you want but don't get carried away (remember freshman15! ). Stay in touch with your family, sometimes you'll need that comfort even if it's via Skype. Make your expectations realistic. A lot of people come to college expecting “the best time of their lives.” When expectations aren't met, it can be depressing. That's pretty much all the advice I would give.

The next four years you spend in college will be the most important four years of your life. They determine your future. Be sure to explore all areas you have of interest and do not worry about making mistakes. Mistakes will shape you. They will guide you in the direction you are meant to go. Do not worry about failing. The only failure you can have is regret. Follow that direction of mistakes and never look back with regret. Always be true to yourself and your heart. You must always give it your all. If it's not your all, believe me, you will live in regret. The transition to college will be tough. You will struggle with studies, finances and the balance of heartache and friends. You WILL get through it. Don't let anyone hold you back, or sway your heart from what you know is right for you. Good luck. And remember, I am always here if you should ever need support. I promise you will never be alone.

I would tell myself to relax a lot more becuase the college experience is not a scary experience. We are given freedom as well as new responsibilities that help us become better adults. The transition can get hard, but the outcome is worth it. Making friends was easy and it led to a great year filled with fun activites, learning a lot academically along the way. There was always a new club or activty to be a part of as well as volunteering opportunities. The church was a great way to embrace my sprituality and the library was a place to get my homework done. So a great experience at my college will give me great memories and will be beneficial in giving me a better future.

If I could go back in time and give myself some advices now, I would tell myself to work harder and to not procastinate. Procastinating only makes it harder to get things done and it WILL effect your GPA fast! Another advice I would tell myself is to get involved in sports or activities. It's good to have a strong resume and to find out what interests me. My own advice would just be; be yourself. Work hard and reach for your goal. School is your number one priority. Focus and get things done, and don't procastinate until the last minute.

Dear me, I know the next few months are going to be hard. Don't worry about college right now because you don't want to miss out in the moments of high school. High school was so fun and yet college is going to be even better. When you here, stop being shy; breakout make new friends. Know that it is perfectly fine to find friends that are like Lindsey and Marykate. I promise that Lindsey is your best friend;however you do make really awesome friends. Beside the adivce about friends, collge is one step harder on school work. There will be days when sleeping becomes almost impossible. Please spend lots of time working on homework, but make sure to get a tutor if it gets very difficult. Study! Study! Study!

Be realistic about where you want to start. Community colleges provide the same undergraduate education, and you save so much money. But even more than that, you are not missing out on anything! You are still going to have so mant opportunities, and meet so many new and fabulous people. It does not matter where you start. It only matters how hard you work, and where you end up. Starting at community college and then applying to universities also lets four year schools see that you are in it for the long haul. You want to move on, and that means a lot to the admissions representatives. Your college experience is going to be amazing no matter where you go. Just put your heart and soul into everything you do, and it will come through. Save money early so that you can afford to spend money on higher education later. And who knows? With the opportunities at community college, you may not even have to pay for it. You may get universities to come looking for you.

If i could back and talk to my self in high school, one main thing that i would say is take more advance college prep classes. Taking these college prep courses can help with transferring credits that was earn in high school to your college. The other main important thing about taking these courses is being able to know how the enviroment in college feels like. The amount of homework that are given and the way the teacher teaches. This advice would have given me the biggest help in the long run.

If I could go back in time and tell my high school self about the college life I would tell myself to pay more attention in high school and to try my hardest and be the best that I can be. In telling myself this I would hope that I would have done better in high school and be a better person, also I would tell myself that I should take all the college classes that my high school offers so I would not have to spend so much money in the long run and would graduate college sooner. I would also persuade myself to do more extracurricular activities and get more involved in my school and my community and help out wherever I could. I would also tell myself to research colleges rather than choosing last minute like I ended up doing and to look into as many careers that interest me earlier and try to get to work in that career to see if I would like it or not and could see myself doing it for the rest of my life. With this knowledge I would have probably would be a lot further than I am today.

I would tell myself not to worry so much about missing home and making friends. No matter where you go you will find that group of people you want to be with. I chose to go to SMU because my sister went to school here. I loved going to school with my sister and having family on campus, but I always wonder about that other school I wanted to go to and if that was the right school for me. I am happy at SMU, but would I have been happier at Stout? I want my high school self to know that it will be fine, don't be so scared; everything will work out how it is suppose to.

I would definitely advise myself to finish High School completely as I actually have my GED instead of the actual High School Diploma. I would say this not because of the educational purposes alone, but for the social and networking oppotunities that you receive as a High School student. I would tell myself to start thinking about what I actually enjoy, not only what would be a good paying career, but what would fill me as a person as well. I would say not to worry about who's the most popular girl or how cute the guy in the back row to the left is, but to worry about how I can use what the teacher is saying to form a better future. I would say you can use that knowledge to become a popular successful woman and to have an amazingly gorgeous man that is just as successful. Most importantly I would say enjoy it, enjoy the tears, the hard work, the friends, enjoy every moment and every day. Make the best out of what you learn and apply it to not only your educational life, but your personal as well.

I would like to think that I wouldn't want tell myself anything because it could have changed my future. However, on the off chance I could, I would go back and tell my high school senior self many things about college life: the good and the bad. The first thing I would expose is my assumption that I can't screw up in college. I would tell myself don't think you have to be perfect at classes but do the best you can with what you have. The second thing I would say is take career classes as well as classes for fun. College is also about finding yourself and determining what you want to do with your life, or what the next step is. Sometimes an unusual class can help with the findings. Lastly, I would convey the idea to enjoy life and the opportunities given to you throughout college. This is a crucial transitional period but yet you still don’t necessarily have as many responsibilities you will have several years down the road. Therefore, take time for yourself, meet new people, experience things because one day you'll look back on these days and smile.

I would tell myself that time-management is key when going to college. It is not only a place to study and take classes but rather like a place to build relationships, establish connections, and learn how to interact and work with people that you met five minutes ago. It is just as much a social exercise as it is a learning experience. There will be times that school feels like summer camp and classes and homework keep getting in the way. The best way to get to know people is just to go up to them and talk to them. Also, learn how to do homework with other people and not get distracted. There will be several times that you will need to work with people on the same assignment and you can get help as you work along with them. Oh, and naps for you are a terrible idea. It's either four hours minimum or nothing.

Well, for starters, I never really got to my senior year in high school, I graduated during the middle of my sophmore year in high school. But if I could go back to that semester, I would have made sure I was ready to go through the transition to college. It was a difficult change for me. My advice would be to NOT work and study at the same time, to NOT enjoy having a car more then I need to, and FOCUS on school and studying, and don't ever lose hope. I would advise myself to be the best I can, and to study really hard. I would tell myself that college is a challenge, and whether I like it or not, I will go through them. Slacking off will do nothing but hurt me in the long run. And getting into these new classes, I need to know that I CAN finish them, I can take them on, and complete them, I just need to give them time. I cannot underestimate myself, and I cannot underestimate the importance of doing the best I can in all of my classes, and in everything I do.

I would tell myself that you need to be yourself in high school, and you should become friends with people who are in different social groups. I am almost done with my first year of college, and I have become best friends with a girl named Erika who was the head cheerleader at her old high school. Thinking back, I would have never associated myself with those girls in high school. In college, no one cares if you were the homecoming queen, most popular girl in school, or what you've done. They accept you for you are, not for who you were in high school. I think that this is important because I would never talk to the jocks, cheerleaders, or the snobby people at school. It only matters who you are in the inside, not who you present yourself on the outside. You just need to be yourself with everyone, and you don't have to put on a fake act to try to fit in. People will love you no matter what.

College has allowed me to open up my mind to a literary would that otherwise I would have shown no interest in. Not only that but it has also opened the door to many community based activities that I absolutely love being a part of. Whether it is reading to underprivileged youths or volunteering at local senior centers. Thanks to college I have become a very active member of my community.

Going to college helps me discover who I truly am, for I learn more about myself based on the choices I make at college than I ever could have learned on my own. I learned that I truly love to help people, no matter what. I have been in charge of organizing mission trips over fall and winter break for two years, and this year I became a Resident Assistant. I was inspired to do these things to make a difference in the lives of people around me. I also learned that I want the best for myself. After competing in college running, I realize how important it is to push myself and perform at my best. I am happiest when I give my all. I also take great pride in maintaining my 4.0, because I wouldn't expect less from myself. Without college, I wouldn't have discovered these all-important things about myself. I would have gotten a job, settled into my life, and never been truly successful. Now that I know what my strengths and weaknesses are, I will have a much more successful and fulfilling life, all because of things I have learned at college.

I've learned so much about my craft here at Saint Mary's. When I decided I wanted to make theatre my career, I knew I had to make a decision. I could start going to auditions and try to break into it that way, or get and education under my belt to give me an advantage. I chose the education. I wanted to find a place that not only had a great theatre program, but also really fit my needs and would be able to give me opportunities that other places wouldn't. When I found out Saint Mary's theatre students get to perform a show in London their junior year that was it for me. All the classes and shows I've done so far in my college career are preparing me for that semester in London. I'm very happy with what I've been given. I was cast in four plays as a freshman, including student show. That wouldn't have happened if I had gone to the Big Ten school I was considering. Saint Mary's has proved to be an excellent school for me and I couldn't be happier with my choice.

"Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation" John F Kennedy. Three years ago I began a new adventure that I though necessary rather than an opportunity. However, today I live by the words of Mr. Kennedy. I now realize that a college education is not a necessity, but instead a gift that many do not receive. Through this knowledge the most important element that I have attained from college is my education. Not to say that the friendships, and lessons learned are not important, but the education that I have gained is key to helping me achieve my goals in the future.

I have learned that if I am going to truly be successful I should do what I love and Love what I do. Chosing my major has been the most difficult part of the whole process but the faculty and counselors at Citrus college have helped me so much. and pointed me in the right direction. Choosing a majjor is not about what will make you the most money, although that helps, nor is it about doing what you are best at, but rather it is about doing something you enjoy, this way you are sure to stick with it. This is why I am glad that I decided to go back to school and am glad I decided to double major.