Heather
While going to college I have learned many things that I never before saw myself capable of, until now. Most of these lessons are not found in a traditional textbook. Among many qualities I gained, one of them has been learning to break out of my shell and lessen my concern with the perception of others and focus my energy on doing what I want to do, what I love to do and all the training on how to do it. I feel that the value in attending college is not only to gain considerable amounts of training and knowledge but to also gain experiences. I highly value my exposure to another city, to its multiple ethnicities and cultures, varying financial situations, highly diversified outlooks on life, etc. In other words, I find college valuable to attend because it is eye opening, life changing and will shape me into the person I want to become.
Amy
If I were to go back and counsel myself about making a decision about college, the most important piec of advice I could give would be to allow yourself as much time and flexibility as you can to figure out what you want to do. Deciding what you want to do with your life is not an easy decision at any time, but especially not when you are young and don't have much experience in the world yet. To add to the confusion, technology is moving so quickly these days that your profession of choice may not even be invented yet, or is only beginning to break out. My advice is to commit yourself to the broadest area of study that still includes your intended direction and become more specialized in your education as you go. You do not have to declare a major right away, so get your general education classes out of the way while you are thinking about how you want to specialize. When you pick an area you want to go into, try to select a major with a large umbrella that includes your specialization and then take classes to supplement that focus.
Taylor
The advice I would have loved to preach to myself during my senior year would have been to save as much money as possible before enrolling into college and to better prepare myself mentally for the academic challenges. College is more difficult then highschool and the atmosphere is very different and the more prepared you are the easier it will be to adjust to the changes. As far as financially, books aren't free anymore like they were in highschool, so that part time job you have is super beneficial to you and towards your future finances for college. Since being a full-time student with 16 credits, and 5, four hour long classes per week there is no time for a part time job especially with your learning disablity (ADD, Bipolar) so it would have been such a great relief to have a little extra saved for myself before even considering college right after highschool. Living 2,000 miles away from your boyfriend, parents and friends is very tough, but you have to stick through it and get that degree you always dreamed of! It will go by much quicker than you think!
Kathryn
A wise man once told me that it doesn?t matter where one is when it comes to achieving their goals, what matters is how much motivation one has. When thinking back to being a high school senior, I put too much weight upon the location of my university. I thought that if I was somewhere different I would know what I wanted to do. Looking back at that stressed out high school senior, I would want to tell her to calm down. I would want to tell her that everything she needs to know is inside of her. When she leaves she will be scared and feel lonely, no matter where she goes. I will tell her that when this happens she should raise her head and never doubt that she is learning. If she needs to leave after a year, it?s okay, as long as she does not act out of fear. I would tell her not too hold too high of expectations and that it?s okay not to know what she wants for a while. Just because she doesn?t have it all figured out does not make her inadequate.