Santa Barbara City College Top Questions

Dear Felicia, Don't be discouraged if that professor seems to not care about you. Don't give up when you feel like no ones on your side. Those nights staying up late studying the difference in DNA between Prokaryotic cells and Eukaryotic cells WILL pay off. Getting in arguments with your roommates, although stressful, is normal and will blow over. Call your mom and dad often and tell them you love them because they will always be there for you when you don't do so great on an exam or have a bad day. Get out and be active, take your vitamins, take baths and most importantly invest in time to truly relax and watch your favorite TV show. If you don't take time for yourself, you will get eaten alive by stress resulting from college. Last but not least, make memories. Make the memories that you will remember for a lifetime and tell your children. College will be one of the best times of your life, trust me. Sincerely, Felicia Jordan Tetz

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would give myself so much advise. I would tell myself to learn how to be more financially responsible since I would be on my own in college, not living with my parents anymore. I would advise myself to research more about the schools I applied for. SBCC was my last choice because I wanted to go straight into a 4- year university. I wanted to skip going to a community college because I felt that I was working very hard and taking extra AP courses in high school. If I had researched more about SBCC I would have realized that it is an outstanding college and the #1 community college in the nation. I focused more on wanting to go straight into a 4-year university, but I did not realize how less expensive it would be to attend here first. Without knowing at the time I ended up making the best decision. I should have never let my AVID teacher make me feel less if I attended SBCC. He always told us we should go for more than just a community collge.

Don't be so quick to say "no" to an exploration. Straying from your comfort zone means joining clubs outside of your interests, everything from slack-lining to coffeehouse conversing in Italian. It means going on field trips for different classes and using office hours to meet teachers other than your own. You're a freshman, and although you think you know what your want, like, and are passionate about, you don't. Doing things you love, finding new hobbies and interests, are just as important as getting an education; the two go hand in hand. Take internships and jobs as they come, don't wait around for the perfect one for your career path. You can always move on while taking the best out of the opportunity you've been given at the moment. Sometimes, throwing caution to the wind can give you more ground to run. Most importantly, remember if you strive to get an education, the degree will follow, and if you build yourself, tone your strengths, ignite your passions, and follow your dreams, the resume will follow, too.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would be sure to tell myself to "Be Ready." One of the major transitions from high school to college is that you're on your own. You have no one to force you to go to class when you're feeling lazy or slacking off. There is no more "getting in trouble" when you don't complete your assignments. Experiencing this college life has taught me to be very timely and goal-oriented. Living in Isla Vista, CA, next to UCSB, tested my ability to balance out school and my social life. UCSB is a big party school, but I still managed to be able to put school first. I would also tell myself to learn to become more independent because being away from home isn't always easy since you no longer have first-hand access to your parents.

The first advice I would give to myself is to have a clear plan on what really interests me and to take that information and funnel it down to majors relating to it. I feel if I had a clear view on what I wanted to study during my Senior year applying for colleges as well as committing to a college would have been much easier. Another thing I would give to myself is start making connections with people all around you because you never know when they might come in handy. Introducing myself and letting others get to know me would have been really helpful since in college that is what everyone does. In College everyone is so forward and open that it took me a few weeks to do the same as others. Lastly I would give myself the most important advice out of all and that is to be determined. To know what I want and strive to achieve that goal. Do not let any road blocks on the way stop me from reaching the goals that I want to achieve.

I would make sure that i tell myself to go and dont stop. I would tell myself that you can accomplish alot if you continue to stay foucuse and put in the hard work. Keep your eye on the prize and you will do just fine.

Stay driven. Understand that there are an incalculable amount of distractions that can divert your long-term interests into 'in-the-moment' interests so it is important to constantly think about your motivation for choosing a certain educational (thus career) path and use that motivation to keep your drive for success. Do not change - in a good way. Of course, it is important to be open to try new things and expand your horizons, blah blah blah, but you do not want these things to change who you are. Stay wacky and independent, dance whenever you can, and never turn down a smile.

I would remind myself to try my hardest and if I see something that I want, go for it! To make the most of the year and cherish every second of it because my life is going to change dramatically in about a year. I would have reminded myself to take in all the information that I can because I am going to need it in college. I think I would have spent a little more time with my family because they are not going to be around next year and I know I'm going to miss them more than i can imagine.

The four years you spend in college are unlike any other years of your life; use them wisely! Everything from the school you choose to go to, the major you decide to pursue, and the people you hang out with, have the potential to change your life! College is when you really start to learn about yourself and figure out who you want to become. The best way to do that is to put yourself out there: join clubs, take interesting classes, do things outside of your comfort zone, and don't pay any attention to what people think of you! Be your own person and follow your intuition. This is YOUR life, not anyone else's, so you have to live with it!

Take a year off... I'm not kidding. Try and find a job, figure out how to support yourself, learn how to write a resume, and figure out what you want to do in life that will result in bills being paid while also not hating yourself. Do things like exploring the world and new cultures. You have your whole life to work and go to school. Don't rush into college right out of high school. Don't take on any more debt than you absolutley have to. Consider a community college as a stepping stone to a four year. Find at least an inkling of what your niche is before you make any decisions about what career you want for the rest of your life. I gurantee it will do more good than getting out of college at age 22 or 23 with thousands of dollars in debt, no job prospects, and feeling totally abadoned by the school you spent 4 or 5 years of your life at because you were forced to decide your lifes direction right out of high school at age 18. Seriously, a year off will do you a world of good.