Seton Hall University Top Questions

Take your time! There is no need to rush your life. It is more important to be focused and sure of where you want to go in life. That being said, don't be afraid to make mistakes. Own them and use them to your advantage to get where you want to in life. As much as your parents may be saying college needs to happen right now, tell them that you need to get your own life straight before you jump into thousands of dollars of debt. You are very creative, use that to your advantage and stop being so timid about giving input to others and yourself. Don't be afraid to stand out and think independently. You can have great work ethic if you want, but since you haven't cultivated that trait right now. What you really need is to work with what you have to become a great and kind person. Keep in mind alternate points of view and don't forget to smile!

Firstly, enjoy the college process. Not many people get that far. Most importantly, prepare to teach yourself. The transition will require you to go from active listening (which is what you do in high school), to active teaching. Your professors won't walk you through the material. That's your responsibility. You need to read the book, understand the material, and be able to do all work associated. The professor is just there to guide you and answer any specific questions you might have; they will not TEACH you. For every class that you are struggling with as a high school student, put in five times more the amount of effort. If you don’t understand it on your own, go to the teacher, find a tutor, search the internet for demonstrations and explanations, and ask for help. Do not throw in the towel and give up or say “I’m just stupid”. The second you do that is the second you fail. If you give up, you will not succeed in college. Be prepared for hard and challenging material. And always remember that you can do this; if other people have succeeded, you can too! Don’t give up.

As you become a high school senior, you must decide what to do with the rest of your life; most students opt to attend college. The most important thing piece of advice I wish I would have been given as a high school senior is this: although you think you are at the same place in your life as the others that you graduate with, you are not! Grades, yes, are an extremely important way to predict how one will handle college, but it is definitely not the most important. How you, yourself can adapt to change is a huge factor in what kind of college experience you will have. Some students believe that since their friends who are on the same academic level as they are moving off to a major university, that they too are ready to move off; however, in reality not every person is ready for such a drastic transition. There is absolutely nothing wrong with attending a junior college after graduation. If you think you may not be ready for a dramatic change in your life, junior college is the way to go for a perfect transition!

Dear future self: Invest in a hair straightener before starting freshman year! One graduation photo looking like a poodle is more than enough. More importantly, remember Grandma's advice: everything in moderation. Study hard, and work to make something of yourself, but allow yourself to have some fun, too. College is a good time to explore who you are as an individual, so branch out! Say hello to everyone. Join a few clubs. Accept the invitation to cute-Physics-guy's party (but just drink the soda. You will later find out that someone has done some incredibly unhygienic things to the punch). Enjoy every moment of college, but remember that they are simply that: moments. Savor the good ones, and let the bad ones roll off of your back. When you stumble - and you will - take a night to yourself to relax with your friends Ben & Jerry, and tomorrow pick yourself back up. It will be worth the challenges in the end.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would stress the importance of time managment. Ever since I could remember, I had always been put on a time schedule to eat, sleep and do my school work, so for me to go to college and not have that structure it was overwhelming. I had to be the one to incorporate eating three meals a day around my hectic schedule, as well as getting the proper amount of sleep needed at night. Getting a valued education is important in college but keeping myself healthy in terms of eating, sleep and exercise is even more important, because without those elements there is no valued education. I would prepare myself as a high school senior on making my own schedule and being in control of my own life. Independence; thinking for ones self without the influence or control of others, and that is the hardest thing to adjust to. Its an important trait but a hard transition to prepare for in the matter of two months, which is why i would stress the importance of time management to myself as a high school senior.

Looking back at who I used to be as a high school senior, I see a girl who breezed through high school and most of her life. I would go back and tell her that college will not be that easy, and to start practicing time management and money management now, because procrastination and over spending will be detrimental to her during freshman year. I would tell her not to lose focus, that it might seem though but it will be all worth it once she gets herself together sophomore year. And most importantly, I will tell her to always strive for more; to stop settling for an “okay” life and become involved on campus because that will make all the difference in her life.

The first thing I would tell myself is, stick with your first choice. Although Seton Hall was originally my first choice, I decided upon another college due to financial reasons. In the end, those plans fell through and in a frenzy I contacted Seton Hall. Likewise, I initially chose a major that did not suite me and was miserable the first semester. If I could do it all over again from the beginning, I would tell myself to listen to my heart and not allow for others opinions to influence me. After the college life began, I should have realized that this was the ideal time to begin making friends not continuing in a relationship. I regret being in a relationship that in the end did not work out and isolating myself from social events because of another indivdual. College should be a time when relationships are built with friends, not with significant others, there is plenty of time for that in the future. I've made mistakes, I've learned from my mistakes, yet I will continue to make them and keep learning. However, I do wish that someone did tell me these very things as a senior.

Rush Alpha Phi!! hahaha but seriously- a lot of freshmen go home on the weekends so it's going to seem pretty abandoned for the first few weeks/months. Also- get an internship early because they're pretty important later on. Likewise- become friends with your teachers and the people that work in the caf because they'll give you free food. Also- be prepared to spend a lot of money on replacement IDs and when you lock yourself out of the room

Why pick second best when you know you can succeed and not be bored at an institute that might not agree with your family's plan? Follow your first instincts, they are usually correct. Don't make the mistake of getting overwhelmed and letting people tell you that you can't do it.

If I were to go back in time to talk to myself as high school senior there would be lots that I would inform myself about college. I would make sure I applied for many my scholarships and awards because as college student you need to be able to financially support yourself sometimes. I would tell myself not to stress so much on making friends or worrying about fitting in because unlike high school there are not any cliques or "popular" people that ruled the school. In college you can focus on being yourself and people there will accept you for being you. I would tell myself to focus more on the education perspective of college, rather than the social perspective because the school and your family are financially invested in you to succeed and graduate college. I would tell myself to relax a little bit and do not stress too much in the first year of college, just focus on transitioning smoothly into college and getting the groove and feel of college.