Southern Methodist University Top Questions

I have gotten alot out of my college experience. I have enjoyed the last 2 years because of the people, education and just the overall atmosphere of the university. It is a great place to be and learn, and I have benefitted from it. This university will prepare me for my future, and it will continue to the next two years. It has been valuable because I have made alot of connections that will help me throughout my life and career. The people are what makes this campus so great, and I am so lucky to be apart of it.

I have gotten to debate at a collegiate level while I have been in college while triple majoring in political science, public policy and economics. I have been active with volunteer organizations and gotten to know my professors well. SMU has allowed me to live in Dallas and experience life in the middle of a large city, while still retaining the feel of a high level collegiate institution. Unfotunately, I will not be able to attend after this semester without finding around $10,000 in scholarships. Hopefully, this one will be able to give me a helping hand.

What I have gotten out of my college experience so far has been self discipline. I was never one to wake up early and be motivated to do anything. Working second shift, made that easy for me. However, working for family wasn't the most enjoyable or fullfilling experience. I never had to worry about pushing myself, and didn't have any real responsibilities. Going through college has opened my eyes to a whole other world and made me become a responsible young adult. This is my third attempt at college, and by far have the best results. I guess I had to grow up a little more before I took it real serious and I have. And I believe college has pushed me far beyond anything I could have done on my own.

I have learned engineering aspects that have helped me to understand the world around me. I have learned to defend myself and stay fit through an exciting martial arts program. I have made a dozen friends who are closer to me than I would ever have imagined. I have gone through and can understand the collegiate world. I have learned how to study for the first time in my life. I have worked harder than ever and been successful.

Cliche as it sounds, i have gotten a better understanding of who I am and what I stand for. I have been able to academically experiement and really discover a major that challenges my thought process and mentally stimulates me. In heated classroom debates, I have learned that its not about being wrong or right, but about being able to defend my views and arguments. I have learned just as much inside the classroom as I have outside. Coming a from a small private highschool I was exposed to the many cultural perspectives that college and awoken me to- its incredible to the see the world from so many different angles!

Going to college was one of the most frightening and difficult things I ever had to do. I was afraid to leave my perfect little bubble and was worried about making friends, missing my family and keeping my grades up during what was supposed to be the "best time of my life" as coined by hollywood. Nevertheless, I braced myself to face the challenges of college life and reminded myself that my college experience would be what I made it. I began school in August and ended up loving it. I met interestingly wonderful people from all around the world and was fascinated to see how passionate my professors were about their field of study. It made me realize that although I may not love the subject I'm studying, it is important to appreciate its importance to the function of our society. College has made me a much stronger and independent person and I can't wait to return in the fall to see what new and wonderful adventures await.

Returning to college made me remember how much I enjoy learning and participating in class. I enjoy being a student and especially love interacting and having discussions with my professors. I appreciate that I learn from them and that I have opinions and ideas that are welcome. I spent the last several looking after my daughters and always trying to find better jobs to make sure that I could afford to continue to take care of my bills and my rent; I was always aware of wanting to avoid people I knew from high school because I had done nothing with my life and everyone else was educated and confident. Although I was laid off recently I feel proud saying that I am attending school now and even prouder that I feel that I actually belong in the college community. I have gotten my confidence and my curiosity back and I am using them to be the student I have always wanted to be.

What I have gained from my college experience has been the opportunity for a second chance at academic success and a second chance on life. When I graduated high school in 1992, I had a 4.0 GPA and was awarded a full ride scholarship to Culver-Stockton University, which I unfortunately turned down. I ended up making a series of bad decisions from there that ultimately changed the course of my life for the worse. I got into drugs, had children out of wedlock and had to take care of those children by myself, and still do, chose dead end jobs, and alienated myself from my entire family, who never forgave me for squandering the opportunities I earned earlier in life. Now I am back in school and earning those opportunities back for not only myself, but now for my children as well. I intend to become a psychologist, so I can help others right their wrongs as well as help them to avoid the pitfalls I experienced so they can go on to lead productive, successful lives.

I have receieved a learning experience of being free from my parents and the experience of self-reliance. This college experience is one that is rewarding while most difficult, it deals with adjustments and changes, and it is the way you conform to these adjustments and changes which establishes how your experience will go. Going to college for me has been rewarding not only education wise, but in life lessons as well. And these are the lessons i will carry with me throughout life.

A great learning enviornment and very interesting teachers. I love my advisor.

Having been raised in a small, affluent, protected city in California, exposure to different cultures and values has been very enlightening and exciting. Students at SMU are from all over the country, and bring a multitude of values and behavior formed by their past experiences. I have found myself questioning what I thought was normal and customary, and think I am becoming a better person for it. I have enjoyed being academically challenged. My High Achool was also highly regarded academically, but I am enjoying the stretch of college courses and opportunities for learning. SMU attracts noted speakers and professors, so there is ample opportunity to learn from seminars and out of class lectures as well. On a personal level, I have learned the art of time management needed to coordinate my on-campus work study job, my off campus job, sorority activities, studying, enjoying my new friends, and having "me" time. I have also been able to learn more about conflict management from problems inside my dorm. Finally, coming from a single parent home, I am appreciting the sacrifices my mother makes for me financially, and have become more involved with money management. Many valuable lessons learned!

I've had to struggle through college for the past eight years, I would definitely have to warn myself of the hazards of dealing with counselors, both academic and financial. I've encountered many errors and transgressions that have delayed my expected graduation time year after year. One of these years, for instance, saw my dog run away, the passing of a dear friend, and the ultimate death blow to my all (all this had occurred during Christmas). The financial implications forced me to take a year-and-a-half long sabbatical from school. I returned to continue my fight through classes and student finances, and even encountered some academic advising errors that cost me another semester. I don't believe one should know too much about their own futures, but I do believe that I would have to warn myself of the academic and financial burdens I am certain to encounter. No one else in my family had ever graduated from college, so I had a lot to learn, and a lot to overcome. I consider myself to be quite stubborn, and I do believe there are circumstances, such as this one, where it is quite beneficial.

Younger man. If you have just twenty minutes, I really have some information that you can benefit from. No it does not involve smoking or girls, though you might have a few encounters with them both where you will be going. Seriously now, I wish to tell you about establishing a plan for college. When I overheard your conversation at the urinal last week, I noticed that you were thinking about going to a university but you received information about community college. If you are willing to hear me out, I believe that with community college you will be very successful in your educational endeavors. I want you to take three things into consideration. First of all, with community college you can earn credits that satisfy university requirements at a fraction of the price. Secondly, you have a lighter work load at community colleges, allowing you to grow into college-level work without being overwhelmed. Lastly, the experience gives you the opportunity to plan your next step versus jumping out into the middle of the ocean with a life saver and a fish stick. So younger man, listen and become wiser. Make your first step a community college.

I would definitely tell myself to take more Advanced Placement classes so I could get more college credit and save money on tuition and books. The most important thing I would need to know is that it's perfectly acceptable to be yourself coming into a new environment that you've never been in before. There are thousands of other students in the exact same position, so knowing that you're not alone when it comes to being nervous in an unknown place should be a little calming to the nerves. Continue the work ethic you put forth in the last year of high school and listen to the voice inside your head no matter what anyone else tells you. With this newfound freedom comes an enormous amount of responsibility that you need to become of aware of and grasp before things get out of hand. Even though there's no such thing as a perfect start to college, it can still be enjoyable as long as you stay true to yourself and do what you know in your heart feels right.

I'd make a better effort to prepare myself for college, introducing better study habits, knowing I'd actually have to work hard to be successful. I would have done a different course selection, challenging myself more, giving myself a better chance to succeed.

My advice would be to learn to be more open-minded and expect a big change when you go to college. Expect to meet a new and diverse group of people from different cultural, religious, and socio-economic status. Be open and friendly to everybody and careful when choosing your friends. Also try and academically do as best as you can, and be very driven and dedicated to your academic work.

I still remember the difficult times I experienced during my senior year when I was going through the horrific application process. I was nervous, stressed out, and almost gave up going to college. However, I wish I can go back and tell myself that it isn?t so bad. All I had to do is maintain the good grades I already had, take the SAT, and write some essays. Maybe I should have started on those essays a little bit earlier. If I had acquired good time management skills during high school instead of waiting till college, it would have been easier to balance between homework and extracurricular activity. I would probably go back and tell myself to be more involved in clubs during high school because you really need these social skills in college. Colleges don?t only look at your grades, but they look at how well-rounded you are. Being the first the oldest sibling in the family, I had no one to give me any genuine advice about college life. However, I plan to use my experience to help students in the community to take advantage of the resources available to them to go to college.

As I entered college a year and a half ago, I was persistent in my attempt to withstand my preconceived notions of what I wanted to accomplish in my college career. However, after my freshman year, I began to wonder if my original goal of graduating with a BFA in Dance was the best course for me. I became aware of a multitude of opportunities and feilds of study that interested me. I eventually had to make a life changing decision, whether to continue to earn my degree in dance and take a few classes that sufficed my outside interests, or to continue taking classes but completely restart and persue a new major that would greatly benefit my future immediately after graduating or perhaps further on in my career. This decision would cost me a great deal of my scholarship and change my family's financial situation significantly, however what I learned was that regardless of what your personal plan entails, there will always be variables that challenge your path, and in addition to this, if there is a will, there is a way. Without risk there is little gain, and no one has ever felt satisfied from being comfortable.

"Don't quite while you're ahead." is the advice I would give to myself. These words reflect a song title from the Broadway musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rumpert Holmes, an English-British composer, born 24-Feb-1947. Like Rumpert, I had high expectations to complete a major in music and to secure a job in the music field. However, one difference between Rumpert and myself is that after his studies (at the Manhattan School of Music in New York), he remained focused in music and became an acclaimed music artist. Contrastingly, now at age 41, I am recounting my reasons to complete the MUED BM studies at Southwestern University at Georgetown, TX. Regrettably, I withdrew from this university in 1986 following the completion of my junior year. Thereafter, for more than 10 years, I pursued other goals apart from my passion for music. Without a doubt, music still gives me joy. However, life has prompted me to rethink how I will achieve success. And with that said, I am pursuing a degree in anthropology at SMU in Dallas, TX with hopes to graduate by spring 2010, all while remembering "Don't quite while you're ahead."

When beginning the application process for college, I was unaware of what I truly desired of my college experience. I knew I wanted to thrive in college, however, I felt wanting for an area of study that interested me. In my senior year of High School, I lost my personal identity. Given the chance to talk to myself, I would merely have asked "What identifies you?" I would not tell myself anything I have learned now, I would have just posed the question. It took the experience of my first semester of college to realize what I felt passionate about and identified with. In my first semester at SMU I didn't fit in. I began to apprehend the missing piece in my existence - my family. I forgot I thrived on the benefits of a strong support group - my family's support. In High SchooI, I scarcely connected with my family and became detached; without their presence at SMU my identity got lost. After Transfering to UNT I found, with my family's help, that Film is my passion. Without the experience at SMU, I would never have realized this. With family support, my passion and identity came to fruition.