St John’s University-New York Top Questions

Any advice in this scenario would be due to regrets of mistakes made. If I were to be able to travel back in time to give myself advice, my advice will be heavily motivated by my current financial situation (as I suspect most responses you will be receiving in this survey will be). I half want to answer, "give my high school self the knowledge of this means of time travel" so that I'd be the first to patent this technology and thus eliminate my financial troubles. Realisticly, there are two main things I would like to force my past self to be aware of. The first would be to not falter from my work ethic. College classes are deceptively harder than my specialized science high school classes. Falling behind is guaranteeing my current situation of being .02 points away from losing all of my financial aid (which already only covers the smaller half). My second advice would be to purchase stock from rite aid when it was literally almost a 1/10th of what it is currently. I cant decide which I regret more.

Beware, beware, beware for college is coming up! There is temptation lurking from every resident hall, so remain focused and do not, I repeat do not get involved in the drama. There are a couple of things that I want you to know that you should watch out for. A social life is important, but I would strongly suggest you hang around people who are focused just like you. Don't get lazy and get into the habit of missing classes. No one is there waking you up to go, unless you have really good roomates, but other than that you are responsable for you. Stay on top of your work, and leave nothing for the last minute. Try your best! Not everyone will get A's all the time. All that matters is if you've tried your very best. Get into the habbit of studying and learn how to balance your time early. Most importantly have fun! College is a learning experience so absorb all the information you can, make all of the healthy friends you can, and get involved in some sort of activity, becaue it makes getting to know people easier.

Chris, My advice to you: don't waste time! I know the circumstances at graduation where difficult and a little confusing but looking back it seems a poor excuse for waiting. The longer you wait to pursue your goals and actualize your potential the more you will feel the need to make up for lost time. Your abilities where never in question and your intelligence has always been hungry for the novelty of learning. Waiting for the right moment just leaves you feeling left behind as your mind feels increasingly stagnant. I am realizing now that the right moment may never happen to cross my path. Only after acting and making an effort to advance myself do I see my life going anywhere promising. I am responsible for my own life and I am the one in control of my own destiny. So why waste any more time? Seize the day!

My advice to myself would be, keep your head up and dont get wrapped up in any kind of trouble. If you have sex make sure you use some kind protection to prevent any unwanted children. Stay in school and dont get yourself into any major relationships. The most important thing I would tell meself is that no one can make you happy but yourself. Now go have fun with your life and love yourself.

College is a big decision. I know that you are scared and think that this decision is too big for you to make, but you need to trust in God and trust in yourself. You will end up where you're meant to be. Things happen for a reason. Going away to college, especially a thousand miles away from your family, is going to be hard. Sometimes you'll be so caught up in your life in New York that you won't realize how much you miss everyone you left back home in Florida. Other times, your heart will be so heavy and full of sorrow that you'll cry yourself to sleep and wonder why you left in the first place. One day you may feel complete with the friends you surround yourself with and the next day you may feel like you have no friends. I know it's easy to only hang out with your roommate because it's convenient and easy, but branch out and meet other people. You will find someone that you really connect with. Make sure you take a break from all that studying too. And don't forget to call home.

I would tell myself that I should study hard, to use all resources find a job and that money is an issue.

Jarlin, get more involved! Instead of rushing to work after school, try to work out a new schedule with your boss. Volunteering is a great way to become more outgoing, make new friends, build your resume and most importantly help your community. In college having a positive and outgoing attitude will make your high school to college transition much easier. You will feel more comfortable and feel like you belong. In addition, finding the right organizations/clubs will help you narrow your decision as to what you want to study in college. You will find what you enjoy and feel most comfortable with. I guarantee this while make your transition as smooth as possible. If you want to join something, go for it! You have little confidence and wish to change that, well this will definitely help. Do not act like the mouse and run away as soon as the light is turned on, become the hawk that never misses an opportunity. Get involved!

Looking back on my college experience, there were a few things that I would have done differently. If I were giving myself advice based on what I know now first, I would tell myself to enjoy my college experience as much as possible. As an undergraduate, I consumed myself with the result (graduation) rather than the college journey and, I never entirely experienced what my school had to offer; it still is one of my biggest regrets regarding my undergraduate years at St. John's. Although graduating from St. John's University is a great accomplishment, I feel like I gypped myself by not participating in any of the offered school activities. Second, I would tell myself to get to know my professors better; they are not your enemy but, your biggest ally. Professors have all sorts of connections into the outside world which can lead to an internship, be used as a reference when applying for a job, or even job placement. The best advice that I'd give myself would be this: "You're only young once. Live life to the fullest and experience all that you can because it will all be over before you know it!"

Time is precious. You dont have time to waste and you surely dont have time to mess up. Dont sit around thinking I have time. Get up and do it now. Keep your grades up and dont let others influence you. Freshman year is a tough year and you have to stay on top of everything.

I would search for schools that had a solid mentoring program and a good support system for freshman year students. I would also search out programs in which faculty were more involved and where class sizes were small enough to permit more individualized attention.