St Olaf College Top Questions

Just do it. Don't think, just do it. Pick a school. It well shape your future path - academically, career-wise, and so on - but more important than the school you choose is what you do once you're there. Take advantage of the school's unique offerings, whatever they may be, and your time will not be wasted. The school you select will not be a golden ticket nor a kiss of death. You are responsible for your learning - now, more than ever - and only you have the power to put a limit on what you can learn. So, in spite of the nagging internal struggle that has troubled you for weeks, just do it. Sign your name, seal the envelope, and send it in. Be confident that you made the right choice - regardless of the school you've chosen - because you just did.

As an 18-year old, I couldn't have imagined the different directions my attention and interests would be pulled from my first day on campus. I was ready to dive into college life full throttle--which meant the social sphere almost more than it did the academic. While I settled on a double-major quickly enough, I don't feel I ever took advantage of the advising services the school had to offer. Having an experienced faculty member to help direct my studies, plan projects, and most importantly prepare for the transition out of college would have been the biggest benefit. My "distraction" definitely took a toll on my grades by the time I graduated, and I came to regret the time I spent simply searching for my real interests in study and life. Once I found those, I discovered that being a scholar is the most fun I could have at school. My advice would be this: find a mentor who challenges you. They have seen hundreds of students struggle with college life. They can motivate and occasionally reign you in. At graduation time, they're able to help you get the most out of whatever comes next.

Don't be afraid to try things out before settling down on your chosen major. Don't be afraid to express yourself and let your voice be known. Don't ever let anyone tell you that your choice is "dumb" -- don't let them berate you for it. Be free. Try things out. If you don't like it, switch. Try everything out. This will be the once-in-a-life time chance you will get to explore and really spend time learning. I realize you would probably hear this a lot and have grown to tune it out, but it's true. There are things I wished I had done differently and things I've said that I wish I could take back. I can't anymore and whatever decision you make, you won't be able to undo it. That's life. So here are my final words: express yourself, try things out, and don't apologize for it. Happy learning.

If I was able to go back in time to my senior year and talk to myself, I would 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} tell my self to go straight to college and not delay with "taking a year off". I wont say that i completly frown apon my self for not going straight to college after my high school, but I will say I'm sure it would be much easier. The pro's of going to college now are, I am able to set an example for my daughter who is old enough to know the importance of a good education, but I am also matured and school is a new learning expierence for me every single day.

When I was a high school senior, I really wish I had known how important it was for me to talk to current students at the colleges I was interested in and really experience what it would be like to go to school there. When I visited colleges I was nervous to look like an awkward prospective student so I avoided current students and didn't do much besides go on the campus tour. Looking back, I think it would have been very helpful and informative if I had stayed with a current student overnight or sat in on some classes. The most important thing I learned from being in college is that college students LOVE prospective students! My friends and I love hosting prospies overnight and talking with them. I am not usually a very talkative person but when it comes to prospective students I really enjoy asking them questions about themselves as well as answering any questions they may have about my school or the college decision process in general. I would advise any high school senior to not be anxious about talking with college students and taking advantage of every chance to get to know the college.

College Do's and Dont's: 1. GET INVOLVED - When you're in college you need to become involved in what you love. Classes can only teach you so much. There are countless lessons and skills you don't learn in school, so step out of your comfort zone and learn about your interests. It is how you become self aware and discover who you want to be. 2. DON'T OVER EXTEND YOURSELF - Knowing your limits is not only helpful in college, but it is an important life lesson. Commit quality work to a few things you are passionate about, rather than giving partial effort to activities/groups you won't remember in five years. 3. TRY TO FIT IN BY NOT FITTING IN - be unique, be yourself and people will flock to you. Care about others and they will care about you. Market yourself and people will want to be your friend for your unique-ness. You will fit in like a piece in a puzzle - it is up to you if you want to be a four-sided piece or a corner piece - easy to place and not as exciting to discover.

I would tell myself that college classes are much more challenging than high school classes, and require more thought as well as an increased workload outside of class. I also could not stress enough the importance of getting a good night's sleep every night. With 8 am classes, that means going to bed earlier than you might want to. Lastly, I would make sure to tell myself that nothing should get in the way of your college experience; don't let any previous attachments hold you back. Meet lots of new people and seek out ways to connect to different types of people. College is a place where, in a short amount of time, you will develop considerably as a person. My transition went pretty smoothly as it is, but I feel that if I had known these things before moving in, it would have been much easier for me to adapt.

If I Could Go Back in Time If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would tell myself to stay focused. I would tell myself that the end may be near but that doesn’t mean you should quit early. I should have applied to more colleges, written more scholarship essays, and volunteered more with school events and in more activities. I also should have taken both a math and a science class my senior year as well so I wouldn’t have forgotten it all when I got to college. There are many more things I should have done that definitely would have made college a little easier at first but you can’t change the past. I have made it through this far and I know that the future will be bright and full of possibilities if I only choose to look for them.

I know you're in your senior year of high school and you have worked your but off to get to where you are!! And now that you know you're really going to college and it's going to get really real you choose to slack off, you choose to take it easier. But that was a big mistake. Here's the real deal, yes you deserved a break for all the hard work you put into your high school career, but the only reason you even got to college was because you worked your but off. And since you have token that break, it's time to get off and start working again. College, espicailly St. Olaf, knows you were a great student, but now they expect that and more. I know you can make better choices, work even harder and still have time to take those breaks you need once in a while.

Well if I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would have saved myself much unneeded stress and lack of sleep. I would have convinced myself that I was taking a very positive step by going to college and to not worry about what my major was going to be, because chances are it will change as I develop more of my interests. I would have told myself to keep a very open mind, because opportunites will arise when least expected. Also, I now know building great relationships is one of the keys to sucess in college, and so I would have reassured myself to always reach out to others when possible. Besides that, I would have also convinced myself that making new friends is much easier than I expected, because other students also want a reliable friend who they can count on at school. Lastly, I would remind myself to not stress out about achieving all A's, but rather I would have told myself to just work hard, don't be lazy, and to have fun, because then life will work out the way it is meant to !

My adivce would be to study harder than I did freshman year. Start thinking for yourself and make your own life decisiouns. Ultimitely, your the one who controls his own life. Other people may influence you heavily, but you should be more open and put your trust in people. People at St. Olaf only want to help you succeed, that goes for faculty and friends.

An advice to myself would be: Save your money for books so you do not need to take out lots of loans because books are pricy. I never thought books would cost so much, now that I have experienced buying books, I regret not saving the fifty dollars I used for personal wants and wished I could have bought my Sociology texybook for next semester.

If I could go back in time and talk to my High School Senior self, I would tell him to spend more time studying for good grades and a better GPA. I missed out on a lot of opportunities because I wasn't placing my education first. I would tell my High School Self to apply for scholarships, enroll in colleges I wanted to go to, and save my paychecks instead of spending them.

Take time to appreciate every aspect of senior year. Yes, you are going to have moments that are rewarding and thrilling that are going to be easy to savor, but there are going to be times that you wish you skip over. Do not let yourself do that. Yes, it is exciting thinking about living away from the mundane home life and high school, but that is what you are going to miss the most when the times get tough. The college transition is very difficult. It is exciting, but you will not always be walking to class confidently on a sunny day. There are going to be times that everything seems so daunting, and you will begin to doubt yourself. You will wonder why you are there and if you can really finish. In moments like these, you will seek old comforts to regain your confidence. You will miss those early mornings walking to the school bus, the rushed home cooked meals before evening school activities, and all the love and support from family wishing you well in life. Please, capture every moment for safekeeping. You never know when the comfort will come in handy.

Don't hold back your personality. You know what you love, and even if it is not the most popular activity, it makes you happy, so why not do it? DON'T BE AFRAID TO DATE. Guys are nice and you might as well get used to having them around as long as you don't feel any pressure. They are just as scared as you so give them a break. You will never get enough sleep so don't fuss over a half hour extra of studying. Just give yourself a practical deadline BEFORE you lock yourself in the library for ten hours straight. Always eat at least one meal a day with friends. It's not fair to you or anyone else to be antisocial, especially during finals! Go to the football games, rain or shine, cheer on your friends, and just take it easy on Saturdays!

I am now a 29 year old mother with a husband who is incarcerated. I never saw my choices as mistakes and believed that if one door closed another would open soon after. I was partially right, I did everything backwards I graduated high school, went to community college, went to two universities, then took a long 4 year brake and got married, bought a house, went back to college, graduated with a B.S. in Organizational Management, moved back to my home town, got pregnant, lost everything that I knew in life including my house, my job, my dog, and my marriage. Doors didn't seem to open for me immediately, now unemployed and caring for a toddler alone, living with my in-laws I realize you have to physically open some doors instead of waiting for things to happen, you have to go out and get them. If I could tell myself as a high school senior I would say to not take the easy road of less resistance, during the transition to college everyone feels alone and scared. You are not defined in life by your challenges but what you do to make your challenges opportunities.

Life is about learning lessons, all humans make mistakes. Now that I am almost four years out of high school I have discovered what life after high school is REALITY. The best people with advice are the people who have already been there, but then theres people like me that like to test the waters anyways. If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior I would engrain in my head that school is just as important if not more then any other year of school. As a senior in high school I gave up on my school work and decided to live the college life as a high school senior. I would believe in myself more and accomplished my goals I had as a freshmen. I would encourage myself to try out for the sports I wanted to do and strive on the motivation. Most importantly I would have taken the advice from the people who have already been where im at now and saved myself less aggravation. I never regret anything because everything happens for a reason, I have learned through materity and failures that life is full of mistakes.

I honestly would not have told myself anything. College is a unique experience when you finally make the call on the big decisions in your life. I think to figure out all the aspects of college, you just need to fully experience them without someone telling you what you need to pay attention to and what to look out for. When I look back at college, I learned the most from the things I had no understanding of when I was entering my undergraduate education. People figure out what they need in order to grow and ultimately will learn that themselves.

In high school you worry about your grades way too much. Don't get me wrong, grades are very important, but I feel like learning is overlooked and grades are all peope care about. It is all a big game in highschool. Coming to college I realized that what you were expected to know actually really matters. Cramming before tests in highschool seems pretty standard, but this is not a good study technique to carry over to college academics. When first coming to college, let go of the reputation or image that you held in highschool. You are starting fresh and so is everyone else, so be yourself.

The best part about attending a community college is the class sizes. Starting in spring of 2011 I will be transferring to a 4 year CSU, the class sizes at the CSU's are huge, some up to 200 students. At a 2 year community college, you can get the same great education in smaller classes. Smaller class sizes helped me learn, I felt I that I could really connect with the teachers. With fewer students the teachers are more available for office hours to help individual students. Being a mechanical engineering major I spent a good portion of my time in my schools "math lab" working on math homework. The school I attended had such a great math program, the teachers were great to work with and the "math lab" gave me the opportunity to study in groups and be able to get the free tutoring I needed during those challenging sections of my homework. Between a good connection with the teachers and the free tutoring provided, I felt an ease of learning; I learned so much, never getting caught with the frustration of confusion. I hope to find the same at my CSU next semester.