SUNY College at Oswego Top Questions

Don't worry about not knowing anyone when you get there. Most freshmen don't. You will meet people and they will be friendly. It will be okay!

If I could go back in time to speak to myself as a high school senior, I would have a lot to say. That was a difficult year for me. I was struggling with an eating disorder, and my parents were pretty emotionally destructive. They would always tell me I wasn't good enough, that I was lazy, that I would never amount to anything, and that they wouldn't pay for college. If I could speak to myself back then, I would tell myself "Don't worry. It seems bad, but everything will be alright! You don't need to starve yourself, because you're beautiful and not at all fat and it won't make you feel better about your home life. Your parents are wrong- you ARE something-" and then I would secretly tell her that in just a year, she would have a job, a boyfriend, great friends and be on the right track towards getting a degree. If I could have taken that pain away from 17 year old Margaret, I would have, but that struggle inspired her to succeed.

I should have gone to a community college around me for 2 years. It's financially smart. If only I was financially smart at 17.

I would tell myself to finish the Associate's degree before entering Oswego state. I would also assure myself that college is the best choice that I will make in my lifetime and that the experiences and friends will stay with me forever. I remeber being so afraid of the world and unsure of what I will do with my life and how I will get to that point. I would definitely tell myself that Oswego State is going to teach me how to better interact with others and enable me to take control of my life in such a proactive way that I will make leaps and bounds in my academic journey and personal enrichment. Myself now telling myself then would definitely stress the advantages of the many learning experiences that I will have once in college. These advantages and experiences will not only be experienced inside the classroom, but also as a member of the student senate and as becoming President and Vice President of my student union. I would definitely stress that the life I had known up until my graduation seriously pales to what I will experience in the four years I will spend at Oswego.

I would tell myself to calm down! I spent my entire senior year stressing about classes and making friends, but the whole process turned out to be so much easier than I had expected. I would tell myself to enjoy senior year, because college is an entirely different experience. When entering college, you start at the bottom all over again, and it is important to value the time you have at the top. I would tell myself to apply for more scholarships, because you do not realize how quickly the bills pile up. It is true that going out with friends may seem like the better option at the time, but in the long-run, reducing debt is the most important thing you can do.

I would tell my High School Senior self to have confidence and believe in her self more. She should always ask questions to her teachers, her classmate and counsoler when she doesnt understand a topic or a situatuion that she can't handle by herself. she meet with a counsler and discuss her general requirment to a four year University, and she should take the easy classes first so she can understand more about the college system before taking the harder class. I would also strongly advise her to do well in all her classes and aim for A, so she can have a higher GPA and it will help her get into a good university. I understand that you are going experience some diffulculties along the road but she should be strong and believe in herself because she is capable of doing anything she puts her mind into it. The most vaulable lesson i would like to tell her is to learn to love her self more because that is essential for success in college.

I would tell myself to study harder and get a higher average. I would also tell myself not to stress over college too much because it has all worked out just great.

Work hard! It may seem easy at first but it is important to keep up on studying and not to slack off. You will find that you have a lot more growing up to do but always be true to yourself.

I would go back in time and tell myself to follow my gut. My instincts told me to accept my presidential scholarship at RIT and suck up the extra cost to go to my number one choice school, but Oswego's low pricing won out. Making the transition is easy when one is able to relate to a person or group of people with shared interests, which I feel I would've been more able to make at a different school.

I would tell myself to stop hanging around with the wrong people. I need people in my life who support and encourage me. Those who try to bring me down or prevent me from reaching my potential are unnecessary drama. I would tell myself to go to class every day and take it more seriously than I did in high school.

Dear Devante, this is your alter ego Vante and i am now a senior in college. I came to warn you, first about being laid back, in the begining of the year and then trying to catch up and be focus at the end of the year. Well college is nothing like high school. If you get behind in the begining of your semester, it will be very hard to catch up, and most professors won't let you catch up. So all the extra credit your trying to do just to boost your grade it's not going to work. Another thing is, it's not all about social life, you need to have time for yourself, instead of trying to hang out with your girlfriend, playing basketball with your "boys". If you have time for yourself, you will have time to do your homework, study and even read a book. Another thing do not get a girlfriend before college it's not going to work out. And plus you don't need any more stress that you have already. Ya'll will probably be in different colleges anyways, now its long distant. Ok Devante, Remember what i said.

Despite the mundane and routine environment that high school offers you still need to apply yourself better. I know this all comes easy to you, but that does not mean that you should put off your homework only to finish it minutes before it is due. You could have easily maintain a much better grade point average if you just tried. Ok, so you aren't doing completely awful. You have never failed a class and rarely make a C. That is all fantastic if you are so content with being a barely above average student. Why don't you buckle down and go for gold? If you would've tried harder it would not have been difficult at all to maintain something of a 4.0 grade point average, and I wouldn't be going to a community college for you right now picking up the slack. Guess what highschool me, I have a 4.0 grade point average, so I don't want to hear any excuses. You should strive for greatness, unless you would rather attend a community college rather than a high class university. All you have to do is put a little more effort in.

As a high school senior, you're focused on friends and the now, much more than the future. I know when I was a senior, I was dedicating a majority of my time to cheerleading and other extracurriculars. However now with my knowledge about college life, I wish I would have prepared myself more for the future and focusing on the detachment of my hometown. Removing yourself from what you're used to and the people you've grown up with is not an easy task! Preparing yourself to leave and take a step into adulthood opens your eyes into a new reality. Though it may seem hard to let go of what you've always known, use what you have learned the past eighteen years as stepping stones to a brighter future.

The main point I would tell myself would be to place more focus on interactions with the faculty, rather than the look of the buildings or atmosphere of the campus. While the visual appeal of the campus is important, I feel I may have become to focused on the physical appereance of the campus and missed out on opportunites to interact with potential professors. After completing one semester I realize now that, while it is nice to go to school in an enjoyable atmosphere, interaction with professors will always have a much larger impact on your day and thus overall college experience. I can manage staying in a dorm room I may feel is to cramped, but having to deal with a difficult professor day after day can really weigh on a person. I think the main reason why more emphasis may be put toward observing the atmosphere is that, for a high school senior, interacting with new professors at an open house or tour can be intimidating. The vast amount of new things being introduced was a lot for me to take in, which caused me to be more reserved around professors, leading me to ask less question.

Should have offered college visits, looked into what the school was strong in, and she should have offered a school that offered many majors

There are just a couple things I would have been happy knowing about before making the transition from high school to college. Although, the advice would not reveal a whole lot of what happens in this transition because this uncertainty is what makes the transition exciting and memorable. One tip I would definitely give myself before this transition would be not to be so worried about the process; everything will work out fine. Additionally, I would have told myself to try not to impress everyone and just be me. There are so many people in college and the world that will like you for who you are. Being you is entirely less stressful and usually comes with doing things that are of huge accomplishments. Lastly, I would have to myself to have an open mind. This is what my opinion on what college is really about. Having an open mind to the certain people and their views on the world is crucial to growing as a person. This transition is an uncertain and scary time in a person’s life but, it is also a time for getting to know yourself and growing as a person.

Obviously, from my college experience I will obtain what everybody's end goal is-a degree. I will have a tool that will assist me in becoming a successful, productive member of my society. However, college has been valuable for many other reasons. Group work is unavoidable, and while I dreaded it, it ended up being beneficial. I am now secure in my abilities to work alongside others in a professional environment. I have also been involved in on campus activities and oranizations such as WNYO (the student-run radio station), and the Judicial Affairs hearing board. Not only do these things give me experience in potential career fields, but they have also helped me increase my independence and self confidence. I have two and a half years left of undergraduate school, and I'm excited to see what else I can gain.

I have made many friends during the course of my college experience. I have met many upperclassmen students that are willing to assist younger students in various ways. I have been able to practice my major, journalism, because of the student run newspaper. It has been valuable to attend SUNY Oswego because I have learned many new things that I would not have learned about if I did not attend this school. I have made many friends with all different backgrounds allowing me to experience different things.

Firstly, going away to attend any college or university is very beneficial to many students and helps teens and young adults to become more confident and self-reliant. SUNY Oswego presented me with the chance to live independently, go to school, and work while in a secure environment. While dorming, I found that there were many enjoyable and welcoming people to talk with as well as many clubs and activities to become involved with, either through residence life or ohter academic departmants. SUNY Oswego offers many amenities, such as three gym locations including a gym for just atheletes, as well as Lee Hall, an open rec facility for all students. There are also many intramural and club sports apart from varsity sports that any student can join. All of the above helped me to expand my horizons and meet new students during my attendance at SUNY Oswego. Sadly, I could not stay at Oswego for financial reasons and because I decided to become a pharmacist, one of the few things that is not offered at SUNY Oswego. The past three semesters were unforgettable and have allowed me to grow up to acquire sense and smarts alike.

I have matured so much since I graduated high school and began to attend college. Starting at community college made me realize that it is not the name of the school that matters, as I listened to tales of friends racking up high bills without knowing what they really wanted to do in life. At the end of the day, we are getting approximately the same knowledge. My undergraduate experience, although lacking socially, gave me the ability to grow academically and unleash a potential I otherwise might not have even known I had. Now I am attending a graduate school which is the perfect complement to my previous two colleges -- it is a career-oriented university that inspires me to lead. I may have been prepared academically after graduating with my Bachelor's degree, but I have come to learn that I was not as ready as I thought I was for the work force. Today, I am not only ready to launch a career, but I am more independent, confident, and goal-oriented than ever before. I feel that the path I have followed after high school was the perfect one for me.