SUNY Cortland Top Questions

Knowing what I know now, I would tell my high school self to learn time management skills. College is meant to be a challenge, but it doesn't have to be so hard that you feel like a failure. Managing your time is the key to success in college. I've learned that in order to succeed, I must know when to study and when to go out with friends. You must balance party time and school time, but you musn't just forget about play time. All work and no play make for a very stressful semester. I would tell my high school self writing down assignments and actually reading the syllabus is another key factor in doing well in college. Develope a good relationship with your professor and do not be afraid to ask questions. Learn to manage your free time and focus on success.

I would tell myself that it is alright to not know what you want to do. Being a Liberal Arts major for your first couple semesters can help you get many of the required courses out of the way so even if you do change your major, you do not need to stay that many more semesters. Also, when moving on to college life, don't stay in your dorm all the time. You want to get out and meet new people. Another very important thing is to not 'bite off more than you can chew.' Don't get overly involved in a multitude of different activities in your first semester. You need to give yourself time to adjust to the different workload without overloading yourself too much. After you experience the heavier workload, then you have an idea of how many activities you can involve yourself in while still being able to succeed in your courses.

I would tell myself that just becuase I didn't have to try as hard in high school to get good grades I really do have to read everything and teach myself sometimes in college, and to apply to more scholarships, and get more involved right away.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, the most important thing I would advise myself is to take full advatange of my college experience. What I mean is to participate in several club sports and extra-curricular activities that the school provides. I would advise myself to be positive in what I want to further my education in and be sure to take it seriously. College is the foundation of your career and I would stress that the grades I recieve in all my classes are exretmely important and can determine where I go in life. I would describe how important it is to always meet new people and be up for anything new and exciting, experience is key. The friends you meet in college and the skills that you possess will take you far in life.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself that I have a lot of work to do. I would tell myself to increase my studying, learn new methods for studying, and put the socializing on the side. Also, I would make sure that I realized the hardships of being away from loved ones, and that eventually it gets easier. College is an amazing experiance, but you, and only you, can make or break it. Overall, I would just tell my high school self to make sure that I do everything I need to do to prepare myself. No one will make you do your work, it is all on you.

Self, don't mess around so much in high school. Those classes prepare you for your future college classes and the knowledge you learn now will help you greatly in the future. Make sure to manage your time wisely and do your best on every assignment because every grade counts. Also, don't worry so much about making friends and keeping up with the gossip at school because this will not help you succeed in life and it will only cause drama and stress. The friends you have now probably will not be your friends through college as you all go your seperate ways. You do your best in everything and don't sweat the small stuff. Oh, and one last thing, don't choose a college based on where your friends are going. Choose the college that has the best major, location, class size, etc to suit your individual needs. You will meet people easily at college and do not need to worry about following anyone to a college you are not 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} happy with. College is the start of your life in the real world so don?t mess it up.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would tell myself to go to college early. I am 38 years old and have returned to school to get my degree. It is much more difficult to be going to college now then it would have been in my early twenties. I miss out on campus life since I commute and have a husband and stepsons at home. I miss out on living in a dorm and making some life long friends. I would have gone to school early and enjoyed the college life experience instead of working during those years and going to college now.

I would tell my high school self that it is alright if I don't know exactly what I want to do with my life. I would tell myself that it is alright to be unsure about things but not to give up. It is important to spend time with the people you actually want to spend time with and to not get wrapped up in the drama of others. I would tell myself not to worry so much about leaving home because everyone else is in the same situation of being someplace new and your friends at school become your family away from home. You look out for and take care of one another.

The advise that I would give myself, would be to not worry about starting over in a new school. When I was going to college, like any other freshman, I was nervous about starting fresh and meeting new people. I was nervous about not knowing how to sign up for classes, and how the meal plan works, and how to be on my own. When I got to school there were so many people that were happy to help give me guidance, and to show me the ropes. The RAs in my dorm helped answered questions for me before I could even answer them. Making new friends was so easy. Everyone was in the same boat, so everyone was so nice and wanted to be friends. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to relax and enjoy the best 4 years of my life!

If I was able to go back to my high school self I would tell myself to start right out in a four year school. One thing I missed when I transfered was that I was now a Junior in a brand new school living in a dorm with freshman and sophmores. The students in my classes were all Juniors. These juniors established their network of friends when they were freshman. Tyring to break into the group was practically impossible. After class you went back to your dorm and they went to off campus housing. Typically when you start together as freshman you share similar experineces. As a freshman your more likely to associate more with your fellow class mates you all live in the same dorm go to the same cafeteria, but its not the case when your a junior. You are a lone wolf in a pack of dogs. If I would have known how hard it was going to be to merge into this preset culture, I would have rather started my college experience at a four year school. If only I had known then what I know now, I pry would have enjoyed it....