Syracuse University Top Questions

Thinking back to my senior year, I have realized that high school and college are not the same. You have more freedom and independence; no one to wake you in the morning or do your laundry, no one to make your bed and make sure your room is clean when you have guests over. Knowing this now, I would have told myself to keep organized and concentrate on one thing at a time, rather than juggling ten things at once. Time management is essential in college, so that is something that I should have practiced more in my previous years of school. I would have told myself to be prepared for making decisions. There are so many opportunities to be successful and many opportunities to have you fall behind. I would have told myself that the most important thing to know is that no matter where you are or what you doubt, the most important thing to do is to keep pushing forward. College is competitive because there are many people that want the same things that you do. The most important thing is to do the best that you can and with that, you will be successful.

If I was presented with the ableness to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would stress one major point on the transition from high school to college. That one point would be to learn how to study! Many high school students procrastonate until the last minute to do homework, projects or any work at all for that matter. I am ashamed to admit it, but I was one of those students. I would even wait until the day the homework or assignment was due and start it a class before. This habit of procrastonating has screwed me over an innumerable amount of times. Althought many of my high school professors stressed the point to not procrastonate, I just never thought into it. I thought i would be able to last through my college years the same way I did in highschool. I was wrong. Many more study hours have to be put in, while having prepartaion and organization are two major keys to success.

My initial response was to tell my highschool self to persue theatre. It was something that I became a part of in 10th grade and wish I had started earlier. I realized though, that it's okay that I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life in highschool. In fact, I still don't and I am okay with that. Life is about adventure and not knowing, college is about discovering yourself and your path. I would tell myself to not worry so much about the small things, the bad grades, and just be content with just being. I would do everything I could to make my highschool self more confident in who she is and what she can acheive. To go with her guts and never stop believing in herself. In the end, that's what really matters. I wish I could have walked into freshman year with the confidence that I have now acheived.

I would tell myself to make my own decision concerning my major, and to not listen to my father, who told me to pursue a side career other than the one I really wanted. Instead of computer science, I wanted to go into acting, but my father insisted that I take up a major that was "more educational" than drama or acting. I would also push myself even harder to get good grades in order to get better grants and scholarships. I wish i had a lot more money because I feel bad about having my mom pay for my college education. Hearing her groan about making payments made me feel nervous about asking her to pay for the next thing, and the next. I didn't realize until I got here that college was so expensive. It's really draining both my wallets, and the wallets of my parents.

I would tell myself to develop better time management skills.

Do not worry. Worrying causes anxiety, and anxiety can ruin your first year experience, if not your entire college career. In your first semester, concentrate only on your studies. While extracurricular activities can be beneficial, it is important to first ground yourself in the main reason why you're attending college--to get an education. Once you begin to join clubs, it is easy to become stressed and lose sight of doing quality schoolwork. Learn how to manage your time. That is, do less things better rather than more things worse. Anyone can do a poor job at a million different things. Fewer, however, can do one thing extraordinarily well. Your second semester is where you should start joining clubs--hopefully ones geared toward your major. Also, leave time for yourself. It is not worth it to be running around all the time. Make time to relax, go to the gym, or play video games. Learn to take solace in being alone--not in the social sense, but in the health sense. Have fun. You're getting an education, but you're also experiencing a new lifestyle for four years. Do not waste it.

Embrace wherever you live as a freshman. Not only does it help you transition, but it will allow you to build friendships that last until senior year and beyond. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR STUDIES!!! This is not high school anymore; you cannot just miss an exam and expect a professor to allow for a make-up. Prepare ahead of time for exams, and quizzes. Cramming the night before might get you a passing grade but it won't give you the grade you should have received if you had properly prepared. Parties, and social events are fun but don?t let them get in the way of the overall picture, your education. Participate in extra curricular activities; this includes, student organizations, club sport teams, and Greek life, etc. Once again, though extra-curriculars are fun and can actually benefit you in the future, make sure you stay on top of your studies. Find a job on campus. Parents may give you an allowance, but holding a job builds responsibility and organization. Last but not least, don?t take these next four years for granted you have no idea how fast they go by until you're a senior at graduation.

I would tell myself to enjoy the social life while it lasted and learn to balance it better with my classwork. Another large piece of advice would be to convince myself to discover and use resources, they are there to be used; professors have office hours to benefit you so use them. Do not fall behing, get help when you are struggling or it goes downhill from there. School will be hard but there is time to play, you can not stay sane living in a book. College is the best time of your life, learn to balance what you want and need to do for the best experience, don't be afraid to try new things and above all branch out. Network, make friends, befriend professors. Get involved as much as possible and enjoy the experience, it is harder than high school but that is what makes it all the more enjoyable, the atmosphere is undescribable. Be proactive, get things done ahead of time so that you can make plans and do spontaneous activities, always study and be prepaired for class, do not leave things to the last minute. Have fun, enjoy the time away at college. Carpe Diem.

I would have advised myself to study a little harder in high school, develop better study skills, take more advanced placement courses as well.

I would remind myself not to worry. Everybody goes through the same challenges that colleges offer no matter what college or university one attends. As well, all freshman students are in the same situation. Each person is experiencing college life for the first time just like me.