Syracuse University Top Questions

To get involed right away, meet as many people as possible. Get to know your teachers personally, and get ahead of your work right off the bat. Don't let your self get behind.

Giving advice to incoming freshman is always a hard task because there is so much you want to tell them. If I were to give myself advice I would tell her to prepared to feel lonely. The transition from high school to college effects you emotionally and academically. There may be thousands of people around you but if you can not relate to a person or a group your experience can be one that is lonely. I lived with three roommates my freshman year and I still felt as if I was going through motions and missed out on building personal relationships and friendships. My advice is to be open proactive to make friends. There is a balance between social life and academic life but without the similar companionships that you most probably had in high school, you can be left feeling a little lost. It is important to find your niche and hang in there cause there are only good times ahead. You chose this college for a reason, make the best of it.

If I were to go back in time and give my high-school self advice on how to make college life and the transition into it easier, I would tell my self to make as many friends as possible in the first week. Something I have noticed which I was never warned about by the countless people who told me how to prepare for college was the minute window in which friendships are made. Within the first week, I had basically met and become friends with all of the friends I have now, almost three months into the semester. If I had known what I know now, I would have made a much greater effort to make more friendships. In the first week of school, you are given the opportunity to make more friends than you could ever need, and that is an opportunity worth taking advantage of. The best way to go about making these new friends is to get involved. Even if you're not necessarily interested in joining a group, go to their meetings or practices and meet the people. It is amazing how friendly people are and how easily relationships can be developed.

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior again the first thing I would tell him is to have someone help him with getting good study habits. In high school (since high school is not even close to as difficult as college) I got straight A's and was in the top of my class. However, coming to college I have realized that classes are way harder then they are in high school so I have to study for my exams. Even though I have become better at studying and make it more of an everyday thing now, it woud have been nice to have had good practice at it atleast through my senior year instead of having to learn the hard way that it is not going to work like high school

Looking back, I would tell my self to be as well rounded and open-minded as possible. I would tell myself to get involved in many activities that benefit me and my community. I would go to all the open house events and get highly acquainted with college students.

As a high school student, a lack of motivation and personal responsibility left me little choice when it came to college. I joined the United States Army immediately prior to the invasion of Iraq, and within months of completing basic training, deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The qualities that I was missing as a teenager quickly became strengths. Upon returning from deployment, I applied to Syracuse University and have striven for success in every aspect of my academic career. When reflecting on what advice I would give my high school self, the simplest answer is this: change nothing. Had I not been ignoring assignments and putting forth little effort, my options would have been considerably brighter. Perhaps I might have gotten into Syracuse years earlier. I know for sure I would have never joined the military, and in missing out on that experience I would have lost out on the greatest learning endeavor of all. The military taught me not only leadership and personal responsibility, but also taught me integrity in a way that no school could. Without that, I would have undoubtedly been lost in the swirl of college life.

I would tell myself that I need to put myself out there more. I've never been the most social person and not always much of a joiner, but I really should try to get more involved. Dorm life will/would have been less miserable if I got out and did all the things I loved in highschool that I missed out on freshman year. Theatre, art, and music groups are there for freshmen to join, they're a little hard to find but it is possible, and I should have worked harder to find them. Not only this, but I need to remember to do ALL homework assignments, no matter how trivial they seem. Yes, I got away with not doing homework in highschool, but this is college and its different, we actually need to do homework here. Also, don't worry all that much about not fitting in in class, being the only girl and all. Its surprisingly easy to make friends in predominately male classes, even though they're usually kind of a boys club.

If I could go back to before college and tell myself something?s about college, I would inform myself of the social differences of college. While in high school, your social experiences are limited by the people you know but in college an individual?s social experience are determined by their boldness. By this, I mean that in college if you are bold enough to walk up to an unknown person then you can grow this relationship into anything. This differs from high school because in high school the people you know you have most likely gone to middle school or even elementary school with. College is fun of new adventures and tasks use the opportunities to make yourself known and expand your horizons. I would also inform myself of the vast amount of opportunities that college holds because of meeting new individuals. By meeting new people, new opportunities are created which can open the doors to anything at all. If I could go back in time and tell myself about my college experience I would ensure that I met new people and did everything I possibly by trying all opportunities that arise.

I would not give myself any advice. Making the college transition was the best part of school for me. I made some mistakes, but they will help me later in life. Everyone has to learn who they are by themselves and should not be afraid to make mistakes.

Go to Syracuse,undecided for freshman year. Figure out from there what you want to do from there. Study hard, dont let anything get in your way, make as many friends as possible, enjoy your college life, because it goes by very quickly. College is the best time of your life, be sure you know what you are getting into.