Texas A & M University-Commerce Top Questions

Get involved as much as you can without having to live on campus. Meet new people. Find people who are at the same point in the same degree as you and take as many classes together, and create study buddies. Be outspoken in class & dont be afraid to speak your opinion.

It is comical how one year can be such a difference in the field of education and culture. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to have gone to a private school, Saint Pius X in Houston, Texas because the public school system in Houston, in my opinion, is not nearly as prestigious as the private school system. I would say that I was, for the most part, well prepared for college. Not only on the education stand point, but in the cultural and social standpoint as well. However, college life is much different than high school. If I could take a leap back in time and speak with myself as a high school senior, I would say: stop worrying about being a football player as much, hit the books harder, and learn better time management. I play college football and it is extremely time consuming. I wish I would have learned better time management. I learned very quickly to get my work done before I get behind. I had a very bad habit of procrastinating. My grades have been improving tremendously. I found that I am able to apply myself just as hard in the classroom as I do in football.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would have told myself to stay in school and complete my basics instead of trying to figure out what I wanted to major in. I attended college for a year and half after graduating and I dropped out because I was undecided on what I wanted to get my degree in. Looking back now I wish I would have stayed in school instead of taking four years off and returning to college. I would have also told myself to be more involved with school activities and sports. I wasn't very athletic in high school and now at age twenty-seven I run cross country and track for Texas A&M Commerce. I am at a disadvantage however because I am older and inexperienced compared to the other girls on my team who have been running their whole lives. One more thing I would have told myself was to attend a University instead of a community college. I think I would have enjoyed school more and would have became more independent at a younger age.

If I were to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would tell myself to get more out of my high school experience. I graduated from high school a year early, and my only concern was to get the bare minimum of credits needed for graduating. I should have taken AP of dual credit classes so that I would have had a head start in college. I also would tell myself to apply for scholarships while I was high school. I came into college thinking that I could just pay for everything with loans, but I see now that loans aren't the best path to go down. I'm happy to be a college student because I learned a lot that only comes through experience. Now, I'm taking the knowledge I have and applying it the best way I can in order to not repaeat past mistakes.

If I could go back I would tell myself to definately manage my time better. Once you get to college you dont have time to just slack off and sleep in. I would tell myself, Hey your college professors don't care if you had a doctors appointment or if you had a game to play, they wont take late work like your highschool teachers so learn to get your stuff in on time. I would tell myself to appreciate my family more because you won't realize how much you're going to miss them until you're stuck in a lonely dorm room with no way to get home. I would tell myself to study more, because it is so very important to study every day once you get to college. I would say, Hey you need to learn how to take better notes, and how to make sure you look at those notes later on. I would definately tell myself to perfect the art of Daily Planner Use because it really does make everything so much easier. But most importantly I would tell myself to enjoy every day, and always to my best.

If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to get out there and don't be scared to try new things. Audition for that Community Theatre and become more involved in that area because you need experience in how to audition. Realize that you have a talent and a secret love for something as incredible and life changing as Theatre. Stop stressing over the small things, get out of your shell now, and start working on reaching your full potential so you won't be lightyears behind everyone else. Trust your gut and stop worrying that you are going to a college you said you would never go to because it is too close to home! It is obviously the place God intended for you to be, and it well worth being so close to your parents. And start saving those paychecks now; don't waste it on clothes! Trust me, you will regret that if you don't!

I would go back in tell myself that college life is a whole new world and that I should be taking this time to strive and get the highest grades I can and to plan for my future financially and successfully. I would also tell myself that high school is a time to have fun and find out who you are and what you want to achieve in your life. Don't bog yourself down with all honors classses and no friends.

Wow! It's been such a journey since high school for me. Talking to myself as a high school senior I would advise myself to stay the course. I am a returning student with much life experience under my belt. I have recently returned to college to complete a degree that was started 20+ years ago. Stay the course would be my advice. The degree you obtain may not be used in your near future, but you will always have it. Don't let life get in the way of your education. Education, once obtained, can never be taken away from you. Persevere, it is worth it in the end.

I would tell myself to start a study plan while I am still in high school and stick to it. I never had a strong study habit when I was in high school and when I entered into college I was in for a shock because I wasn't prepared to study the way you need to in order to aquire the grades I wanted to acheive. I would also tell myself to make out a schedule or planner that blocked off a few hours a day to use as quiet study time and not go out with friends or have the televison and music going while I studied.

During my time as a community college student, the state changed the course numbering system and the school I attended would no longer recognize that I had taken those classes. It took many letters to the dean and retaking some classes under the new numbering system in order to finally graduate with my associates degree. My advice to new students is to determine what university you really want to attend. Go talk to their admissions department to learn exactly what classes they will accept as a trasfer for their degree programs. Then, once you have developed your plan, go to the community college and sign up only for the classes that will transfer to the university's degree program you have selected. This will save you much time and money. I wish I had been given this advice when I graduated high school insted of learning it the hard way ten years later.