The University of Alabama Top Questions

The primary thing I would want to tell myself is to stay positive and remain humble. Humility is such a rare quality in college freshmen, although I feel it is so incredibly important. Those who are not humble are tumultuous and unhealthy. However, I would also remind myself that humility does not mean thinking less of yourself, it simply means to think of yourself less. I would tell myself to make gratitude the center of my life. Wake up every morning with a thankful heart. I have learned that confidence is so important in college, and I know that I was lacking in that area while I was in high school. So to end my advice to my younger self, I would quote the late Maya Angelou and tell myself, "No one even holds a candle to the light God already has shining on your face." Thank you.

If I could go back, I would have many tips to teach myself. Making new friends is very important, and they can help you by studying as a team. Having true friends is key, the friends that want to see you succeed. I am not the partying type, and I am glad to not be associated with bad influences. Staying organized is far more important in college. I have had two exams and a research paper due at the same time during my freshman year in college. That was never the case in high school. I have learned that repitition is key to success. You need to communicate with your instructors. I have paid to go to school there, and I have paid to talk to my teachers for help when I need it. Faith is crucial when being a full time student and a full time worker. I have a dream of becoming a nurse, and I have accepted all of the stress that comes with this load. I do my personal best, and ask God to allow me to stay strong and do what is right. In the end, you know what the transition takes.

College is important, there are more opportunities available than you can participate in. With that in mind, be sure to think things through - what will help you develop most? Whether through internships, co-ops, clubs, or research it is essential to stay active. From classes alone, one does not develop fully.

If I could go back to my final year of high school I would have taken care of choosing a university to attend a lot earlier. During my senior year of high school I knew what I wanted to major in, but I did not know what school I wanted to attend until late in the school year around Spring. After visiting many schools, I finally chose a school that I felt I would be successful at, but I had made the decision so late that I missed a lot of opportunities for financial aid. This resulted in me missing out on grant money, as well as scholarships that I would have been eligible for if I had searched and applied much earlier than I did. Getting the application process out of the way ahead of the bunch would have put me in a much better position for financing my education, and that is the main concern I have with college.

College life has been the most challenging, rewarding, and impactful series of events that I have ever experienced. However, if I were to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, one of the most profound pieces of advice I would give myself is this: do not be afraid to fail. Too often have I been told that in order to be successful in college, I must be social and outgoing, but also study hard and get good grades. No one told me what I should do in the event that I do fail at something, whether in a class, in a relationship, or something else. I have learned that not doing well in something that I usually excel in has made me not only a better student, but also a better person. I reflect on what I faltered in and immediately improve on it. My peers have noticed this quality in me and have complimented me on it, and it is something that I cherish dearly of myself. So indeed, I would tell my high school senior self to not break down in the face of future failure: it will only make you stronger.

Dear high school senior, After graduation, there will be a huge transition in your life. College is nothing like high school. You are going to feel vulnerable, yet independent. When you attend Northwest Shoals Community College, you will be satisfied with the atmosphere because the classes will be an average size and the majority of students will have a similar background. You will get to live at home, yet you are going to manage your own time. It will be a difficult transition from high school, however, because teachers will not be telling you what tasks to fulfill or to follow a certain schedule. Your success will completely depend on your motivation. When you attend the University of Alabama, you will have an even more difficult transition. The University is about twenty times bigger than the community college you attended and the social scene will be much different than you grew up around. You are from a small town and Tuscaloosa, Alabama is a very diverse city. You will be exposed to differnt cultures, religions, and backgrounds. You will, also, be living in your own apartment. It will be a frightening experience, but don't give up. Achieve your goals.

When I was in high school I would often get caught up in the juicy gossip of the day – the “blank said blank about blank” and all other excuses to terminate a good friendship or spread gossip about an ‘enemy’. Now that I am in college and have settled down the emotional schizophrenia of high school, I hear the stories from my younger friends about the same things that, 2 years ago, I would have been telling and I see that it’s not about the actual event, it’s about the excitement that follows the gossip. I now realize that it is so stupid to let these little things control your life. If I have a problem with somebody I address it with them calmly, if they want to react negatively then the blame is on them. And if I somebody has a problem with me I try to understand what I can do to neutralize it, if there is no reasoning with them then I let the moment pass. I only get one life and I can’t waste it trying to correct every bad thing anyone thinks about me.

Go in and take advantage of every opportunity that comes at you whether it interests you or not. If you still dont like it once you're involved you can always stop. Its worse to pass on an opportunity and later wish you took it. And studying your brains out instead of going out for thirtsy thursday? Totally always worth it, so dont feel bad when you stay in while everyone is out.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would have to give myself the advice of making a habit of not procrastinating and time management. I have a planner to decide when I am going to do certain things but I always forget to look in my planner. I should have made that a better habit when I was in high school rather than try to start now. I also have a problem with doing something I like (i.e. Reading) and doing it for a long enough time that I don't leave myself enough time to get the important stuff done. That's a time management problem for me. So the things I would have to inform myself if I could write a letter to myself as a senior in high school, is about learning to not procrastinate and to manage my time better.

I would tell myself that money will come after graduation and that you don't have to work so much. Credit cards you pay your school with can be paid off later. It will be hard and it will seem unfair that others get financial aid because they got pregnant and you don't because you decided to wait. House chores can wait till after you finish your school work, school is more important. And, no matter what happens to Papa, he will always want you to do well in school and pull yourself together. You need to see that hard times will pass and the better you keep yourself together and push through those hard times the easier life will be later. Also you need to keep all rewards, certificates and evaluations given to you to help build your portfolio.

There is tons of advice I would give myself. First off, I would tell myself to do better on the placement test, that way I wouldn’t have wasted time on unnecessary classes. All it did was take more time to complete an Associate’s Degree and waste my time. I would also tell myself to manage my money carefully. I shouldn’t t have wasted it on things I didn’t need and should have saved it for future expenses, like a university where it is more expensive. I would also tell myself that college is harder than high school and there will be more homework and tests will be much more complicated than in high school. It is also important to become more involved in clubs and activities while in college. Asking questions during lectures is also important and will help you better understand the material. There are many more things I would tell myself but I am limited. The most important is to try your best and you will go far in your college experience.

If I told myself that college was going to actually require study time, I would have laughed at my future self. Knowing myself, I would need something more than my future self telling me what I need to do. Instead of trying to convince myself to study, I would bring a copy of my transcripts from my first time through college, which was a 2.8 GPA average, and a copy of my recent college work which was a 4.0 GPA average. Now that I've got my past-self's attention I would go on to explain that all the fun things that will happen in college are not bad in themselves, but will have damaging effects on our academics if our time isn't managed well. I would also advise myself to not judge myself so harshly. People will not like us, but we shouldn't base the "who we are" on how we think other people think of us; you'll be much happier once you've learned this lesson. Then I would recap what I just said because I enjoy bullet points: time management, study hard, and love yourself.

I would like to tell you that you are a intelligent person, and you have the potential to do great things in life. However, your journey will not be as easy as the paths you have been on before now. Instead of stepping on pebbles, you will now climb up rocky hills and sometimes move mountains to get your destination. But as I have said before, you have great potential. I believe in you; however, I know you do not believe in yourself because you lack confidence. I know you can not just look in the mirror right after reading this letter and feel like the most confident person in the world. But I know if you can at least look in the mirror once a day, and tell yourself that you can complete the most difficult tasks, your confidence will begin to bloom like a daisy. You'll have more success, and you will take more risks. And the best part about confidence is that even when you fail, you know enough of your potential to rise back up to the next challenge. So put a smile on your face and hold your head up high. Be Confident!

I have often answered this same queston to my friends and family about this situation. The number one thing I would tell myself would be to take high school classes more seriously. I was never a bad student, but I only worked to make the grades I needed to keep from being grounded. Now, knowing how expensive college is, I would tell myself to work your tail off and earn a fully paid scholarship. Also, to not jump around from career to career but to focus on the path that I was truly passionate about so I would be more determined my first year of college, instead of going with the flow of being a college freshman. I would advise myself to visit more colleges, sit down and learn about what that University could offer before jumping into the University that was familiar. To myself: Take a chance and don't get distracted, keep your mind focused on your path and dont let anyone hold you back, because you will eventually get to where you are going, and it will be worth it.

It would be nice if we could go back in time and talk to oneself with the knowledge and experience of the present time; if this were possible so many people, including myself, could have avoided a lot of wasted time and grief going through college aimlessly. First of all, I would tell myself to go to the high school counselor to ask her what is required by the colleges; what courses and tests should I take to improve my academics and be more attractive to colleges. I would tell Andrea, me, to take more challenging courses, make good grades, focus on challenging courses.. I would tell myself to get advance placement courses to prepare myself better for college level work. I would advice myself to volunteered more in the community and would have gotten involved with groups that best match my interests, such as cancer research. I would study more and prepare myself for the standardize tests that are required for college admission. There's so much I would tell myself if I had the opportunity to go back in time; however, at this time I'm very happy with my choice of career.

Exclusively, I would tell myself to be exactly that, myself. A lot of my life I have been the person that everyone else has wanted me to be, and until college my mindset thought no differently. Earlier on in my life, during my high school experience, I should have learned to become less molded to society’s norms, and form my own category. High school has many classifications in its hierarchy, and I with my juvenile naivetés fell for it. Without my college friends, more mature mentality, and especially my college professors, I would have never learned what it feels like to absolutely be myself, and to let go of what others want, becoming exactly who I strive to be. Actions as well as choices play a major part in this, and I know now what it feels like to stray from the average and present who I truly am. If I would have conditioned this into myself earlier then I would have had more vivid goals, and my decision making processes would have become less difficult. This would have taught me that only I have the right answers, and that I cannot search for resolution in others beliefs.

I would tell myself no matter what, you need to apply for as many scholarships as you possibly can. Making those prepartions to pay for school and potentially having extra money in your pocket pays off in the long run. If you get enough money in scholarships, then will not have to take out loans. Along with that, you need to make sure you prepare yourself for graduate school as soon as you can, so you will not be scrambling to get everything ready to turn in. Once you prepare yourself, you will have plenty of time to have fun with your peers along with getting the good grades.

Being a high school senior can play a very important role for the career path you decide to take. If I could go back and speak to myself as a high school senior I would give many pointers. Not necessarily bad but just pointers that would actually allow me to really think of life for myself and think ahead. 10 things I wish someone would have told me: 1)commit myself to making lots of mistakes: take a chance, don;t hesitate and dont doubt yourself. 2)Explore new ideas/opportunities: Live to explore. 3)Make swift decisions and take action: knowledge is useless without actions. 4) Always be honest with yourself 5) Accept and embrace change; after all things happen for a reason. 6) Ask questions: inquiring gives you the ability to be adventurous and more knowledgeable. 7) Sit alone in silence for atleast ten minutes every day: hearing your thoughts can allow you to plan, reflect and dream. 8) Excel at what you do: Effort = Results. 9)Use your resources wisely: One day you will remember them. ......and lastly 10) Be who you were born to be: follow your heart; fulfill YOUR dreams and desires.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior knowing what I know now would be to apply for every scholarship that you can. What I realize know is that I didn’t apply for enough scholarships, which is causing me to scramble to find more to help offset the cost of Western Oregon University. I didn’t realize that since Western Oregon University is in Oregon and I live in Vancouver, Washington; which is bordered to Oregon, that I’m considered out of state. Every little bit of scholarship money helps so that you won’t have to take out as much loans to cover the offset of a Bachelor’s degree that you will get starting in the fall of 2013 for criminal justice.

The best advice I could give to an incoming freshman is that if you do not know exactly what career path you want to take it is ok! You have plenty of time to figure it out. I would suggest not declaring a major until you are fully committed to it in order to use your time most efficently and not end up taking a bunch of classes you do not need. Be bold and trust your instincts. College is a place where you can be whoever you want to be. Know who you are and persue your dreams with everything you've got! It will be the best four, or more if you can drag it out, years of your life!