University of Missouri-Columbia Top Questions

My name is Ray Moore. I have been attending college at Jones County Junior College for two years now and I have gotten many things from my college experience. The most important thing I have gotten out of my time in college is discipline. My first semester in college I did not take it seriously at all, and as a result my grades declined swiftly, I was put on probation by financial aid, and almost thrown out of the dorms because of my gpa. Luckily I was encouraged by my parents to do better and I managed to get financial aid back and pull up my gpa . My gpa also plays a big part to me valuable to attend college because I have now choosen a major and it requires my grades to be higher. In the long run, it will have been valuable to attend because of the sucess it will bring me in the future.

Even though I have only been at college for one semester, I have grown so much. The people I have met and the experiences I have had are things I will never forget. I am much more independant and I realized that I can live away from my family and I will be okay. I have had to learn time managementand self-discipline. Although trying, learning these things has prepared me for a successful future. I am confident that by the end of college, I will have gathered all the tools I need to live on my own and contribute to the world.

Going to college has taught me a lot of things not only about my major, but life. I have had to learn not to be dependent on my parents and learn to support myself. I grew up in a small town where everyone knew each other so I had to improve my social skills in order to make friends which was easier than expected. Mizzou is a highly recognized and people think they are not smart enough to come here but that is a lie. As long as you are willing to work hard and put your mind into succeeding anything is possible. I am an Ag-Scholar and never dreamt I would be able to maintain a 3.3 GPA with 17 credits plus work, but I achieved a 3.7 plus made the Dean's list by working hard. College is not all about studying however, I have made some amazing memories and friends and have participated in clubs that have helped me develop professional skills. Each student needs to be as active as possible and most importantly have fun while getting your education! The job market is bad so a college education is a must!

College has been more than just valuable to me and my education. College has remodeled the way I live my life, and facilitated me to accept those who lead different lifestyles. In all of my classes there are a variety of people from all walks of life. Ages range from eighteen years old to seventy plus years old. The experiences of fellow peers, as well as their opinions, have made me more aware of the world I live in. I stopped going to college for two years after a major episode of severe depression. I did not think I had the will power or strength to actually do well in college. Instead of allowing myself to fall back into the same patterns I had my first year away at college, I put my best foot forward everyday. I am learning that I have endless potential to unlock inside, and it is exciting. College has allowed me to become more involved in my community as a volunteer worker. The satisfaction and happiness college has brought to my life is indescribable. College helped me to believe in myself again. College has brought me a period of growth in life that is priceless.

My college experience started off really rocky; i was in a new town with new people... i didn't really know anyone. Although i am quite the social butterfly in my home town, being here at first made me curl up into my own cacoon. I had to muster up the courage to make new friends and create new memories. By the second month here i was starting to find myself and find other people alike. I now deeply value the friendships i have made and i feel as if i have grown that much more as a person because of Mizzou.

To date, my college experience has been a stepping stone towards independence. Throughout high school, my life was scheduled around bells, periods, and teachers assigning homework along with the occasional detention. Life was very structured and I was expected to do homework by the next time class met or deal with penalties. College has been anything but structure. I have learned through my first semester that I am responsible for meeting all deadlines, attending classes on time, and structuring my life around my priorities. I feel college is teaching me to learn the skills required to function successfully in society. Many students look at college as a time to party, a time to explore, or even a time to be free from their parents rule. College, in my own personal view, is teaching me lasting skills to balance my adult life. I know that college does not guaruntee a career or even a job upon graduation, but I feel the initiative and drive that is required to graduate will prepare me for the obstacles I know that are sure to come. College has been a true testament to myself of how much I want to succeed in life.

I am still a freshman, but I have already learned so much about what it takes to succeed in college. It is so important to create bonds with your fellow peers so that you have someone to study for hours with in the library, and then when that is finished, to have that same person that you are able to relax with. It is important to take your studies seriously. These are the classes that will shape your mind and help you to decide what you really want to do with the rest of your life. It is time to grow up once you are in college. Yes, you have to do your own laundry, feed yourself, and manage all the ups and downs of life by yourself, but that does not mean you cannot have fun. Join clubs and other social organizations and put yourself out there. It is time to discover who you are and create bonds with some truly amazing people. The world is so much bigger than it seemed when you were in high school. College gives you the opportunity to meet people from all over. My advice: take advantage of this.

My advice to myself is to not allow things to take your focus away from what you really want to do. College is a big scenery that has a lot of things going on every day that can take your focus away from the reason why you are here. Work on not waiting to the last minute to do work or study for a test because college is different. In college you have to study for a full week if you really want to do well on a test or a final. In college you have to fight for what you want through academic accomplishments. Having a lot of experience as a volunteer that has to do with your major will help you in the long run.

If I were able to go back to High School Senior Ashley in the tiny town of Rome, GA I would encourage her to plan, and plan well. During my freshman year I changed my major 4 times! I thought I knew what I wanted to do, but the economy and the people around me telling me I wouldn't find a job scared me. So I changed from psychology, to business, to biology to my major now: Interdisciplinary Studies. I am very happy with my decision now, but if I had came to school prepared, knowing I have to go to grad school to be a psychologist and researching the general requirements and what things I could of gotten out of the way by taking one more foreign language or by taking a CLEP course and maybe a summer course or two before college. I would have warned myself of how expensive it is, and that I don't need to go out with every group or attend every party or concert to make friends. Not everyone is rich and people understand if you can't go out 24/7. They respect you for being honest and real.

You know that joke we used to tell? About how our life was like a movie. There was drama, conflict so unexpected and undeserved it could only have happened to us; twists just when you think you know exactly where the plot is going. But no matter what the situation, we always managed to pull ourselves out of it. Like any classic coming-of-age film, everything always seemed to work out in the end. I've been your best friend for as long as I can remember, so you'll know I'm telling you the truth when I say this: Life is not a movie. It does not follow a defined set of beginning-middle-ends. It is not always glamorous and it is not always fair. But it is yours. This is your life and it is yours alone to live. So stop waiting for tomorrow to do the things you should. Stop standing still when you could be pressing forward. And stop second-guessing your actions. You must jump right into this life and make it one you can be pleased with. But keep your eyes open. You wouldn't want to miss a moment.

I would tell my self to not be scared of any option of any major, to expand my mind and take more time to research different collages and progams hat are out there. Not to limit myself, and beleive that I can achieve my goals regaurdless of what many people said to me. Main thing is listen to my parents, because I can learn from thier mistakes ,so I wouldn't have made them in the future

As a high school senior I was incredibly confused about the college journey ahead of me. In that stage of my life it would have been very beneficial for me to talk to the junior in college that I am now. The first thing I would tell myself is to look into every school that you are considering. Make sure they offer all the things you want in a school. A school may look good on paper but you never really know until you check it out. You need to make sure that it fits you and your needs. You should also check into your living situation and roommates before move in day. A bad living situation can turn into unneeded stress that can affect you negatively. Most importantly, I would tell myself to fully apply yourself from the beginning. As a freshman it is hard to balance school and a social life. I wish someone would have given me some good advice on how to stay balanced. You have to know your limits and budget your time correctly. Your college experience should be one of the best experiences of your life. Choosing the right school will help accomplish this.

Five years of college amounts to a lot of learning, and not all is academic. If I could take what I've learned in that time and share even the smallest piece of it with my high school senior self I would say this: "In whatever you pursue, in whatever you do, listen to your heart as much as your head. If you are where you are supposed to be you will know it in your heart, even if where you end up belonging is the farthest from where you think you should be at this moment. Sometimes decisions come along where every available choice seems like the wrong one to choose, and that's ok, because in the long run very few easy choices turn out to have been the right ones to have made. Don't give up on something just because others think you're crazy. Consider they may be right, but keep pursuing your passion despite the doubts of others. But above all else, don't be so proud as to believe that you can do this by yourself; you will fall, and you will get up, but don't refuse the hand offered."

Be open, very open. College is full of a varity of people, which I knew as a senior,but not to the extent that I do know. It is important to keep an open mind about different activities and people. I was so happy after I join Biochemistry club, Pre-med society, and S.T.R.I.P.E.S but I wish I would have been more open and curious about rushing. Luckly I am able to rush this semester but it would have been nice to do it formally. College is a time to explore, and this idea I feel like can not be expressed enough to high school seniors.

The advice i would give myself is to be more organized, and prepared, to focus more and think harder about my future and what i'm going to do with my life.

If I could go back in time and talk to my high school self before I decided to attend the University of Missouri in Columbia, I would first tell myself that my days of being known throughout my school are over. I graduated from a school of about 400 kids outside of Springfield, Illinois. Once I got the Mizzou I became one of thousands of students. This is an odd feeling. To in of a crowd of anonymity was very foreign to me. I knew every kid's name at Pleasant Plains High School and I think everyone knew mine. The key seems to be to get involved. If you join a group those twenty or so people will know your name and you will know theirs. It is also a good way to start building a resume like the one that you have from your high school career. (by the way, none of that matters now) As for classes, study, study, study. This is a big school and they do not just hand out A's for studying the night before a test. You will eventually get find your priorities and do fine. Now buckle up, this is college!

Don't be scared. College seems intimidating; crowded parties, football stadiums full of 60,000 people, a bid day with a thousand screaming girls, intimidating classes, tough professors, not to mention you're supposed to be figuring out what you want to do for the rest of your life. The stress of all these things can be completely overwhelming at times and if you dwell on that then college won't be the amazing experience that it should be. You just have to keep composure. Take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy the ride. You might make some stupid decisions, bomb a test or two or change your major 15 times before you graduate. That's okay. Just remind yourself where your are, and think. Get your classwork done during the week so you can have fun on the weekends, make lots of different friends, join something just because you enjoy it, and just take it all in. There will never be another time in your life like being in college, so make every moment count.

Don't worry about what you want to do after college. You have time to figure it all out. Also, changing your major five times is not a bad thing, you have to test different areas to know exactly what you want for your life.

I would tell myself to join the Pre-Vet FIG (freshman interest group) so I could make friends easier with the people on my floor (I did join the Pre-Vet Learning Community, which was good, but not as good as the FIG). I would tell myself to really push through my shyness and be very talkative and friendly to everyone, especially the first few weeks of school. I would advise myself to spend more time apart from my roommate in order to meet more people and not just rely on her for company. Basically, I would tell myself that the transition may be harder than I imagine, friend-wise, so I should really make an effort to make a solid group of friends early on, as it is really hard to find a group of friends later on when eveyone is already grouped off. I would tell myself that you will make a few really good, close friends, but to work on getting a larger group to have fun with and go out on the weekends and such. I would tell myself that Mizzou is definitely the right school for me and I will learn a lot!

As a high school senior I would have put ten times more effort into not only applications to college but applications to scholarships. You don't have to settle for loans, scholarships and grants are out there, just take the iniative to find it. I wouldhave told myself to try harder for better grades. Seniors think, it's senior year, senioritis, I just want to graduate. But that's a bad gameplan. Once you graduate from high school there's still college, you still have to work hard, why chance breaking that habit of studying and getting good grades. I would have just told myself to live up to my potential, and not flake out. Also I would have told myself to enjoy life, I spent so much time worried about prom, and arguments with my mom, I should have just relaxed and been grateful for what I had and yes, prom is special but no one has ever died from not having 500 dollar shoes. Last but not least I would have told myself to be ambitious, and look for internships and seek experience in my field. You should live your life a step above the rest. Always.