University of Phoenix-Online Campus Top Questions

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would have one simple piece of advice, “find your dream and follow it.” You see, I was raised by an extremely controlling and abusive mother who made my life so miserable that during my high school years I attempted to commit suicide, twice. At a young age I realized I had no future except for the one she had mapped out for me, there was no point in even trying to dream of anything different. I thought graduating meant finally getting the freedom to figure out who I was instead of the person she wanted me to be; although, I quickly learned that she planned to control my college life as well. Needless to say, I dropped out the second I turned 18 and ran as far as I could. When I had my son I knew I had to instill in him the importance of education, which meant going back to school. Now that I’ve found my passion, I wish I could go back to that 18 year-old girl and tell her not to run; but instead “dare to dream.”

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself: enjoy the time that you have left in high school because life gets complicated when you are on your own. Focus on your long-term goals, instead of your social calendar; a little bit of hard work now will make things a lot easier on you in the future. Don't worry about what others think of you, after high school you will never see them again so their opinion matters very little in the long run. Ignore the people who tear you down and tell you that you can't accomplish your goals, they have no idea how strong you really are. Education is important and can open many doors so take advantage of every learning opportunity that is presented to you. Going to college may seem scary, but the experiences that you will have and the things that you will learn will be well worth the hard work that you will do, the stress that you will feel, and the sleep that you will lose.

If I were to go back in time and speak to myself as a high school senior desirous of transitioning to college life, I would say, "believe in oneself, use time wisely and confront your apprehensions." Believing in oneself is pivotal to living a successful life. Many persons today desire to go to university, however, first believing that you have the capacity to be great will start a chain reaction in one's pursuit of that personal dream. Additionally, effective use of one's time as while in university is key. Time management develops overtime and must be applied to every facet of one's life. How one uses time at home, work and school requres a careful balance to ensure nothing is left undone or inadequately addressed. This is where having a schedule for EVERY day becomes important to ensure efficiency as an individual. As a high school senior, this practice should begin NOW! You will have apprehension of this new environment and new level of education, however, find creative ways to overcome those fears. Visit the campus before the semester begins, take classes the summer before and connect with those who have been and currently are in university.

As a young teenager I was, like many, unconcerned about organization. The best piece of advice I would give myself is to make sure I understood the importance of organization and committment. Organization allows you to prepare for the adventure of college before you enter it. Committment keeps you on track and focused in a new world that will have many "distractions". College is about growing and with that comes a responsibilty that is much easier to accept if you practice in those areas before you hit the world, begin your life, and join the grown ups!

Dear Shawn, Learning is a very important aspect of life. It is more important to continue learning throughout your life than to earn money. Your grades in High School and as a freshman will help you to better afford college classes and courses beyond the university. Although many people think that it is cool to not put any effort towards school, remember that it is most important to do well for yourself and not worry about what others think about you. You will find out later that others will be motivated by your own persistence in school. Learn, now, to do your homework. I know you haven't had to put much effort towards school up until now, but college is DIFFERENT. Bad habits that you have today will affect you in the future. Best of luck! Sincerely, Shawn

I would tell myself that there will be plenty of time in the future for boys and that a high school relationship will not last as long as my college education will. I would tell myself to focus on my school work and getting a good GPA so that I could be accepted to a good college. I would tell myself to go away to college so that I could get the full experience of "college life", including living away from my parents, making new friends, working to support myself, and learning how to manage my time effectively. I would explain to myself the benefits of having a college education and how it would affect my ability to get into a good career in the future.

Choosing the career that will work for me is not as much about what tasks I will perform as about the environment I will be in. Try some internships, and think about the ideal workplace, then ask around for ideas. And when you tell your parents you can't handle an 18 credit hour workload, and they tell you to get a part-time job if you're going to drop down to 15 credit hours, stand up for yourself. You want good grades as much as they expect you to get good grades, and a full-time workload is 12 credit hours for a reason. Don't let them sabotage you. Respect yourself, believe in yourself, and demand that others respect you too.

Complete your program right away. It is very difficult to go back after a break. Stay strong and beleive in you ability.

If I could go back to my High School days I would first listen to my teachers and take advantage of all the information that was giving to me. I would just pay attention to all my work and be focus on the important things instead of silly teenage girl stuff. By me being in college now I see that if I was that student that was on top of my work in school I would understand things that are thrown at me now that Im in college its like a whole refresh for me like things that I should just fly bye and know Im learning it now. So my advice I would have gave myself is just to be the best student you can be pay attention also do alot of the extra cirriculm activites be apart of your school and make a good memory of being a welll rounded student that gets her work done and go over and beyond for your sucess. An also I would never advise someone to wait to go to college go straight after you graduate trust me its way better and you can finish early rather than late. Patience is Success.

Attending college is a huge life changer and a totally different environment than high school. In high school, you have pretty the same students in each class, while in college you have all different classmates. Also, in college, the people chose to go there, while in high school most kids are forced to go, so you don’t have to feel intimidated at all. With respect to college life, there is a lot of getting used to as a college freshman; for example, the schedule. I tend to find myself forgetting what classes I have each day, because I’m still used to having the same classes each day from high school. In addition, it’s a bit difficult adjusting to the workload I have for each of my classes. Since, I have about two days to do each assignment; my professors tend to assign more than I’m used to, since we have “so much time” in between each class. I try to get all of my homework and projects done the day they’re assigned, but I have other obligations as well, and still procrastinate and stress myself more than I should.