University of South Florida-Main Campus Top Questions

Friends, a great education, career oppurtunities

My college experience has allowed me to teach in the State of Florida. I also gained a great deal of how people work together through my study in Sociology. I love to learn and grow!

The biggest thing that I've gotten out of my college experience so far has been life lessons. I've learned alot since I've first started college and there are many differences from high school. When you get into college you have to quickly grow up. I've learned to be a better and kinder person, while still remaining true to the core of my personality. I've met all different types of people, and have made many friends. Another important thing that I learned is patience. Although there are still some things that bother me that people do, I've learned to become much more accepting, especially while living with a roommate. Another thing that I have learned would be that hard work is oh so precious in college. Although in high school I might have been able to skirt by doing the least amount of work as possible, college is a different story. I'm an avid filmmaker and perhaps the hardest thing that I've had to learn is how to keep the passion I held in high school, as I go through college.

The first and most important information that I would give myself would be to get out and talk to as many people as possible. If I had been more adamant about approaching others, I most likely would have gotten involved in Greek life as a freshman instead of a sophomore, which would have lent me more time to develop my leadership skills. It also would have helped me to network with other students and community leaders, a skill that empoyers say is desperately needed from USF student behind the need for communication skills, which can also be provided by Greek life. I would have also told myself to start evaluating the things that my parents were telling me by my own standards. Having been raised a particular way it took me a year and a half after leaving home to develop my personal sense of morality and fun. If I had begun this in high school it would have allowed me more opportunities to have fun in college that I missed out on because of my upbringing.

Don't give up, you are very smart and life will not be easy if you don't go to college now! Stay in school, and help your husband stay in school. If you both stay in school and get a college degree raising your daughter will be much easier and keep her on the right path to.

If I could go back to my senior year , I would tell "me" that although college life is full of fun things to do, its also really a lot of hard work. If I want to continue to succeed in college, I should prepare myself more by keeping some of my important high school research papers ; that I'll be able to use them again for reference in college. I'd tell myself that I should prepare for the tough decisions I'll have to make ; sometimes resisting the urge to play more than I should when I really need to be studying. There is so much freedom being in college but there is a price to pay if you don't make responsible choices. My parents told me these things, but I'm certain I would have paid more attention if "I" had told me! I'd tell myself to go easier on myself; that I should not compare my transition to college life, to others. I would tell "me" that there will be so many other students there that feel just like I do; that I just need to reach out and find them. Thank you so much!

Transforming into a college student is quite a difficult task to ask a teenager who just got out of high school. Incoming freshman simply do not know their priorities and take going to a great University for granted. A student's first priority is simply his or her education. Before coming to a university, a student must develop study habits that are proven to work in many different locations. The main reason people go to school is to learn, but that does not mean one cannot have fun while doing it. College life is not just about schoolwork, but more about going out and learning the real world through your own eyes. Get involved with your school, do activities you never had the chance to do, have fun, but at the same time do not lose sight of your main goal. Having fun is one thing, but the activities that could perhaps prevent you from reaching your goals are the ones to try and avoid. Generally speaking, the activities that you do will ultimately decide how your life will end up. You are in control of your life, DO NOT waste an opportunity that many people wish they had.

I would tell myself to stay focused and not to stress or worry because college is a fun and enjoyable experience have fun and stay focused, you will do great!

The first thing I would tell my high school self is to consider two possible majors before going to college. Then take courses that satisfy requirements for both majors. This will allow you to test out both possible majors and see which you like. Here, near the end of my freshman year, I see friends who have decided to change majors and have courses they cannot apply to their new field of study. I would also tell myself to establish regular sleeping patterns before leaving for college and stick to this good habit once you get to the dorm. There are many opportunities and temptations to stay up late most nights. This, however, can lead to being chronically tired, missing classes, and even weakening your immune system. I would advise my younger self to couple good sleep habits with careful choices at the school dining halls. All-you-can-eat should not be a personal challenge if you want to avoid the dreaded freshman fifteen. No one gets to college without a few skills and good habits. The trick is to make your habits your servant and not your master.

College, no matter what institution a person attends, or what major a person pursues, is a great and sudden step towards adulthood. No person can effectively prepare themselves for such a immediate onset of personal responsibility and discipline, so do not be surprised when it happens. Like it or not, chances are that you will experience an on-campus living arrangement, and roommates come as varied as classmates in a lecture hall. The greatest showing of maturity, however, is learning to coexist with the "tough" roommates and still function well. As far as academics go, success largely comes from within. There are not going to be parent figures to check in and ensure that you are studying nor will professors monitor attendance of their classes; you must encourage yourself to achieve great things. Furthermore, college academics, even when compared with advanced high school classes, require a higher level of thinking, one that does not allow for much laziness. Time management is crucial to reaching desired results, for there is no set daily schedule by which to abide. Keep all these things in mind, and you too can potentially sit at the front of the graduating class in four years.