University of St Thomas-Saint Paul Top Questions

To do your best and take it easy.

The University of St. Thomas is a great school in many respects and I have realy enjoyed it, the one thing I would say is actively seek out good friends in the begging, I did and it has made all the difference in the world. Good friends are not hard to find here but do not avoid people, it will make it very difficult, other than that come prepared to work hard and play hard. You will be well prepared accademicaly just make sure you stay active in all of your classes, even when they are tough. And branch out and try a few new things, take some classes outside of your major, and do not be afraid to meet a ton of new people.

I would not have given myself much advice. Maybe to relax a little bit, the transition was easily made, but i was worried about it in the weeks before. If you work hard, college can become a lot of fun.

I would tell myself to relax, that the transition really comes naturally at St. Thomas. It takes a few days to make good friends but it happens and then everything is great. College isn't something to stress out about, and it sounds a lot more difficult than it really is. You also can't be afraid to go out and try new things, becuase that is what college is all about. Make sure to be there for your new friends because they will mean a lot and will be there for you in the future. Your professors really do care about you. If you need help or have a question don't be afraid in any way to go and talk to them. They are really really interested in assisting in your learning. Mistakes will happen in college, but you have to recover and everyhting will be okay. Good luck self, and enjoy the journey, because it really is the best time of your life.

I would tell myself not to let others get in the way of my decision. Your college decision should be made exactly where you want to go, not influeced by parents or where your friends are going. Also, when you get to college you should go out and meet tons of people. Put yourself out there and meet everyone the first fews days. Everyone is in the same boat as you during those days, so making friends will be super easy.

Balance school and social life, if you can do this you will succeed

Figure out your major as quickly as possible so you don't end up taking wasteful credits.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, there would be a few things I would suggest. Though it is not necessary for college freshman to know what specific career they would like to have or even what they want to major in, I would suggest to job shadow or even simply talk with some individuals in a career in which you may be interested. By doing this, you might be able to see whether that career would be a good fit for you and if it is, you will already have established contact in that field. I do not think that it is ever too early to start talking to people and building relationships with people with similiar interest to you. Though you will need to talk to many more individuals in your field of interest once you are in college, you would already know the process of contacting people and even if the people that you have previously contacted cannot help you directly, he or she may have another colleague that could help you. Also, it is beneficial to take any available volunteer opportunities in your possible career.

I would tell myself to save more money first of all. I would tell myself to be more open when choosing my major and career path. When I got to college I found myself very set on one particular program; music. The music program at my school was not exactly what I had been looking for which led to me becoming extremely discouraged and honestly a little depressed. I went into the program with the mindset that it was all-or-nothing in terms of music and that I refused to think about doing anything else. After a series of missteps I found another passion in political science.

Take more college classes in high school! Save money! Study, study, study. Teachers are serious about due dates and know when you're trying to get out of something! Get involved and push yourself beyond your comfort level.