University of St Thomas-Saint Paul Top Questions

I would reccomed joining more clubs and organizations as a freshman. My school offers many of them, but I don't feel that I have taken advantage of them like I should have, they are a great way to meet lots of new and different people and are a great way to just relax and fun. I put a lot of emphasis on my studies, and am involved in some organizations, but I would have liked to join a few more to become more involved in my shcool. I would also reccomend trying to get to know professors well outside of class as well. They are very knowledgeable and are often experts in their field so they have lots of adivce to give about careers and life in general. Professors and advisors are generally willing to help and talk with you and do genuinely care. Creating relationships with them not only helps you with learning and better understanding your course work, but is also a great networking tool. If I were going to start over again as a freshman I definitely would take more advantage of all the resources offered to students to better my experience here.

If I could go back and tell myself as a senior anything, it would be to keep a open mind about everything as you transition in to college life. I would explain to myself how there are so many ups and downs at college and everything will in the end work itself out. Also I would tell myself a little bit about life in the dorms so I know what im getting into when I arrive at my room. But most of all i would tell myself to really look in to all my options and stick with the one I make. Be confident with the path you take and dont regret anything.

Expand your options, look to out-of-state schools, and make sure to consider study abroad programs. How many times in your life are these opportunities going to present themselves again??

Join as many clubs as you can fit in your schedule while still being able to get your homework completed. Be more outgoing and talk to people, most of them are very kind. Make sure to get outside of your dormroom often.

Having the opportunity to go back and give my own self advice as a high school senior is a very interesting thought. Would I tell myself the obvious things such as, "Don't wear your dorm keys as a necklace; it makes you look like a freshman"? Or would I go with the more sound advice of never forgetting to bring a towel to the showers? Every piece of advice from college students is just eaten up by high-schoolers because, as much as we hate to admit it, we have no clue what to expect in college. We see how it is portrayed on TV, but no one ever told me I would need a fan to keep my dorm room cool on the scorching hot move-in days. Advice is a great thing when you're entering college, but I don't know if I would necessarily want to go back and give myself more advice. College has been such a great learning and growing process thus far and I feel as though I've become a more assertive person with school and work because I've had to ask questions and find out things on my own.

The biggest part of college life is "initiative"; no one is going to hold your hand through it all, but go for it! Challenge yourself, work hard, dream big and learn from your mistakes.

It's a lot harder than you think. People warned me about the academic rigor, but no one warned me hoe emotionally tough college can be. I have gone through some of my biggest ups and downs in college, which would have been nice to know beforehand.

Take school seriously. I know every adult has told you to from the time you were in elementary school till now, but it really does matter. When you get to school ace all of your classes so you do not wind up realizing too late that your GPA is not where you would like it to be. This way an ad hoc effort to correct the problem will not be necessary. When you are not in school, save money and work hard. Choose your friends wisely, being around people who are academically focused will be better influences on you than those who are apathetic. Study, work hard and encourage others to do the same.

The best piece of advice I can think of would be to study as often as possible, for as long as possible. Aside from that, don't ever say "no" to any opportunity, especially freshman year, there are so many possiblities out there, and you just need to say "yes."

I would tell myself to study and work harder so that the chances to get a big time scholarship will increase. Having such financial difficulties in college life severely distracts me from reaching my full potential. Realizing that high school was about twenty times easier than college makes me wish I did work that much harder on homework and studied harder for tests. Having to bear a load much larger than I can bear on my own, forces a continuation on the work harder/study less cycle. If I had just studied and concentrated that much more on my course work, I realize now, my burden would be lighter and my grades might be stronger. Because they are not, I have to consider the chances that I may not get into the grad school that I want because of the mistakes I made years ago. If I could travel back in time to see my past self, I would slap myself across the head and shout, "get it together, man! Your future is riding on these crucial moments in high school."