University of the Incarnate Word Top Questions

"Every decision you make today will shape your life tomorrow." As a kid, it is easy to get caught up in the superficial part of going to college. Everything from sports, clubs, name brand, and size are factors that ultimately don't matter. I would say to myself, "you can get educated anywhere, but make sure you go to an institution that wants to invest in you as a person and your future contribution to the world."

I would have told myself to forget about pursuing music education as my degree plan. I have always enjoyed history and loved asia. I would have encouraged my much younger self to delve deeply in asian languages, history and research writing. To go and visit as many asian countries as I could. One day, my younger self could be able to teach students from the perspective of one who has studied and experienced the history and cultures first-hand.

High school is the best years of your life. It's the time where you get the opportunity to find yourself and make your own decisions. Going into high school I had three older sisters who had already walked the halls before me and set the bar. They were ambitious, smart, beautiful, and talented. I did everything I could not to be like them and make my own name for myself rather then being know and their little sister. I messed up a lot, and got caught up in covering my mistakes. If I could go back and talk to myself I would say 'It's ok.' I had so much pressure to be just like them that everytime I messed up I was a dissapointment to my family that I was never able to get back up again. I would reassure myself that I was smart, I was talented, and I was beautiful. I would tell myself that a mistake does not define a person, but how they get back up and fight is what makes them a better person. I am a strong girl who just needed someone to have faith in me, and I do.

If I could go back to my senior year in high school and give myself advice about college, I would encourage myself to cherish every second I have left with my family. Ever since I’ve made my transition to college, I’ve experienced a void in my life. I miss my household more than I ever thought I would, and I hardly see them now. I grow eager for a vacation or a break, just so I can go back to my hometown and visit them again. It finally hit me. If I feel this kind of loss just by being away from them for a few weeks, imagine how I would feel if one day I was to miserably lose the presence of my parents. The thought of never having a “break” or “holiday” to see them again just distresses me. So I would definitely remind myself to enjoy the precious moments I have with my loved ones and never take them for granted, because you never know when God will take them to be with Him.

If I could go back in time I would honestly tell myself to work smart not hard. College is very frustrating at the beginning when your a freshman. Your getting used to a new school, your more to yourself, and your always busy with school work. College isn't a joke either its just as serious as high school was especially during finals. You're staying up hours in preperation of your up coming exam.

If I could go back and tell myself anything about college life, it would be that things only get better from here. Highschool is socially rough which takes a toll on your academics. College is different. You are not trapped with people who bully you or cheat off you, so you can focus on your education more. You learn what interests you, and are encourages to persue your passions, rather than complete a checklist of classes for a Diploma. I would encourage any student to get to know their college professors and ask them questions. Attend office hours and dont be afraid to question things, the answers they will provide can only help. I would also encourage students to find their study niche. If starbucks works for you, great. If the library is less distracting, thats good too. Try to discover the option that is most fitting to your needs. Make time for studying but also enjoy a social life and the campus life. The transition from highschool to college provides more freedom and time for personal growth, which when used responsably, can lead to an all around happier life.

If I could go back and talk to my senior self I would tell myself to just breathe and everything will fall into place. My senior year I stressed about getting into the college of my choice and that is why I would give myself these key words of advice. I would also tell myself that choosing to apply the University of the Incarnate Word would be the best decision that you are going to make this whole year. I would tell myself this because now that attend this school, I know that it really is the best school for me because I feel like I fit right in. I am extremely glad I have this opportunity to attend such a great school like it. Another thing I would tell myself is to not worry about what people say senior year and to not get caught up in what everyone else was doing because some of these people will not go to college with you so nothing they say or do matters. I believe every high school senior should know that after high school, the things you did there does not matter and you will not have the same friends.

If i could give my senior self some advice, the number one thing would be about scholarships. I did apply for several scholarships, however, I would warn myself to have started even earlier and to take them more seriously. I would also tell myself to get involved. You are transitioning into an entirely new environment, often which is not near home or consisting of many people most of which you do not know. This is why it is important to find a place where you belong and to make a lot of friends. The last piece of advice I would give myself would be to take care of myself. It is important to realize that no one in particular has your best interest better than you.

Dont give up, keep going because you are going to make it. fights with your friends and drama are not worth it all. Know what you can do and just keep believing in yourself. Work hard for you and nobody else

If i could go back in time I would tell myself to focus more on school and retake my SAT and ACT until I get a good score.

knowing what i know now I would encourage myself to find more scholarships and brokaden my college search. I would recomend starting college summer courses before the fall semster of my freshman year of college. Although I love my current school it woukd have been nice to have had more choices, I would probably advise myself to try even hardeder than I did before because every little grade has a big impact on my GPA. Lastly I would recomend enjoying every moment and get ready for much more diversity and maybe have an idea of where to study abroad in mind.

I remember my first day of freshman year so clearly. I was filled with nervousness, not about my classes or my teachers but about my friends and the upperclassmen. If I could tell my freshman self a piece of advice I would say “I know you care about what others think of you, but trust me your grades are the most important. Study for ALL of your test, finish your assignments early, prepare for the SAT, and get a planner! I know it seems stupid now, but when you are a senior and you are applying for scholarships you will understand.” I wish someone would have given me some advice my freshman year, I went into high school so egocentric and unfocused. I ended up graduating high school with a 3.8 GPA and I was in the top 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of my class, but I could have done tremendously better if I had that one piece of advice.

I would've told myself to start working earlier! This was my all-time dream school because I felt like this school was special and it was the right one to help me in whatever major I wanted to be. But it is a lot of money. And right now, I'm behind on my paying my tuition. I should've worked earlier, and started saving. I also live with a difficult personality at home. All he wants to do is look down to me as a rookie in my beginning life. I am, but I dont need to be hated on with every mistake I've made for it is already in my knowledge. I wish I could've told myself to ignore him as well and do what I had to do for school before I started. I've lived under his and only his advice to control me. I wish I could've broken that a long time ago. I wish I could've learned to be my own person before I started college, ending up being the only person I had.

I would of told myself to be better prepare when applying for scholarships. being accpted into a school isn't hard work for you it's being able to pay for that's the hard part.

This is an easy answer. I would tell myself to not be afraid of pursuing my dream of going to school in the east coast where the medical schooling is more competitive in my opinion. I was afraid that I would not get enough financial aid to attend any colleges, so I did not bother applying to them which became one of the biggest mistakes I could make. Yes, I do go to a good university, but I am not completely happy there. I believe that I have to move out to the east coast to get the true expereince of being on my own in a foreign environment. I somewhat regret going to college with one of my best friends because it is not teaching me to grow up on my own without any help. Lastly, I would tell my senior self to get off my lazy posterior and apply for as many scholarships that my fingers can type. There is so much free money that can be won online, but you have to put in the time and effort in order for it to pay off. You never know what you can achieve unless you take the risk.

My I would give to my highschool self is do your work and projects on time, and do wait until the last minute to finish your work or project. I was a major slaker during my seinor year of high school. I got my work do, but I would always procrastinate on my work until the night before it was due. That really effected my grade because even though I got my work done on time, some of the work decent or not done correctly. I would always procrastinate on test as well, even though sometimes I would make good grades on my test, but sometime I would fail those test. doing your work early means that you do not have to worry about at a later time and you can go over make correction of that work in order to get a good grade. I have struggled with procrastination many times and it can really affect your grade because you need that grade in order to have a good GPA and get into a good college. I have somewhat overcame my procrastination, I still struggle with it sometimes. Don't procrastinate and get your work done on time.

If I could go back in time to talk to myself when I was a high school senior, I would tell myself to stop stressing out so much. I was prepared for college even if I didn’t feel like it, and it wouldn’t be as bad as everyone made it seem. I was worried that I would lose contact with my best friends because we were going to different schools, and that added the stress of not having them there with me in this new journey. I’ve always had trouble with school and I was worried that college would be a lot harder and that stressed me out even more. I would tell myself to just take it one day at a time, pay attention in class and turn in all my work. High school teachers always made college professors seem scary, and I was mostly worried about that, so I would tell myself that they were actually really nice and helpful and not to worry about that. I would tell myself to be open to making new friends and that would make the transition between high school and college a lot easier.

The best advice I could give myself about college would be to take advantage of all the opportunities that are presented. College gives students the opportunity to try new and different things as well as to excel in familiar things. There are sports, clubs, research, jobs, lectures, travel, and community service just to name a few. Each of these activities allows students to learn about new things. The things they participate in college may even continue to be activities they pursue in the future. They may spark a passion or show a student "this isn't for you." It also gives students a chance to connect with other students and develop their networking skills. Some of these people may go on to help you find a job or advance in your career. Opportunities like these in college allow a student to decide where they stand on certain issues and ultimately help students develop into their future selves. Taking advantage of opportunties is the most important part of college in my opinion and I would hope I could convince anyone in high school about this.

I would tell myself to apply myself more while in undergrad. My GPA and classes almost kept me from getting into graduate school and being able to continue my learning. I would tell myself that the required freshman classes are required for a reason and that I need to be sure to apply myself. I played soccer for my undergraduate university, and had a part-time job, so I was very busy outside of school. However, I believe I could have applied myself more.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a High School senior, there are many things that I would tell myself about college life and how to handle it all. My first topic would be "don't sweat the small stuff". If you're late to a class, don't be embarrassed to walk in instead of skipping it altogether because mistakes happen every day and worrying about it constantly will not help you or the situation. If you trip and fall don't turn a different shade of red, just laugh it off and keep going. Everyone falls sometimes right? It was just your day to do so. Secondly, and most importantly, I would tell myself "just be you". Being my true self is one of the hardest things I have learned to do. I tried to impress people but in the end it was my natural self that won people over and helped me to create the wonderful memories I will hold dear for the rest of my life.