Valparaiso University Top Questions

I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from putting a social life over my homework. I quit caring and stopped trying, and that has really set me back in terms of scholarships and pther things. I only got a 2.9 in high school but I was capable of so much more. Even though I am ashamed of how I acted in high school, in a way I am glad, because I never would have had my baby, and never would have been able to be living the life I have right now, which is with my daughter and fiance. It is a shame that I can't boast a higher GPA, but I have really turned that draw back into motivation to exceed everyone's expectations of my college career! I am pushing myself harder than ever to prove to everoyne - including myself - that I am perfectly capable of a 4.0, and I don't think it would be that way if I had done things the "right" way in high school.

Its just gonna be tough sometimes. Keep sucking it up.

There are so many things I would like to tell myself as a senior in high school. First, I would say to listen to your parents advice. They know you very well and only want what is best for you. With that being said, you also don't need to go to a college only because your parents want you to go there. You have to be comfortable and excited about where you are going to college. Secondly, take ownership of your decisions, education, life, and career. You need to want it! If you are going to college just to please your parents then it will be a terrible experience and you will not do as well as you could. Lastly, live life to its fullest! Life is short and your college experience will fly by. Take advantage of all of the different groups and activites that the college has to offer. Expand your horizons and take a class or two that is out of your realm of normalcy. Meet as many new people as you can and make friends with people who accept you for who you already are. These are just a few things I would tell myself.

Dearest Taylor, This is a lot different than high school. For one, you need to study. I know you're smart and you would wing every test you took in high school (and somehow managed to be Top Ten in your class), but this is NOTHING like that. You need to be dedicated to your work and DON'T PROCRASTINATE. Seriously, girl. Procrastination will cause you to pull all nighters and I know how much you enjoy your sleep. Tay, you also need to get involved. Your first semester is going to be a rough transition... but that is okay! Go out and meet to people! Don't sit in your dorm all day and mope because you "don't have fellowship with others of your faith." Get off your lazy butt and be social. There are a lot of amazing people and professors at this school, so don't lose any opportunities to give your all to those around you. My last bit of advice: clean your room and do your laundry. There is something so satisfying about having a clean room and fresh pajamas after a long day of work. Take advantage of that.

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would encourage myself to enjoy the little things in life more. Instead of stressing over perfect grades and studying constantly, I would advice my younger self to endulge in more fun activities like hanging out with friends and playing sports recreationally. While grades are a top priority, it should be a balance between academics and fun.

Dear Nicole, Don't pick any morning classes, you will hate yourself for doing so. Also, do not under any circumstances freak out about not being able to handle the work load—you'll just give yourself hives. You're amazing, no matter what Dad says, you don't need to remove yourself from your social life to do well. The same goes for work, leave time in your schedule to go to work, otherwise you'll get made fun of by the guys for not working as much as everyone else. Apply for financial aid! Pressure Dad into giving you whatever information you need, he's wrong that it's a waste of time. You have to look out for your own best interests because no one else will. More than anything else, if you do nothing else that I say, do this one thing: Don't give up or give in. There are going to be times when you can't seem to get out of bed because the weight of the world is pressing down on you. Just do what needs to be done and the weight will be lifted. Don't stop fighting. Ever. Love, Nicole.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would advise myself to develop a solid career plan. I would also make the suggestion of having plenty of alternate plans. Then I would tell myself to focus on acquiring financial literacy and developing career strategies, so that I can live comfortably when I am ready to start a family. I would also suggest working part-time while attending school, and to continually look for and apply for scholarships until I am completely finished with all of my education (undergraduate, and professional). I would also tell myself to make sure that I have health insurance since college students often get sick, and if I do not work, the cost of medical care will be overwhelming. I would also warn myself against taking out too much money in student loans, particularly private loans because private loans do not offer alterante re-payment plans nor do they forgive loans unless I am deceased or a have a permanent, debilitating disability. Most importantly, I would tell myself to seek balance and enjoy the college lifestyle because I will never get the opportunity to experience it again.

I would tell myself to start looking into different colleges early in my senior year. Ask myself if i wanted to go to school online or try to go to a school close to me. If i was working, i would really start saving to help myself pay for college that way i didn't have to take out so many student loans. I wouldn't be so nervous about it, more excited than anything!!

Never give up in your dreams no matter what. All your efforts will be worth it. The way some times will be hard, but you must keep trying, and you will see at the end the light shine. You will remeber those days were you didn't want to continue, the tons of homework, but you will say I did it. I am here and I deserve this.

Dear High School Self, Entering a large university from a small town is going to be a HUGE transition. Although it is an exciting new adventure, you are paying the university to learn and receive the degree of your dreams. Do not put your social life above your classwork. Yes, you are there for four years and have time to build up your GPA, but if you start out unfocused and do not work hard to keep a solid GPA, it will only be harder to raise in your future coursework. Not having a solid grade point will only cause headaches when you are trying to apply to the program of your choice. There are plethora of bright students in the world who are given the opportunity of a lifetime when accepted into a prestigious university; you want to stand out from these students working towards the same goals and not take for granted your. You only have four years to prove yourself, so make your time and money well worth it. Starting off on the right foot your first year will only make your climb to the top easier for your future decisions.

Don't sweat the small stuff. Take more time to read from independent sources, ie for fun not just academic. Early reading habits help with long term study and reading habits.

Making the transition to college is a milestone in one's life. You are leaving everything you have ever known to begin a new chapter in your life. While I am quite satisfied with my choice of attending Valparaiso University, there are some things that I wish someone would have told me in high school before I moved away to college. First of all, studying for college exams is completely different than high school courses. If you want to succeed you have to budget your time wisely and study for days if you want that A. The material is presented more quickly than it was in high school, so be prepared to learn on your own outside of class. Another piece of advice I would have liked to here in high school was making new friends takes time. In movies, college students are perceived as meeting new best friends within the first week. While I have met some great people here, it did not happen over night. You have to be patient, and before you know it, youll have great people to hang out with. Lastly, enjoy these four years because it is a completely unique experience unlike anything else.

I would Tell my self not to stress out as much as I did. I was really worried about balancing track and school. I would also tell myself to have more fun. You only have 4 years of college and even though I was busy, I could have had more movie nights or more times where I hung out with my friends. I would also tell myslef to get involved with a few more things on campus. Valparaiso University is a small campus so it is really easy to get to know everyone and I feel like if I got involeved with more things I would have meet a lot more new people.

I would give myself the advice to always plan ahead, to start homework early, and to get on a regular sleeping schedule. I would advise myself to read all the books too. I would tell myself that your beliefs will be challenged, but you need to stand strong in your beliefs (as not to change), but to have an open mind for those who have different beliefs than you. I feel that I made this transition into being more open-minded my freshman year of college. I would give myself the advice to not pick a roommate when I went to summer orientation, or if I did, to make sure to fill out the roommate agreement when getting on campus.

There is nothing that would have made me change my mind about my chosen university. There is some advice that I would give myself about making the transition though. I think that if I could go back in time I would make sure to try and develop myself as person who can get by with solely relying on myself; at college you won't necessarily have your high school friends with you, in my case I didn't, and you don't have your parents either. In college you have to learn how to get by without a lot of direct support from others at certain times. I personally was not a person who did overnight camps, and I think that the experience of overnight camps would give someone a taste of the college life in the sense of independence. I would also tell myself that I had truly never experienced studying hard for a test in high school; the amount of time that a student needs to put into their school work compared to high school is unbelievably more. The biggest adjustment for me was the amount of time and independence that I had.

I've always worked full time during high school, and throughout the summer; it was the mark to show I was great at multitasking. I kept great grades, maintained the honor roll, and did well on SAT, ACT, and all other major tests during that year. Yet, I would always make myself aware the workload is different, as well as expectations and approach. I've always been an independent worker, but it is different when you don't have that constant reminder or buffer in the case YOU JUST FORGOT or you JUST DIDN'T HAVE TIME. I hardly got sick, but when I did it was a luxury. Now...it's more of a hassel. I would tell ANYONE to make sure they are prioritizing and know where their time is going.

Don't stress out over the little things. Not everything is going to be perfect or go your way, so you have to accept that. Just remember that with a good attitude and hard work, you can do anything that you put your mind to. Stay focused and never give up on your goals!

Start everything early! Look for scholarships and other financial aid early on so that you know that you can pay for school and so that payments on tuition do not prevent you from registering for classes later on. Make freinds right away. If you are social the first few weeks it will be easier to be social later, and by then you will already have friends. Under no circumstances should you procrastinate on end-of-term projects and papers. When they are initially assigned, start them. Work on them a little bit each day so that they do not overwhelm you right before finals, because that is the worst. The longer you wait to do anything, the harder it becomes to do, and the worse the consequences will be. A jump start is the surest way to a life with minimal amounts of stress. Allowed to run rampant, stress will quickly become debilitating. The more you can minimize your stress the happier and more productive you will be.

I would tell myself to look past the fact that it is the last year of high school and to stay focused. Senior year is the big beginning focus point for colleges and senior classes can't just be pushed aside as an afterthought. I would also tell myself to start looking at colleges earlier. I lucked out with how great my college is, but I would tell myself to look at the best colleges I could. I would search for colleges that have a field that sounded interesting to me, because without classes that interest you, there isn't motivation. I would also push myself to apply for as many scholarships that applied to me. I ended up applying at the last minute, and I needed as much financial aid as I could receive. I would make myself realize that just because you put it off, that doesn't mean that every thing will end up working intself out without help. Mostly I would tell myself to stay focused but not to worry so much, otherwise you can get lost in all the little factors.

College is a great opportunity to meet people, try different things, and grow as a person socially and intellectually, but it's easy to get lost and mixed up amidst the pressures of new ideas, environments, and social groups. In college, people from all over the country are thrown together, and every single person brings a unique perspective to the table. Well-informed, accomplished, and philosophical professors also bring fresh, controversial ideas to light. In the thick of all these new influences it's essential to step back and evaluate each one. Pat Tillman once said, "You should question it all, take what makes sense, and throw away the rest." Such an attitude is a necessity in college. Rather than simply accepting new concepts and beliefs, one should challenge and examine them in accordance with prior values and convictions that have led to success. In conclusion, to sum it all up, I say to my high school self, "Be open and to the ideas, thoughts, and influence of others, but never lose sight of the person that got you to where you are today."