Washington State University Top Questions

Finances need to be more of a focus. Do not slack off, make sure you work at least 20 hours every week. Keep enough in savings to cover 6 months of rent at any time. Do not allow anyone to tell you working is a waste of time. You need to be proud of your determination and of your dedication. "Work will set you free." Focus on grades and focus on finances. The others will fall in place as they need to.

During my senior year of high school I stopped going to class many days, and I just didn't try. I ended up barely graduating with about a 2.0 gpa. I didn't get into any colleges I wanted and had to settle going to a community college for two years. What I didn't realize at the time was this was the best possible outcome for me. During that two year period I changed my life around and transferred with a 2.91 to a Washington State University where my first year at WSU's gpa was a 3.14. The advice I would give myself would be simple. "The more work you do now, the less headache, frustration, disappointment, and fear there is later in life. Go to class, do your homework, and don't just slide by like you always have."

I would definitely tell myself to study harder and take education more seriously. In high school, I did not have a whole lot of interest for education because I did not see the big picture of a college education. Currently as college senior, I have gained a vast amount of knowledge and rationale to which I can apply in practical settings. Overall, I would advice myself that dreams can be achievable through hard work, dedication, and perseverance. In addition, I would tell myself to look forward to college and enjoy it because college will go by fast.

Dear Past Self, Next year you will be going off to college. Stop being anxious and scared about it. There are plenty of other people in the same boat- amazing people you couldn't even imagine existed. There are great friends and experiences just around the corner. Just don't forget to throw yourself out there. Always make time to meet new people so that you won't regret leaving a stone unturned. You can settle down and relax once you commit to the community that is available. Sincerely, Future Self P.S. Don't forget to join a fraternity- it will be the best decision you could possibly make.

I wish that I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior. I did not care about anything my senior year of high school except for graduating, sports, and boys. My grades almost prevented me from walking at my graduation, not to mention they prevented me from getting into my top sorority during recruitment at WSU my first semester. If I could say one thing to high school seniors that are having a hard time staying focused and putting in the effort to continue to succeed, it would be to just keep pushing through because your high school grades really do follow you around. I wish that I would have tried harder and put more of my energy into my studies instead because I'll always have to live with the fact that my high school GPA was awful compared to my college GPA. I would advise myself to go to school everyday and stop skipping classes and sleeping in. A lot of little decisions led to my lack of success my senior year and I would take it back to this very day if I had the opportunity.

I would tell myself to get more involved. I was very shy and insecure and I think I worried about what other people thought more than I ever should have allowed myself to think about. I would have pursues clubs and extracurricular activities more. I also would have taken more time to prepare for college by volunteering and applying for scholarships. My mother is an immigrant who didn't really know what was involved in applying and paying for a higher education. My father dropped out of high school. Neither parent really pushed me or helped me figure out what things I could have done to help pay for school. I ended attending our local community college and then transferring to a branch campus to finish my B.A. in Public Affairs. This was strictly a financial decision. If I had scholarships and knew more about grants then I might have been able to afford a college further away and might have gone into earlier. I wish my high school would have kept her head held high. I wish she would have realized how the work she did then would have paid off for the rest of her life.

Being the first in my family to attend college I did not know the ins and outs of how to fund my adventure. The day I left for college I had a full tank of gas and seven dollars in my pocket (and I received a speeding ticket on the way!) First, I would tell myself not to take so many difficult courses right away because one might need time to adjust to all the freedoms a university provides for a young person. Second , I would tell myself to apply for scholarships. I had no idea what I was doing! Next I would suggest the work study program. School loans are not fun but when you are in school and broke you are not thinking about the repayment phase, the only thing on my mind was how am I going to pay rent, tuition and buy books? I am so thankful for SallieMae but I do wish we had never met. Finally, I would tell myself to go to graduate school right away. Not to worry, SallieMae will wait for you! P.S. the "freshman 15" isn't as easy to get rid of as it was to put on!

I am dealing with diversity a lot more, as my school wasn't diverse at all, and starting to cope with it in a setting like this is going to be a great help in the future. College is valuble to attend due to the necessity of a degree to get many jobs now, and it is needed in order to achive the job that I want, so in order to succeed in a career, you typically need to succeed in college as well.

My college experience at Washington State University opened my eyes to new ways of thinking and looking at life. One of the most important things I learned about was climate change and how much each individual can impact the environment. Before I went to college, I was not very concerned with the environment or my impact at all. But, a couple of my professors made it very apparent that we all need to make changes, and that we all have the ability to change the world around us, if we put our mind to doing so. Now I am living "green," and have been working to educate my friends and family as well. It also instilled in me a love of learning, and made me realize that I want to pursue my graduate degree, which I will be starting in May 2011. I am grateful for the examples that were set by my professors, and the time and preparation they gave to each class. I truly learned a lot and have been putting the knowledge to use in my every day life which makes my education invaluable!

The main reason I am glad I came to Pullman, WA is the amazing church that I found here. They are my family and have helped me in ways I could have never imagined. If I had to choose where I'd go to college again, I wouldn't choose WSU because of the school, but I would choose it because of the most amazing church family I could ever ask for.