Westfield State University Top Questions

I would say go with your gut and don't decide which college to attend based on finances. You need to go to the college that makes you happy because this is where you are going to spend the next four years of your life. When you do finally get to college you need to learn to work now and play later. Before you go out with your friends, make sure you get all of your homework done. There are many distractions in a college dorm, but don't let those stop you from doing well in school. Try your hardest to make friends and keep an openmind; people may surprise you.

I would tell myself to keep focused on school work, find ways to make studying and organizing easier, and be more outgoing. All three of these will definitly benefit in the future. The school work is nothing like high school. Teachers are not going to "let it slide"; if you don't do the work, or you don't study... tough. And become more socially active. If you continue to be your shy self in college, it will only make finding friends more difficult if you keep to yourself. Don't be afraid to stand up and speak out against something you think is wrong. If you sit there quietly and let it pass you by, then it will keep happening, more often as before. And keep organized. You spend more time straightening out your desk, figuring out what your homework is, and finding where you put your textbook than doing the homework itself. And if you're having trouble in class, either ask the teacher, kids in your class, or get a tutor. There is nothing wrong with that! Once you step foot inside that tutoring center, you'll feel better already!

Out of my college expierence i have gotten the ability to create a good time and friendship with the people who are here. We don't have a mall or movie theatre that close to go to so we stay on campus and hang out in eachothers rooms and get to know eachother. This is valuable to all college expierences because even though you need to focus on academics, you will always need a friend there for help that books cannot give you. This college helps build stronger bonds with your friends.

College is not what you expect it to be like at all. I would tell myself to stay calm and not to stress out. Collge isn't ridiculous parties that go on 24/7. It is a lot of work and studying, and not studying like you did in high school, where you barely studied at all. You actually have to read and study your notes a few days before a test. No one holds your hand in college, you need to learn to do things on your own and take care of yourself. I would change my major to what it is changed to now, which means that I would have completely different classes. I guess I should have taken more time to think about what I really wanted to do with my life instead of listening to others about what they felt I should do for the rest of my life.

I would tell myself that it is ok to be unsure where my decisions will lead me for a career path. I started out as a History Secondary Education major and then changed to a Criminal Justice major. I now work in communications and logistics for a medical transport company. Recently I decided to go back to school to attain my Master's degree in Emergency Management. This is vastly different then a degree in History Secondary Education. While I very much enjoy reading about history I discovered that teaching that subject was not a career I could see myself pursuing.

Take your time in the decision process, know yourself and be true to yourself. It is a decision that will ultimately affect you for 4 years. It took me a long time to decide, but in the end, it was a great decision for me. When I started looking at schools, I had no idea what I wanted to pursue, I had ideas, but wasn't sure. I had ideas about what I thought I wanted in college life, but after visiting a couple of my top choices a few times, I realized that some schools I loved in the beginning weren't really the schools that were the best fit. Listen to your gut, I made my choice on April 15 and sent my deposit right away. I come from a very small school and Senior year your emotions are running high, your finally a senior, you have the stress of leaving your home, your school and figuring everything out and it is very overwhelming, but in the end I listened to my heart and went with where I felt I would fit best and am very happy with my choice!! Can't wait to continue at Westfield State!!

As a college senior, I am a completely different person than I was as a high school senior. Personally, I had a hard time with my transition to college, but instead of getting involved and reaching out to my new community, I withdrew and because of this did not enjoy my first two years of college. If I could go back, I would tell myself to go and get involved, to make friends and to remember that there are always people there to help when I need them. I would remind myself that I am never alone, and to focus on my relationship with God, because He brought me there for a reason. I would then tell myself that finding something that makes you happy is more important than anything, and staying in school for an extra year, as is my current plan, is worth it to finish a double major which will end in my ability to work a job that I love. And above all, I would remind myself that life is short, and to not live with any regrets, because this moment right now is the only one that we know we have for sure.

I would tell myself, that life isnt easy and that college is going to take alot of work and effort to make it happen. but its up to me to make it happen, not to give up and life going to be easy. you work hard and than you can play. Just have fun and get to meet people. it's about who you know .

I would have to tell myself that it's okay to go to a 4yr institution right out of high school. There's plenty of scholarships and assistance to help with tuition and books. I would recomend going as a full-time student in a degree program your interested in. This is going to be your career, do not go for something just because it requires less education and pays more money. You need to enjoy this. Up until my senior year I wanted to be an accounant. As a senior I took a class on medical careers and thought great I'll go for my associates in radiology/ultrasound and make lots of money only after 2 yrs. I really should have stuck with business accounting as I had already planned prior to senior year because it was something I did good at and enjoyed.

If I could go back in time to my senior year I would tell myself to get prepared for one of the greatest adventures in your life. College offers us a wealth of opportunities to meet new people, get out and experience the freedom of being on our own, and to grow and develop our own path in life. I would tell myself to get involved, right from the very first day you arrive on campus. There are so many activities, clubs, groups, teams to get involved in, try as many as you can. While moving away from home for the first time can be intimidating remember that the friends and family that you leave behind are always there for you. You will be surprise, on your first trip home for the holidays, how much those relationships and friendships you left behind continue to grow stronger.

Be series about your studies concentrate and have fun.

Live life without regret. To prevent this I have learned from both my high school and college experience that when something is sitting right in front of you, you should take advantantage of the opportunity. When colleges host open houses, you should visit to see if you will really enjoy the college and make you feel at home. This will prevent you from choosing the college that is completely wrong for you and prevent you from wanting to go through the transfer process. Also, in my high school juniors and seniors that contained a certain GPA were given an opportunity called the "High School Partnership Program." This gave high school students the chance to take a transferable course free of charge. This is something that should definitely be taken advantage of because you can save both money and study time in college. Lastly, as a senior in high school you should take advantage of all those scholarships and actually search for some whether they are small and large awards. This helps because in the end all those small scholarships add up. In the end all these things will help you so you do not regret anything you missed out on.

I would have pushed myself more academically in my senior year to try and boost my GPA as much as possible. I also would have tried to apply for scholarships earlier to try to have guaranteed financial aid before enrolling in the college. Each semester the amount I have saved up for college is diminishing more quickly than I had expected. I would have also applied to more colleges to try to have a larger selection of colleges to attend; well more than the four I had to choose from. Overall, I would have pushed myself more and I would have told myself to apply to more colleges.

I would tell myself to study more and make concrete study habits. It's been a challenge to get into the work as well as others have, but I seem to be doing well. Working hard is a major part of college that I'm not sure highschool students really understand. The work is very different.

I think that the most important thing I would have to relate to myself would be not to be afraid. Before I got to school, while it was still an unknown looming closer and closer on the calendar, I had reached the point where I had simply resigned myself to it. I didn't really want to go, but I figured there wasn't really any getting out of it now, so I would go there and just endure it. I would go to class, do my work, and simply endure the next four years. But now I see that there is no point in doing anything, no point in living, purely as an exercise in endurance. I had resigned myself to misery before I had even set foot on campus, and only upon arrival did I realize how silly that was. I had only done it, really, because I was afraid. But there was never anything to be afraid of in the first place. I made friends, had fun, and did not have the need to endure anything but dining commons food. I had dreaded college for months for no reason. Silly me.

I think I made the right decsions for where I am, I wish the school was closer but the closer school didn't have what I wanted. I would have meet the people I've met. I have friends for life.

I would tell myself to start practicing the clarinet more since I am a music major. Build confidence. The last thing I would tell myself is work hard and dont worry everything happens for a reason.

If I could talk to myself as a high school senior, I would explain that the experience is going to be fun and enlightening, but nothing like I expected. I should not have assumed that college would be much different than high school, especially considering I chose to go to a fairly small college. I should give myself the opportunity to look at larger universities, or ones in a city. I would also tell myself not to get to anxious about the process; slow down and enjoy the changes that are taking place instead of stressing. When looking back, the summer before college was an extremely stressful time for me, and it did not need to be at all. As soon as I began school in the fall, everyone at the school was eger to meet me and help out. The faculity did a great job transitioning school work from high school to college as well. Before school started I was worried that I would not be able to keep up with the work, but my overcompensation made the work ultimitely very easy to complete. I other words, I would simply tell myself not to be so anxious about college.

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would drill into my head these two things: studying hard and time management. I was always one of those people who could pick up a textbook, read the chapter once, and do pretty well on the test which caused me to never really develop good study habits. Unfortunately, this kind of came back to haunt me since college level academics involve much more reading and comprehension of the material. As for time management, I go to school full time (averaging anywhere from fifteen to twenty-one credits per semester), work (sometimes up to 39 hours a week), and persue my career of aviation. I do not know how I do it and most days I can feel myself dragging and sometimes my academics slipping. Luckily I am quick to notice it and make a change, but it is one area that I wished I had learned more about how to successfully do so that I am not always so stressed out about how I am going to get everything done and keep from going insane!

Researching as much about the institution is very important, however, tours are very important. Students need to personally experience the school before making such an important commitment.