Allegheny College Top Questions

Alycia, Allegheny was the perfect fit for you. There was no reason to be nervous about making friends and having things to do. As long as you study you will do perfectly. Beware of college guys! Even though you thought you wanted a boyfriend in college, you don't want one anymore. You will find they do not have relationships in mind and tend to only look for a good time. Focus on your goals, and the rest will come later. Remeber to join clubs too. They are perfect ways to meet new people with the same interests and provide a way to take a break. Money is tough. You need to be able to push yourself in order to find a job on campus. They are tough to recieve, and only come by constantly emailing, talking to, and calling the college for a job. Mainly, keep in touch with the friends and family back home. You will get distracted by college life, but it is always good to check in and see how eveyone is doing. They care about you and I know you care about them so don't forget to show it! study hard Alycia

Don't assume that going to your dream school will make everything OK. Having friends and people you know from before college around you is much more important than you think. Talk to your roommate before you get to college about the important things, like how and where they like to study. Having the wrong roommate can totally ruin your college experience, to the point that nothing seems to go right.

That the preperation in high school is nowhere near what it needs to be in order to really succeed in college. Academics are such a focus at Allegheny. Not only is it just challenging, but it's challenging in a way that I wouldn't want to be anywhere else because I know they're doinig their job as educators. Becoming acclimated with such a big workload is the transition that was hardest for me. After a rough patch in my freshman year I have grown up so much and Allegheny has shown me how to be a responsible adult. I never expected it to happen so fast but I am so thankful. I look at kids in high school now and think what babies they seem compared to me now. When they ask how school is all I tell them is, "It's so HARD!". It may seem wrong but I kind of want to scare them into being more prepared than I was. They'll realize it one day, yet I believe Allegheny is one of the best places for a college education and in a way hardest so some of them might not have it as bad.

Dear past self, please do not go home every weekend. I know you miss your dog, but you will be missing out on amazing things, such as the Outing Clubs trips, and the Quidditch team (no, seriously, by the time you get to Allegheny, they will have a Quidditch team, I know that makes it so much more awesome), and you will miss out on making so many new friends, and you will miss lectures by amazing people, and you will miss half of the college experience. You will become aclimated to school so much faster if you simply realize that your dog will be okay without you, and this comes from experience, you will be okay without your dog (and cats, actually.) Please, stay on the weekends, go to the campus center, sign up for activities, go to the guest speakers, go to the late night events at the campus center (they will have a pottery night!) and get involved. You will be too busy having fun to realize that it is suddenly December and then you can go home and see the dog. Until then, do something.

Dear Kristen, You are about to take a very important step. Are you ready? I know you're excited, college will be your chance to show who you really are, to step outside of the norm and do something different. You will be able to learn new things you never dreamed about before and critique those things that you already think you know everything about. You will make new friends and learn new trends. You will stay up all night partying and sleep all night because you are worn out from classes. You will meet new people, good and bad, and some of them will stick with you forever. College is the best time of your life, you can be an adult, yet you can still hold on to that "I'm a student and still need guidance" mentality where the Professors will look out for you. Just remember one thing: don't change who you are. I know it's hard, college is such an influential time in your life. But when all is said and done, you are still Kristen, and I think I can speak for you when I say, "Kristen is someone worth being."

I would tell myself not to worry. I know now that things happen for a reason, and even those darkest moments are there so that I can better appreciate the good days. I would tell myself to be forgiving, but don't be afraid to walk away from people who will bring you down. Don't worry about that boy, he's not worth the pain and hassle. Ask questions everywhere - you never know what you will learn. It's okay to lose some sleep to help a friend, or finish that assingment, but you'll feel so much better if you get a full night in. Turn off the TV! There's better stuff happening just outside the window. Don't be afraid to take chances; the worst case scenario is that you need a friend to catch you. Take your vitamins- they do help. Don't worry about other peoples' perceptions - you know you're doing things for the right reason. Smile everyday, even when you don't feel like it. And lastly, I'd tell my younger self to call my Mom!

Don't be a biochem major. There are less choices in classes available to take. Also, do a double major because you really love music and biology so you might as well major in both. Also, don't be afraid to put yourself out there freshman year. People acutally do like you for who you are and the ones that don't don't matter.

Do not go to college expecting to get job training. While you'll feel prepared for any career avenue you pursue after graduation, the most important thing you'll learn while an undergraduate is how to improve and use your academic skills in "real life" outside of getting a paycheck - how to enact positive change in communities, how to look at systems that we participate in every day and imagine them better, and then make that a reality. Plan for your coursework and social life to influence each other. Sure, you and your friends will get together on the weekends and have a beer now and then, but a residential college is about socializing and fostering community, it is not about kicking kegs. Your involvement in extracurriculars will push you as your coursework does, and that'll be the most fulfilling aspect of your four years here. Prepare for some big-time growth.

If I could go back and speak to myself as a senior in high school the best advice I could give myself would have to be to focus more on academic preparation for college. I had fun as a senior playing football, tennis and doing track at the expense of preparing for the workload I encountered at Allegheny. I'm fortunate that my brothers preceded me at Allegheny and were able to coach me on what to expect, but I still didn't know what they meant until doing it firsthand. The first semester was difficult, but I was able to adapt and do well. The other advice would be to look more carefully for scholarship opportunities like this. I was surprised to learn the hard lessons of economics in the real world when I submitted loan applications. Now I see that upon graduation, I'll be saddled with private loans that will be difficult to pay off. I see now that to go to Allegheny I need to tell people how much I like it and work to earn my education. So the other piece of advice would be, nothing is free, you have to earn it!

Don't be afraid to take risks or get out there and have a social life. Take course work more seriously as it is a baseline for the rest of your life. Don't give up on things you enjoy like sports (swimming).