Baker University Top Questions

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to start sooner to plan for going to college, as it has been a life-long dream of mine to have a college education, and I am an older student. It has been a wonderful journey to continue my education later in life, but my career would have progressed so much better, and I would be so much further along at having stability and accumulation of retirement funds if I would have continued on to college much sooner in life than I did.

If I could go back I would tell myself to not put so much time and effort into unnecessary relationships that have helped me make many bad decisions. Instead, I would tell myself to worry more about my academic success because in the end those relationships seem to just be an overall distraction. I could have done more for myself in terms of extra-curricular activites, community service, sports, college hunting, scholarship hunting, and focusing more on my future instead of worrying about useless things like who hooked up with who or where the party is going to be the following weekend. Time really is money and I think that spending my time wisely is the best thing I could have done for myself. My parents have never been able to help me with school related tasks and responsiblities because they don't quite understand the language so putting my time aside to get things done will benefit me in the long run. As a freshman in college I'm trying to grasp this way of thinking so I won't waste anymore time and so my future can be brighter.

Keep your head on straight. Dont get wrapped up in your social life or life back home. It is all about managing your time and having the ability to adjust to every thing that life throws at you. Coming in you skated through high school without having to try, now you will be faced with adversity and new challenges. Use the friends around you and from back home as new support for all your challenges. Dont be suprised if you face challenges being away from family in the first couple months. Take advantage of your available clubs and social life to make new friends and form a new family thru the fraternity. You will be successful if you focus on the task at hand and keep a level head when faced with challenges, big or small.

Assuming i could go back to when i was in high school, there are to many things to name that i would tell myself about college life. I would begin with the finances, it cost your SOUL to attend college. I would tell myself to save every penny i got to my name and to work even harder freshmen year to get scholarships cause it is very hard when thousands of other kids want the same thing you do. I would tell myself there are no such things as limits and even when i think i can do anymore, do more because its never to much. But most importantly i would tell myself not to let people get to me when they told me i would never make it. I would tell myself that im just as smart, talented, and hardworking as any other student. If not more. And how just because i wasn't born into a rich family, didn't mean i couldn't go to college to. I would have told myself to look forward when i walk, becasue thats the only direction im headed in. And how i deserved it.

Use your young age of 17 as an advantage. Work hard to acheive your dream as efficiently as you possibly can with out getting discouraged. Remember that you can do anything that you set your mind to, just make sure you don't waste the time and effort that you have put in to it. Don't let anything or anyone step on your goals in life.

Never give up on your self, right now may look like the hardest it will ever be but that is not true. The worst is yet to come but dont fear it embrace your challenges. You and stonge and you can over come any battel. Never let your self feel alone you have support from every on around you. Do not be afraid to ask for help the people you see as not careing will be the ones to surprize you and help you in the dark times. Lastly remeber it is okay to feel unconfable, when you feel this way your are learing the most about your self. Love you- your older wiser self

Being in my second year of college, I wish I could go back and give myself some advice as a high school senior. When you're in high school, you feel like you have your entire life ahead of you and you can't wait to get out of high school and get to college to start over. My one piece of advice would be to take the time to enjoy the little things. There are some times now that I miss home so much and I would give anything to be able to spend a weekend at home, but I can't. I would suggest to high-school-me to cherish the moments you have left living at home. I miss sitting down to dinner with my parents, going to my sister's soccer games, talking to my family in car rides to dinner, going shopping with my mom and sister, kicking the soccer ball around with my dad, and so much more. You never really realize how much you miss something until it's gone. Yes, I still have my family, but I can never get those precious moments back of relaxing and cherishing time with my family.

College will be fun but will be more fun and less stressful if you manage your time correctly. Make lots of friends and be nice.

My advice to myself, would be to always expect the unexpected, and if there's one thing to never stop believing is that if you think your ugly today, tommorrow you'll wake up sober and still be ugly. College life is long hours of head full of stress with tremondous amount of emotion battles within, on top of that you have bills to be payed on time. Work, is your snooze button every morning and due dates are your daily news, for lunch you'll know how much you've spent and how much you could of saved, relationships will be the same, like time is money, and still spending more money than you expected! For dinner your dreams will be like your favorite music video, easy to see but hard to comprehend because your life will be moving so fast you wished you had a reset button. Ambition is your only grip on reality or bust.

Honestly, I would tell the past me to pursue an engineering degree. I came to Baker thinking I would major in Nursing, though engineering was my dream. I was just afraid that though I was deemed intelligent for a high schooler, I wouldn't be smart enough to achieve a degree in engineering. Now I am a couple step behind those who stuck to their guns and pursued their dreams because I let a fear of failure influence my choice of goals. Also I would have to tell the past me to have some confidence and actually challange myself with a heavier course load. Other than that I would just remind him to handle college like he had handled everything else in life, smile and don't disappoint yourself, cause that is the one person you will never forgive you if you fail.