Biola University Top Questions

Don't worry about the future that is ahead of you. God has a plan and He will continue to work it out in your life. Getting into the top college is not the most important thing in life, focus on God's plan and have fun with your life because you only get one of them.

Before I entered college, I was extremely nervous about moving to a new state and living among strangers. I felt scared that people would not like me and that I would not make any friends. I started to think that I would need to change little things about who I was to be accepted more. I did not feel confident in my identity. If I could give advice to myself, I would say that the best way to make friends who really love you is to be yourself. If you try to change yourself, you will have friends whom you do not feel comfortable around, who do not love and accept the real you. As I became more adjusted to college life, I revealed more of my true self, and as I did, I became friends with people who liked my quirky personality, who truly liked me. I enjoy being with these friends far more than I enjoyed being with the friends I made while I was trying to be someone else. If I could change one thing about how I started college, I would be myself and let people like me for who I am.

If I had the opportunity to talk to my self as a senior in high school I would have much to say. Three important things I would tell my High School self would firstly be, thank and appreciate your parents for the time and energy they have spent in raising you into the women you are becoming. I would also tell myself to try your hardest in High School so that you can learn good study habits and discipline skills for completing assignments. The last thing I would tell myself is that High School only comes once in your life so befriend the people who are struggling to enjoy their High School experience. Try to make people feel accepted and happy. Along with enjoying your High School experience I would also tell myself to get involved in clubs and sports. Although it may not seem like it, I think this last one is important for making a smooth transition into college because in college you are surrounded by people that are different from yourself and it can be a shocking transition. Becoming friends with a wide variety of people can help you to accept and appreciate different types of people.

Assuming I could go back in time I would advice a younger Ruth to retake her SAT and ACT exams. If I had retaken these tests and received higher scores the results would have significantly influenced my financial aid opportunities at the college level. I would have also recommended that I work harder at passing my AP history exams for although I graduated from high school with a GPA over 4.0 I wish I had passed my AP history exams in addition to my previously passed Economics, English Literature, English Composition and Calculus exams. Despite my dedication to academics during high school I wish I could go back in time and push myself harder toward fulfilling academic goals.

In high school I didn't give so much emphasise on AP classes. If i could go back in time and talk to myself I would tell myself to take those AP classes seriously and hold on to what I learned. Every little bit of knowledge is a difference. I would motivate myself to take a few college courses, while going to college. College is nothing like high school and understand that the road would not be easy. High may have been a walk in the park, but college is a different scenerio.

My advice that i would give to myself would be to start looking for well-paid jobs both on and offcampus of Biola. Get ahead in Financial Aid and do not put it off to the last minute or else you will not be enrolled in Biola. Be prepared to take on the adult world because it is tough and you need all the luck you need to survive.

I would tell myself to be ready to write lots of essays as well as to be more independent. To get my scholarships and grants instead of having to take out so many loans. As well as to be more self confident in myself and my abilities as a student as well as making friends.

If I could go back and advice myself in my senior year, I would first tell myself to fill scholarships. And lots of them. That way I would not have to worry about tuition and all the other college expenses. Also because most scholarships are for high school students and it would be easier for me to be rewarded since I was well qualified. I would also advice myself to maintain an excellent G.P.A, not only in high school but also in college. To talk to the professors if I needed help and to strive for excellence in every class no matter how hard it is. If I could to that then things will change for me now.

Bernard, I am your future self... please take heed. My first request, take as many AP classes as you can and pass them. Then you won't have to waste time and money retaking classes for GE's. My second instruction, don't waste time playing video games, "6-2-5 or running", and different activities that are materialistic, but save up your time and money and use it to help others. Don't be selfish, but do as Jesus says, "What you do to the least of these, you do unto me." Read the Bible more, study it, meditate on it day and night because you will realize the secret to living a non wasted life and won't have to discover it a year later. My third advice, when you meet people from now until college, especially females, don't think that you have met the "perfect girl" because she has same interests or goals as you. Just continue to maintain the relationship as friends or as a brother or sister in Christ, but nothing more. This will save you from "dramas". Lastly... think about living each day as if it were your last and enjoy it. Goodbye...

It's difficult to figure out what I could say to my high school self that would have actually helped. I think it's not really possible. You just have to learn as you go. I had the right priorities in high school--good grades, good friends--but I was timid. I was scared. I wasn't completely confident in who I was. My insecurities still cripple me sometimes, but what can someone say to change that? I'm still developing myself, and it's only because of my past experiences that I can be who I am today. Adjusting to college life was hard at first, but has been a blast the whole way through. I've had some of my most difficult experiences at college, and yet that is exactly what is helping me. I couldn't just tell myself to be more confident or force myself to be more comfortable in my own skin. Perhaps what would have helped my highschool self would have been just to know that none of my experiences, past, present, or future, would be wasted--and that the university I chose was one of the best decisions that I have ever made.