Brigham Young University-Hawaii Top Questions

Dear high school senior self, College is really as awesome and challenging as everyone tells you it is. No pressure, but this is the time in your life when the desicions you make will ultimately determine your future. Away from your family and close friends you will discover who you truly are and what values are really important to you. Remember, Mom really is always right and she knows best. Your true friends are those who bring the best out in you. Don't be afraid to be who you are and share that special spirit you posess with everyone around you. Decide what you want for yourself and do whatever it takes as long as it is moral and legal. Keep God first and everything in your life will fall perfectly into place. Keep up the good work, stay motivated and focused. From, Your older, somewhat wiser, college self

As a high school senior in 2004, I had decided on becoming a doctor. I enrolled at East Tennessee State University and declared my major as Pre-Med. I, instead, let friends and family talk me into starting out at our local community college (to get a feel for college life.) This did not prepare me for the "real" life of a college student as I still lived at home with my family and held a part-time job. When I entered a university, I was not prepared for the transition. The classes were much more demanding and consisted of 300 or more students to one professor. Also living on campus and being responsible for my own expenses was an unexpected challenge. If I had any advice for my past self, it would have been to head straight to the university, where as a freshman the transition would have been made easier than entering as a junior. I ended up becoming overwhelmed and dropped out. I attended a vocational school and became an LPN. Now I am working towards becoming an RN with plans to obtain a BSN and eventually an MSN. Thank you for your time and consideration.

If I could go back in time, I would say value yourself. You are graduating high school and you can achieve anything that you set your mind to. Embrace learning. Take in every minute of everything that you learn in college as it will benefit you later in life. Join every club and take advantage of every opportunity that you are presented with so that you can truly be a part of the total college expierience. Attend job fairs and learn about many different career options because that will bring you closer to understanding what you want out of your education.You will only short-change yourself if you decide not to make education your priority. Manage your time. You are young and want to have fun and party but remember that you can enjoy yourself and be a succesful college student. The alternative is a life of missed opportunties. The most important thing for you to remember is that you cannot go back in time and change the choices that you made. If you look back at 37 years old and realize that you should have taken your education more seriously, you will be left with nothing but regret.

First off, get out of your "bubble." Go to a homeless shelter, reach out and befriend others who are not necessarily like you, experience diversity, and be the inviter not the invited. You need to start realizing what the real world is actually like. You may not realize it now but you have been pretty sheltered throughout your whole life, contrary to what you may believe there are people out there struggling with drug and alcohol addictions, families that are broken, and people who literally live on the street because they have no money. Learn to associate with those people and realize that most of them are good people; they just need help to get back on the right path. Secondly, focus more on your relationship with your family than on friends, school, or extra-curricular activities. Family will be there for you your whole life while on the other hand, friends leave, schooling stops, and you get too old to continue those hobbies. The stronger your relationship with your family is, the happier you will be. And lastly, stay strong and know your values and beliefs. There will come a time very soon that they will be challenged.

Growing up is a part of life. Everyone must do it, no matter how much we may want to stay young and care-free forever. Over the next few years, you will be embarking on a journey that will change the course of the rest of your life. Do not be afraid to take chances. You may think you know it all now, but you will soon learn how very little you actually do "know." Be open to new experiences and interests. Be responsible and make sure you always put school first, no matter how loudly the beach may be calling your name, or how homesick you are feeling. Be frugal. You are going to need all the money you can get as a "starving student." Please make sure you do all of your research before making big any decisions. Take advice that you are given from loving parents and advisors. Call your family at least once a week and make sure to always remember where you come from and who matters the most in your life. And the biggest piece of advice I give you is to never give up. Believe in yourself. You can do this.

I would tell myself to start a habit of consistent study. Studying is something that is learned through time. High school students cannot expect to enter university without first learning effective study habits. Students will spend hours each week studying, but those who have mastered this practice early in their life will be far more productive when they begin their college degrees. I have seen far too many students who spend their time at the beach, playing video games, facebook, or other non-productive activities instead of working towards their college degrees. Many of these students have been given money from the government or parents to gain an education, but lack the discipline to effectively do so costing their parents and tax payers thousands of dollars a year. Developing a study habit is not easy, but is possible and is worth it.

Don't slack off in Professor Feist's class! You can not be falling asleep in class and going out every weekend without doing some of your work. Please go to sleep earlier and sign up for classes on time.

The one adversity I face when transferring to a university is locating funding for tuition. I was fortunate to experience what college was like when my high school granted me a dual enrollment program to take credit coursework in my senior year. But once I made the transaction into a college program, I soon realized just how costly university level coursework can be compared to a local community college that I am currently attending. If I were to give any advice to my past self, it would be to manage my time accordingly and apply to as many scholarships as I can. I missed out on several scholarship opportunities made available to me as a senior because I worked diligently to balance my schedule on top of schoolwork, an internship, a dual enrollment program, and my position as Student Council President. To do it all over again, I would make spare time to write out essays and request letters of recommendation and gain enough practice so that by the time the scholarships were due, I would be ready to submit my applications and I probably would have won enough scholarship funding to earn my way into a university by now.

I would tell myself three things. The first would to not to make everything harder than it seams. Second would be to look at more than one or two schools in the culinary arts field, because the best one could be right in front of the others. The final would be not to stress over how the classes and classmates would be and that if I where to be myself all would be ok.

I only got to make the transition from high school to college one time in my life, but if i were able to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior and prepare myself for that transition there are two things I would tell myself. The first thing I would tell myself would be to take more AP classes. If I had taken more AP classes in high school I would've started college at a higher level saving not only time but money too. The next and most important thing to me would be to look at dance studios in my new area sooner. When I moved away to school I took two or three months to find a dance studio mostly because I got lazy when I had a lot of free time on my hands. Now that I have a studio though, I've made new friends and had tons of fun. These two things would have made my transition to college not only smoother, but more fun as well. Being able to go back in time to give myself a "heads-up" would have been a huge advantage!