Brigham Young University-Hawaii Top Questions

Having had a great deal of college experience, if I could go back to High School and give myself advice it would be to Save, Save, Save! Academically I was a diligent student and tried very hard. However, I feel that I could have been much better at getting part-time jobs and working to put money into a college fund so that I was more secure starting off. I would also give myself advice about getting involved. In my first year of college I was very focused on making new friends and doing new things rather than getting involved with school clubs or activities. Now that I know the importance of gaining new experiences and serving, I would advice all high schools students to do more extracurricular activities. The more experiences you have, the more talents and tools you have for the future.

study as much as you can. ask questions if you don't understand it. it is not matter of being in class, it is about understanding. Don't give up if you don't understand. Take your time to grasp what you are learning. Don't you ever compare yourself to others. You are you and you do the best and you can be the one only you can be. Learn to listen to others and what they have to say, there are so many things you can learn from others. Even those you think you never thought you would. Don't procrastinate the work you were asked to do. Learn everyday. don't get caught up those things don't matter the most. Enjoy the school life with balancing your time and take a rest if you need to.

Dear HIgh School self, The one thing that you need to do differently is to take AP/ honors classes. If you take these college credit classes, they will be applyed, amd you won't have to take them later! If you dont do this, then you will have zero credits going into college (which is what happened to me). Also, read more this summer! If you read consistently, you wil be better prepared for all of the reading that you will have to do in college!

Make sure that you know your financial situation. Have a clear goal about what you need to do to prepare and get a good job. Think ahead.

If I were to go back in time I would tell myself to pick the school that is right for you. Don't go to a school based on what your family desires for you. Pick the school that is best for your desires and passions in life. Do what will make you happy with your future. Don't let anyone else's idea for your future hold you back from what will make you happy.

Dear Me, First off, don't sweat it. College classes aren't nearly as tough as you are making them out to be. You will have to continue to work hard but it's nothing you can't handle, so stop freaking out. Second, start saving your money now! I know a year or two away seems like forever but it goes by fast and your money even faster. So start practicing good spending and saving habits now. It'll pay off, literally! And laslty, just remeber that you are pretty dang awesome the way you are and don't need to change for anything or anybody. Don't get me wrong, you will end up changing and growing. But never lower your standards. Best of luck to you! I have faith in you! You can do it! Love, Your Future Wiser Self

I will say to myself: Find a passion early, develop it and use the time in college to maximize the passion. It will be too late to find out a passion if you come to college without knowing what you want to study.

If I could go back with the knowledge that I have now, I would try harder to earn more scholarship money and save up more before I get to school. Having financial aid helps very much with the stresses of beginning college. When I stress about money, I have a harder time focusing on my school work and I am simply less happy than when I feel financially secure. Once I know that my finances are taken care of and I will be okay paying for school, rent, food and everything that I need, I do a lot better with school and studying. I would also get more into the habit of buying only what I need in order to save up more money. College textbooks are pretty expensive for things that you will not be keeping very long, so having some extra money saved up definitely does not hurt at all.

I would tell myself that building good study habits is the best thing I could do before going to college. I would tell myself to never put studying off and start saving earlier in life. I wish I could have learned budgeting better and not spent my money that I earned in high school. I didn't understand how expensive it was to move out of the house. If I had realized this before my senior year I wouldn't be stressing over each semester. Also, building study habits early in life will help once you enter college. It is harder than high school and you will need to study in order to pass your classes. It will only get harder. Lastly, the most important thing I would tell myself is don't give up. At times it will seem like you can't get through the day; but once you realize why you are in school you will understand that it is all worth it. It will be the best thing that happened to you.

If I had the opportunity to advise myself as a high school senior, I would advise myself to start planning my college career earlier. It is important to start planning soon as possible which include things like: choosing a school, SAT/ACT scores, and applying for Scholarships. The first thing I would do is choose a school. Most people will advise that you choose a major first but, like myself this can be very confusing and cause you to lose valuable time if you are indecisive about what you want to do. The second thing is to taking SAT/ACT test seriously so I could meet admissions requirements to get accepted into a school of my choice. I missed the opportunity to attend a particular University because of my SAT/ACT scores. I feel attending a University or College of my choice would have resulted in better grades and me becoming more involved in campus organizations. The final thing I would advise is applying for scholarships. The cost of college is becoming more and more expensive every year. There are many scholarships that go unclaimed every year, which can be used to help offset the increasing cost of college.