Brigham Young University-Provo Top Questions

Coming into college is a huge transition and you need to prepare yourself in every way. It is an exciting time in your life but you need to focus on what you are mainly here for… your education. It is also very important to get involved within the campus and interact with your peers and administration. The best advice I would give is to be great at time management. You cannot say yes to every organization. Create time in your day to have fun, study, and relax. Being an independent college student is a step towards your future. This quality to be organized with your time will help you become a student, business employer, leader, and human being in general. Set personal deadlines, make to-do lists, make use of your down time, concentrate on one thing at a time, and avoid procrastination. By doing all of these actions, you will be able to award yourself in a good manner. Time management involves the act of arranging, scheduling, organizing, and budgeting the very minutes individuals use to complete their daily tasks. You will find freedom from deadline pressure and from stress in general while in your college years.

I would take time to talk to college students to see what classes are like and what people are like. I would study harder, like I do now. I would take as many AP classes as I could handle and study hard for the tests so that I could get college credit and classes waved. I have had some, but I would do more. I would study more about majors. They have you study about careers, but it would be good to study majors and what kinds of classes the college you want to go to requires. I took a year to work and it would have been nice to start college a little earlier, so I would pay more attention to the scholarships that they talk about at school.

If I could go back and give my high-school-senior-self some advice, I’d say three things. First and foremost, I would advise myself to be anxiously engaged in a good cause. I would stress identifying a specialized area to focus on, and put all of my energy into realizing that goal. I would encourage myself to hold fast to my integrity and character – the ability to engage in the goal I set, even after the initial excitement is gone.Second, I would tell myself the importance of vigilant work ethic. Work load and critical thinking at the university level are considerably more demanding than high school. I would tell myself to whole-heartedly commit to being industrious – fall in love with working.And last, I would remind myself to always give what I can to others. Throughout my life, up to this point, I’ve had times of fortune and times of want, but the times that have made my life most worth while were the times I gave myself to someone else. I would invite myself to consider the first two suggestions as a means to be most effective in this last pointer – live to give.

I would tell myself to start taking school seriously. I would develop study habits and start trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I would say that I have to be more humble and learn to ask for help and seek advice because back then I was on top of the world. I would get a daily schedule together so that I could be used to waking and going to bed at certain times to keep myself up physically. Also figure out how to manage time because before I had a lot of time, almost too much, and now I have none it seems.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior knowing what i know now about college life I would say that i should take my classes more seriouly, and try to put out my best effort. I would make sure to apply to all the colleges and write the essays for them within the deadline. I would also be very appreciative to my parents and treat them very respectfully and take their advice to heart and not write them off like most teenagers do. I would try to visit the colleges I am interested in and if they had a program that gave you the chance to stay for a couple weeks on campus before classes started I would do that. I just think that a lot of high school seniors take the opportuntity to go to college for granted. I think that we should be very greatful and try to make the most of every moment.

First of all, don't fear the science classes. You can do them. I know it's hard to pick a major and decide what you'll do for the rest of your life so let me save you three years of floundering through various majors. You like animals and although you may not have realized it yet, you are very caring. You should look into various professions that involve working with animals, such as veterinary school. If you try changing careers later it is much more difficult. As a backup plan, you can go into nursing because you will make a darn fine nurse...like your future self!

If I could back and talk to my high school self I would've slapped the bleep out of myself for not doing all of this sooner. I am 33 years old with a 1 1/2 year old son and trying to go to school, work and raise him is NOT EASY! I would have told myself to buckle down more on the homework front, pay attention more, do extra credit work and to STAY IN SCHOOL! I skipped out alot of school and ended up missing so much that I had a choice to get my HSED or retake my entire senior year. I opted for the HSED program and I regret no graduating with my class. I want to say to my past self that life isn't easy but it is what you make of it. The harder you work the more you will achieve in the long run.

Josh, as you are about to make the transition to college I would like to give you a few words of advice. I know that you think it will all be easy; to get a job, study, and support yourself during that time, but don't forget to make life easier for yourself. There are scholarships you can apply for only at your age. Do them! Although you will be able to make it through school without them, life will be so much easier for you when you have that extra help. Also, learn to study and read. You think that college will be a lot like high school. Where you go to class, take the tests, and you'll just know everything and pass it easily. In college it is different. A lot more of the work will be on your own plate. Get into those habits now, not later. This again will help you be ready and excited for college. Overall though, don't be scared of what will come. You will adjust to the changes quickly enough. Don't stress. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Just keep your head up and go.

Choosing to live off-campus your first semester away from home is a mistake. You miss so many opportunities to meet new people and make friends that are in your exact same position. You'll spend your entire college career regretting it as you watch other groups of friends that have been together since freshman year. Working graveyards -- choosing work over sleep, study, and class, too -- is a terrible idea if you want to maintain good grades. Statistics will always be the worst class ever. But, with hard work and a good tutor, you can pass it.

If I had the chance to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would definetly tell myself to take the Academy of Finance classes instead of culinary. I would also tell myself to take the classes I was originally supposed to take instead of taking the easy way out and drop down to the lower level classes. I would also tell myself to focus more instead of goofing off, and to also make sure I go to school right after high school instead of waiting six months.