California State University-Sacramento Top Questions

Assuming that I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, knowing what I know now about college life and making the transition, I would tell myself not to procrastinate as much as I did my senior year. I was able to pass all my classes in high school but if I had not procrastinated as much it would have been a lot easier and the transition wouldnt have been as difficult to process.

Tanshea life does not wait on anyone. Enjoy school, live to learn and grow with knowledge. I would encourage myself to stay focused and prepare one's self for the future. Time is the most valuable commodity available. Education will always take you far. Be a leader and stay on the path that will enrich your life.

If I could go back and tell myself a few things when I was a high school senior, I would say "study harder" and "don't procrastinate as much."

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would advise myself to do plenty of research to figure out what I am generally interested in. Almost every student struggles to figure out who they want to be when they “grow up.” However, I would encourage myself to research interested majors and to have at least a little bit of faith when applying to prestigious campuses. As a high school senior I felt that due to the little income my single father received, I would not be able to go to a prestigious university or even a university away from home. With limited resources and little encouragement to attend an undergraduate or graduate school I limited myself from exploring the possibilities that were out there for me. Now as a late college bloomer if I had the opportunity to go back in time to my high school senior self I would give myself a little bit of encouragement and show myself the possibilities that are out there.

Kelly, why didn't you take the college application process more seriously? Why didn't go you visit the college campuses? Why did you procrastinate to fill out the applications? Why didn't you research on what you wanted to major in? Oh Kelly, why? You should have been doing what you are doing right this nanosecond! Yes, that's right--filling out scholarships to aid your financial needs. You have always done well in school and joined many clubs, sports, and volunteer activties. But what have you been doing that for? Yes, all of that made you happy, but it also reflects who are you for the colleges. They don't know you, so they look at what you have done: all of the awards you've won, the plentiful hours of volunteering you've done, and the amount of work you put into school which is reflected by your 4.3 GPA. Kelly dear, you have done so much work that you forgot what portion of the work goes to: your future college.

Pick a major and stick to it sooner. I wasted too much time changing my major which lead to me taking lower division classes that I did not need and were not very interesting.

I would advice myself to have taken more college courses while I was in high school because they were so inexpensive. Now I have to pay over three thousand dollars just to attend a state university and be an undergraduate.

I know how much you hate it when old people and know-it-alls try to give you advice, but stop being so stubborn and defensive! Not every piece of feedback is an affront to your intelligence. Some advice DOES make sense. Try having a budget, practice safe sex, and please take me seriously about having flip flops on when you’re in those communal showers! And use a calendar to track things like due dates for financial aid, homework, and family stuff mom will never forgive you for forgetting, like grandma’s 90th birthday. Everyone will say how “different” things will be once you're in college. And they’re right. The cool part is that you get to decide whether or not “different” is going to be terrifying and terrible, or the best years of your life. So many things up to this point have been out of your control, but now that you’ll be in college on your own, you call the shots. It’s an exciting new mix of freedom, responsibility, and unlimited potential. Trust me – you have what it takes to succeed. PS Tell Mark you’re sorry about the goldfish. Really sorry.

Breath. It doesn’t matter the anxiety and the stress. It does not matter that life is hard, and getting harder every minute. It’s worth it. You are working towards a clear achievable goal, and you will get there! Stay focussed, and do not wait until April to do your senior project that is due in May, trust me. You are bright and talented and competitive. You are beautiful. The boys don’t matter right now, and you are doing the right thing by not chasing them. You are also doing the right thing by staying on track, and not making any mistakes to jeopardize your future. You will succeed, and it will be worth it. When to go to college, do not get the coffee from the kiosk by the library, it’s worth the ten minute walk to get the better coffee that doesn’t make you nauseous, and lay off the cupcakes, you’ll thank me later. Thank you for giving future you a strong foundation, you’re going to need it.

Some advice that I would give myself would be to study hard and study often. I'd also advise myself never to drop classes. After getting out of high school and being allowed to choose which classes I take in college also allowed me to decide if I wanted to stay in a class or drop it. I would never have dropped a class since it eventually made me take much longer at a city college to transfer to a four year.