Carthage College Top Questions

Knowing what I know now, I would tell myself to not stress or worry too much. You will really enjoy your college experience. Don’t procrastinate on assignment. Also, take advantage of the opportunities that you are given, and enjoy life. You are only young once. It’s okay to take a break and relax for a bit. Study hard and make friends. These friendships will be long lasting, and will impact your life tremendously. Also, stays focused and apply for as much financial aid as possible. All in all, you will have a wonderful college experience, just take time to enjoy it!

I used to be an anxious girl. My anxiety took over my life. I would be sitting around, alone in my room and I would feel my heart pump freakishly fast with each shallow breath I took. I’d start to cry an uncontrollable sob, shake as if I were seizing, and grate my arms with my fingernails. I’d be absolutely clueless as to why I was experiencing this daily my senior year of high school. If I could tell senior-year-of-high-school Nicole “don’t do that anymore, because you’ll stop anyway,” I wouldn’t. I would not take back any of those dark moments or a single cut on my wrist. Through each painful and horrifying panic attack came realization that I needed help, which I sought out. If I could tell senior-year-of-high-school Nicole anything it’d be “girl, I can’t wait until you find God, because a year later this is where you are: second semester of college and still anxious. However, anxiety no longer defines you, God does. You are not the anxious girl; you are a woman with occasional anxiety."

The only thing I would go back and change would be to obtain better studying habits than I have. Because high school was pretty easy for me I got all the partying and everything out of my system, so now that I'm in college and my time is really important in order to do good in school, so now I'm very focused on school instead of goofing of like a lot college of college freshman are starting to experience. I now realize how vital college is for my future and I'm actually happy that things went the way they did. However, I wish that I had learned to study better because there is A LOT more work involved on your own time and sitting down and studying isn't an easy accomplishment for me.

If I could go back to my 17 year old self, I would first tell her to stop stressing out about college, everything wil be fine. I would tell her not to room with her best friend from eighth grade because it will prevent her from making new, closer friends. I would tell her not to worry about drinking, you really don't have to do it if you don't want to and there are many other people who don't want to. Break up with your boyfriend, would be the next sentence out of my mouth. Long distance relationships or ones that aren't going so well, will wreak havoc on your grades. Next, I would tell her to try not to call home everyday and to hangout with her siblings as much as possible, because she will miss them and from here on out, she'll be lucky to see them twice a year. I would tell her to try to eat right, work out, and study hard, but mostly I would tell her to relax, smile, and have fun.

Dear Stephanie, I would like to share some wisdom with you that I wish I would have known when I was applying to schools as a senior in High School. You haven’t been to college, you think you know what you’re looking for, but you don’t. Your parents aren’t much help because you’re the one choosing, so make sure you really think through what you want out of life. Choose a school that has a lot of options for studying, because you may change your mind and the school you’re at might not have what you need. Make sure you choose a school that your parents won’t yell at you for being too expensive later on. Work your but off and save your money so when you need to use your savings to pay off your loans there will be enough to pay. Before you get to school look into what kinds of transportation they have to town. Ask random students what they think of the school, not the ones who look fake friendly and ask you if you need help. I hope you're happy with what you choose! Love Stephanie

If I was to go back in time and tell myself as a high school senior some advice about the transition between high school and college, I would first and formost tell myself to find the right group of friends with the same intrests that I have. I feel it is important to have a base group of friends that has the same ethics and beliefs as yourself. Having those friends will keep you true to yourself and will keep you from becoming a different person. Staying strong in who you are is something that everyone should appreciate. Trying to change or become someone else just to fit in will not make you happy in the long run; being yourself, and having the right friend base is what will help both insure a successful transition between high school and college, and make your college career enjoyable and let you make the best memories.

If I were able to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would provide all the advice I never had. When I was a senior, I was confused, frustrated, overwhelmed and not even sure what to do. I had alot of information about colleges and options I had, but I felt there was too much information to even be able to comprehend what the best option was for me. I decided to take time off and work. During that time off, I met my significant other and started a family. Once my first daughter was born, I felt I had to do something. School is so much more difficult when you have a family to care for and a full time job to keep up with. It is so hard to afford school and the things my family needs, but without school, I am unable to find a decent job that I enjoy. Currently I work night shift and go to school before work then take care of my family. Often times going days without sleep. I would tell my young self to just keep going and never quit. Persistence is key!

If I could return to the past I would try to convince myself to look at all the options that are available to students and the importance of my GPA. I was unsure of what I wanted my major to be, where I wanted to go to college or what to do while going to college. I would suggest to myself to begin this inquiry while in high school knowing that my academic career would be much more enriched with direction, motivation, scholarships and financial aid, internships, and volunteer opportunities. Also I would stress the importance of maintaining a high GPA from the beginning of my academic career. Many students aren’t aware of all these opportunities that that could assist with your future goals and often don’t take advantage of them because of the lack of knowledge. If students do take advantage we tend to do it late in our academic career. I would outline all of the benefits that college as to offer and explain the tremendous impact it has on my life. I would strongly stress the importance of maintaining a near perfect GPA as the other activities would mean nothing if you GPA suffers.

My advice to my self would be to stay focus and stay possitive because during the transition to college many things change such as Friends, study habits and dependance on your parents. You begin to have a sense of what is to come in the real world( work force)

I would have told myself that procrastination is rather difficult while in college. It can be easy, as a senior in high school, to fall into the trap of being top dog and knowing how close you are to the end and just let some things slide. College is not as horrifying as some would have you believe. You always hear about those 10-15 page papers but they don't just thrust you into that kind of writing. They will ease you into writing and most colleges will have a writing center which will assist you in writing these papers. I would also tell my senior self to not try and be so busy while in college. Try and get to know the people who are around you, whether they be freshman or upper class. The upperclassmen are not as bad as some would have you think. In a nutshell, I'd tell myself to cut the procrastination and do whatever work necessary so it is completed, make a little more downtime for yourself at college and get to know those around you better so to build those healthy relationships necessary to have a happy social life.