Covenant College Top Questions

My world view has been greatly changed while at Covenant College. I have a much greater appreciation for those who are different from me and I credit that to the college. I have gotten a lot of great friends from my college experience and some of them I know will be life-long friends. I am also excited at how much work experience and hands on learning I have been able to do. The learning environment at Covenant is very nurturing towards students and if you have the desire to learn you will learn a lot. The possibilities are really endless because of the vast knowledge of the faculty and staff and the many resources that are available to students. I have really matured into an adult here in a safe environment where being different is embraced.

I have learned so much. I have realised that I have great academic potential, and discipline. But, I have most importantly learned that I can do nothing without God's help.

In Highschool I had an excellent GPA. I worked extremely hard and can only remember 2 semesters of a class where I didnt get an A. I think I can admit now that I was overly obsessed with academic excellence. My first year of college I had a heavy course, 2 lab sciences, volleyball team, and 20 hours of work study per week. I had several extracurricular activities in highschool too, so I expected to ace my way throught college classes in much the same way that i did with Higschool. My first semester in college came and went and my GPA was not quite up to my usual par. I was sorely dissapointed with myself. I felt like a failure. If I were starting college again, I would tell myself not to take anything for granted. One should have no expectations going into college, because it is completely different than Highschool. If you are a superstar in Highschool, that doesn't automatically give you an advantage in college. Remember the primary purpose of college is to GET AN EDUCATION. Everything else is secondary. Also, you really just have to try your honest best. Dont have unrealistic expecations of yourself.

If I were to go back and talk to myself as a senior I would tell myself that I should place more of an emphasis on the relationships that I am building. I would tell myself that I should really invest in other people's lives and not be scared to show the real me to other people. The broken and hurting me is not something that I need to hide, but something that I need to be willing to share and grow with others. I would tell myself that I should make sure to work hard in all aspects of life and that everything I do matters in the long run and that I should not weigh my decisions lightly. Every choice that I make will affect other people.

Congratulations. You survived high school and graduated. You earned enviable grades and SAT scores, won several speech and debate trophies, built a resume of extracurricular and community activities that would make any guidance counselor proud, and received the most prestigious leadership scholarship your school offers. You think you are smart and accomplished and you are not completely wrong. However, what you need to know before starting college is that although everything you have done up to this day has prepared you to enter college, a long road lies ahead. You will need your enthusiasm, diligence, work ethic, and endurance now more than ever. Be careful not become complacent. If you think you are intelligent enough to coast through college, you are mistaken. If you close your eyes to the opportunities available to you, you will miss out. If you shut out feelings of vulnerability and insufficiency, you will miss valuable lessons. Open your mind to the thoughts, ideas, and passions of those wiser than yourself. Open your heart to love unconditionally. Leave your pride at the door, hold your dreams with an open fist, work diligently without grumbling or complaining, serve humbly, listen thoughtfully, and always love.

Be open to change. Be thrilled about college and relationships. Step out of your comfort zone and embrace all the changes that come to you.

I would discipline myself more academically.

Growing up, I was a very private person with my emotions. With only brothers, you learn that showing emotion can result in extreme teasing. If I could go back and share one piece of advice, I would advise myself to be more open with the people I loved before I left them. I should have told more people how they influenced my life greatly, but I did not because of the fear of being too transparent. In college, I have learned that showing feelings to people you love is important and being open with people is a way to make friendships sweeter. Now that I am returning home for vacation, I have lost the opportunity to share my appreciation to many people who influenced me. I have tried to tell people what I should have told them as a senior in high school, but it is not the same. Senior year was an optimal time to tell people why you value their inspiration for life. I wish that I had opened up to friends and let them see how I really felt. They were not my cruel teasing brothers; they were people who really loved me.

As someone with college experience, I would like to give you some advice for the transition to college. First of all, don't be nervous. Everyone is nervous about meeting new people and fitting in, so there is no need to stress about it. Secondly, set some goals for yourself before arriving at college. Make a commitment to yourself to work out three days a week, and to achieve a 3.50 GPA or higher. It is easy to neglect important things if you haven't set a specific goal for yourself beforehand. Another piece of advice is to not procrastinate. This may seem like old news, but the sooner you get your homework done, the more time you will have to socialize and relax, and the down time will actually boost your performance. Perhaps one of the most important pieces of advice I could give you would be to make friends as soon as possible. I was so busy with sports for the first few months of my college career that I didn't have time to develop strong friendships, and I later regretted not forging a strong group of friends to rely on.

I would tell myself that homework doesn't need to be perfectly done, it just needs to be done. I would also tell myself not to be frustrated by my work-study job, mentioning that, though I found it to be exasperating at first, I now enjoy it.