Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Top Questions

I would go back to my high school self and make sure I was mentally prepared for the amount of freedom to come. All of that freedom comes with a lot of responsibility, not that I abused my freedom, but I do miss a class now and then. I'd make sure high school me knew about the dangers of unprotected sex. While unprotected may seem like a menial thing, it's not. It's so important to take precaution.

If I could talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to learn money management early on, and learn to live within or below your means. I would also encourage myself to seek semester abroad opportunities and to generally enjoy the last year as a "kid".

Looking back at June 2010 the day I walked acrossed the stage and received my high school diploma was a huge highlight for me, but if could give myself advice for the future, it would be a plethura of things. I would have not only applied for FAFSA, but I would have informed myself on the scholarships out there willing to help students like me further themselves through eduation. I would have been a little more proactive when it came to scholarship searches as well as entering college I would have applied for the First Generation Scholarship and I emphasis heavily on scholarships because of the finacial hardship that I am faced with now. I would tell myself to tread lightly, buckle down a little more and realize that financial aid will not always be available and when it becomes unavailable is the hardest thing to deal with because now your education is at risk and quite frankly you are a very bright young lady and you have grown so much despite the adversity you have managed to keep a smile one and make school a top requirement but just a few extra steps would've helped.

To Sajsha, Get ready get ready get ready! I want to you know that college WILL be the best years of your life. You've been through some rough times, but that is life my dear. Know that life will hit you hard and wait for you to get back up only to kick you in the stomach, but that should be all the more reason to just say "thank you." Although there will be times when the people you are trying to save are the very ones that are stepping on your cape, never stop flying. Life will whisper "give up," but never stop trying. Don't let the worries of the world make you a hard girl. Not everyone will agree with you, but you must lear the "art of compromise." Stay kind. Stay polite. Love your enemies; they need you the most. Have fun, but remember : " Be sure when you step, step with great care and great tact ad remember that life's a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft, and never mix up your right foot with your left." ( "Oh, the places you'll go by Dr Seuss) Sincerely, Sajsha

Dear Chandy, Being an older you, I would like to offer a few suggestions that might help maximize the highs and lows that you are about to face in life. First, be proud of yourself and your accomplishments by not being a tumbleweed in life. You have a purpose and all that is needed to achieve it. Being multi-gifted, think about what makes you the most fulfilled and translate that into streams of income. If you start today, we will reap tomorrow. Forgive yourself and release all lingering hurt from our parent’s divorce, leaving New Jersey and take the doctor's warning to lead a healthier life. The goal is to live life on purpose with purpose. Stay grounded in your faith. Let these three things propel you: 1. Speak positive words by guarding our mind from all negativity and encourage yourself when no one else will. 2. Fear and doubt are mind killers…they have no place. 3. You are a victor. You win even when you fail because you decided to show up and give it your very best. Keep God first and shoot for the stars. Depending on you, Chandy

Advice to my high school self about college once seemed like a fairy tale...a dream. However, I experienced a rude awakening…REALITY. When reality hit me, it was difficult to recover. The advice in which I would give to myself now is to take everything serious. When you attend college whether it is near your home where you still have the security of mom and dad or away from home were you become independent, always take it serious. What I found was a new freedom and I abused it. I did not plan for success. But, I found out that you MUST take everything serious and do your best the first time. I was a procrastinator. I did assignments and projects on the night before or the day in which it was due. I actually was only doing just enough to get by. Well, doing that caused by grades to suffer. I was always an A-B student so anything less than that was not acceptable to my parents or to me. Finally, looking back, I can truly say that in order to successfully make that transition from high school to college, you must always take everything serious.

The advice I would give myself when I was a high school senior is, to get ready for a whole other world beyond high school. After high school you become responsibile for yourself. When you go away to college you have to basically live on your own and take care of yourself. In high school you come home to your parents but in college your parents are not there to clean up after you, tell you to study, or make sure you get up on time to go to class.

The most important piece of advice I can give my younger self is to relish each and every moment in college. It may seem difficult and at times even redundant but those are times and experiences that you only have once in life. Please do not approach college from the vantage point of just wanting to no longer be a student. Once you leave Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, you will ALWAYS have more to learn so leave room to grow. This is the time that you should make sure each seed that is planted is in optimum soil. Don't get so caught up in your love life that you forget yourself. Most importantly allow room for growth in every aspect of your life. Take advantage of each and every relationship from the advisors to your peers because each person that is put in your path is there to help you become a better you!

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior i would probably tell myself to seriously start applying for some major scholarships because financial aid barely covers school expense especially the first year of college because the majority of colleges and universities require all freshmen to stay on campus and have a meal plan and that's where a lot of the cost of school comes from. I'll also tell myself to stay focused because college is a place for higher education but it's also a place that can stir you from your life term goals and future plans if you don't imply to yourself that your there for a reason and that reason is to get a degree. The last thing I'll tell myself is to study, study, study but to also have a little fun to balance each other out; I did that throughtout my whole entire first year of college and ended up making the dean's list my first semster. Just don't be afraid of the your new living accomadations and make sure you network because it will be key in the future.

Knowing what I know now about college life and making the transition from high school, I would travel back in time and advise myself to apply to every scholarship I can think of! College is more expensive than I thought, and if I would've taken the time out to apply to the millions of scholarships available, I wouldn't be stressed out, today, about how my education will be paid for. And on another note, what better way of getting an education, than getting it for free. Plus, the more scholarships I could've earned, the less I would have to pay back in loans. Another cue I would have hinted to myself in high school, would've been to know what career I wanted to pursue early, instead of waiting until I got to college. The earlier you know what you want to be in life, the better you can guarantee the college you choose is well known for that major, because if not you could be stuck at a college that is not benificial to your career. Additionally, knowing my career early and getting experience in high school, could of put me one step forwrd in college.