Florida Atlantic University Top Questions

What should every freshman at Florida Atlantic University know before they start?

Lester

In a sentence: Live your authentic life! You have finally moved away from home and the religious fundamentalism that you were raised with is six hours away. Meet new and interesting people rather than stick with the "safe" crowd at church, and above all, come out of the closet while you have the chance! You did not choose to be gay, and there is nothing wrong with you. While you are looking for your authentic life, choose an authentic career while you are at it. Forget what your parents wanted you to do, and forget what the "noble" careers are that your church embraces. TAKE LIBERAL ARTS COURSES! Nothing will prepare to live a complete life like a philosophy, sociology, or anthropology course, so take them in your first semester. Take a course that is diametrically opposed to your belief system just to challenge it and see if it can withstand a good debate. If it collapses, then it is a good thing you got rid of early. If it withstands the pressure, you will be able to rely upon that for the rest of your life.

Amanda

My words would be simple and direct. Plan ahead. Transitioning from high school to college is an adult process. You grow up quickly and immediately need to make adult decisions. The decisions made at the high school level most likely will play a major role in a life long career. Ask questions, utilize the advice of your advisors, parents, and teachers. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, but ensure you learn from that mistake. Be flexible and willing to change. Keep one goal in mind, but be flexible in how you acheive that goal. Make decisions from your heart, think clearly about what choices best suit you. To perform successfully throughout your career, you need to love that career. And lastly, after gathering all of your information and listening to all of the advice thank those close to you who have given their endless support.

Catherine

Hmm...if I was able to go back to my High School Senior year I would give myself loads of advice and preparation steps for my college transition. If I was a senior again I might've said something to myself like "Do more extracurricular activities!" or "YOU HAVE TO GET STRAIGHT A's!" If I have a chance to go back to my senior year with the knowledge I know now I would most likely be more successfull. I would tell myself to not go out with friends as much because I'd need to pay attention to my homework assignments and study material discussed in my classes. By saying no to going out with friends I could've gotten into a better school than Palm Beach State. If I were to have that opportunity again I would sieze the moment and buckle down on my time management skills. Time for school, work, friends and family. I would have prioritized better for maximum success.

Jessica

I would tell my self to save every penny. When a graduated the economy was fine. Now im living paycheck to paycheck and trying to go to college. I would tell myself not to settle for fau like my parents oushed me to do. Go to pbcc and then go to ucf like I planned. Also I would save myself a lot of wasted time and money and tell me that i don't want to teach math, buit what I really want is to teach third grade.

Binh

If I could go back in time and find myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to apply for classes early and choose more comfortable hours. I would tell myself to check all the classes and spend more with the guidance counselor and on the wonderful website 'RateMyProfessor.net.' I would also tell myself to apply for as many scholarships as possible, because they are the greatest thing ever to your education. I would also tell myself not to get morning classes, since they are very annoying and that classes are very easy to miss. Applying for comfortable hours means not to get classes too early in the morning and not to late. Get classes that don't interfere with other schools hours. Sometimes you lose time waiting behind elementary, middle, and high school buses. I would also tell myself to look for clubs and ask about what each club contains before considering to join. College can be stressful, but if your organized and plan everything accordingly and ahead of time, it will be a breeze.

Nattalie

Growing up I had always dreamed of one day becoming a famous singer like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Celine Dion. Education never really seemed to play a significant role in my life until about my freshman year in high school. I lived in and out of foster homes and was under the care relatives. When i finally settled down i was able to discover that there was more to life than I had known before. The idea of college was sort of enforced in the hose hold in which i resided. Tranistioning into college was not hard, it was rather strange. Being in another new environment for me was different and took some getting used to. After settling down I came to find that it is more than just attending class every day. College is about self motivation, assertion, comprehesion, hard work, and determination. Knowing what I do now I would have like to have set an actual career goal for myself , being an undecided student really affects you as a student and as an individual. I wish that i would have been more decisive and actually took heed to advice given to me as a teen.

Racquel

If I had the opportunity to go back in time and coach myself as a high school senior, there would be so much to say. First of all, I know I would have told myself to pressure my parents about living on campus my freshman year, because it is so active and there are so many more possibilities socially and educationally when you are involved and are experiencing the true college life. I would also prep myself for the work load that is to come, and teach myself that procrastinating is definately not the answer. Another piece of advice I would give is to stay active, and avoid that freshman 15! College life is much different than high school; nobody tells you when its lunch time. One with a busy schedule is more prone to a junk food infested, heart clogging lifestyle, and that is something I would like to avoid. Most importantly, I would advise myself to expect the worst. If I think that way, then nothing will turn out as bad as I thought, and I wouldn't get off to a bad start. Staying focused, motivated, and having your priorites in order is key to college success.

Rachel

To talk to my past self would be very interesting I think I would have told myself to study harder for my advanced placement exams so that I could get out of more classes and get closer to my major. I would tell myself that money is very important and that when dealing with large sums of money it is sometimes very hard to spend and save wisely. It is so important to know as much as you can about the colleges you are applying to and the places that surround that college. I would reassure my high school self that it is okay to not know anyone that is going to your college, sometimes it is an advantage that way you get to make yourself a new person and meet tons of great people. I would tell myself to not be afraid to join clubs and organizations on campus, most of all though I would tell myself to have fun and learn something.

Melody

I would have told myself to pick one volunteer or one on campus activity that I'm really interested in and stick with it instead of half-heartedly being in five or six organizations. On scholarship and college applications, they usually ask what your role was in that group or organization, and if you were just a body warming a seat, it's not impressive. It's better to pick one thing and really get into it and use that as your extracurricular if you're not in sports. Another thing is I would have gotten recommendation letters from teachers that I liked or who taught classes I excelled in. I've found that many scholarship applications want letters of recommendations from former professors over any other letter, so that would have given me the extra leg up I needed in some competitions. Other than that, I would have told myself that the school I picked is the right one for me and to stay ACTIVE in homework to avoid laziness. College years really are some of the best years of life.

noelle

If I could go back in time, I would advise myself to apply to more than just one school, and that going away from home is a GOOD idea. I would tell myself that college is suppose to be fun. Don't stress out senior year because you will do enough of that when college exams come around. Make lots of friends because when living on campus, they are the ones you will hang out with all of the time. Go to school events, no matter how lame they seem to be. Getting involved is a healthy way to spend free time; locking yourself up in your room is not. Do not agree to share appliances, such as a refridgerator, with assigned roommates before you meet them; it only turns out a disaster. Take extra time to fill out as many scholarship applications as possible; definitely do not get lazy about writing essays for money- every penny counts. Scout out different places and older students to buy textbooks because they are more expensive than you could possibly imagine. Finally, I'd tell myself to explore everything and definitely study abroad.