George Mason University Top Questions

If I could go back in time and talk to my high school senior self, knowing what I know now about college life, I would tell them about quite a few things. The first is how to time manage in order to succeed. One advice is to read the chapter before coming to the lecture. It is very helpful to take some notes while reading, especially if it is content that you are unfamiliar with, therefore when the professor gives the lecture it will further your understanding of what you have read. The other advice is, get to know at least one of your professors. Talk to them during their office hours. Professors are just humans with big brains, but let that intimidate you from having a casual conversation with them. If you get to know them they can be very interesting individuals, but of course do not breach the line of professionalism.

As a high school senior, I was very nervous about going away, especially since I would be living away from my parents while trying to cope with the death of my 21-year old brother. I was also curious to see if I was going to make any friends in a place I had never been before. Now being a college student, I would say to myself in the past as a high school senior that there is a lot of support that you find through friends and professors. Also, at college, there are so many activities to keep your mind off of difficult hardships that you may be coping with. As for making friends, don't make friends with people who don't like your personality. Being at a large university, you are bound to make at least one friend that will like you for who you are. The worst thing that you can ever do is sit in your dorm for long periods of time. It is just depressing, and there is so much extra around the campus and off of it. Explore the great surroundings. Overall, take college as a time to discover yourself and the world .

I would definately listen to my parents about mananging time. Managing class time, study time, free time and personal time is really challenging when you don't have someone around to continually remind you of what you need to do. I would not have relied so much on my parents to keep my schedule for me. Just keeping up with doing laundry and making time to eat healthy was over bearing. Let alone finding time to exercise, study, and hang with friends. Being a student athlete also compounds the intensity of time management. Playing sports in high school was no where as difficult as playing sports in college.

Knowing what I know now about college life, I would tell my past senior high school self to get ready for some work! In high school I slacked hard and I tried to do that in college. Needless to say, I faced a huge wake up call. I had a nervous break down under the pressure, but I had actually created this pressure for myself. It took a lot of soul searching and talks with friends and family before I was confident I could succeed in college. I did eventually succeed and I am continuing to earn the grades that will help me get accepted to medical school. Knowing this, I would tell my past self that I need to develop a good study habit, I need to get ready to put in a lot of effort, but I should always be confident of my abilities.

I would tell my self, "Learn to study more. it will pay off. Oh, and please stop the procrastination, quit your dead end job already! There is no need for extra stress. College is so much fun, you will have already met your best friend during the first week of school. Lindsey, with the amount of sleep that you'll be getting, you will be able to do everything you wanted to; just tell time where to go, or else it will run away. Last but not least, don't worry, put it in God's hands, He'll take care of you."

I would definitely tell myself to take a lot of time really considering and weighing out options. College is a big deal, it is a home for the next four years of your life and it is vital to choose the best option for you because once settled transferring can be a huge nuisance. Prioritize what you want in the school, size, location, majors, etc? there are so many factors that are to be considered it is important to leave nothing out. I would recommend going far away because total immersion is the best way to really enjoy you. Staying close to home is hard because it is so easy to just visit your friends and family, this is an important time in your life for networking and beginning a new chapter. Staying familiar is detrimental to yourself because you will be suppressed by it. Once you get there meet as many people as you can and live truly live it up. They say it?ll be the best years of your life so make it worthwhile.

I would tell myself not to rush off to school right away. Take your time, and find the school and programs that are best for you. Make sure you are ready before you jump in. There is no shame in taking some time off before heading off to college. Make some money. Find yourself. Do whatever you need to do until you find what you've been looking for. Once you are ready, organization is key. Plan out everything, from meals to tests. The efforts you put into your education will determine the rewards you receive from it.

Though everyone wishes to know the future in advance I doubt that there is much I could say to better prepare myself. The IB program that I was in during high school prepared me academically for the rigors of college, while the support of my family and the various materials from George Mason prepared me as best I could be for the social and living changes. I doubt that I could prepare for the kind of changes that college brings and that sometimes there is nothing you could say only that the best way to face this kind of challenge is to jump in head first and do the best you can.

If I were to go back in time, the advice I would give myself would be don?t hold back. Don?t let family tell you that you can?t do something, when you know you can! Don?t let the newness of having all this freedom now get to you. Study more and stick with it. You will do great, and I am proud that you have gotten this far on your own. Finally keep it up and you will get where you want in life. Good Luck!

I didn?t have a completely horrible senior year, but I was pretty miserable anyway. I knew all year why I was miserable too: I didn?t really get to enjoy it. High school seniors expect to have some time to do things that give them closure, things that let them say goodbye to the way life used to be. As a high school senior, I forced myself to work through every urge to give myself time to adjust; this is why I had hoped to give myself a little bit of a break during my first semester of college, because I wanted to be able to get a grasp on my present and future. Instead of giving myself time to adjust, I unknowingly threw myself into two two-hundred level (advanced) science classes, each with their own lab, a calculus course and corresponding recitation, a women?s studies course, and a freshman adjustment course that had a seemingly-endless number of requirements attached. If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to avoid this workload and plan a schedule with my real academic advisor.