George Washington University Top Questions

If I could talk to myself as a senior, I would say to embrace change and accept that it is, and forever shall be, an essential part of the maturing process. Prepare yourself to open up to people with different cultural backgrounds and open your mind to opinions which may initially seem unfamiliar. Sometimes it feels as if you are going to buckle under the pressure of not knowing what your future will look like. Be prepared for this and learn how to cope one day at a time. Embrace your love of learning and you will realize that any challenge that comes your way is worth passionately fighting for. There will never be a time in your life where learning is more fun, more rewarding, and your brain is wired to make the most change in the world. Take off at a sprinting pace and take advantage of sunny days, quirky classes, out of class guest speakers, uncomfortable social situations, problems that you see a solution for, and friends who open their hearts and minds. Respect yourself, your values, and you are bound to succeed. Wake up each day with a smile and see life as an adventure!

Take the time to look for more scholarships and grants. It will help you so much more in the long run. Treat it like a part time job.

My dear Monica, let me start off by congratulating you on graduating from high school. In just a few short months you'll be moving from the middle of nowhere to the capitol of our country. Before you leave on your big adventure, let me pass on a little advice to you. I beg of you, do not take Chinese and Calculus 2 at the same time. You will spend countless hours and nights wondering what is wrong with you. Especially once you decide to sell your soul to the NCAA and join the crew team. 18 credits and college sports is a bad combination for your first semester at school. However, you will make it through after catching multiple colds from lack of sleep and developing a slightly unhealthy addiction to coffee. You will want to smack yourself for doing it though. Other than your stubborn refusal to believe you can't handle such a ridiculous workload, I want you to know that you are right on track with everything else and to not worry about anything. You are more than ready to be a college student. Now go get 'em!

Balance is essential in trasitioning to college. Too often I hear people tell high school seniors to join five, ten, or even fifteen clubs at the beginning of freshman year. "You'll meet a lot of peope," they often counsel. And while this may be true, one must also assess the academic impact of being involved in so many extra-curricular activities. Having just finished my first semester at GW, I can say that a substantial number of my friends fell into such a trap. They met a lot people, but only superficially, and their grades suffered because they found themselves overextended. My advice would be to do in college what you enjoyed doing in high school. If you played soccer, try out for the soccer team. If theater was your thing, audition for a production. It is by pursuing these genuine personal interests that you will meet people with whom you have a great deal in common. Minimizing the volume of your activities and maximizing your involvement in them will give you more opportunities to succeed both socially and academically.

First semester of your freshmen year in college is one of the most difficult transitions in a young person's life; yet I believe some people thrive and grow through the sudden change. The most important aspects of how to make the transition into college life the best, specifically at GW, is to become organized with your academics and to stay true to your character. Your decision for going to a more northern school in an urban environment may allow alot of frustration; yet as long as you stand tall and stay organized you will thrive.

In high school, the competitive environment of a New England prep school distorted my perspective on academic life and what is truly important in education . A less than impressive grade on a test, a critical comment made by a teacher, or even a tardy of 5 minutes would always be met with the response: "I'm not getting into college." By senior year, this threat was at its most menacing. Knowing what I know now, I would advise my former self to relax and enjoy the journey. Education is not just about grades and reports, but about lying the foundation for a worthwhile and intellectually rich life. In college, it's up to each person to get the most out of the opportunities available, even in the most unexpected arenas. The higher you go in education, the more you must be motivated by your own desire to learn. This is becomes more clear in college when you notice that nobody is taking attendance in lecture or checking to see if you did last night's homework. It rests on each students shoulders to take advantage of all that higher education has to offer.

Enjoy your college and get educated as much as you can

I would tell myself to stay focused and communicate often with your professors/advisors. I would also remind myself NOT to squander money on campus.

Go to a state school and then go to a private school for graduate school. That is the best advice I could give myself. Also, look at undergraduate options abroad.

I would say just because you don't know what you want to be or who you think you should be, doesn't mean you won't learn as you go. I started college late, after I had turned 22. I thought if I gave myself time that I would figure life out before I started school. School helps you decide though. It helps you find yourself and develope your personality, your skills and your talents. When I looked at it as a senior I was so scared of it being the big crossroads. I thought I had to know exactly where I was headed and why but I was wrong. I would tell myself to be confident in the unknown and in myself. To look forward to growing and learning, not just about a career, but about who I am capable to be. I would say to start as soon as possible because it's not just a great job I am missing out on, its strength, its confidence and its knowledge. Its a ripe world of opportunity with the person I want to be at the other end yearning to get to know who I am now.