Grace College and Theological Seminary Top Questions

Dear Myself, First of all, do not be so scared. College life, although hard, is seemingly the best choice you could ever make after completing high school. Even though you do not know what you want to study in college that does not mean that you will not need further schooling for the profession you want, so go, the right area of study will find you. When looking at colleges to apply for, dig deeply into their opportunities for careers post graduation. While on the path toward college look for as many scholarships as you can, and complete them early. If you are able to apply, do it, do not waste the opportunity. There are always so many different ways to become distracted while at school, so stay focused on your degree, since that is why you are going to school, and not as much on the social life. This truly is your first opportunity to discover what your place is in this world, trust in your abilities, pursue your passions, and always strive for the best you have to offer others.

1. *The greatest advice I would give myself as a high school senior is listen to the teachers that have advice about college. They really know what they are talking about, they have done it before. 2. Be strong in who you are. People will love you for that! College is the time when you will learn the most about yourself; stand strong for what you believe but also listen with an open ear when people challenge you. What they have to say may really make you think. 3. Try hard...you may surprise yourself! :) When you are in college you are finally studying what you want to study. Be open to changing the way you learn and work hard at it. 4. Don't room with your best friends. They stay best friends when they are down the hall. When you get tired of your roommate you can go to your friends, when you are tired of your friends you can go to your roommate! 5. Build lots of relationships! Not just with other students, but professors and people in the community. You may never know when you'll need them! Love your time, it doesn't last long!

A lot of college life is about finding the right balance. It is easy for me to get caught up in academics and only focused on excelling in the classroom. I often choose to spend time doing homework or studying rather than hanging out with people and developing relationships. While grades and academics are important, people are the most important thing. It is all about the relationships I will build here. I will not remember the grade I received in a course, but the friends I make now could last for the rest of my life. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to not be so academically driven and to devote more of my time to the people around me.

It's important to make friends--school and work are important things, but friendship is the most important part of life. You need to take care to not get so caught up with those things that you neglect people. That doesn't mean that you should neglect your work--college isn't as easy as high school was. You actually have to study and apply yourself to work. The profs assignwork that actually can take a while to complete, and they expect you to complete your assignments well. Basically, you just need to be careful to make sure that even while you are being a "good student," you are also beign a good friend. College can be alot of fun if you let it be, but it's also a lot of work. It's scary, but SO worth it!

Angie, you NEED to apply for more scholarships, and budget more wisely for the future. People aren't joking about "poor college students!" You are poor, and you need to be more conscientious about addressing that. Also, don't doubt yourself. Do what you want to do, and don't change your mind or think that you are wrong about what you've decided.

I would tell myself that it is going to be a tough journey ahead but you will make it. God will provide for you every step of the way. It will take time to get used to the adjustment of being away from home. Be ready to accept challenges from God that you never expected, he will stretch your faith beyond its limits! Satan will come after you in the big bad world, and he will try to tempt you to do things you never thought you would do. You must keep your faith strong so he doesn't succeed, it will be tough at times. You will feel like the whole world is gaining up on you and that everyone is against doing the right thing, but God always provides a way out of every tempting situation.

To stay focused on completing school and not graduating early.

To find the right college, figure out what is truly important to you. For me, academic excellence, variety of majors, beliefs in line with my own, a good community, and scholarship money were most important. I visited as many schools as I possibly could and spent the night in the dorm/on campus apartments to really get a good idea of what the students and campus was like. Also, start your search early. I started in my junior year of high school and found that that was about the right amount of time to find the exact school I was looking for without feeling rushed to make a decision. Also, if you apply early enough, most schools will waive the application fee. It also gives you time to audition or compete for scholarships from the school.

Make sure that the college you chose is somplace that you will ba happy with for 4 years of your life. Make sure that it is also a place where you are chalenged to learn and chalenged to preform at your fullest potential.

My advice to parents is to visit colleges early in high school with your student and use a variety of sources to shop around, including magazines, the internet, and word of mouth. Even if you happen to see a college age student in the grocery store sporting their establishment's T-shirt, talk to them about the school! Don't go on special visit/VIP days, go for your own private tour and make sure your child stays overnight in the dorm with a student host. Eat in the dining hall with your son or daughter and try to sit in on a class in the field that he or she would like to study as well. Try to strike up a conversation with the professor afterwards, his willingness to chat may also serve as a meter to his availability to students. Drive around the town or city where the college is located as well, remember: that could be where your son or daughter is hanging out on the weekends.