Illinois State University Top Questions

Do not let your girlfriend get in the way of your college experience. It is important to branch out and try different groups and activities.

I would tell myself to do my best effort to not get hung up on boys and stereotypes and things that will not help you out in the long run. I would tell myself to remember who I am and to not try to change for anything other than myself. Focus on schoolwork should be a main priority but going out and making new friends and having fun should have a significant role in your college experience. The new friends that you will make will be your lifeline and will be there when you are having a hard time with school or relationships or what ever it may be.

I would advise myself to join my fraternity freshman year, I would also advise myself to start focusing on my grades early on freshman year instead of second semester.

Approaching my second semester as a sophomore in college, I have boatload of advice I would give myself as a high school senior. First of all, I would tell myself to do more research on careers & majors. I thought I had done enough, but I have changed my major/minor twice, & I am still uncertain of the path my college career will lead. To give myself more time to think about this I would also tell myself to take gen eds first, when I got to college I was excited to learn about my major so I took major classes that probably should've waited. I did well in those classes, but some of them do not count towards my current major since I decided to change. I would tell myself to consider community college, it would help my parents and myself save money. That reminds me that I would've told myself to save money as soon as I applied for college or earlier. I now live off-campus and the price of rent, food and basic necessities, and books for class make me stress. To cope I have a job, but that interferes with my ability to learn.

I would tell myself that making friends, makes your freshman year of college. it is a hard transition and you cant meet new people by not getting out of your room. you have to try new things and get out of your comfort zone to be able to make friends. Your roomate, bad or good, if you have friends they will get you through all the long weeks with three exams or that eight page paper you need to finsih in three hours. the friends you make become you make shift family at school. you go home on break to go home, but you end up wanting to go back to school to see your family. with school, i would tell myself that going to class can make or break your A. so many times professors do random sign ins for extra credit, those extra points will always help. reading and doing homework, may seem tedious but it really helps when you pull out the study guide and know most of the things on it. it really does help. College is about finding a career but also to find a new family, so make friends and do good in school.

First and foremost, I would say be very open to introducing yourself and talking to new people all over campus freshman year. Everyone is in the same boat with not knowing very many people and wants to make new friends. Chances are that there at least a few people on your dorm floor that have the same interests as you. Even if they do not have the same interests they may be a good person that ultimately you could end up being friends with whether it is in a class or a club. I would look into as many social networks as possible including clubs and greek life, being involved will keep you busy and find you many friends. While it is very important to find new friends that you can build relationships with for the rest of your life you still have to focus on school. If you party hard, you have to study just as hard. As long as you keep a solid head on your shoulders you schould be able to go out whenever you want because you will have more than enough free time during the day to get your homework done. HAVE FUN!

If I could go back, I would probably tell myself to go to class more. I had an 8am class monday through friday and there were many times I chose sleep rather than class. Due to this my performance in the class suffered and my gpa will be the one that takes the hit. Going to class may be an option in college but it is also a necessity if you wish to succeed.

The best decision I made was to choose a school that was strong in my area of career interest and to NOT commit to participate in NCAA athletics.

Take your time and be aware of what makes you smile. Never go by what they say, there are no rules and it's all yours. Your future, your time, and most importantly, it is yours now. They cannot paint you black and white and put a number on you to label your passion and determination. All will be well, no worries.

Get involved in campus activities your first semester of college. Making social connections with people interested in the same things as you can open up so many doors. Also, work hard throughout your entire senior year because although you may want to slack off since it is the end of your senior year, college is tough and you will need a good work ethic. During your first year of college put yourself out there to make friends and remember that everyone else is as nervous about starting college as you are. Never sell yourself short because the syllabus for college courses always looks more intimidating that it actually turns out to be. Most importantly enjoy this time because it goes by way too quickly!