Kalamazoo Valley Community College Top Questions

John, I know that you think that you have the next few years planned out because you are enlisted in the military, but it does not hurt to go to those workshops on financial aid and applying to colleges anyway. There are deadlines for just about everything, and various different processes you have to go through in order to to ensure that you can afford school and get into the one you want to get in to. Also, don't start to slack just because you're a part of the good old U.S.M.C. You are not a Marine yet, and even if you were your homework would still be important. As a senior in high school your grades are very important. This is your last chance to improve your GPA so that you can go to a good school. Take time every night and do your homework. Open a book and read it. Reading and writing a page a night will take ten minutes, if that, and you'll have your assignments done in less than a week.. Your teachers are there to help you. They don't get paid to fail you--use them!

I would tell myself that it is okay not to know what you want to do, but to still go to college to at least complete general education requirements and as much math as possible- while it is still fresh in my head! I would encourage myself to do job shadowing and find a job and/or volunteer in the medical field so I could figure out what career would best suit me. I would also assure myself it is okay to take a break from school, but strongly advise that it be short term, and to continue to go to school full time, rather than dragging out schooling by taking one class at a time. Most importantly, I would counsel against student loans and to pay for college by working and scholarships and to NEVER borrow money, not even have a credit card! Lastly, I would tell myself it is okay to fail, but to get back up and do it 100 times better, because YOU can!

If I were to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would probably say "Do not give up now. Just because the end is near does not mean it is not important." I believe that a vast majorty of seniors suffer from a coined term that is called "senioritis". What happens is that seniors just lose sight of the importance of their last year of high school and do not really push themselves like they normally would if they were in any other grade. What they do not realize is that your senior year gets you prepared for the upcoming transition into college. The transition between high school and college is one of the most significant transitions in a young person's life and should be treated as such. It is not something one should just blow off, or lose sight of. I believe that it is important for parents or guardians to be supportive and help their students not lose sight of what is to come. Seniors should realize that their last year is one of the most important years in their high school career regarding the transition to college.

If I could go back in time and give advice to the high school senior version of myself regarding the transition to college, I would tell myself to learn to take control. College is the first step into the real world. College students learn about more than academic subjects; they also learn about life as an adult. Prior to college, young people constantly have adults steering them towards their goals. However, once in college, students must keep themselves on the road to achievement. For the first time in their lives, college students need to get themselves out of bed and into the classroom with no aid from their parents. Students are held to higher standards in college and are accountable for assignment deadlines. Much as an employer has expectations, college instuctors do as well. Many college students must also live independently for the first time; therefore, they must work. Balancing work, school, and a social life is key to success in college. As adults, we all must balance responsibilites, and college life is excellent practice. Young people learn to take control of their adult lives during their college years. Learning control may be the most valuable lesson of all.

The advice I would give somebody else is to, do your best. Never give up, and work really hard in school, because you never know what could happen. Do not goof around or play around in high school, make sure you are doing your work,and you are doing your best. Give 100 percent in everything you do, and it will certainly pay off, and you will see results. I goofed around in high school and I was not able to do my best, but I can encourage someone else, and tell them to do their best, because I know the consequences of not doing your best. As long as you work hard in high school,and you are a good student it will pay off.

I would tell myself to not be so nervous about starting college because it's not nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be. I would also suggest to myself about starting off at a university because I feel as though that would have been a better fit for me.

Jackie, please don't worry about who your friends are now, what you look like, or where the party is at this weekend. I know you think that you are smart enough and don't need to study to pass, but what you are doing now is all irrelevent. You are a bright girl and trust me your beliefs and values will change dramatically within the next few years. You will regret not taking the time to focus on yourself both academically and emotionally. Start thinking about the future now, take more college classes instead of partying. You need to start thinking about colleges, scholarships, and your future because you can't afford it on your own. Go back to the study habits we had when we were younger, it may be time consuming now but it will be better later. procrastination will only lead to long sleepless nights and a vague understanding of each class. Most importantly though, Jackie, please don't give up on your dreams, don't lose sight of who you are, or what you believe in, and always be confident in yourself. Remember this, "freedom is the ability to fly when never leaving the ground."

I would tell myself to concentrate more on school, to work harder at band and learning my instrument and becoming the best possible i can be. I also would of told myself to take another math class to continue on and help prepare more for the future. I would of liked to look into more colleges, but knowing my GPA was so low it was difficult to get into a 4 year university. I would tell myself to continue with the community college idea to save money but also look into scholarships to help with costs my freshman year of college.

I would tell myself many things, but a lot of those would be pointless. I think the most important things in life are those learned from your experiences. It's important to let yourself mess up once in a while, otherwise you have nothing to learn from. If you do everything perfect , you have nothing to improve upon and that makes life pretty boring. I was a terrible student in high school, in fact I was a class short at the end of my senior year and had to continue throughout the summer and didn't graduate on time with the rest of my class. While this was a huge mistake on my part, it's important to note that now, my education is the most important thing to me. I maintain a 4.0 GPA now, I was lucky if I had a 2.0 my senior year. I truly appreciate what I have now and value the things around me, if I could go back in time, I would encourage myself to at least graduate on time, but I would never take away the experiences that made me who I am today.

If I could go back, I would tell myself to work as hard as I could in school. I would tell myself that education is everything. Simple as that.