McKendree University Top Questions

I would tell them to not procrastinate! I applied to schools pretty early on, but I did not decide which one I wanted to attend too until later on my senior year. Also I would tell them that even though community college may not be the "college experience" everyone brags about, it is a good way to save some money for when you are ready to transfer to a bigger university. I went to a community college, and now I am transferring and it saved me a ton of money. I have also changed my major quite a few times so I would tell myself that even though I think I have it all planned out, I may change my mind completely and that is ok as long as I have something else in mind.

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior I would tell myself to show my parents that I love them unconditionally. I attend a college that is eight hours away from my family. Neither my parents nor myself have the financial means to make the same number of visits home that the average student makes. The biggest lesson that I have learned from this distance was that my parents gave me the world and many skills to navigate life effectively. As a high school senior I often took for granted everything that my parents taught me. They showed me through example how to have a strong work ethic, be kind, and stay close to God. While that is a menial stratch on the surface of the list of things my parents have taught me, those are three traits that have helped me be so successful my first semester of college. If given the chance, I would tell myself to help my parents out around the house more, give more hugs, and tell them just how much I appreciate the effort they put in to raise me.

College is a time to find yourself, develope yourself, and make your mark in life. The minute you step on campus is the time you need to start taking advantage of all the opportunities that your school has to offer. High school friends will be hard to leave, but you need to make new friends as those friends will be your family and friends for the next four years. Don't be afraid to try anything. In fact, try everything even if you don't think you will like it. Learn to speak up, ask questions, and be active in the classroom, socially, and in your extra curricular activities. You will learn just as much outside of the classroom as you do inside the classroom. It is imperative that you are active socially, physcially, and mentally. The next four years you will discover who you are and what you want. The sky is your limit, and you will determine your destiny.

If I could go back in time and talk to my high school senior self I would tell myself to take a deep breath and take good notes. Relaxing and taking a deep breath is something that people often forget or take for granted, and with a deep breath calm and rational thought can take over. It helps relax the brain and will allow you to maximize your opportunities to make friends and succeed in the classroom. Throughout high school taking notes has not been a top priority and moving on to college those become more and more important. The ability to take proper notes doesn't just look good in a notebook , it will help you succeed on assignments, tests, and classes in general. It may seem easy or cool to just sit in class and not do anything, but in 5 years when you are looking to go back to school for your MBA every grade matters. While it may seem far away and feel like there is time to fix the problem and while there is time to make some of those corrections, it is much easier to work hard and succeed from the beginning.

I am going to begin to advise you, Shae Bullard, by letting you know start searching day one of your senior year of high school by looking at all the options of education. Ask yourself why you want to go to these universities; what is so much better about these than the rest. Since you have school until three o'clock in the afternoon, you have plenty of time to devote to your community. Give your work ability to the elderly who still live in their own house; go to the local nursing home and be kind and give some attention to elderlies there. If you are having a hard time deciding what area you want to have a career in begin contacting local businesses for job shadowing that are related to the field; maybe try a few other careers outside of your interesterested area, because you will never know if you like something better until you view their daily routine. Do research on the side by reading books, articles, or magazine in your interested career. It is always good to ask other people's opinions, but remember to chose the best path for you.

If I could go back and talk to myself as a senior, I would make sure I mentioned the importance of being who you are and doing exactly what you want to be doing. These two ideas are what truly makes your college experience the best it can be. If I would have followed all my true desires in high school, I would have grown more as an individual. High school comes with a lot of stereotypes and judging by those around you, and once you are able to break away from the need to fit in, life becomes more interesting with all your true passions. I wish I would have realized this at the beginning of senior year because I could have discovered much more of my abilities and passions before making the huge decision of college and majors. Although I did follow my heart, it wasn't until later in the year where I did everything for myself without thinking of what others would think of my choices. This advice to be your true self is the most important thing I would need to know, just as everyone else should.

First of all, your roommate is going to annoy you so make some other friends who will hang out with you. Class is going to be scary but don't worry, none of the other students know what they're doing either. Make sure you do all your projects early and when assigned because if not, you're going to pull your first all nighter the same night of an important presentation. You don't need to get all your stuff at once. Also, by the way, yes you end up getting a roommate. It's a love-hate relationship but you love her more than not so don't get nervous about it. Make sure to pick up some snacks before you move in because the hours to the dining hall are really weird and you end up missing lunch and dinner like four times in the first week at school. Write down the hours because you still end up doing this by the end of your first semester. And most of all, don't be so worried about college. You meet some pretty cool people and learn a lot of interesting things.

If I could talk to myself as a high school senior again, I would stress the importance of saving money and managing my time better. I would explain how it will be much easier to get through the first year of college without having to work a part time job and a work study job. Social time is important, as is, spending money, and managing those two in addition to completing college level school work could have been planned out a little bit better. I would also stress the importance of applying for scholarships prior to graduating high school to assist in alleviating the financial strain that is felt once enrolled.

If I could travel back in time and give myself the actual truth about college, I think I would have done a lot of things different. I was expecting that I was going to be stepping into a controlled environment. I did not expect to be stepping into an open range all responsibilities are on you type of environment. Personally I would have told myself that you need to buckle down and be more focused to your school work and listening in class. Throughout my whole life, I knew that I wanted to be a veterinarian because my dream is to be working with animals. So I was taking extra classes such as biology, and anatomy to better my applications for colleges. And help me stick out. I also participated in girl’s soccer for two years, and photographed the team for one year. Now I know what college is really like I am glad I decided not to do any sports because I did not want to distract myself from following my dreams. So at the end of the day by being in college, I learned that I need to take my future in my own hands.

College is going to be okay. You don’t have to be so firm on yourself to get there. Being in college is not what you suspect it to be. Being in college makes you gain a sense of independence for yourself and will help you be more aware of being on your own like in the real world. You have to be able to manage your time intelligently because, if not, you won’t be able to better prepare yourself for the future. You have a lot of potential, motivation, and determination. You apply yourself very well, you work very hard, and you push yourself to do things beyond what is expected of you. Having these three things in life will get you far, but once you apply yourself to be better, and work a lot harder, you will go a lot further in life. As you go on through senior year, listen carefully and learn from past mistakes you made throughout the last few years. Don’t let anyone tell you “You can’t.” If anyone tells you “You can’t,” prove to them otherwise. You will be successful. Keep being yourself. Good luck throughout your senior year.