Minnesota State University-Mankato Top Questions

I have attended Mississsippi Gulf Community College for two years. I have learned the social culture of the school, the college environment, and the disciplinary study habits. I am glad that I am currently enrolled because my life has changed in a positive way. Not only I feel for first time that I am able to complete college courses like everybody else, but I also beleive that I can contribute in society and help the Hispanic community in the future. I am really interested in continuing my education so I can share my language skills and knowledge of the Spanish culture with anyone who might need me.

I have gotten hands on experiance that i need in the field i am goin to school for. It is valuable for me to go to school so my son can see that continuing your education is very importent. He will see that i have done it and so can he when he gets to that point in life.

I have learned a lot so far from college, both academically and non-academically. For example when i first started classes here I had no idea how loans worked, where I could find them, and what I needed to obtain them. I learned this really quick even before classes started. Knowing how to do financial things like take out loans is not only going to help me here at college but in the future when I'm buying a house or a car. Academically my brain has been tipped sideways and upside down, I have been given a new perspective on almost everything I know. College has drastically changed my views on religion, economics, the media, and climate change. I feel like I have a voice now, that I know enough about things that I can talk about them and make my opinion heard. I suppose the most important thing I've realized is that I have a voice and just one person's voice does make a big difference.

It was easy to join, they helped out out a lot. Everything is online for me so it works out for me cause I have a daughter so I'm a stay at home mother while my husband is off at work. We may not be able to afford what we have right now but at least we're happy.

I am now earning a second master's degree, because I have changed career directions, and love to learn. So I have some experience in the classroom. I have also been on the other side of the podium, teaching as an adjunct professor. College is much more than earning a piece of paper. It is time for young adults to break away from the family nest, get out of their comfort zone, and become mature, successful, and contributing individuals within society. Students learn responsibility, accountability, dedication, and how to balance life?s task along with its unexpected curve balls. College is a time when young adults look at the image in the mirror in front of them and have to answer, ?Who am I? What will I become? Now, how do I get there??

The best things I have gotten out of my experience would have to be the preperation it takes to be here. Not just my college by all colleges in general. Being in my first class made me realize that this is not just your post-secondary education, this is your future life you are planning for. Every step is crucial if you want to graduate in a timely fashion, and the time and money cannot be used for just screwing around. So definitely, my college experience has helped me mature a little more, and at the same time realize colleges true importance and place in the world.

Be prepared for classes to be taught differently. Tests and/or quizzes are weighted much heavier in college compared to high school. In high school you could get by by doing well on homework assignments and decent on tests. This is not at all the case in college, so I would tell myself to keep up with the information and study frequently. I've learned that it is much easier and I do much better when I go over the information I've already learned in the class almost daily instead of studying a couple days before a test.

I would tell myself to stop worrying about fitting in with aquaintances, and focus on my studies. I would tell myself that after graduation the other students wouldn't be concerned with me and I wouldn't need to them to be successful in life, but that I would need college and a degree. I would make sure that I understood the importance of education, and push myself to try harder. I would tell myself to seperate my home life from my school life, and leave the stress at the door. I would make sure that I pushed myself harder to find the resources I needed to fulfill my college dream. I would make myself see how much I would regret not doing the things that I needed to do, and doing the things I wanted to do. I wouldn't allow myself to be lazy on my homework, or have the need to stress on exams.

The biggest thing I would beg myself to do it to stop procrastinating. It has been my biggest vice through out college and it was pretty bad during High School also. I know I would be doing so much better academically if I were to stop procrastinating so often.

If I were able to go back in time the first thing I would tell myself is: don?t be afraid to be different. In my high school graduating class there were roughly 38 people so it was pretty hard to break out of the traditional mold. When I chose to come to Minnesota State University Mankato I was breaking that mold because I was going to college 6 ? hours away from home and going alone. I was truly starting a completely different chapter in my life with no one from my hometown coming with me. I would tell myself that it is ok to be scared of moving away and it will be hard at first but never forget the place you came from and the people that love you there. I would tell myself to never give up on my dreams and don?t listen to those people who may not believe that I can do it. I am the one in charge of my future, not them! I would also tell myself to seize every opportunity that college throws my way and don?t be scared to go out on a limb and try something different.