Montclair State University Top Questions

If I could give my high school self advice about college it would be to save as much money as I could. To be neat and organized, always be timely. I would advise myself to apply for as many scholarships as I could find. I would tell seventeen year old Colleen to follow your passions and go to fashion school, and to move further away from home. I would tell myself to do things that scare me, because conquering your fear is the only way to continue personal growth, both professionally and personally. I would tell my high school self to ALWAYS read books and to stay up to date with current events. My best advice to my senior self would be that nothing is as easy as it looks, always dig deep into a problem and work hard to solve it.

Take your classes wisely!

As a student who graduated number 17 in her class, I believed that my transition into college would go smoothly. However, nothing I learned in high school had prepared me for the heart wrenching dilemma I faced. While most of my fellow classmates were enjoying themselves, I was depressed. I didn’t have enough money to pay for school and was soon forced to withdraw. After reaching out to the president, I received the necessary funds to continue my first year at Montclair State University. To my senior self I say, you must learn to set your pride aside and ask for help when necessary. There is no need to be afraid of your destiny in this life and understand who you are as a young woman. You deserve to be just as happy as anybody else living on this green earth. So go out there and simply be Sophonie. Forget about trying to fit into the crowd or behave like your peers. That is not your place in life. Your place has and will always be to be different. Yes there will be trials and constant tribulations but remember always that there is nothing too hard for your God.

Stacy, I really have to tell you that you really should go to college right after high school. Don't wait two or three years for that wound up being around sixteen years. Well, all of those nights watching Law & Order put a bug in your head about law. You're taking that Legal Studies in high school right now so you got even more interested in it. Years later you finally decided to go back to college to get your Associate's Degree in Paralegal Studies. I know you're worried you will pick a subject that you won't like but you have nothing to worry about. All of your law courses are fascinating to you. Despite that you are years older than some of the students there you are getting good grades and making new friends. It's not true what they say you can teach an old dog new tricks. No offense. You really should've gone back much earlier for you had nothing to fear really except fear itself. This is really a great career field for you. The program director calls you a rockstar! So don't be afraid just go for it, girl.

Hello you, I mean me! Just some words of wisdom for the years you have to come. Find what you love, whatever really pulls you in, and don't settle for the career choice that others would like for you. In the end, you'll find that your not happy and may need to start back from square one. Maintain goals, and try to acheive them, in order to do so you must stay focused. Many things will try to blurr your vision of the dream you have ahead of you, just remember that parties and popularity are things that have no value in the future. Most of all stay active in your student cohort, your peers will have an effect on you, make positive connections, and you too will be a connection for positive things. Don't give up! There will be long papers, research, and obstacles that will challenge you, take on the challenge and you will be glad that you did. You've got lots to learn kiddo!

Don't believe what teachers say because high school did not prepare me for college. You are your own person so you must take charge of your life. Enjoy that you won't know eveybody and join as many activities as possible. Be smart about your choices and have fun. Admit to your mistakes or that you don't know what you are doing because most people won't.

Don’t let petty high school drama get to you because sooner or later you will be off to a different school and will not see those people who caused you unnecessary stress. College is a time to meet your lifelong friends and to start your future in the best way possible.Do your best in high school this way when you get to college you will already be used to pushing yourself to achieve above and beyond. Plus, if you get good grades all through high school it will be a lot easier to get into your dream schools and not have to worry about being let down.Go into your new college with an open mind. Mostly all high school students have been with the same group of people from elementary through high school; therefore, an open mind makes lets your guard down and lets you make the best of your college years!Lastly, you do not have to find a roommate you will be BFF with. Just find someone easy to live with—coming from a person with a bad first roommate experience.

I would tell myself that college is a time of self-discovery. The changes you go through are ones that you can never plan for, but you must allow them to happen because it is essential for the transformation into adulthood. The beautiful thing about leaving home and going to college is that you have all the time in the day to focus on yourself and your transformation. These key changes cannot be done as effectively unless you have the time to focus on your needs to be a successful individual. Although I never realized the difficulty of being away from the life I once knew, it taught me to never take anything for granted, while appreciating what you have in any given moment. I wish I could have told myself never to focus on the past, but on the future. As a wide-eyed freshman, sometimes you are drawn to past memories and you realize how truely different your life is now that you are in a new enviroment. You feel like a different person, but being able to remain yourself in a world that is everchanging is where your focus should be. Be yourself!

I would have to my advice to myself would have to be make sure i would have continued with it instead of backing out becaue Fasfa fell through the first time. I would have of told myself not hav waited 5 years after graduation to go back to school. I would have also told myself to stay confident and not let other people tare me down, I didnt believe in myself. If i would have known what i know now, I think college would have been a much eaiser task. But we all learn from our mistackes. Even the old me knows that, But i really want to let my younger self know, even being with that beautiful red head back then turned out to be even better because i married him and he is one reason why i have strived to continue. He has joined and we help each other understand math. College has been a great chance for me to learn who both of us turned out. I am proud of the old me and new me.

The advice I would give myself is to not of slacked off as a freshman. I regret not trying and thinking my grades the first year wouldn't matter in the future. The start of high school is when a student should become motivated to be successful and reach for he/she's dream. I wished I worked harder, and studied more because now I believe it really does pay off. Even though college is when it finally hits you, that you're a grown up you should always remember your long term goals when you start in high school. I would tell myself that I need to not procastinate like I did, because then I'll become a slacker. I need to tell myself that I'm adult and now facing the real world.