North Central College Top Questions

I would tell myself not to stress out too much. College is not that hard, it just seems difficult to get used to functioning much more independently than before. There are lots of people to help with the transition, and things aren't nearly as strict as they seem. Being late is more okay than in high school and there is always much more time to get between classes. Homework levels are about the same as high school, and in general, college has more free time than high school. Major-related classes start to get harder than they once were, but hard work still pays off in good grades. Biology labs get much more interesting than high school labs were, and finally, people are much more accepting and less judgemental than high school people are.

Do you remember that suffocating feeling that made you pick pencil after pencil out of the box and sharpen them to obsessive perfection while choking on the fear that you might accidentally break all of your pencils and end up failing your first AP exam? College feels a lot like that for me, but I've learned it shouldn't be. Sometimes life gets frightening, and it's okay to be scared of what might happen. It is okay to be scared, especially when you go into something as daunting as moving from high school to college. I know you have been scared. But after you took that AP test and you got your score back, you did pretty good, didn't you? Even after you said that you were terrible at that subject. In the future, you might delude yourself into thinking that you can't do anything, that you're too scared, but never let yourself be trapped by that. You are more than what you think you can't do, and more than what you fear. So sharpen pencils if you need that comfort, but don't ever forget to do your best on the test.

You couldn’t have known your first university would turn out to be a bust. How could you have known your first year would be the most discouraging time of your life? As you peered into the cafeteria and observed laughing students together and living the ever romanticized college experience, you blamed yourself. You stayed on campus well past your class hours to try clubs that would never meet again or were not a fit. Don’t look down that apartment window. High school encourages four-year colleges for fear of lower matriculation rates from community colleges. You know you wouldn’t have given up in community college. Two years and four universities later, was it all worth the hype? Not at the cost of your self preservation. Knowing your student debt will be above national average is the biggest slap in the face. Yes, the Golden Gate Bridge is beautiful. This time, your teachers were wrong. Your college readiness class was wrong. It’s okay to go to community college first. Save yourself the sanity.

The advice I would give myself would be mostly about football. I do great academically and have no problems in the classroom. I would tell myself to work harder in the weightroom and on the football field. College football is a big step up from high school football and I didn't realize how much tougher it would be. You're no longer the star of the team in college, everyone is as good, if not better, than you are. I would stress lifting more as well as running more to get in shape and to get faster because college football is much more fast paced.

As a high school student, I never recognized the possibilities of a good education. High school, you still are guided by the teachers as far as making you do your assigned work. Many students still don't know what they want to study nor how they want to explore further education for their futures. Education is very important if you want to achieve your goal in life and make it in the working enviroment. My advise to myself would be, pay attention in class, study hard, never say "I can't do" or "don't understand", go and make that extra effort to get support from faculty. Achieving all good grades and having a good GPA or high ACT score, allowed me to go to a college where all that hard work in high school has been recognized and rewards have been presented to me with scholarships. I also have my parents to thank for, who have always supported me

I would tell myself that it's all going to be okay, that doing the best you can is better than nothing at all. Have confidence in yourself, love yourself more and be the absolutely amazing person that you are. I would say that there's a whole life waiting for you just past these four years of college and you'll get there, you'll make it because you are amazing and you will succeed at everything you are and want to be. Just have faith and love everyone, they're all fighting too.

Dear Lauren, Next year you will finally be going to college. First, I know you are very confused on where you should attend. There are so many different options. The perfect plan for you is to go to a commuinty college. High school has not prepared you for the university life. Plus you will get homesick. You need your family more than ever. Once you graduate, you can transfer. Second, you have worked since you were 15, so save your money! I know you enjoy socializing, but you will regret not saving. Trust me, it will help you in the long run! Third, focus on school. I know since you were a freshman you have thought you needed a boyfriend. This will distract you! Stay focused on your future! I know as you are reading this letter you are probably thinking, "blah. Yeah right." You will eventually learn this on your own, but take my advice while you have the chance! I'll be honest, growing up is hard, but you will it make it. No matter how hard life gets do not give up! You will do great in life! Stay true to yourself, Me

The college life demands much more discipline than what you experienced in high school, and in different ways. To be successful and enjoy your transition, one must organize their time in such a way that allows for school work to be completed as well as for fun to be had. The easiest way to be successful is by putting in the effort to complete the tasks that must be done first and then enjoying the sense of accomplishment afterwards. It's crucial to stay on top of all assignments and classes, so that you do not fall behind. By the same token, developing relationships and friendships is one of the most rewarding things that you can experience. Make the effort to meet people and initiate the friendliness around campus. as by way of karma it will certainly be rewarded. However, the most important thing to remember is that 20 years from now, you will not remember the stress you had over the assignment that was due, but rather the memories you made and the experiences that filled your time.

When I was a senior in high school, I was very excited to move on with my life by going to college. By graduating from a semester school and transitioning into a trimester college I knew would be something very different. If I were to go back in time as a senior at Lincoln-Way East High School in 2011, I would advise myself to work as much as possible over the summer because unfortunately, college is not always affordable. I would find a second job and work as much as I could. Besides looking at the financial need of college, I would advise myself to have as much fun as you can at college because it is four years of your life as a young adult you cannot take back. Make college a great experience for yourself and get involved.

I would tell myself to make every single mistake that I did. The only difference would be that I would change my mindset about school and about how seriously I take it. I would say, "You're going to make a huge mistake freshman year, get caught up in the moment, and be expelled. Don't change a thing. Lutheran was a fantastic experience and changed you to be who I am today. Enjoy every single moment of both schools, the class and life lessons that you learn are more important than they seem. Being at Lutheran will get you back on the right path at a time when you're still figuring out the kind of person you'll be. The mistake you need to change though, is your work ethic in school. Not so that you can get in a different school or get a better scholarship, but because you owe it to yourself to value the intelligence you were born with. You'll go 4 full years wasting your time unless you do this. You'll still have all the same experiences but the confidence and self-respect that come with working harder would be invaluable; please."