Northern Illinois University Top Questions

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to make the most of senior year. I remember feeling like I couldn't wait to get out of high school but now I realize just how good I had it. I would tell myself to enjoy being a kid because, even though I still live with my parents now, I had to do a lot of growing up as a college freshman. I have a lot more repsonsibilities now and its definitely something that I should have prepared more for as a senior in high school.

Knowing what I know now about college life, there are a LOT of things that I would do differently. In high school, I considered myself a pretty average person; average grades, average extracurricular involvement, average social life. I attended a pretty big high school of about 4000 students so I assumed adjusting to the college campus life wouldn't be too overwhelming. Boy was I wrong! Having a roommate for the first time, sharing living space, air, and THE BATHROOM, was not something I was prepared for considering I have been an only child my entire life. The high school counselors could have no way prepared me for that. Honestly, if I had known better, the main advice I would give myself would be to start smaller, like at a two-year college. I am now back living at home taking 12 hours online with all A's which is a WAY better situation than I was in at the four-year college. I would be sure to convince myself that the four-year college "scene" isn't and doesn't have to be for everyone. On the other hand, it took this experience for me to learn about myself.

In my experience, one of the coolest superpowers to have would be a master of time (not unlike Hiro from the television series, Heroes). I wish I could go back into time and drive one point into my head as a high school senior. The main idea would be “Pick a major!” The biggest time suck in my community college career (before transfering to a four year university) was taking classes that didn’t apply to my current major. I still don’t know what I want to do with my life but I recently selected marketing because it’s interesting to me. If I would have known that I was to be marketing major, I would have saved two whole semesters of wasted electives and unnecessary pre-requisite classes. Everyone I knew told me that it was ok not to know what I wanted to do. I find that terribly misleading. Yes, one doesn’t necessarily need to know what they want to do but they surely should pick something and have a plan on how to achieve it. Otherwise you end up aimlessly taking classes and wasting valuable time, and more importantly, money.

If I could go back and talk with myself as a senior, I would tell myself not to worry as much as I did before leaving for college. Transitioning from high school to college can be a very scary and overwhelming experience. Most students dont know what to expect and are scared of moving away from home, just as I was. However, college isnt scary at all. The first few days after moving in, I missed home alot. But after the first week or so, I got used to it and I actually loved being on my own for the first time. Being on my own gives me the opportunity to grow into a responsible adult by learning how to make wise descisions. As a senior, I was very concerned about whether or not I would be able to survive on my own and if I would be able to make the right descisions. But what I hadn't realized was that my family had been preparing me my whole life to be capable of living on my own when the time came. And now that I'm on my own, I must say I'm doing an excellent job.

Attending college has influenced me to stay focus and acheive my academic goal in becoming a nurse practitioner. It is valuable for me to attend because I am a teen parent and I feel like nothing can stop me from getting an education, and since I am 19 with a child I want to be a role model to those who dont believe that you can successfully make it to college. With Northern having great programs that help with different learning strategies on how to be successfully in any course, it has made my experience in college great.

I have not been in college long, I just started this past semester Fall 2010 . However, so far in my college career I have had the experience of receiving first semester grades in college. I couldn't believe I had a 3.7 GPA, I was blown away. I am a Mexican-American, so when I showed my family my grades they couldn't believe it either. I am the first girl and the first of my family to go to college and to get high marks like those was like them receiving a pot of gold. I cherish my family the most and I would do anything to make them proud. On Christmas day, after hearing that my parents were going to separate, I had a revelation. I realized that college is indeed valuable to attend. Neither my father or mother went to college, and they struggle with their jobs so they can give me and my brothers a decent life. My college experience has made me stronger, fearless, and ambitious, and thus is why school is valuable to attend because without it the world would be filled with cowards and hypocrites.

I'm not as afraid as I used to be. In high school, I was much more insecure and worried about what others thought. Now, I am not afraid to say what I believe in the classroom. Also, I have been able to read a lot of literature and learn about people in history that I never knew existed in high school.

I moved out of my house at 16yrs of age, shortly after that I recieved my GED. I started furthering my education by going to Wood Hygenic Institute School of Massage, where I recieved my certification. I have been a Licensed Massage Therapist since. I decided that I wanted to get a college education, so started in 1997, I was young and didn't focus as much as I should have. My GPA at the time was 2.7 and I didn't finish at that time. I went back in 2008, and as an adult, I was able to reach a 3.67 GPA and want to finalize with a Nursing Degree (AS). I will probably want to continue on to get my BS in Nursing after I have worked for a year or two. I have decided to go to a private for profit school, so I may complete my degree in 27 months and I start February 14, 2011. I hope to recieve any additional funding that I can to ensure my success.

I've gotten many friends out of my college experience so far. I also have gained the experience of work, hardwork that I can later use in my career. NIU is valuable to attend because of the community and its people. Forward Together Forward.

My college experience so far, has changed me in a lot of ways I never thought it would. The transition was so great, I was forced to adapt to being on my own and my behavior slowly began to change. There was no principal, or one office, where I could get all the answers I needed, as an alternative I had to learn how to use my resources and own my campus by using maps and calling different offices. Since I had to depend on only myself I had to motivate myself to attend classes by dismissing my alarm instead of pressing the snooze button. I also taught myself how to study and found out that rewriting notes works for me. Most importantly I am now able to manage my freedom. The experience has resulted in a valuable outcome because I have grown so much in a matter of one semester. My initial thought about attending a university was that I would party everyday and enjoy my freedom. Instead, I surprised myself by receiving good grades. Another great outcome was that I am now more than ever, ready to push myself into attaining my degree.