Ohio State University-Main Campus Top Questions

Don't panic. You just need to breathe and get things done. Remember what you want to accomplish in the future but have fun along the way.

College is tough, no matter where you enroll. Classes are hard; you need to improve your study skills NOW because once you get to college, you'll find yourself with a lot more free time, and if you're not careful, all that free time will slip away unnoticed, while you're spending time with new friends and partying . Then before you know it, you're behind in classes and pulling all-nighters just to finish homework. You skated though high school, and even so, you'll be graduating in the top 15{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}. In college, you can't just "skate by." Your grades now will determine acceptance to graduate school or your job placement which will determine the path of your entire adult life. College is a time to find yourself and to mature, but you'd better have a good grasp on your morals and values before college lest you fall prey to the many temptations you'll face - alcohol, frat parties, drugs, sex... The temptations are endless, and so are their possible consequences. The freedom from parents is intoxicating, but be careful that you don't let your new found independence ruin your GPA or worse, your life.

I have to give credit to my International Affairs Scholar's director who left me one afternoon with the words, "do what you love and the rest will come easy." It is this advice that I would give to myself as a high school senior. Now that I have settled into college I have never felt more sure that I should be here. OSU has helped me not only grow in my passion for Political Science, but I have learned that I should base my learning and career choice off of the areas of my degree that I absolutely love and not what I believe will make the most money or benefit me in any other artificial way. At OSU, college is not about competing with the other students, much like high school, but it is about working to achieve both the highest individual level of success as well as the highest cooperative level of success. In student Organisations such as Undergraduate Student Government and Students for Equal Access, I have re-found the joy in learning simply because you love the subject. As a senior, I would tell myself to not worry about competition and full my passion.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself, I would just tell myself to relax the first few weeks. I was so worried about not getting friends here and classes that I let the actual enjoyment of college pass myself by in the first month. I tried too hard to attempt to be the perfect student in the first moments at Ohio State that I completely let those first moments, that should be joyous, be worrisome. As such, I would tell myself to just enjoy the roses as I pass them. This moment only happens once in a lifetime, so why not just take it for what it is and live it to the fullest, as yourself, and not as some high-strung out-of-stater that wants to fit in so badly. I would tell younger me that you have an entire year to fit in with everyone. Just be yourself from day one and everything will work out.

If I could go back in time and give myself advice for making the high school to college transition, I would start by telling myself to be open to all the possibilites college life brings. I would make a "College Bucket List" of all the things that are essential for the full college experience because you only go to college once, and should make the best of it! This list would have things that I have personally already done in my college career and other things that I have yet to do, including be in a musical organization, join a sorority, live in the dorms, volunteer, become involved in a Christian organization, make a best friend for life, do research, study abroad, take a philosophy class, get an on-campus job, and many others. I would tell myself to study hard and never skip class, because an education is invaluable, so you must make the most of it.

I would tell myself to take a deep breath, and be a outgoing as I could; being shy here isn't too productive. I would also suggest focusing on time management and better study skills. I would also tell myself that special education was the way to go, so that I wouldn't have to wait until next year to apply to my program.

Enjoy college. It goes too quickly and soon, you'll wish you could keep learning everyday again.

Try to get involve right when you get to college. Meet as many people as possible, because this is really when you find out about what you want and how you look at life.

If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to be completely open minded to everything. I would also advise myself to not believe that college classwork will be like highschool classwork. I would definetly tell myself to apply for every single scholarship possible because college is expensive in the unexpected ways such as supplies and books. Most importantly, if I could go back in time, I would force myself to go on a shopping spree so that it would not be as obvious to everyone else in my first quarter classes that I went to an all girls school and never had to dress nicely for class. Other than that I think I had everything else down pat.

I would give myself the advice to wait, be patient. I would either wait until age 25 to go to college, saving as much money as possible until that point, or to bust my tail to graduate as fast as possible, even attending summer classes. The summer of 2009 was not an easy one for me. I was diagnosed with Leukemia and began undergoing treatments several times a week, as I have now. You can not predict the future, but being faced with cancer will definitely redefine your life and help you to stay motivated and on task.