Olivet Nazarene University Top Questions

I would advise myself to get involved more your freshman year. Just because you do not live on campus does not mean that you should not take part in school activities. Now in my second year at Olivet, I am starting to attend more activites and make the most of my college experience, even though I live at home. Also, I would tell myself to open up more and let my guard down. The students and faculty on this campus are wonderful and are there to help you grow and encourage you to be your best. Even if you are shy, make an effort to build friendships. The friendships you make here may just turn into the best friendships ever. Lastly, while of course college is about academics, do not focus on only school work, enjoy life before the real, real world begins.

Take an abundance of classes to find out what interests you. Although it can be a lot of money and take more time than intended, getting this out of the way and getting into your career as soon as possible is key. In the midst of all the learning and pressure to graduate there needs to be the rememberance of fun in life and to enjoy all opportunities available. Just because your teachers can not teach you what you need to know in a particular class, a person needs to learn regardless of the teacher. They are not there to just let you walk by with a full ride, you need to take charge and make sure you are learning everything you possibly can to ensure yourself the easiest adventure. At the end of the day, things will come along to block your path but they are only temporary road blocks and one can overcome any obstacle with enough willpower.

I would tell myself to take fewer honors classes and to take more AP classes. Honors classes look great in college aplications, but most universities take unweighted grades, so all the extra work you did looks ok on a school application, but its not worht it. I would tell myself to take a few more AP classes so my work load in college would be easier and I would tell myself to take 1 or 2 honors classes total. The unweighted honors class gave me an overal lower GPA. If I had taken the regular level course and gotten the easy A, both my GPA and my time to spend on AP classes would have increased. This would have given me a higher GPA for acedemic scholarships in school, as well as giving me a head start on my college courses and preparedness to take on higher level classes. My advice to all students, not just me, is to take AP classes instead of honors. GPA helps scholarships and makes college more affordable. After all, debt after college is hugely important. A higher scholarship means less money to pay back in the end. Good luck future college student. -Bennet Nygaard.

Have fun before you go because now your whole life is about nursing.

I would tell my younger self to stay focus and do better. Also to do more scholarships. Start preparing for scholarship between your freshman and sophmore year. If my grades were better in school I could of had more scholarships. I would also tell me self not to lose hope and it's ok to ask for help.

Before you enter college be completely open to yourself and new experiences. Don't let any person, including yourself, or maybe even a dumb boy, get in the way of making new friendships and learning more about the person you are awaiting to become. This next year is going to be one of the best of your life and that won't happen unless you step out of your bubble, take a leap of faith, and dive in. Everyone is in the same boat here- trying to juggle classes, a social life, and find a way to afford their education. Don't intimidate yourself by looking at others that surround you daily. You won't automatically know their story, and they don't know yours. This is a time for something fresh and new to be created and love the life you were meant to live. Be confident to the calling you were designed to fill and embrace it! Then, you will truly experience the joy of college- especially your freshman year.

The advice I would give myself is to not give up. To finish what you started and to not look back. Its really hard to go back to school as an older adult and then work a full time job because you have to pay the bills somehow. So the major one is to just finish and that's what I tell my younger relatives to finish. I would also tell myself to open up more and not be so quiet and shy. There have been many times when I would not say anything or be afraid to say something or even ask questions when I didn't understand something. Which you really shouldn't do: if you don't know something its best to raise that hand and get your question answered.

Study more than you think you need to.

Eryn, I know that no one told you how serious your grades need to be in high school if you want to go to college so, I'm telling you now. You"ve probably herd that grades are important, especially as an athlete. Doing satisfactory work to get by to stay eligible to play sports is fine as an athlete but, in order to continue to a higher institute as a student athlete is more important than you think. In high school they tell you don't need to take the higher classes to graduate. I know you've taken this advice to your advantage to recieve better grades to play sports but, if you want to attend ANY college after high school, as an athlete or not, you to take all of those higher level classes. If you don't, you have to take them in college and it's a huge waist of time and money when you could do it in high school. Being a student athlete in college is no joke. The "student" comes first and is required that you have good grades in college. Take this advice and good luck to you. -Eryn sellberg.

If I could go back, I would motivate myself, more than I would try to advise my high school senior self. I would also encourage myself to stick with my original dreams and not waste time on pursing a career, major, or goal which I am not passionate about.