Portland State University Top Questions

The main advice i would give to my high school self... save up money. College is much more expensive than i though it was going to be. I would start saving up money since my freshman year in high school. i would also tell myself to apply to at least five scholarships per week to help pay for college.

Dear Mary, Right now you need to focus on three things: getting scholarships -- ANY that you think you can get, working dilligently on your homework and turning it in on time, and spending as much quality time with our family as possible. Friends are important, yeah, but they'll be around forever. School is important and you need to be the best student you can be to get all the scholarships you need. If you wanna fulfill your dreams, you have to work hard to make them happen. Oh, and no matter how your circumstances change or if your life turns out a little different than you thought it would, it's ok. God's got it all in control, you're going to be fine. Life is great, don't ever forget that.

I often say that regret is a useless emotion because it neither changes what has already happened nor acknowledges the learning that takes place when we make mistakes or endure struggles. So, for the most part, my answer to this question is that I would not want to go back in time and give myself advice as a high school senior because it may have altered important choices I made--choices that shaped the person I am today (a person I generally like!). However, in the spirit of the hypothetical and the positive intent of this question, there are a couple things I could tell myself as a high school senior preparing for college. Firstly, I would say to pursue more extracurricular interests and communities as an undergraduate, not just to bolster my resume or future opportunities, but also to cultivate meaningful social networks with other students. I would also encourage myself to be confident in my talents and abilities and to not underestimate my own worth. I think hearing these tidbits of advice might have enabled me to pursue even more meaningful opportunities and relationships than I did, adding to an even richer college experience!

First off, don't stress! College is not necessarily a time of academic hardship if focused on schoolwork assigned. The professors on campuses greatly desire their students to do well in learning the subject in which they teach. Therefore, they are willing to meet with you during their office hours if you are struggling with understanding the subject being taught. Secondly, don't play too much :). Realizing the freedom you have when living on campus can distract from getting homework done. Procrastination is certainly what causes the feeling of stress to rage within you. Overall, as long as you keep a SIMPLE calendar, which helps with managing stress and your workload, college is not really too scary!

If I couId go back in time I would tell myself to be open to asking for and recieving help. I have always been "independent", or what some people might call stubborn. I was raised to take care of myself, and so the idea of asking for help has been a hard one for me. I am just now understanding that asking for help is not an indicator of any failings on my part. Rather, it is a smart move to maximize my options, without the headache of trying to do it all myself. This paradigm shift applies to all aspects of my life, from personal relationships, to work, to school. Specifically regarding school, I have been resistent in the past to talking to academic advisors or getting help from tutors. I always manage to get good grades, so it has been a slow process to understand that maybe getting those grades doesn't have to be the lonely struggle it has been at times. Perhaps I could have enough humility to ask for help.

If I could go back in time to a younger me in high school, I would definitely tell me to pay more attention in those classes that didn’t interest me. Classes like science, history, and literature just did not grab my attention and now, going into college, I am paying for it. I would tell myself to start planning for the future much sooner than I did. Wasting free time by playing does not help as someone gets older. Establishing good habits would be another tidbit I would impart to my younger self. Being in college forces you to see everything in a different light, and having bad habits, like wasting time, do not help at all. These are the things I would counsel myself to do when I was younger.

Search for as many scholarships as possible! Caluclate how much school will literally cost and weigh your options carefully. Apply to several schools, even if they are private or out-of-state and you are concerned they cost too much. There are scholarships to help you attend your dream university! Also, start early! There are early award scholarships and the earlier you apply the better. Don't put off researching schools or visiting. Even if you're not interested in a school, it's okay to visit so that you can get a better idea for what universities can offer. As for the social transition to college, get excited and get involved as soon as possible! Attend university events and learn about what clubs or student groups you would like to be in. Be in the moment; don't let yourself get caught up worrying about school work. Be yourself and never stop making new friends.

The best advice I could give myself or any other student is to take two years off!! Get a job, go backpacking across Europe, serve your country, but don't go straight to college!! I wasted my first year and a half at community college simply because I was not prepared for that kind of learning environment. It took me quite a few years after high school to have the maturity and self discipline to go to college or university. Changing majors was another small battle; when I first attended college I thought English would be my lot in life, but I realized about 3 years later that music was my passion and I simply couldn't fathom a life without it. When you first leave high school, you may have a small idea of what you would like to do for the rest of your life, but the reality doesn't exactly sink in right away. How many students change their majors two three or four years into their programs? Take some time, get the young hooligan out of you, and hit up college around 20 or 21. Best advice I wished I had heard at 18.

Go somewhere that is completley out of your element, you may not be ready or prepared but after you will come out of it with more real world experience. School is school and you may be thinking that its not for you, but there are classes that you can take that are really interesting and the student professor relationship is completley different from the highschool teach student relationship. The professors don't treat students like children they treat you as an adult becaus you obviosuly made it to college so they assume you can manage your own life.

The first thing I would tell my self, is to listen to your own self, not all the other people around you, make your own deciscions, and most of all, take your time it is not a race to the finish line, no matter who passes you by, or how muich time, it is the quality of education you seek that will pave the way for better and brighter future ahead of you.