Purdue University-Calumet Campus Top Questions

If I could give my former self advice about college life, I would tell her five things. 1)You are doing a great job at maintaining a 3.0 GPA, which says a lot about you since you are pursing higher education without any support of your family, but you have the potential to attain academic honors. So push yourself harder. 2) Starting today, set aside two weeks each semester to apply for scholarships. There are people who find joy in helping others reach their goals, so let them help you. 3) Join the American Political Science Association and the Chicago Historical Society so that you can meet people who are doing what you only see in your dreams. They would love to meet you. 4) Build relationships with your professors and allow them to get to know you. Trust me; they care more about your future than your past. 5) Go with the flow of life. You are a planner and a very goal oriented young woman. But sometimes life will take you on a whim. Don't fight it, let go and see where the ride takes you. When it stops, your schedule will still be there.

Knowing what I know now about college I would give myself plenty of advice going back to my senior year of high school. What would I tell myself? College is very important if you want to succeed in life. You have to be mentally prepared to put forth all the effort that it takes to succeed in college. Working hard and studying is key to success in college. Never be afraid to ask for additional help from professors, tutors, or even your fellow classmates. There are people who actually want to help, and those are the people who care about your education, however no one should care about your education more than yourself. The atmosphere in college is very welcoming. It’s like everyone around you wants to succeed in life so the motivation is always there. Always keep up with assignments and never fall behind, never wait until the last minute to complete an assignment. College is fun, college is great. It’s up to you how you make your college experience turn out to be. I encourage you to do well.

I know that it's big step for you to go to college. You are going to be the only person in your family to graduate high school, so going to college is a pretty big deal. I want to start by telling you that student loans are not free money. You're going to start paying them back when you're done with school and it's going to be a lot of money. Only take what you absolutely need. When you sign up for classes, be sure to only sign up for what you can handle. You'll have to work full time while going to school since you don't have anyone to support you. If you sign up for classes and fail or drop them later, not only did you waste your money, but you will have wasted time that you could have been earning a living. School will be there and even if it takes you ten years to finish, you'll still have a degree to be proud of. Everything else will be ok. Mistakes will be made, hearts will be broken and you will be dissapointed. March ahead, more enlightened than before.

If I were to talk to myself when I was an high school senior, I would stress to myself that I need to finish out strong. Finishing with a higher GPA would open up more doors for me to get into many schools. In addition, I would tell myself that I should study for the SAT. Alot of colleges has a set number of those scores and if I were to have a high one, that would most definately make applying for colleges much easier for me. In all honesty, I would tell myself to get it together and not let my chances of being a successful student go to waste. Staying focused and having my head straight for what I want to do for my future is what I want for myself.

Today I would tell my high school self that college is not nearly as scary as it was made out to be, the other students and the staff make you feel at home and you'll feel like a boilmaker on the very first day! Staying close to home was a great idea, but having your own space is amazing! There are no regrets with choosing Purdue University Calumet, it's a life changing experience!

I would simply tell myself, to keep moving forward and never ever ever give up. There'll be hard times and tough times, but there's always a flip side, just keep a level head and be thankful for what you got always. And in the end we'll be all the better for it, redemption shall be soon.

To really think about what I would want to do in life. Jumping from major to major has cost a lot of time and money.

If I could go back in time and talk to my high school senior self, I would have told myself to apply for as many scholarships as possible because you might lose some and unexpected payments may pop up. Also, to work very hard because things change all the time.

If I could go back in time I would tell myself to be patient. College is difficult and that is okay.

If I were allowed to speak to myself as a high school student I would say to be bold, take advantage of every opportunity presented and participate in as many clubs or activities as possible. I would remind myself to not make decisions based on what my peers may say and to embrace the attributes that make me different. I would tell myself to sit at a different lunch table every week and become friends with people who are different from me. I would remind myself that my parents are not the enemy and the advice they give is valuable because they want me to learn from their mistakes without having to make so many of my own. I would tell myself to complete every assignment and extra credit opportunity because they are assigned to help you grow and learn not just earn a grade. I would say to do things that make you happy and make decisions that you can be proud of. Most importantly, I would tell myself to seek God in everything that I do and if he is not there, I shouldn't be either.