Roger Williams University Top Questions

Dear High School Senior Angie, Don't stress now and don't stress later. RWU might be two and a half hours away from home, but don't worry -- you'll get to see your family often (they love any excuse to go to Rhode Island, and to see you.) The course work is the same as the past two years; you've taken AP courses to prepare for this. Don't worry about not having a declared major, you're going to get your Core classes out of the way early and then you'll be able to focus on Psychology sophomore year. I know you're worried about making friends, and you're only going to make a few of them freshman year. But trust me, the fewer the better. These are the life long friends that everyone always talks about. You'll meet your best friends in your freshman year dorm and they're going to stick by yourside no matter what. College isn't as scary as you think. The people here are nice and you'll fit in just fine! Love, College Junior Angie

College is something you need to take very seriously and you should go into it was an open mind. It's great to know what you want your future to look like, but sometimes your interests change, and that's okay as long as you continue to work towards a goal that you know will make you happy. A degree doesn't always mean a career in this economy, but don't worry too much about it, stay true to yourself and your beliefs and don't attempt a major that brings in the money, but go after what you're passionate about, if you know your passion it shouldnt be that hard to work towards a goal; no goal is hard to achieve if you work hard and rationallly towards that goal.

Dear Senior Me, Live life senior year, and take things a little less seriously; college is not that bad. Apply for as many scholarships as you possibly can no matter how tettious it may be next year you will be thankful! Each day the sun rises is another day to try to live your dreams.

To join as much as possible. Give yourself as little free time as possible. Get connections, by not only making friends but by having relationships with professors.

I would say to start the first two years off at a community college where it's cheaper and you can get all your general education requirements out of the way first before jumping into your core major classes. By then you may have changed your mind to a different major because so much changes from that transition period from high school to college. I would have studied a lot more for my SAT's in high school to get into a better college although I am glad I attended a community college first. Try to enjoy the experience and don't stress over too much!

I had a really hard time finding a college I really liked and wanted to go to. I have already transfered and I'm only a freshman. I wish i knew how important it was to look into the college and make sure I really liked it. When it came down to it I made a snap decision because I didn't know what to choose so I just choose the cheapest one. looking back on that I had an easier time finding a new college to go to but I wish I didn't have to transfer. Now I have to start over in a new place and try to make friends again, doing that once was hard enough. I should have gone on more college visits my senior year and been more prepared to make a decision.

Having spent this past year on campus. I would definitely tell myself to start practicing to network and socialize with people more often because I found myself struggling to do so this year. I never really socialized with anyone outside of my friend group in high school, but that definitely changed in college and I found that I enjoyed myself a lot more when I stepped out of my comfort zone rather than when I stayed inside my bubble. Other than that, though, I would tell myself to pace myself with the whole college application process; to stop stressing the small things and to look for help whenever I need it but not to leave everything for last minute like I tended to do in high school. Scholarships also played a huge contributing factor in my having been able to attend my university, too, so I would also tell myself to apply to as many scholarships as I possibly could without concerning myself with my fear of rejection. If I were to have thought about these things when I was in high school, I feel like my transition would have been a bit smoother even though it was already smooth.

I would tell myself to get more involved and stay in touch with old and new friends.

The advice that I would give myself is, when picking a school to live at for four years and study at for four do not worry about money, there are always ways to help cut the cost down. Pick a place that offers what you are interested in. Tour the campus because if you do not feel right when you tour the school, it is most likely not going to be a good match. When you tour the school, you will know if it is right or not. If it is the right place you will be able to picture yourself walking around the campus, sleeping there, living there, meeting people and having fun while studying. This is a big decision in life and it is hard, but when you find the right school you be able to see yourself living there.

Since I did not finish high school and got a GED at age 29, I would beg myself to stay in school. I would tell myself just how important it is to receive a high school diploma, because going to college at age 31 is extremely difficult. Becoming a quadrapledgic in 2002, everything I do since then requires more effort, physically and mentally. Had I known this would be my fate I would have taken my life and schooling much more serious. When we are young it is hard to see just how important school is. We believe we are invincible and life is a breeze, when in fact life is a serious of struggles and hard work. In short, the best advice I could give my high school self would be to straighten up and take it serious. That college is going to be a fun experience where you will meet a lot of great people, but it is also very hard work. I would surely tell myself that life is going to be tough, so do what you can to make it a little less so by putting your education first.