Saint Louis University Top Questions

Be fair and just. You will frequently work in chaotic conditions, which makes it all the more imperative that you be able to depend on a sense of order. A commitment to a system of justice will enable you to prevent and resolve disputes encountered from time to time. Exercise sound judgment. Even the most sophisticated plan will fail if it is based on bad judgment. As you take on positions of increasing responsibility, you will gain wisdom through experience and judgment you may rely on for a lifetime. It's impossible to lead from the front if you're falling behind. Continue on when others quit, digging deep to endure - and achieve - more than most think is possible. Endurance is more than finding the will within. It's convincing those around you that they, too, have more to give. Integrity is the cornerstone of character. Nothing you can learn about leadership is as important as earning trust. To lead is to follow principles, acting with honor when all eyes are on you, or when no one is watching. Great leaders must first be great men and women, accountable to the mission and to those who follow.

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior, the most important thing I would tell myself is to learn how to properly study and retain information. I never really needed to in high school, so I never really gained that skill. That has definitely come back to bite me in college. I don't have any issues with homework assignments or papers, I routinely get high marks on those. But when it comes to tests that is rarely the case. I study for hours and hours but I can't get the information to stick, or it leaves my head as soon as I'm faced with the actual exam. It is very difficult to remedy this at this point in my academic career. My biggest regret is that I didn't force myself to gain these skills when I didn't need them, so that I could have them to fall back on now.

In high school, my peers fostered an incredibly competitive environment. While friendly competition has always pushed me to do my best in any situation, it didn’t allow me to make wise decisions during my college application process. The majority of my class was primarily concerned with prestigious schools that were known for being highly selective. Of course there was nothing wrong with showing interest in those schools, but I failed to realize that there were more colleges and universities out there that may have been able to better tend to my needs than the favored universities. If able to go back in time, I would tell myself to be open-minded to all universities that I came across and not pick a university for its name. While it may be the perfect fit for someone else, it wouldn’t necessarily be my perfect fit. While it’s okay to shoot for the stars and apply to highly selective schools, it is equally as important to have a back up plan. Lastly I would tell myself not to let rejection bruise my confidence. Every student is intelligent in many different ways and a rejection letter does not imply otherwise.

Looking back on my senior year, I was a bit of a slacker. That is not to say i was not smart or did not get decent grrades. But in retrospect, I definitely could have pushed myself harder. Due to arrogance, and no small bit of laziness, I assumed that my grades were "good enough" to get me with whatever scholarship I wanted. When i graduated, I left school with a 3.23 GPA, .02 points away from qualifying for the bulk of the major scholarships that I should have been able to easily recieve. And that leads to basically what I would tell myself. Now, I am not one to take advice from many people, including myself, but here's how I would try to get the point across. I would basically warn myself that intelligence can only get you so far; putting in the extra effort, beacuse sometimes all the effort necessary to make many problems disappear is just a tiny bit.

I would tell myself that while swimming at SLU is a great experience, I should really get involved in other extracirricular activities earlier. It wasn't until my junior year that I began doing research, volunteering, and working. While I have much less time on my hands than most students, I have found that my involvement has made me more rounded as a person, and allowed me to branch out and meet people I wouldn't have without being more involved. It is these experiences that have shaped me and created lasting impressions on both myself and my community. I am proud to call myself a Saint Louis Billiken because of what it represents.

Some advice that I would give to my high school senior self would be to stop being so anxious about everything because everything is going to work out the way that it should. I would tell myself to be more confident in the decisions that I am making because, in the end, I am the only one who can decide what I do. I would tell myself that I can really do anything that I set my mind to. Looking back at high school now, I feel like I have come so much further than I ever thought I could.

Emily, don't be scared that you are the first in your family to go to college, you will do fine, as long as you work as hard as I know you can. Don't worry about what others say or think, you will prove them all wrong and you will reach your dream of becoming a great physician. You will have roommate issues but don't run from the problems, face them and stand strong for what you believe in. This one altercation should not determine your feelings towards the school or your fellow students; there will be plenty more friends to make and your time at school will be full of great memories. Always believe in yourself and the greatness you can achieve, everyone back at home is proud of you, and so am I. I love you and have full faith in us and all we do.

I wish I had become a better person that was more independent in my senior year and talk to people who I would normaly never have a conversation with. Although high school was a difficult time there is so much to look forward to in life. In all truth be told I would not change a thing about my past becuase I cant however, I would suggest being more socialble. Remembering this idea that when you meet a person for the first time, they may not remeber who you were or what you said but they will remember how they felt after they meet you which is important. So get out into the world and continue to explore your surroundings.

I think the main thing I would tell myself is to stop using "senior-itis" as an excuse to not do anything. College is a lot of hard work, and slacking off senior year just made it that much harder. If you put in the effort senior year of high school and work hard, college will not be such a difficult transition. It is hard being away from home, but if you are willing to make the effort to succeed, you will do great. The transition is difficult no matter what, but using your resources wisely, putting in the extra effort before the transition, and takin all work seirously will make it that much easier. You may think that senior year is supposed to be the time of your life, but college is even better. Do your work senior year, and you will be well prepared to have a balanced life of school and social life in college. it doesn't get any better than that.