Salem College Top Questions

Out of the many things I have gotten out of my college experience only one jumped out immediately after reading the question. Time Management. If college did not teach me anything else it taught me how to manage my time or pay the consequences. In high school it is all fine and dandy because everything is set on a schedule and its a routine day after day. In college everything changes, you have to learn how to deal on your own and get things done on your own time without schedules or people telling you what to do. Time management is crucial, manage your time wisely or don't and fail miserably. Not only does it help with classes but it will be a huge help later in life when we really have to do things on our own. Makes you think.

My college experience at first was scary. Im not going to lie, I wanted to go home the first week I was at Salem. But after classes started and I made new friends, everything seemed to be a whole lot better. Here at Salem College I believe I have made the best of the best friends I could ever ask for, which is why its made Salem so valuable to me. Also, being a first year college student, I have learned how to be independent, how to be on my own and make my own decisions. Salem College has made me into a Woman that knows how to be on her own. College classes hav given me more responsibilities and respect to my elders and peers. Going to Salem has probably been the best decision I have ever made.

If I could go back in time and talk to my highschool senior self, I would be one talented individual, probably wanted by government agencies such as the CIA. In all seriousness, I would have informed my past self of many things to come in my future. If I would have known my parents were planning on going bankrupt in the middle of my first year, I would have made a lot more changes in my lifestyle. I already knew I had to go to college on my own terms. What I didn't know was that my parents wouldn't be able to spare any money to help me pay for tuition, books, or food. College is an educational, social, and financial experience. Education is the most essential part of college. If I would have delved deeper into Salem College's academic majors I would have discovered their Creative Writing program is fairly new and would have considered other colleges based on this information. Secondly, college is stimulating socially. There are many opportunities to make new friends and connections in social activities provided by the college. Finally, keeping a budget and spending conservatively will benifit me now and later.

Have all the fun you want now because once you hit college your going to have to give it all up in order to get serious with school.

If I could talk and advise my past self now on what college life would be like I feel as though the transition would have been a lot less confusing. I would tell myself not to worry to much about fitting in, the most important thing is to just be comfortable in who you are as a person. I would also caution myself to be open to the fact that the friends that you had in highschool might not be your friends in college, everyone is in different environments and this changes and effects everyone. The most important thing is to always know who you are and recognize when things are happening that you are uncomfortable with or that you know are outside of who you are. College opens up new worlds and experiences, it is important to develop as an individual during this time. However, becoming an individual does not mean that you lose who you truly are in the process.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would assure myself that transitioning to college would not be a scary experience. I spent the majority of my senior year stressing over keeping up my grades while filling out college applications and essays. I did not spend much time thinking about what college would actually be like. Once graduation came and passed, I realized that my college life was about to begin. I worried about adjusting to my peers, campus and classes. By move in day, I had worked myself into frenzy over every possible problem. After the first day on campus, however, I realized I worried for nothing. The faculty and students were so friendly and made sure I felt comfortable in my new home. My roommate and I became great friends. As I started classes, I got to know my professors and I felt more and more comfortable on campus. Had I known how great Salem was going to be, I would have warned my high school self not to worry so much and to relax. Your college years will be the best of your life so take it easy!

The only advice I would give myself is to prepare for the workload. It is nothing compared to highschool sometimes, even in the AP courses I took. But mostly, it's the writing of essays that are the hard part. Other than that, it's been pretty simple.

I would advise myself to take the opportunity to have fun and learn about new things. I would not put as much stress on academics but make myself happy. There is no need to please everyone around you or be like everyone else but to be yourself and to enjoy the time you have. College goes by quickly and have fun while you're young. Even though you may not know for sure what you want to do in life, do not stress about it. Stay focused on learning, don't party like all other college students but learn to live life enjoying the friends and family around you.

If I could give myself advice as a high school senior concerning the transition to college life, I would tell myself to get organized and to learn how to prioritize my time. These two things will help anyone be successful. Some ways I learned to be organized and to make good use of my time was by having a day planner. This kept my assignment deadlines close at hand and helped me not wait until the last minute to get an assignment done. I also quickly developed good study habits which helped me to stay focused. Setting goals for yourself is another way to be successful. I would tell myself to re-evaluate often to see areas I could improve.

College can be the most exciting time of your life, but remember if you don't maintain your grades, it will be over quicker than you think. Get your studying and school work done during the week, and then you can go to the college parties you were looking forward to without a guilty conscious. Managing money in college can be very difficult. It is very important that each college student can keep enough money to last the semester. Typically college students do not have much money at all, and need to stretch each dollar as far as possible. Peer pressure, socitey and other factors can make it even more difficult not to buy nice clothes, or hard to say no when college friends are going on an expensive trip. The key is to budget your money and pad your budget for unexpected costs. Your primary focus should be on developing your college study skills and successfully completing college.