University of Phoenix-Southern Arizona Campus Top Questions

The advice I would give to myself is to be patient, I am stringer than I know!

Many high school students do not know what career they should follow once they graduate. If I could go back in time I would tell myself to get to know who I am outside of school and my immediate circle of friends. This would help any student be more decisive on their career choices. Many students change their majors at least once while they are attending college. Getting to know one’s self and really understand the numerous careers that can be obtained with different degrees would also be helpful on deciding what the student would like to major in.

If I were to go back to my highschool self I would definitely tell myself to take harder classes. To take the college course classes and get the credits before you pay outrageous prices for them. I would tell myself to explore all my college options before jumping into just one and setting my mind on only one because all my friends are going there. I would tell myself to search for scholarships, day in and day out. To search for grants and use the school counslers to provide me with tons of scholarship/grant information. I would tell myself to make good decisions, and to not jump at the first "best" oppertunity that comes my way. I would tell myself to save every penny, so when I decided to move out, it wouldnt be so tight on money. At last I would tell myself to enjoy highschool, because the next step is the biggest most tiring step of them all, and you can never go back to your highschool years with someone guiding you everystep, so take advantage of that. Use all the resources you can and never give up. There's always something out there for everyone.

The retrospective advice to my high school self would have been to stay in college right after high school. At that time, I had obtained a full four year academic scholarship to the University of Arizona. Had I stayed in college, I would have pursued the opportunites for advanced education, such as a doctorate. Additionally, if I had known I would be financially required to work both a full-time and part-time job for more than 20 years, due to lack of a degree, only to find myself even more financially buried to attend school now; I would have made it clear to myself that staying in school straight from high school was the smartest option for the future.

Make the jump. You can spend your whole life waiting for that epiphany to come and it will never happen. You do not know what you want to do with your life because you spend too much time dissecting every decision until you forget what the purpose is. If you see a door open, walk through the door. You will not be young forever, and dragging out education into your 30’s is not the best choice for your life. You may not like this field, but that is because your real calling in life is to follow God and to have a family. The fact still remains, you need an education. You need to study, even when you feel like giving up. You need to apply for scholarships, even if you feel unworthy. You need to open your eyes to the reality of life. Life is hard and you need a degree. Study the material, believe in yourself. Just because your mother did not even finish middle school, and your siblings will spend years of their life trying to finish college and never succeed, does not mean you are destined for failure. You will graduate.

I would have told myself to buckle down and get into a good college right out of high school. I would have said it won't be has hard as you think it will be. It won't be has much money as you think. You could do so much good in your life. You could become a Doctor if you just apply yourself and study. Take advantage of just finishing school, with your knowledge still fresh in your mind. If you wait to long it may be hard for you to get back in the groove of school. You may have to relearn some simple things like math and grammar. It won't be as bad as you think, just do it!

One piece of advice I would give myself is that your parents are one hundred percent right about everything. You will understand as you start to experience your adult life. My mother always told me to get good grades to ensure I had a good GPA. That is another thing I wish I could go back and do over. While I graduated with a decent gpa, but I could have done much better. GPA is something colleges look at prior to acceptance. The biggest advice I would give myself is to learn to be a responsible adult. A college education is important. It helps us gain the required knowledge to succeed in the workforce and also make a decent financial living. I would tell myself that the most important thing right now is not boys, but your education. Because if you get your education now, you won’t have to cry about not having it later. There are just so many regrets now and not going straight into college when I’d just graduated is one of them.

There is nothing I would have told myself from the past. I have lived a wonderful roller-coaster ride of a life, and would not change a thing about it.

School is expensive. Make sure that you look for help to pay for college. Dont wait till you have three kids and school is much more expensive since you have to pay for child care on top of tuition. Make every class count. They more you put into the more you will get out of it. Some people dont get the oppotunity to go to school so take advantage!

If I could go back in time and talk to my highschool self, I would say "Embrace lifelong learning." My highschool self and his peers often see educational pursuits as a "hurdle" which must be navigated in order to get to the "real world". The truth is that the most successfull employees/business owners are lifelong learners. The cessation of high school and/or college does not mean the learning stops, or at least it shouldn't. Throughout life, we will all here people say that we don't have enough college degrees or the right ones. The ultimate goal then is to look at education as a process rather than a one-time event. Learning things on-the-job and exploring certification programs does nothing but help you. Staying enrolled in college programs even if you already have a degree can keep you sharp and competitive in your career. Education is not just a "right of passage" - it's a lifestyle. You've already started, be prepared to continue on!