University of Rhode Island Top Questions

Research the scholarships you could be eligible for, it will take the burden away from financial aid. Take your time with picking classes and don't feel like you need to be pressured into becoming something you are not. You don't need to know exactly what you want to do right away. Research all that you can and go to free seminars with educated speakers. Be an individual and don't compromise your likes... and don't ignore your dislikes! Enjoy the experience, network and learn all that you can.

If I could go back and give myself advice in high school, there is one thing I would stress. I would say is that there is so much more to come after high school! When I was in high school, I stressed over the smallest things, and looking back at the big picture, none of it mattered. High school is important to prepare you for college but there is only so much preparing you can do. You never really know what to expect until you are actually there. High school is a great time to have fun with people that hopefully you stay in touch with, but there so much more out there after it. When you are walking through the halls of your high school, it seems like everything is riding on what you do in those four years, and that couldn't be more false. It's important to have a good GPA and SAT scores to get accepted into college but everything else is only temporary and not as importat as you think it is. I would make sure I told myself to enjoy my time in high school but not to stress over the small stuff.

I would tell myself to start studying more because college involves a lot of hard work and many hours studying. I would also tell myself to appreciate the free time and laid back-ness of high school. I would prepare myself to be prepared to not connect with teachers on a personal level and not take it personally when they do not have time to get to know you.

Knowing what I know about college life, I would give my "high school senior" self words of advice on time management and determination. College life is not the easiest and it can be tough for a young person starting life on their own and away from home. In high school, I did not do very well with time management and getting projects done. This affected my college life in that with my learned procrastination, I put off major projects in college and my grades suffered terribly. I ended up taking time off of college to sort out what I wanted to do with my life and eventually went back seven years later to complete my degree. I have learned that if I manage my time and break projects down into smaller pieces, I can complete things much faster. Determination plays a big key as well because I am now more determined than ever to complete my degree. I want to show my kids that it can be done and give them a positive role model to have in their lives.

As time has passed through this past year I have found that there have been many trials and successes of social and acedemic tests. At times I wish that someone could have given me advice to get through stressful events. If I were to go back to my senior year high school self I would have much to say. However the most important advice I would give is that although the library can be intimidating it is the best study location. At times dorm halls can become noisey and filled with people wanting to talk and spend time with you, so the best way to avoid these disturbances would be to take advantage of the library.

I would advise myself to continue through general studies and not take time off.

I would tell myself to just roll with it. It is not the end of the world if you don't get into your first choice school. You can make good experiences out of disappointment and you will ultimately be happy with the local, second-choice school and the money you saved by going there. You will make some great new friends and strengthen ties with old ones. You will meet the love of your life and the great faculty you will connect with will push you to succeed and develop your career interests. Everything will be okay!

If I was able to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would say that the most important thing to develop before college is a study habit. This would be the first thing I would tell myself, the reason behind this is that college is leaps and bounds more difficult then high school and without the proper study habits your going to struggle. Once you find the correct study habit then college becomes a whole lot easier. I learned that the best study habit for myself is by using notecards. Not only would I tell myself to develop a study habit, I would also tell myself to read! Reading the books in high school was not as important as it is in college. The professors do not just make you buy the book just to have it, they make you buy it to use it as a resource while studying. Many people at the beginning of their first semester, myself included, believe that reading isn't important but I quickly learned that was not the case.

I would tell myself to be way more prepared when it came to applying for college. I was a little slow filling out my applications and missed almost all early decision deadlines. I feel that had I been more on top of these things, my odds of getting in to every school I had applied to would've increased. I probably also would have told myself to buckle down in my classes and try not to catch "senioritis" because my grades were not as great as they could've been. Another thing I would have told myself was to go into my freshman fall semester as an organized student with self-discipline. I was too lazy my first semester and I paid for it when grades came around. I would tell myself to utilize things like office hours and supplementary instruction.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, there are are several pieces of advice that I would impart. Firstly, I would tell myself that, overall you did a very good job preparing yourself for college. I am now excelling in all my classes and have been able to find a healthy balance between and school, exercise, friends and school organizations. I can credit much of my success largely to the hard work and preparation you made in high school. Second, you have a lot more free time in college than you did in high school, so don't worry about being too stressed out. There will be plenty of time to balance classes, studying, extra curricular clubs, volunteering and hanging out with friends. One of the most important pieces of advice I can give you is, try to get in the habit of waking up earlier each day, your sleep schedule has been a bit erratic, and you need a more consistent schedule of sleep.