University of South Carolina-Columbia Top Questions

College is a self-journey. There is no true rule book or guide to college life because the time you spend at college, away from home, is about self-discovery. Although you may come to college with preconceived notions, once you arrive you will learn that this experience is uniquely yours. This is an experience that you should cherish because there will never be another time in your life like this one. At this moment you may be feeling nervous or even scared and that is okay, those nerves keep you excited and ready for whatever college life throws your way. If you completely forget everything that everybody has told you just remember that this is YOUR time – be YOU and enjoy every minute of it.

The best advice that I could share with myself as a high school senior would be to stive for straight A's the entire year. The last year of high school is very easy to taper off and allow a GPA to slip. I would tell myself to work hard to make good grades and focus on studying, not on girls and football. A strong college education is started at the ground level in elementary and grammar schools. A qualitiy education can be made even better with one simple thing: focus. Focus on classes that you are signed up for. If you have any study halls or education classes that are not mandatory, drop them immediately. The more education that you can gather at high school, it will make the college experience even more fruitful. Take advantage of any college prep classes, especially if they can give college credit. Focus on these classes and make straight A's. Do not settle for anything less and stay focussed!

I would tell myself to work and to never give up. Things get though, but in the end things always seem to work out. Hold your friends close, but hold your education closer. You can only achieve things if you work hard at it and nothing is to hard to achieve.

If I could go back in time when I was a high school senior before entering college, I would tell myself to make a more logical choice about the school to attend for the first two years of college. I had a full scholarship the Bridgewater College in Virginia and I turned it down to come to the University of South Carolina. Not saying that I do not like South Carolina, I absolutely have loved my freshman experience here and have been very successful by obtaining a 3.4 gpa and being on the dean’s list. If I could go back in time, I would have chosen Bridgewater because it would have been more economically smart decision on my part. College is extremely expensive and the first two years of school focus more on the basics rather than the specifics needed for your intended major. Making a more rational decision as far as paying for college would be the number one item on my list to tell myself about making the transition to college.

Be sure to get involved. The absolute worst mistake you can make coming to college is to recoil from the opportunities you've been offered. Get out there and take up a sport, learn to play rugby, get in on some pick-up soccer, even ultimate frisbee is doing something. You're coming from a comfortable invironment where you've had friends for years into an unfamiliar one full of strangers; if you're going to be successful you have to make an effort, get involved, and meet people. That said, you're going to absolutely fall in love with community service. Get involved with the Methodist Student Network as soon as you get to Columbia. Their service programs will have you helping hurricane victims on the coast, serving hot meals to the homeless in Columbia, and working on a riverboat clinic in the Amazon Jungle. Your passion is going to be helping other people, so jump into it right away. The worst mistake you could make is retreating in on yourself when so much opportunity is being offered.

I would assure myself that time flies by and that focusing on schoolwork is very important in succeeding in your courses. Every decision that you make reflects you personally and results in a consequence, whether positive or negative. I would make sure that my study skills were perfected and I understood my learning technique better in order to be successful and reach my potential in school work efficiently. College is much more stressful then I imagined it to be and it is much more time consuming. I would also be sure that I could provide for myself and make my own decisions effectively because there is minimal help in college once you are on your own. The teachers in college are a lot less caring and their focus is less directed on your success personally, since the classes include a lot more students. Overall, I would tell myself to enjoy my time before coming to college a little more because the courses you take in college are there to help you in your career for the rest of your life and require your undivided attention in order to succeed.

If I were able to go back in time and give myself advice as a high school senior, I would tell myself to study hard, and apply for scholarships until my hands fall off. I would also advise myself to keep on top of my studies so that I would have been more prepared to study when I got to college. I would also have made sure that I would have told myself to make sure that I applied for more scholarships that way as a freshman I could have went to school hardly having to pay anything, but instead i am having to take out crazy loans.

I would tell myself to take school more seriously. Highschool is a very important part of shaping who you become and holds lots of opportunities, make sure you take advantage of them! I would also tell myself to enjoy it, it goes by too quickly!

Thus far out of my college experience, I've gotten anxiety, debt, and doubt. Of course, that isn't to say that i haven't learned as well. My community college isn't particularly connected, so meeting people is difficult, and it's difficult to know where to go and who to talk to. Sure, it's a hassle. But i've learned how to time manage which is a skill i can't say i've ever had before.

Living at the University of South Carolina has provided me with the opportunity to prove to myself and family that I am a hard working young adult who is capable of striking out on her own. South Carolina has allowed me to explore various fields of study, allowing me to find myself and most importantly find what I am truly passionate about. Without the broad range of opportunities that this school presents I may not have discovered my interest in Marine Biology so quickly. Coming to South Carolina has helped me make important life changing decisions that I know are the right ones to make. This has provided me with the confidence to take on any challenges that life brings with resilience and has instilled a confidence in me that was not previously there. In my mind, this is what makes Caroling so wonderful, it helps you discover yourself and become the person you want to be.