University of West Georgia Top Questions

If you want to leave home but don't want to go too far consider a university close to your home. You can still live in a dorm and experience "being on your own" but still have the opportunity to drive to your mom and get a hug when you feel too overwhelmed. Get the best grades possible and apply for scholarships early.

I would warn myself to be careful not to underestimate the difficulty of college. High school was easy for me; I had all A's all four years, but college humbled me. I would advise my senior-self to use high school as a practice for college, taking time to learn the best ways to study. That way, when those pesky mid-terms and finals came around, I wouldn't have quite the same audacity to assume success would come on the breeze. My senior-self definitely needed to learn to appreciate a good textbook more often, as well as the art of note-taking. Of course, these are aspects of college I still struggle with, but hopefully with the help of my now wiser and better-prepared senior mind, perhaps there is hope yet for the determined success-seeker I have now become.

I would tell myself to stay focused my first year and don't let the excitment of this new place catch you off guard, be casue the work load comes fast and heavy and smallest misstep will set you back. Don't let this scare you though enjoy your time there most black males don't get to go to college at all and only half comeback for there second year. The best policy is to listen to all the tips given to you by the university in orientation and freshmen meetings. Also stay in the library, Monday through Friday, that is the best way for desired results. So have fun but keep the goal in mind at all time. Practice money and time management, these are two most important resources in college. Be ready to spend money on books, and manage time wisely is it the only resource that can not be manufactured or gained; once it is gone it is gone for good. It is human to compare yourself with the next guy, don't do this. Comparing yourself to ours can bring on much unneeded stress, concern yourself with how you're doing not everyone else.

There are times I wish to have a do-over of my misspent teenage years. As an older student I must tell my young self several very important things about boys, school, and life. First and foremost would be to leave the boyfriend relationship until you are older and wiser. Falling for an older boy will change the projected course of your life in ways you cannot begin to imagine. Getting pregnant, dropping out of school, getting married, and a GED are not part of your lifelong dream. Your high school teachers are not the enemy. They do know a thing or two and you would do well to pay attention. Note to self: Getting kicked out of biology for throwing up during the frog dissection wasn?t as cool as you thought. Take better care of your body; it is the only one you get. Staying in shape may help you avoid diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer later in your life. Although I would never give up my daughter and grandchildren, college at fifty-plus is much more challenging than at twenty-something. So, get your act together you little smart-ass before you end up ME.

To work as hard as you can early on so your not stuck years later.

As it is said, "There is no better time than the present." Continuing to reflect on the last twelve years of my life and the decisions I?ve made concerning my college education, it is at this point I've recognized it's time to take full responsibility for what I?ve allowed to take place and where I want to be in the near future; ready to move into the purpose in which I have been predestined for. If I could go back in time, I would have told myself I have two choices, either I could make it easier on myself now by taking my education serious, throwing off the procrastination and fear; or I could wait until I am almost thirty to realize that my experiences derailed me from continuing my education. I would let Sharmaine know that she should get involved in volunteering, internships, not being afraid to take necessary risks, but not to forget that everything she goes through to see her dreams come alive is not a waist of time, but a step to get her further than where she is at that moment.

Having taken almost twenty years off between high school and college, mainly do to life, I would tell myself that I can take no more than one year off between high school and college. I would also tell myself to major in what I love know matter how difficult it looks! I can do it!!!

Preperation is the key. In order to be a successful student you must prepare yourself for severe transition. Do everything in moderation. One can have fun and still be successful student. Remember that this oppurtunity is for your growth and your benefits. Go to class and do the work that is expected of me. There's a time and place for everything. Your here to get your education so do that. There is alway time to have fun. But that would be what I would say to myself If I was speaking to me.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would warn myself against taking Advance Placement (A.P.) courses. They help in getting you throught the door but do little after that. I would also tell myself to study hard but also be willing to try new things. College is first and foremost about studying and trying to get a degree, but it is also a chance to meet new people and try new things that may interest you so long as you are willing to try them out. Do not just take things at face value, the one organization you may not interest you, may turn out to be the organization that you advance and do the most in. Therefore, study hard, have an open mind, and be willing to try new and different things outside your comfort zone.

I would say that it's not as hard as you think it'll be. The amount of effort you put into classes will be less than you expect and no more than what you would anyway. You'll have a lot of free time. A lot. The majority of this won't be spent studying. It doesn't need to be. Find a hobby. You'll make friends that will change your life. You'll understand things that you never could before. Your entire personality will change in good and bad ways. College won't be like you expect. Not at all, for the most part. In good and bad ways. Some things never change. Like those people that sit behind you in classes and chatter the whole time while you're trying to pay attention to the lecture? They'll still be there. Deal with them like you always have. The most important thing is to not worry. Even when things seem overwhelming, if you just step back and look, they can be done. Just remember that things are never as good or bad as you expect, and that there's nothing here that you can't handle.