Utah State University Top Questions

If I could go back in time and talk to my self as a high school senior, I would tell myself to not worry so much about the future and to focus on my AP tests. I was very stressed out towards the end my senior year of high school since I realized I didn't have a way to pay for a four year college. I wish I would have earned a better score on the United States Government and Politics AP test, because I would have earned a few more college credit hours. Those few credit hours would have helped me inch closer to an early graduation date. Less time I spend at a college, the less debt I will have. I currently attend community college, but I want to finish at a four year university. Even now, as I apply as a transfer student with four semesters worth of college credit hours, the question still lingers. How am I going to pay for it?

I've had this conversation with my younger siblings in High School right now. If I could go back in time to talk to my high school senior self, the one thing I would stress more than anything is to just take that leap of faith and go for it. You see, as a senior I didn't even realize I was going to college until late spring before graduation. Money was a huge factor, and I ended up waiting until the last minute to come up with the financial aid and loans to get me into school. The rush provided a very bad experience away from home my freshman year, and family complications at home drove me to drop out. So, If I could go back, I would tell myself how important it is to just for it. Utilize any resources possible, but start early. This early start will make the difference between being where I want to be and happy by 28, not just starting to get there like I am now.

Marissa, sign up for schollarships now. Apply for every schollarship you can, and as many as you can. Student loans is the biggest stress I have had after coming to college.

I would tell myself to quit worrying. I stressed so much that first year, it almost wasn't fun. I would say" Everything is going to work out, you're going to have awesome roommates, and you're going to love your school. It's gonna be hard to be far from family, but that will make each reunion so much sweeter."

Why hasn't anybody invented a time machine by now?! I think we all would love to go back in time and tell our former selves a thing or two. If I could talk to myself as a senior in high school I would say two things: take things seriously and learn how to study. As a high school student I didn't understand that one day I would have to be accountable for the things I do. Life was easy. Worries were few and far between. Fun was everywhere. I did not realize that soon I would be paying for my own education, apartment, food, or internet. I would advise myself to be smarter and take things seriously. I would invite myself to apply for more scholarships, to challenge myself in the classroom, and prepare for the future. I would also enfasize the role that study would play in my life. In high school you can get by without much study and preparation. In college you cannot. I would implore myself to learn how to study well before college and to focus and commit myself to my own education and future security. Now I know, then I didn't.

My advice to myself, or any high school student, is to work hard and learn everything you can. Take as many concurrent enrollment, or college classes as possible, and learn to study. Studying is very important and the skills that many learn in high school isn't enough. You need to learn to do more than passively study or read, but to actively get involved in your studying, to memorize, review material, and become engrossed in it. Learn to manage your time and how to figure out what is really important, because sometimes everything can't be done.

If I found a way to bend time and could travel back to when I was ending my senior year, I think I would have a lot to tell myself, but this one piece of advice would stand out amidst the rest: life goes on. I would tell my younger self to make mistakes, go on adventures, prepare for the future, but after mistakes are made, tests are failed, and when ‘stress’ is no longer a six letter word but a way of life, move on. Learn from all those mistakes, but don’t dwell on the past. Prepare for the future, but don’t worry so much; things will turn out how they will turn out, all I can do is my best. Among the sensible feast of advisable tidbits such as: stay organized, sit in the front of the class, and never pay full price for textbooks, would be this one sagacious morsel I cherish above all else I’ve learned; life goes on, seize the day then let it go so you can seize tomorrow. College is about learning and growing, and is there any better way to learn than from your own mistakes?

As a high school senior I was able to take advantage of some concurrent enrollment classes offered by Utah State University. This prepared me for some of the extreme changes that you undergo as a college freshman. I would go back and teach myself the importance of being patient and learning to handle stressful situations. As a high school student it is so easy to get caught up with everything and everyone around you, that you forget about yourself. I would go back and try to help myself understand the importance of selecting the right career. Some people choose majors for the wrong choices, just to end up living depressing professional lives. In addition to teaching myself the importance of handling stressful situations and choosing the right career, I would engrave in my countenance the strong desire to be an overachiever. As long as you are striving to perform your best and listen to others, you will be successful. Learning from your mistakes will allow you to become an excellent leader and role model for others to follow.

I would tell myself to stay focused and to keep reaching for the goals that 'we' have set. Don't let others steer you away from what you have your mind set on.

The advice I would give myself is, 1) learn how to study. In high school we are not taught what it means to really study for tests. We are practically given all the answers in our homework and so we don't really need to study in high school. It does NOT in any way prepare one for college. And 2) find a good balance between a social life and academic life. Once you get to college and you are living away from your parents and with people your same age and in your same situation, it is easy to get caught up the social life and not focusing as much on the academic life. Or vice versa, some people may spend all their time in the library and not realize the campus life they are missing, which could actually be more detrimental to your GPA if you have no social life in college. Find a good balance!