Virginia Commonwealth University Top Questions

College is not going to be the best time of your life. It can offer you many interesting activities with different groups of your peers and different opportunities, but it will not be all fun and games. Learn to manage your time. Waiting until the night before something is due in high school is not the same as waiting until the night before in college. Teachers will give you readings of sixty pages for one lecture. You will have to choose between a social event and school work. It's okay to go to the social event once in a while, but don't let yourself always choose the social event and get left behind in one or more of your classes. College is the time for learning about yourself and your interests, but you can't do those things if you don't do well in your classes. Try to find a balance of friends and/or social activities and academics.

I would tell my high school senior self to save your money! Do not worry about being able to go out with friends or buying the latest trends, because you'll be mad you spent your money on useless things when you could have saved it for more important things. Another thing I would say is to stay true to yourself. In college you're guaranteed to meet plenty of people who share your views and plenty of people who don't. Do not let people's opinions and drama affect you. People come and go in life. Remember what is important. Don't let petty, temporary situations overshadow the more important things in life. Also, make time to enjoy life! There is a time for work and a time for play! And lastly take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. And try even if you think that you may fail. Don't give up. Push through.

I spent my senior year in Abuja, Nigeria, in Africa. My father works for the CDC and I have had the wonderful opportunity of traveling the world with him through his different jobs and positions. I would not trade the experiences I’ve had living overseas and being able to see and experience things that most people here in the US will never witness. Nonetheless, there are many things that I could have done differently to better ensure my success once I returned here to America for university. Firstly, I would tell myself to really focus more on my classes. Once senioritis sets in, it is hard to find a cure. Secondly, I would tell myself that “love” and romance have plenty of time to be a priority in my life in later years, and that I should be more concerned with building my own character and excelling in subjects of my interest rather than putting effort into another person. Lastly, something that I really wish I could go back and change is applying for scholarships. I wish I would have understood the impact every dollar towards my education can have, and spent more time applying for them.

If I were to go back in time and talk to myself as a senior in high school there are a few pieces of advice that I would give. I would tell myself to get organized, use my time wisely and to give my absolute best. As a student pursuing nursing, a high prerequisite GPA is essential for entry to the very rigorous program. Given the opportunity to go back and talk to myself, I would express the importance of being organized. I have learned this along the way and have realized how beneficial it would have been to have had those skills mastered prior to beginning college. Secondly, I would tell myself to use my time wisely, prioritizing and time management are key to success when taking a heavy load. Lastly I would remind myself that ultimately, my best is all that I can give! As a bit of a perfectionist, I have had to realize that sometimes I will fail. What truly matters is how I deal with my failures. Give up? Or get right back up again and try harder? If I could go back in time I would tell myself these lessons that I have learned.

If I could go back in time and speak to my high school self, I would encourage myself to not worry if my path through college doesn’t look like everyone else’s. There is a lot of pressure both in society and within the college system to get in, get a degree and get out, but as someone who has valued life experience over rushing through the process and not once regretted it, I would tell myself or any young person to take the time to take that trip, to agree to that internship, and to see the world, because college will still be there, but some opportunities are only once in a lifetime. I am now an older student, but my experiences have both settled me into who I am and informed my decisions as a student. My college experience is undeniably better because of the experiences I have had outside of my time in school. I would encourage my high school self to treasure every moment of it, because in the end, living life is all about the journey, not about the destination.

If I could go back in time and give myself advice as a high school senior I would tell myself to relax a little and that everything will be okay. People tell you to follow your dreams and follow your heart and sometimes that can be a little scary, but they're right. Follow your heart even if you think you'll change your mind because you never know where you're going to end up, who you're going to meet and what experiences you're going to have. As a high school senior I definitely spent a lot of time worry about making the right choice on which school I wanted to attend. I believe I ended up where I'm supposed to be, even if my reasons for coming aren't my reasons for staying. I believe that college will be what you make it. Don't be afraid and don't hold back. Go after what you want and try new things. You are in charge of your future and you are the driving force who will make your dreams come true.

The first two years of my college life have passed in a whirlwind. The most rewarding part of college has also been the most difficult part: breaking out of my comfort zone. In college, what a person puts into their experiences is what he or she will get out of it. When I started attending university, I expected everything to happen to me and didn't realize that I had to initiate changes for myself. If I wanted to make friends, I had to start conversations, join clubs, and go out. If I wanted to make good grades, I had to put in the study time, do my homework, and go to class. These seem like common sense principals, and they are. Yet, for me, being painfully shy kept me from getting the most out of my college experiences for my first semester. It wasn't until I broke out of my comfort zone and started making things happen for myself that college became the best time of my life. If I could go back and tell my younger self one thing, it would be not to waste time being afraid and to grab college by the horns.

I know that you want to attend a large university when you graduate. My advise to you is to attend a local community college. Even though you are attending a large high school, a large four year university will be overwhelming. A two year college gives you a chance to acclimate yourself to college life at your own pace. There are fewer students in each classroom, giving you the opportunity to participate and ask questions. Many of the larger universities have classrooms with over a hundred students attending at one time. In this atmosphere you are a number not a person.k You will find the instructors easier to approach at a two year school because they aren't weighted down with lessons and homework assignments from hundreds of students. I know at seventeen you think you know it all, but take my advise, and give some serious consideration to starting your college eductation at a community college.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself that no matter how overwhelmed or depressed I may feel about my circumstances to just keep pushing. College is by no means a cakewalk and students must accept that downside of post-secondary education. I would tell myself that it is okay to have no idea what I want after graduation and it is perfectly acceptable to change my mind about what I want out of life. I would reassure myself that I am a dynamic individual who is exceptionally strong, capable, and intelligent enough to make it to graduation. Overall, I would want myself as a high school senior to know that perseverance will bear the fruit of success if I remain confident in my abilities when college starts to pull me down into the valleys of the mountain.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a senior, I would tell myself how much harder I need to work scholastically to get better GPA in college. My work ethic wasn't where it should have been when I left high school, and bad habits are extremely hard to break. A lot of people, even instructors will comment on how bright I am. I should start working for a grade that represents how smart I really, instead of procrastinating on everything. I would also like to mess with myself after I already signed up for the National Guard, talking about how scary the gas chamber is, and even tell the story of an idiot kicking a mortar down as a round was being fired. Honestly, I would just go back to make myself even tougher than I thought I already was. I wouldn't try to change too much beyond that. I'm living a good life, making new friends, finding new and interesting things to learn and play with.