San Diego, CA
Ashford University

I am best known for being an optimistic person. I try to make the best of every situation for myself and others. I believe in by spreading positivity it will bring forth a positive outcome.

I would tell my highschool self to make a plan and stick to it. I was so indecisive, it cost me a lot of time. I think if I had a plan I would be a lot further in my education by now.

The most frustrating thing about college for me is the cost of each individual class. At Ashford university is approximately 1400$ per class. It makes it hard to take extra courses.

They were helpful in getting me financial aid and helped me fill out the enrollment paperwork. Other schools just were not as friendly.

I would advise myself not to go to college right after graduating high school, but not to wait twenty-two years either. I was not ready for college at eighteen. Most likely I would have been too involved with the social aspects of college and not focused on my education. Waiting til I was mid twenties, and more responsible would be my best chance of success. Waiting twenty-two years is too long to wait. I have a lot of life experience, but now I am going out of neccissity as opposed to going when I could take full advantage of the earning potential my degree will provide. Ultimately, I would advise myself to go to college at twenty-four.

The availability of online classes so I can attend classes on my schedule.

Ashford University is a school that caters to every student's desire to learn, achieve and succeed in whatever it is they want for their future.

When looking for schools, I looked for one that really focused on my major. A school that would result in an education, knowledge, and an experience that would last me forever.

As a student returning to college after a long break, I would tell myself to focus and set goals for yourself. Setting goals for yourself motivates you to succeed and continue the hard journey. There will be obstacles and life altering changes that can impact your motivation to continue, but knowing that these are only temporary, can help you through.

If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to study as hard as possible. I would tell myself that college is not cheap, that applying yourself to the fullest potential in high school is for the better. I would remind myself that self-concept changes over time and I am still growing as an individual in society. Education is everything, without it you will not get very far. I would remind myself that knowledge is what changes the world and it is in the palm of my hands.

Honestly, I wish I would have done my research better. I failed to check the reviews posted online. After doing so, I realized that the majority of online students were having similar problems as I.

Trying to get someone on the telephone line is almost impossible at Ashford University. I was removed from classes because I could not manage to get my financial aid advisor on the line, I called multiple times for a week straight.

They are awesome.

Somewhere around my junior year of college I learned the key to college success. I believe the more people that know this tip would not be scared of education or believe that they have to be a certain amount of intelligence to complete college or even go to college in the first place. My husband had pointed out one day my quirky study habit: I like to highlight each question in every assignment a different color so I know what the assignment is specifically asking of me so I do not skip any required elements. Eventually it dawned on me that all school or college is, is a question and an answer. I then noticed that I am not even expected to come up with the answer by my own intelligence: I am just expected to find the answer in the textbook that the class provided. What? Teachers do not care what my opinion is? What? Teachers want me to learn just the facts? What? Teachers just want me to support my found-answer with the text that they provided or scholarly, credible sources that I can site? My mind was blown; and college has been a breeze ever since.

I liked everything.

My classmates are very enthusiastic about taking classes at Ashford University.

Take a chance and do something innovative. Computers will be a HOT field in twenty years, the risk will be worth the reward. Pick a major that is employable in the long run. And, learn the importance of building relationships with the right people. You never know when you will need to reach out to someone for help.

I attend all classes online and they are very challenging. Someone with good time management skills would do well.

The classmates I interact with help with my success. We support one another. We help eachother with feedback on our assignments. It is an extremely rewarding experience. They help keep me on track while I juggle a full-time job and taking care of my two daughters. I wouldn't have it any other way. I push them to succeed while they push me to succeed. It is as if we succeed or fail together.

I go to school online. I am a single mother of two children who also works full-time. The ability to be in an accellerated program allowing me to focus on one class at a time is very important to me. I can teach my daughters the importance of education as they watch how hard I must work in order to acheive high grades. My current GPA is 3.76 out of 4.

I would tell myself to go to college right after high school. I decided to take a year off before going to college. In that year I became pregnant with my eldest daughter. I miss oput on some things because of my school being onlinbe. I don't get the luxury of joining a sorority, living on campus, going to parties, and growing with my classmates. My classroom is my computer at work, my laptop at home, or my smart phone. While I do get to interact with my fellow classmates in my virtual classroom, it is not the same as the real classroom. I would tell myself go and do not give up.

Ashford University has maintained an amazing scholarship program, in which a large portion of students are taking advantage of. If one has a grade point average of 3.5 on the school's 4.0 scale or higher, the entire tuition costs are covered. This leaves students with only room and board, and fees to pay for. Ashford University utilizes its position as a for-profit school in some positive ways, and this is one.

The most frustrating thing about going to a for-profit university, such as Ashford, is that the school operates on both a business and a school level. Therefore, budget cuts are made all the time, such as 4 sports were cut this year, along with the closing of a dorm building. Ashford looks to increase profit and decrease cost, which leads to sacrifices on the student levels. There are many positives to a for-profit, but the pitfalls can outweigh the positives in some aspects.

As a senior, I thought college would what the media portrays: classes would be easy to manage and my roommate would be my best friend. Classes were something I could manage, but I wasn't used to having to put this much effort into a grade. I had to work to maintain my grade. Also, I thought that living in the dorms wouldn't be that bad, that my roommate and I wouldn't have major problems, and resident life would be easy. I never imagined I would come to move in with a stranger whose lifestyle was completely different than mine. I never would have thought I would have to clean up after someone else, or I would not get along with them. I wish that I could go back and tell my high school self that I can handle the courses, but to put a strong effort in. I would tell myself that sometimes issues don't get resolved and I will have to move. I would tell myself that college will be an amazing experiance, but there will be some trials along the way. College is a journey, and sometimes the journey will be hard.

The students come from many cultural and racial backgrounds, in fact, we have military personnel serving in the Middle East and elsewhere that attend online classes. I would say that there are a large number of traditional young students, but because of the economy's downturn several years ago, more non-traditional students attend classes, as in my case, to earn a degree that will improve opportunities for employment. Because I am an online student, I am unfamiliar with the students who actually attend Ashford's brick-and-mortar locations; however, for those students who attend online classes many are employed, homemakers, unemployed, etc. Online learning is so convenient and I highly recommend it for students who do not require face-to-face learning through a physical instructor. Online classes are not for everyone because it takes a tremendous amount of dedication and focus.

I'm not physically at the school. I do know there are different organizations at the actual university.