Austin College Top Questions

Just enjoy the process. This experience will NEVER happen again. You're going to a different state with a completly different culture. You have never seen the college you're goingto be attending. While everybody hates their roomate, you will become good friends with yours, even though he is gone for the start of the year. You'll meet great people and pledge a fraternity, something you never thougt you'd do. So much happens in college. Just enjoy the process and take it all in, becuase it is a great time.

One of the greatest aspects of people are their intelligence. In highschool, although I made very good grades, learning was boring to me and I was completely uniterested in the material. I would say that I would tell myself to read books of my interest to learn as much as i can. College really opens your eyes to the realities of the world and compelled me to want to learn more. Also I realized how little highschool popularity affects you once you move off to college. Everyone that was in your grade does their own thing, everyone in your college doesnt care if you were popular or not because they dont know you. It is a fresh start. So young Cody, make the best grades you can, focus on learning your interest and dont worry about fitting in in highschool, do what you love because your peers around you in highschool now wont matter when you leave for college.

Upon graduation from high school, I was confident, successful and destined for greatness. Then I showed up to move into my dorm as a college freshman. Suddenly, I was insecure and unsure of myself. I believe that most students feel scared moving away from home and going to college but looking back I believe that was the biggest waste of time and energy. If I could have given myself advice about making the transition to college life, I would tell myself to not worry, relax, and hold onto the same confidence and success I achieved as a high school graduate. I believe that confident and successful people are attractive. People want to be around other people who are trying to improve themself. Lastly, I would tell myself to take advantage of every opportunity that arose throughout those four years. Looking back, there were many opportunities I had, such as study abroad, that I regret not taking advantage of. I believe that during those years of college , I could have broadened my perspective so much more than I allowed. Upon realizing this, I try to take advantage of every learning opportunity that arises to me.

It's funny, everyone warns that life outside of high school is "the real world", that it's big, and scary, and mean out there. To be quite honest, life can change in a moment, or even in the span of months, but when it gets hard, pursue goals, chase dreams, and never cast away ambition. Life goes on. When the world threatens to take away the opportunities within reach, find a way to succeed. When it feels like the burdens of existence are crashing down all at once (for some this may not happen in college, but it's bound to happen eventually) strive forward. There is only one life to live, and only a limited amount of time to discover yourself. Hard times reflect the person within, so cherish even the time spent in tears, in stress, in frustration, and in praying; because fighting to survive generates and molds the real individual, not the facade. Discover yourself.

Just have fun and get to know all the people around you. It's a wonderful school and you'll definitely fit in. Don't worry and remember to focus on your school work.

My college experience has allowed me to expand my knowledge of my chosen profession and has made me secure in the knowledge that I was on the right path. It has been so valuable to attend my college because my teachers and fellow students provide a fun learning environment that keeps me focused and eager to to learn more as well as anxious to keep moving forward. If I had to take only one thing away with me from my college experience, it would be that I am now able to assert myself more ina learning environment and that I now have three times the confidence I had in myself before I went in.

I have gotten so much more than just knowledge from my college experience. It truly is a unique experience starting this brand new chapter in my life. Specifically in my situation, being the only student from Alaska at my school, I first felt it was a little bit difficult to connect to other students at first and was timid to strike up a conversation. However, in these past 4 months I have grown and developed so much as a person through putting myself out there and giving myself the opportunity to meet new and incredible people. Not to mention the fact that academically I have been challenged like never before and it has really made me gain an appreciation for the tough classes I took throughout the years. Overall my college experience so far has been pretty incredible, and although home is very far away I have even managed to stop feeling so homesick by allowing myself to experience the wonderful opportunities offered at my school.

Allow me talk about what makes me a good student. However, since "good" is a relative term that can be described from many different angles and perspectives, I would merely have to start this essay by saying that I am not a kind of student who can be categorized as good or bad one. Many people commonly view “good” as antithesis of bad. But I believe that it can also be used in a context of being different and standing out (especially from professors), yet also being normal and not being a sore thumb standing out (especially among peers). And I believe that being good is a willingness to be contempt with whatever choices that they have made. Good is only as good as how good that person is at making good choice. And as for me? “I” think I am a good student. Not only because of the way I act around professors or peers, nor only because I make choices that I accept whether the result turns out well or not, but also because at least I have acquired the skill to think critically, and apply to describe how “good” student I am.

If I could go back in time and tell myself anything, it would be to enjoy high school a little bit more and appreciate the relationships with I had with the people around me. As I attended school in a small town with a close knit community, I took those relationships for granted and now miss them fiercely. In addition, I would have definitely told myself to save some of the money from the two jobs I had, because walking onto campus with $20 in your bank account is not the best thing to do. I would tell myself that my parents cannot afford to support me financially at school and to learn some financial responsiblity so that they don't suffer for my lack of it. Finally, I would advise myself to develop some study habits and dicipline because I had none when I began college and it severely hurt me academically. I feel that the last one is the most important, because thats the one that has been a challenge to me, and still is in my second year of college.

I was highly involved throughout high school in a variety of extracurricular activities. I'd tell myself to try and balance my study time with my activities more productively. Study harder, make better grades, allowing for more scholarships. Something else that would have contributed to more scholarships, take the SAT more the once. Improve your score, get more scholarships. Dealing with scholarships, I would tell myself to, "Apply for way more"! There were so many that I just let the deadlines slip away and figured, oh, there will be more to come. Yet, just think of all that money that I was giving others the opportunities to get. A character aspect that I feel would have allowed me to advance in high school and lessen hardships during the transition to college, competiveness. Not in a spiteful way, just enough to prepare myself for freshman year and the furthering of my education at a four year school. In a social aspect I would advise me to embrace the unknown of future roommates, groups, organizations, etc. I?d be a part of. To just go for it without losing sight of myself and enjoying the growth that comes along with the new.

It is so strange to think of myself as a high school senior, simply because I am nowhere near the same person or student that I was at the time. One semester of college, be it a short time span or not, has drastically altered my way of life. Thus, I suppose the advice that I would give my high school self would be to simply enjoy the simplicity of the time before graduation. Do not worry about the future, for the future will bring enough worries when it comes. I believe that is my only regret of high school... that I went too fast and made myself too busy to truly enjoy the time I had with the students that I had grown up with. Now, I am in a completely new world, and I wish I could go back in time just to give myself some encouragement and a little sense of urgency to live freely.

I have always done well with managing my time and money, but when you enter college and gain the freedom of no parental restraints and a more relaxed schedule than high school, you get caught up in the college freshman buzz. When at high school you're almost forced to spend 8 hours a day, every day, at school. At college, you have a more relaxed schedule of maybe 4 classes a day, every other day. You think that you have all the time in the world to finish homework, but when you get caught up with having fun having a "day off," you slack off and procrastinate on school work. Thankfully I've always done well with time management, but managing money was a different story. When you're out socialized with potential friends, you go to the movies, you go out to eat, and the money goes with it. I would have given myself the advice to not get caught up in the freedom of free time and the need for socialization and whims of my wants. Friends are important, but there are plenty of fun, free and cheap things to do!

Don?t cry. You?re going be a big baby and not very fun to be around, unless you take my advice. Get used to not having you family to rely on. Seek out your independence and run with it. Trust me, you?ll love it. I beg you, try to be nice and TALK to people. People are going to think you?re weird and avoid you, if you don?t. Also, LISTEN to what people are saying and respond accordingly. If you mess up on either one of these things, you?re screwed. Take advantage of that first week. It is the best time to make friends. You don?t want a repeat of the past four years, do you? It is essential to have good relationships with your roommate, neighbors, and teachers. Take things seriously, but not too serious, of course you need to take academics seriously, but you seriously don?t need to stress out about GPA. Find a balance between seriousness and fun. Most important, don?t punish yourself if things aren?t perfect. Perfection can never be claimed, go ahead and do your thing.

If I were able to give my high school senior self some adivice I would tell them a few things. First I would tell them to study a little bit harder for the AP tests because having those credits will help you when you are signing up for classes after freshman year. I would also tell myself to not worry as much, that the transition is not too difficult. That everything that I learned about dealing with people in high school will make my college life easier. I would remind myself to have fun but not too much fun. I think I would also try to convince myself to work on study habits before I left for college. That once I got to college I would have to study a whole lot more than I ever had in high school, and having those habits before would have been very benifical. I would also tell myself that I needed to brush up on my reading non-fiction habits. I think that adjusting a few things might have made my transition that much better than it already was.

College is a completely different world than high school, and every college freshman realizes that fact as soon as their dorm door closes behind them. However, if I could speak to my high school persona and give some advice, I would first suggest to start formulating a daily study routine. College classes require a high amount of studywork that high school classes generally do not. Lastly, I would advise to enjoy your high school years. College is a wonderful place where ambitions become realities and lives change, but it is a rapid occurence. Do not rush the inevitable.

Hello, stressed out senior. Please understand that this is an important decision, but you need to calm down. Think clearly. Be honest with yourself. Be sure to cosider the things you love to do, not just what you have to do. Choose a school that can nurture you're talents and help you realize your dreams, not one that looks good on paper. It's okay to break the status quo. After you find schools that fit with your personality, pick one that sense financially. Think about your parents. They'll do anything for you, but don't make them. This is your expense, your dream, your life. Don't be a burden on anyone. This is an investment, but be realistic about what you can handle. Always be realistic. Find a way to make it work now, it will not work itself out. Also, it's better to make people unhappy sooner rather than later. Be honest NOW. It'll be too late in two years; you'll be trapped. All things considered, you NEED to know that you will never transition into a life that isn't you. P.S. I love you. A lot of people do.

Our eyes would scanning all over the collegeboard.com site, scrutinizing different statistic numbers such as "Percent of students who return for sophomore year," "graduate path," and SAT/ACT test scores from different schools. These value gives us glimps of student life: how satisfying is the school, what kind of graduate program is encouraged, and likehood of your peers being pothead, or valedictorian. After sorting out interesting schools, arrangement would be made with schools to visit the campus. List of "top choice" schools should not be truncated by numbers on financial award nor digits displayed on semester tuition, because great school truely have potential to offer greatest experience of one's life; educational investment is an investment that is truely worthy. Having exposure to various disciplinary fields in High school is highly encouraged, because these experiences could be an helpful guide when it is time for one to decide on major and minor in college. Taking as many AP or IB courses as possible in High school is encouraged as well, not only because it will give you some college credit, but also doing so will lead you a step closer to knowing "how to study" with self-discipline.

Take every opportunity you have to make a difference! Be smart and get out and be apart of the community. don't worry about the transition make sure you try and participate in school activities and stop being shy! Life is about being active to create a change and travel as far as you can go! Home is not that far and you can just grab your keys and take a 45 min. drive if you are really hungry because the cafeteria food is really terrible, applesauce with a dash of cinammon will be your saving grace. There is no better time than now to go out and explore things you would have otherwise never considered, such as being in a sorority, you will meet amazing girls that inspire you to find your purpose. I know you are really set on being a doctor, but you will discover a more rewarding career that will take you around the world. You are still going to do what you intend to do and so much more just make sure to stick through the tough times and enjoy the best of times, because before it'll pass you by.

Don't go to a college just because your friend, boyfriend, or girlfriend is going. Figure out what YOU want to do, where you can make that happen and do it.

Visit as many campuses you think necessary, but ultimately follow your gut-instinct because this is your home, your future.

Talk to current students about their experiences at that school. You can read tons of books about the statistics, but those numbers don't really matter. The internet provides ample opportunities to communicate with current students. Also, don't choose a college because your boyfriend or friend is going there. College is such an individual experience and your friend my love the school but you could hate it. If there are things about the school that you question or wonder how you could live there, do not talk yourself into it! Last of all, don't pick a college just because your parent or sibling went/go there. As far as the college experience goes: do not go home often. The people who went home at my school were left out of the social scene, and had a much harder time at the school. Also, stay on top of all the assignments. It's easy to get behind since no one is watching you or assigning reading quizzes, but when you get behind, you end up cramming- which results in less beneficial learning. College is about learning new things and having new experiences, so make sure to do so!

Visit every college you apply to and make sure it fits your student's personality.

Make sure they go visit the campus and really talk to people there. Don't just listen to the people giving to the tours. Try to find random people to go talk to and sit in on a class while you're there if you can.

Don't look at the money that it costs. In the end, the investment will pay for itself. Go somewhere where you feel you fit. And don't discard smaller schools, they tend to have a better academic record and the professors seem to be more open to helping students.

Find a college that is going to be the right environment for the student to work in. You have to find what's right for each student. Spend the night with a host student. Have them talk to you and show you around without being on one of those manicured tours. The student will tell you bluntly how things work at the college, then its up to the student (not the parent) to decide which is best. College is a once in a life time opportunity. Recognize that. Don't waste it. Work hard, it will get you places.

Visit all the schools you are interested in and then visit a couple of times the top 5-2 to decide which college to go to. Live in a dorm for a year or two!

The most important part of finding the right college is visiting the schools you apply to. As soon as I visited the college I ended up at, I knew it was where I wanted to be for 4 years. It had an excellent atmosphere, has one of the top programs in the state for my area of study, and because it's a Division III small school, I was able to play a varsity sport all 4 years and still maintain a high GPA. I have had to work hard to earn my grades, and to succeed in my sport, but I would never change the decision I made. Where you go to college defines a large part of who you will be in life, so it's important to find a school that fits you. You shouldn't have to change to fit the school. So go on college visits, ask lots of questions, and don't settle for something less than you deserve.

I would recommend that the students visit the colleges or universites that they wish to attend. Also, that the students dont allow their decisions to be too influenced by their parents. I think that to many students allow their parents to choose their college or university for them without realizing that they will be the ones attending and not their parents.

Honestly, the price of the college should take little or no part in the decision making of college. Of course there are certain situations that require a family to take into consideration tuition, but if a college is the right fit for a student and his/her family, then it will work out for that person. The great thing about a small school like Austin College is that the administration and faculty care about the students and wants students that have potential to attend this college. The President of Austin College is personally responsible for my attendance at this institution.