Columbia Basin College Top Questions

What should every freshman at your school know before they start?

Raelynn

Being able to go back in time is often a wish of most people. Giving advice to a younger me about the transition to college, would have proven to be helpful. The advice that I would give that self would be to be more on top of things. I have always been an attentive studier, but little did I realize that college classes required a different attack. I would explain to myself that a different approach to schooling was needed; advising my younger self to review notes from lectures every night and to always read a chapter ahead. On top of this I would emphasize the importance of studying for exams a little every day. Practice is always beneficial , and this holds valid in an academic case as well. I wish that someone would have told me to look at further education in a different light, as this would have allowed me to have a more efficient transition. It would also allow me to put my hard work into a form that showed my passion for learning. If life allowed one to rewind time and advise a prior self, educational adventures would have more of a flow.

Bobby

I would tell myself that I am not doing enaugh work. I would say that the amount of work I am being given at high school is nothing compared to college and that i do not have enaugh dicpline to go through college. I would alo say at the same time that I sould realley know what i want to do. before I go ahead and go through it. I need to realley make sure that the classes I sign up for are one that i want to do. One more thing. I sould alsway read the fineprint on CBC' wbesite.

Jennifer

Have you ever heard about those 4.0 students fresh out of high school that drop out of college because they forget to attend? If I could have given myself a lecture before my first two years of college it would have been very simple: Go to class and be a sponge. This is the best four years of your life if you listen to your teachers. Absorb all the knowledge they give before you get thrown into a world of chaos. They want you to succeed--that is what they are there for. Being a teacher is one of the most important jobs in the world and they deserve much more respect than they are given. It is our job as students to take the most pertinent information from each instructor and carry it with us into the real world. Right now we are in a struggling economy. It is up to the children in this world to get an education to build a foundation for our future generations.

Lucero

If I has the chance to go back and give myself advice as a high school senior I would tell myself that there will be alot of challenges in college but no matter what I face the biggest and most important priority is school. Recently my dad was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor and it affected my studies because I have to assist my mom in caring for my dad as well as attend school and keep a job. It has been very tough on me and my family but my biggest motivation is obtaining my degree with hopes that my dad will see me graduate with my college diploma since I will be the first college graduate in my family.

Alan

In High School, I worked two jobs and went to school. My family never really had money growing up, so I learned to work hard for what I wanted. When I graduated, I didnt have a lot of money, so I joined the Navy. I just got out of the military last spring, and now I have a wife and three kids to take care of. I am making eduatation a priority. I should have made that desicion when I was a high school senior. Education is very important to me and I will be spending the next 3 years working hard to accomplish the things I want in school so I will be able to apply for medical school, which is my end goal. I took a small detour with the Navy and loved serving my country, but am happy to be dedicating the next 10 years of my life in acheiving my ultimate goal, becoming a doctor. Education is coming first in my life now, but I wish I had a chance to discover that years ago.

Hannah

If I could go back to my senior year in High School, I would change nothing. My senior year was spent in Targu-Mures, Romania, as an International Rotary Youth Exchange Student. Every experience and sensation of living overseas for ten months taught me to a great extent the value of hard work and even harder times. I have been shaped into a young ambitious woman with many goals that I am ready to accomplish. Looking back, even at my ?mistakes?, I have learned by them and continue to learn from them. I could never regret anything I?ve done because of what I?ve done, where I?ve gone, and who has influenced me, has made me who I am today. As for advice, I would tell myself, ?Never give up. No matter how hard the times are, keep pushing forward. College won?t be easy, but nothing in this life worth having is easy to get, and makes the reward all the better at the end. Never give up.? I will pursue my education and push for my career so that I can be all that I can be and more. I will never give up.

Melissa

Wow, if I could go back to when I was a senior in high school knowing what I know now I would tell myself to go for it. I was a great student all through school. I applied myself and was very well disciplined but then I made a few bad choices and I ended up pregant my senior year of high school. I always wanted to got to college but when I found out I was pregant and the father wanted nothing to do with me my main priority became raising my son and at the time I felt it would of been selfish to go to college. I am a great mother, wife, coworker, and caretaker but now its time to do something for myself that I wanted for along time. I don't feel this is a selfish decision because it will benefit my family. So if I could go back to when I was a senior knowing what I know now I would say "Melissa everything is going to be okay believe in yourself because great things are going to happen your are going to college. so

Kenneth

This question is a little difficult seeing I never attended highschool. I come from a large family; I am one of ten children. My parents couldn't afford to send us to a public school. As a result, I am homeschoolled and entered Running Start. Rather than take advantage of this program, I didn't appreciate the literally free education. Now that I am out of the two years that were provided for me, I'm having to pay tuition out of my own pocket. My advice to myself two years ago? Don't take education for granted.

Melisa

I would tell myself to step up to the plate and take every oportunity that you can. There are so many great oportunities and offers out there and you need to experience it and embrace it. Dont let someone else take your dreams away from you. Do everything possible to fulfill your dreams so you can become successful.

Louis

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a senior about going to college I would tell myself a few things. Mainly to stop being such a procrastinator by putting off things till the last minute or just not doing them because I didn?t know what to do. Also, to stop expecting someone to help me make the decisions in life I need to be making myself. Then go on to say that college isn?t easy and not to make the mistake of just jumping into a university like I did, since I know now that a community college is a better way to transition into college life. Lastly I would have to put much of the focus of the talk on not just choosing a major because my father did it, but because it is something I actually want to do and have a career in.

Edward

If I was to go back in time when I was a senior the advice I would give myself was to get started now. I would want to jump in every program I could that would get me ahead. The programs that let seniors get started with college credits are the first ones I would jump on. I would also tell myself about the career I want to do. I did not know what I wanted to do as a senior so I would give myself a heads up. I would start to apply to fire departments as a resident firefighter and start getting experience. I would let myself know that girls come after education so that I won't lose focus with my goals. That would be the advice I would give myself if I could go back in time.

Eva

The advice that I would give myself if I went back in time would be to just do the best that I can do. Not to let the idea from going to college freak me out and not go. It is a fresh start of a career that I am eager to get an AA on. College is not as bad as it sound or as I have imagined it would be like, that it is better. Make the most out of college and have fun.

Amanda

I would tell myself to prepare more for what's ahead. I didn't prepare myself, therefore I ended up at a community college instead of a four-year like most of my friends. Also, I'd tell myself to get more scholarships. College isn't cheap, it's actually ridiculously expensive. Books for a math class are usually over one-hundred dollars, and that eventually adds up over time. The more scholarships that you get, the easier it is on you and/or your parents that have to pay for it. If you just get scholarships, there's no point in getting loans which can come back to bite you later in life.

Megan

If I were to give myself advice in high school it would be to defiantly be proactive in applying for scholarships and schools. I waited too long to apply for many scholarships and schools that I ended having to attend our local community college. Even though I made that mistake of waiting too long I still am glad that I went to CBC because it has saved me so much money for the same education as I would have gotten if I had left for a big university. It really has been a blessing in disguise now that I look back because I will graduate with my AA without any debt. I would also remind myself that everyone has their own paths to take after high school and the big universities aren?t always for everyone. The college life does not appeal to me and my friends made me feel like a loser for not going to a university. I would just remind myself that I ended up doing what was best for me and my future by staying home and attending the community college and anybody else?s opinion should affect my decisions on my future.

Celeste

If I were to go back in time as a high school senior I would try to get into running start program to get closer to my career objective. I would have tried harder at the sports I participated in. I would have taken class with the harder teachers to acually learn, not the easy one just so I get a good grade. That would have prepared me to be a better student, and to get in higher classes in college.

Sarah

Keep studying like you did in the last part of your senior year, never give that up. It will always get you somewhere where you want to be, and alot better grades then you have now. Especially since you'll be in college, and wont have bad grades like you do. Study math alot, Pay attention to your classes. Take really good notes. Everything will be ok, life is just beggining and its a ladder that must be climbed if you want to go somewhere.

Danielle

I would suggest starting school at a community college until I knew what I wanted to major in. It is way cheaper than going away to school and wasting money.

Kristin

Go to school when you are young. There seems to be many more scholarships available to student when just out of high school. Use money wisely so that debt after college is manageable to the job field that you will enter. Take college seriously, the GPA you earn will follow you from college to college and could make it difficult for you to get into promising and interesting programs. Seek a direction, find your focus and give it your all!

Sarah

If I could go back in time and warn myself of the future I would tell myself to study more. I wish I would have picked that up in high school but I didn't and it really does show. I also wish I could tell myself how to save money because if I did, I wouldn't be in a tight spot right now. School isn't getting any cheaper and money doesn't grow on trees. So if I would have saved eariler I would be in such a tight spot.