Orange County Community College Top Questions

I would advise myself to take all the AP course I could. My high school offered many AP and college courses to Orange County Community College. If I would have taken those AP courses my Junior and Senior years of high school I could have taken a whole year off of the 4 year Bachaelor's degree I'm aiming for.

Note to self - Do not expect college to be any easier than high school. Rather, approach your course work with determination to perform better than your best. Think: "I will complete my work so that nothing is left out. I will leave no answer inadequately completed. I will pay close attention to my professors and read the syllabus, thereby eliminating any chance of surprise assignments or tests cropping up." Do not procrastinate; don't snowball. Always complete assignments as they are assigned, as quickly as possible without compromising the quality. Talk to your professors and ask thoughtful questions. They will usually be happy to answer relevant queries; they might even be overjoyed that someone was interested enough to ask a question. Discuss class material with your professors outside of class. This will help you learn, and you'll soon find that you have developed a good rapport with your professors. Never come to class late or unprepared. Show that you are a mature and responsible young adult learner. Be cheerful, polite, engaged in class, and respectful toward your professor. Do not make excuses. If you have been irresponsible, own up and do not approach your professors sullenly. They respect maturity.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior there are a few things I would tell myself about the transition of going to college. One of the first things I would tell myself is to be prepared to read. In high school I didn't do a lot of the assigned readings and upon entering college I was ill prepared for the amount of reading I had to do for nearly every subject. The second thing I would tell myself is to break my procrastination habbits now. I have always been a procratinator when it came to school work and I have always tried to stop. It's a hard thing for me to break and I'm still paying for it now. As for everything else, I feel I prepared myself accodingly.

The first advice to myself would be, "Its a fresh slate, begin to put the high school drama and such behind and move onto what I want for myself and my future!" I need to stop procrastinating until the last minute when assignments need to be completed. Some students discuss how college is just 13th or a 14th grade level but that is just the opposite of what it really is. College teaches you responsibility and that the professors are not going to keep telling you when an assignment is due or what you have to do to complete an assignment. I would also tell myself that although this is college I need to realize that high school work is not acceptable and that I need to think above and beyond my "normal" expectations. I want to be the student that is above average and stands out, I don't want to become just another student in the back of the room. I am now thinking about my next two years or so and the changes I will now make for myself, I can't change my past but I will do my best to make changes for my future.

If I had the opportunity to go back in time to my high school self, I would give myself some useful advice. When I was in high school I was scared of what college would be like and I was absolutely oblivious to what was to be done to get into college. As a college student, I would tell myself what is expected in college and to not be scared of the unexpected. My advice would be to talk to a counsler and make sure that I have taken classes that would be useful to my degree in college. I would also tell myself to not procrastinate with college applications, registering for semester classes and finanicial aid. Procrastinating can result to not being able to go to school for a semester, working hard to cover tuition costs, or not being able to take the classes that are required. Last but not least, I would mention that college may be difficult at times, but the passing grades and the chance of graduating is worth the hard work. To be able to stay postive and focus on school can make the responsibilty of being in college a lot more easier than thought.

First i would tell myself that parties, and friends will always be there; however this opportunity might not! College is not for slackers, so do your work and don't procrastinate. Celebrate after all the little successes, after all this is a part of your life you will remember forever. No matter what anyone says about GPA's...THEY MATTER! We all know C's get degrees however, do they all get jobs? Your professors are there to push you, don't get mad at them! If you don't understand what they are teaching go to them (they will help you). Don't stop at an Associates degree... you are smart if you made it that far you can make it all the way! Remember we as people are defined by the decisions we make, so DO NOT decide to quit! Oh yeah... take it one semester at a time, otherwise it will seem impossible! Love, your future self (3.58 GPA, and on the dean's list every semester!!)

If I could go back and talk to the senior me in high school, I would definately tell myself to apply for as many scholarships as possible for. After realising just how much tuition is, and knowing that my family doesn't neccisarrily have the money to pay for it really makes me want to earn as many scholarships as I can. Also, I'd tell myself to not assume things right away. What I mean by that is not to think that college will be extreamly overwhelming and impossible to pass because after my first semester in college, I found it to be surprisingly easy. So basically, I'd tell myself to really take the initiative to apply for as many scholarships and to simply do my best in everything.

I would definately tell myself how important it is to not miss class and get my stuff together. I "bridged" my senior year of high school and went to Dutchess Community College instead of going to highschool and I was very immature and skipped class all the time. I would tell myself to stop judging people and grow up. Also I would tell myself to stop making up sorry excuses to try and justify why I never went to class or got bad grades.