South Puget Sound Community College Top Questions

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

Angela

As a senior, I was in a study abroad program in South Africa. I was there for the whole year and I hadn't put any serious thought on what I would do when I got back. Looking back, I wish I would have applied for university before I left so that I could have began attending once I got back. Since I didn't, I'm taking this time now to work and save money for school and future travels, but I just wish I could have told myself how important applying to schools was.

Destiny

Dear Destiny 2010, Freshman year will not be an easy one. Losing your childhood bestfriend will tear you apart. I wish I could take that pain away, but it will only make you stronger. One thing I want to tell you is that you can't give up on the things you love. I know you will feel like the world is against you, but you need to open your eyes and see the bigger, brighter picture. Giving up on your softball team is not the answer, neither is giving up on school. Those two things will bring you more happiness than you can ever imagine. Losing Becca is a challenge but you need to not only stay strong for yourself, but your team as well. They will be the ones to support you, they will guide you, they will make you who you are today. Lose yourself in the sport, stay driven. Most importantly, don't spend your time questioning God, he has a plan that you are not quite aware of yet. Be strong, be smart, be confident. Remind yourself that Becca is right behind you, pushing you farther on your lifelong journey. Sincerely, Destiny Roberts 2014

Elex

I am a high school senior, I am in Washington state where we have a program called Running Start which allows us to be enrolled in full time college two years early so I can graduate with my AA and transfer to another college. Looking back at my sophomore self when I was first working on getting into South Puget Sound Community College though, I would definitely tell myself to take advantage of the oppurtunites around me sooner. I am currently the drama club president, and I wish I had joined my first year, it is so much fun and we do so many great things. I'd also tell myself to not sweat the little things. I was so worried about some of my classes first few quarters that I did poorly, but then I started to relax spring quarter last year and my grades and social life have been picking up ever since.

Kira

If I could go back in time to when I was a high school senior, I think I would tell myself to relax a little. As a high school honor student, I was very stressed for going off to college, for a number of reasons. I thought the transition from small high school classes of students that rarely cared about the work and where constantly shooting glances at the clock waiting for the dismissal bell, to a fifty-student lecture hall where I would have to take constant notes on the professor's lectures to pass huge exams, would be a nightmare. I thought wandering around different buildings across an expanse of winding campus paths would also be a major stressor. However, once I got to community college, I was pleasantly surprised. The atmosphere of the entire campus was much more relaxed than I thought; in fact, much more relaxed than high school. So, if I was able to go back in time, I would tell myself these things. I would tell myself to keep an open mind; the students at college are much different than high school students. I would tell myself, that I would be fine.

Greggory

Greg, you need to focus, think about what you want out of life and how you are going to get it. The events in your life right now can drastically alter your future. You maybe limiting yourself on where you can go to school, what education you'll receive, and what you'll do to provide for yourself and a future family. You are smart and you can accomplish every goal you set for yourself, if you start right now to prepare. Enjoy your time now and have fun.

Allyson

I f I could go back and talk to myself as a senior I would definately tell myself to go about things quite differently. Paying for college has proven to be the hardest part of life after high school and I would tell myself to save money and to apply harder and more seriously to as many scholarships as I could. I would also advise myself to utilize the Running Start program which was essentially free college classes until you graduated. I had no idea what an amazing opportunity this was and how much money not signing up for this program would cost me later. I would tell myself to work with my parents, and try to get them more involved in my college opportunities and see if we could have worked out a deal where they could have helped me manage the staggering cost of college education. I would also have told myself to listen to my heart first and foremost instead of the many people insisting college was a waste of time. I would finally advise myself to get involved in some clubs and start volunteering at places I may want to consider pursuing a career in.

Kira

The advance I would give to myself as a high school senior would be to work hard, to not procrastinate, be passionate, and make goals. In college the work course is alot more serious than high school, you have to know what you want and strive for it. By having goals that you want to achieve, it makes the hard process in between alot easier. Passion is a huge part of my life. So I would tell myself that with every activity I did, to do it will 110{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} effort, and really enjoy the small moments of life.

Angel

If I could go back in time, the key advice I would tell myself would be to : learn to breath, and to sleep now, because you won't later. Learning to breath, for myself anyways, is very vital in keeping on top of everthing in my life. I have a lot to juggle, and I can get overwhelmed quickly. I have adjusted now, but the first two quarters were testing. As for sleep, I work about 30 hours a week while attending school. I also have a 4 year old and a 2 month old to worry about so sleep is the last luxury I take part in. I am greatful for the oppertinities I get in life, but sometimes it would be nice if they didn't happen all at once.

Levi

If I had the chance to go back and talk to myself when I am senior in highschool. I would first of all tell myself that you are doing a good job and keep going because you are going to love how your life is in the future. Even though the reason why im writing this is because i have no money and im trying to win a scholorship. So I will also mention to myself is to get a JOB, because im going to need more money for college and you wont have to do any silly surveys to try to win a scholarship. Besides the lack of money, you will enjoy your time after High school. You will meet many new friends, get good grades, and gain many great expierences. So thats all I would tell my younger self and Oh yeah, dont leave the stove on....

Ebony

The advice that I would give myself is, study accordingly. Don't let nothing or noone get in the way of you achieving your goals. I would also tell myself that I should know what field of study I want to go into, before hand, so I'm not indecisive when it's time to make the decision.

Ryan

Making the transition from highschool to college was not what i expected. I expected for it to be easy even after 3 years of taking time off to go to work and travel to places such as: austrailia, hawaii and Mexico. I enjoyed it. Knowing what i know now I would tell myself to go straight to college and not to mess around because before you know it the time has gone and your a 25 year old dad trying to get out of debt from a divorce and working full time to support yourself and your son as well as going to school full time. Even though my son is my life I would suggest to myself to stay on track and go to school and get a degree and support myself and then in the future raise a family. It is so hard being all of these things; even through all of the tough times it does built character and show's what kind of man i have become, also i wouldn't trade having my son for anything in the world. Even if my marriage wasn't a success i can take the positives out of it.

JoAnna

If I could go back to myself as a high school senior, the first thing I would do would tell myself to take the eyebrow ring out! Most importantly though, I would tell myself not to wait 6 years before returning to school. While I do not regret the paths I have taken to make me who I am today, I think I could be a lot farther on my path were I to have started college sooner. The other thing I would tell myself is to not put finances first. Trying to keep a full time job to maintain a certain status of life is not worth losing out on a quality education, besides, Top-Ramen is delicious!

Emily

That sometimes its not a good idea to wait. Now i am stuck in a place where i need a job but have a degree. I would tell myself that i can make a better life for myself and my family with having a degree.

Adam

I would most likely congratulate myself on graduating, but reiterate that it's not over and I have to get myself into college or I will be stuck at a job that I dislike getting a paycheck that will make me weep. Also informing myself how furthering my education will be fun and better than any job a H.S. diploma will get me. This seems like an easy question but actually talking to my younger self would be challenging in the sense that high school seniors always think they have all the answers.

Sara

Look for scholarships! Go to school, enjoy it! Dont give up! You can do anything you put your mind to. (I would hopefully aslo know some lottery numbers that i could share with my younger self).

Robert

If I could go back in time to give myself some advice about school, I would tell myself what major to study. I spent several years messing around, because I wasn't sure what sort of career I wanted or degree to get. If I had started college knowing what I wanted to do, I would be finished with school right now.

Andrea

Take all the special opportunities that you can and give senior year your all! You'll feel regretful when your mind dances into the past, while you wish you could have done more earned more. Life is far more fulfilling when you make more experiences with people, projects and future goals. Most importantly, do what you can to boost your self confidence. The future is going to be extradordinary if you're determined, even if your GPA isn't going to be the most spectacular couple of numbers when you graduate.

Ryan

College should ideally be a fun, immersive and intensive time of learning, growing and interacting with people of many different backgrounds and styles of life. Now, while a community college is an inexpensive way to start out your first few years of college, it doesn't offer the kind of college experience that a 4- year can. If I could go back in time, I would tell my high school self that, while researching colleges is a daunting experience, it can mean so much when it's time to decide on a college. You will never find a school that suits you perfectly, unless you look. Research schools online, visit campuses, and ask your classmates what colleges they're looking at. In the end, it all comes down to you, pushing past the initial fear, and realizing that this is an important decision in the context of your life. Don't put off that decision for two more years by simply attending a community college, because in the end, it will be a lot harder to do the research among college work than in high school. Don't take the easy way, just for the sake of it being easy.

Erin

If I could go back in time, I would have to tell myself to spend a lot more time trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I would also tell myself to get more of my core requirements done at the community college if I still could not decide where I wanted to go. I think I should have talked to my friends more about the colleges that they were going to, which might have helped me decide some places to look into. Another thing I would tell myself is that I should look at lots of schools and apply to them even if I did not really want to go there.

Samantha

The advice that I would give myself as a high school senior is to start college that year instead of waiting until I graduated. The time I spent in electives, sports, student projects, and independent study mathematics and sciences could have been better spent in a classroom working towards my A.S. Though the experiences were enjoyable, they could have been more productively spent.