St Charles Community College Top Questions

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

Arin

I would advise my high school self not to be nervous about college and to just try my best. Many college professors appreciate a student just putting forth their best effort and many professors are very understanding.

Maggie

I would want to advise my high school self to avoid making decisions because of other people. I wish that the decisions I made were primarily for myself, and not for others. Worrying what people thought about the decisions I made was a major concern for me when I was in high school. If I could talk to myself when I was a high school senior, I would want to say that making choices is important, and deciding on what to do with the rest of your life should be up to you and no one else. Decide on the choices that are best for you, and not what is best for someone else who will take it for granted.

Jenny

It would be amazing to be able to talk to my senior self! The first thing I would say to myself is to fill out every scholarship that I could be eligable for. I may not need it right away but it would have been nice to some saved up. The second thing would be to look at other colleges besides SCC. The reason I chosse SCC was i could stay at home and be close to my boyfriend at the time. After graduation he ended up dumping me and I was stuck at home with very little options. I would also tell myself to get a job before getting out of school so I could start saving sooner. Then my college life would have been much smoother. Thank you for providing this scholarship!

Meredith

Never take no for an answer. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do what you want to do. There will be many choices and decisions that you will have to make once you graduate from highschool and make sure you answer them. You have a wonderful life in front of you and you get to mold it into whatever you want it to be. Stay focused on your studies, make friends, and be happy. Just don 't get caught up with all the fun. Always remember, play hard but work harder. As you get through your years of college there will be some disappoints and challenges but it's how you bounce back from them that makes the difference. Live and love these upcoming college years of your life because they will be gone before you know it.

Alex

What I would tell myself about college life is for every class you have, study for 2 hours outside of class; always take notes in lecture classes, in huge class sizes, try to sit in the very front, it helps because you are forced to pay attention more when the instructor is giving a lecture, and I promise you that you will do very well.

Lauren

Wow, college life is so not what I expected. Yes you have a lot of freedom but picking the right college for you is probably the hardest problem kids face. For me I made a wrong choice, but made the choices for money to save. I feel like going to a two year has it ups and downs. Yes it saves a lot of money, but I feel you lose alot living at home and not being able to go apart. It is hard seeing and hearing everyone having fun at four years and you working your way up to get there and achieve. You know you have to worry about your family and how much they can afford but for the same amount you have to be happy too.

Jacqueline

I am nineteen years old and I graduated high school when I was sixteen. I actually started my first college class when I was sixteen. I graduated a year early from my school. I don't regret that at all, but if I could I would have warned myself about a few things in college. I would have told myself to do all my homework now because I in college grades are mostly based on test scores. I would have told myself to get on a routine of doing things so its not so difficult to do things. I would have told myself to appreciate free books now because they will be the last text books you get for free. I would have let myself know that there is no shame in asking for help from a teacher, another student, or a tutor. I would have ofcourse told myself not to wait until the last minute to do any assignment. I think I would tell myself that the answers to everything are out there they just have to be found. The last thing I would tell myself is that anything you need you have to get yourself.

Al

Get your priorities straight!!! Get up and GO to class every day! Be sure you get a good advisor you feel comfortable talking with and is who is available when you need them. You don't have to know exactly what you want to do yet, but do it because YOU WANT TO! With the shape of today's economy, you are going to need a decent income that requires a college degree. Otherwise you will end up working in a factory for minimum wage with minimum appreciation! (You did that, and hated it!) And finally, priorities!!! #1 - School #2 - Social life. There CAN be a balance! You CAN be successful! You WILL survive!

Nicholas

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior the biggest pointer I would give myself is to take the year more seriously and to prepare for the responsibility that going to college requires. The main focus of the responsibilty being to sit down at night and read the material through thoroughly instead of skimming over it while I'm preoccupied with something else and not effectively retaining the information. Another huge tip I would have given myself is to have joined National Honor's Society while I had the chance because I did not understand exactly how much joining would have helped me.

Lora

If I were able to go back in tim to my self as a highschool senior I would tell myself to always be pepared for class, you are on your own now when it comes to school. I would also say that the work it a lot different, it's very independant. It's not so much worksheets anymore, it is mostly essay papers and tons of independant studying. Which if you don't take the time for each class to study, and really study, do not expect a good grade. College is different from highschool, you see different people everyday and it's a whole new world. There is no time for slacking off when it comes to the work if you want good results in your grades and GPA, which lets face it, really counts this time around. And that means showing up for class, we all don't want to do it, but that is a part of your grade too, just go. I would also say to spend your money wisely and also have some saved away for books. I wouls tell myself to put priorities first and do not do papers last minute.

Jacqueline

I would give me self the advise of applying for as many scholarships as I could. There are so many expenses in college where you fing yourself in a rut. I wish I would have taken the time out to apply for scholarships and got more experience in different fields where I could have had a passion for something. As of now I am an undecided major taking courses in different fields and bouncing around ideas of what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Alissa

If I were to go back and tell myself about college life, I would say its much more simplier than high school was, and that I should take more honors classes. Those classes have aided me a lot in my current college experiance. I'm ahead of the game in things like Anatomy, and biology because of the honors courses I took in high school. I would tell my past self to also take more honors math and liturature cousres. Another thing I would metion to my past self is to start saveing money for college. I actually didn't get to attend my college of choice because my parents decided they no longer wished to help me pay for school. So I would tell my future self to expect this, and prepare for this. I would tell her that life is so much better after high school because now people are paying for their education and not just going through the motions.

Michael

The advice I would give myself now would be to listen to my parents and just get it done.

Michele

I definitely would have told myself to stay in school. I decided to "slack off" my senior year of high school (like alot of high school seniors). After graduating high school, I didn't go straight to college. Returning to college in my 30's had made it much more difficult to acquire my degree than it would have been right after high school. I really wish I knew then what I know now! Having 3 kids and husband and a job makes going to college full time very difficult. I don't have the time for my family that I wish I had and the financially draining. I hope that my daughter see how hard it is for me, and they realize that going to college is very important and the best time to do this is when they are young, because they will have more time and energy to focus on their studies.

Ericia

I made pretty good grades in high school, mainly A's and B's. I would have kept my grades the same, but I would have enjoyed high school a little more. I would not have been so worried about boys and would have enjoyed the freedom of not having to use all my money on paying bills.

Kait

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would encourage myself to start with community college instead of a private university. The time I've spent now at community college has encouraged far more personal growth than being one of several hundred at university. I would encourage myself to look at more options with school, not declare a major immediately so I could spend more time looking in to a variety of subjects, and I would strongly encourage myself to focus on getting my basic pre-requisite courses out of the way. The biggest thing I would tell myself is that it's okay to not have it all figured out. It's okay to be lost and floundering and in love with a new subject every semester. I would remind myself that the joy of being young is the freedom to explore every opportunity and sometimes that might mean doing things a little unconventionally. I would encourage letting go of the big plans I thought were so important and let my senior year self that it's all going to be fantastic in the end.