Westwood College-Chicago Loop Top Questions

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

jekerra

If i could go back in time and talk to my self, I would tell my self not to be so worried or scared about going to college. i would tell my self that college is easy according to what type a person you are. I would also tell my self not to miss any days and to always keep aq smile on my face because people are watching you.

Sheree

If I could go back to my high school year as I senior, I would probably tell myself to get on it and to not waste anymore time. I would tell myself this because, I have learn a lot about college fixations that I did not know before. Some facts that I know are about applying for scholarships. In high school, I was never taught about the process of applying for scholarships. It was made as though you have to earn it and if not you can not pursue college. I have never heard of all these different scholarships and about the scholarship process. I would also give myself the advice of people are here to help you reach your goal in life. The falculty made it very straightforward that they are there to help you no matter what obstacle comes your way. If I had known these facts then, I would have been gone to college, but you can't go back to the past, and if you're still breathing, it's never too late to go and do something with your life despite what others say. This is what I would've told myself in the past.

Tyree

If I was able to talk to my highschool self, I would advise me to be extremely organized. I would teach myself time management, so that I could attend school and work as I'm currently doing. I would also encourage studying, no matter the day or time. I would also tell myself that I'm smart and can truly do anything I put my mind to as I have witnessed. These are imperative elements to being a successful college student. As a result of following this method, I currently hold a 4.0 GPA. Unfortunately, my first stint in community college didnt go as well. I wasnt prepared nor focused to acomplish the things I'm doing now. I developed bad habits in highschool that I later had to correct after my first stint in college. I consider myself to be a success right now but the journey isnt over.

Harlan

I would tell myself to play more sports in high school, it helps with social interaction and a good way to stay focused. Also being great at sports can help you get more scholarships by doing other activitys. I would also tell me to start right after high school and not go work for a few years first since it only made it harder to go back to school.

norma

Dear Eighteen Year Old Self, You should really focus on saving money for college, even putting away fifty dollars a month can really help you. Put aside the partying and hanging out with friends and look at what you want to do with your life. Stop procrastinating about college, because before you know it you’ll be 21 and not successfully passed one year due to financial issues. If you have to work during college make sure it’s at a place where they work with school schedules and not make you choose between your education and their business. Lastly never give up and I mean never, no matter how hard it will feel at the time to get to the top. Never think less of yourself when it comes to finishing college. Hard work does pay off, just like it does when you feel that high school diploma in your hand. You made it this far and I know you have the strength to make it through the rest. Sincerely, Me

Yamilet

If I could go back to my days in high school and give myself advice, the first thing I would tell myself would be to stay on top of deadlines. My transition to college was hard because I come from a spanish speaking family that has no idea what it's like to fill out applications. I would tell myself to find the resources necessary to get things done. I would also remind myself that no one would be classified as dumb for asking questions, and would make sure I took the initiative to get my questions answered. I would also tell myself that change isn't as horrible as it seems. I came into college afraid of what could happen, and I've seen that life only gets better with college. I would tell myself to stop being so afraid to speak to new people, in college one of the biggest challenges is becoming sociable and getting to meet new people. The most important advice I would tell myself, would be to get outside of my comfort zone, you can only be in it for so long before you realize what great things are out there!

Christopher

If I could speak to myself as a high school senior I would whisper in my ear to learn everything you can about computers and as in depth as possible. Furthermore, to understand the process means that you are almost there already. When you get there you will know it, never rush it, and when you do see it, embrace the power.

Edgar

Above learning teaching pedagogy and teachings aids, what I have gotten that I value the most is the "The Spirit of Teaching". This is the redemptive characteristic in allowing the students I will teach to make mistakes, to not fear in repeating those mistakes also. The guaranteed lost is the attempt not taken. Our society should not be afraid to learn from their mistakes, to be able to gather all the pertinent information for succes and then to go do it. Also, it to not set them up for failure. Should a child not be able to sit down for 5 minutes, I will congratulate them at 4 minutes. Slowly encouraging this student to be able to sit for twenty minutes. The "Spirit of Teaching" has also a vulnerable characteristic to it. This is where I allow myself to learn from the students. Despite a child's taciturn attitude to school I have a duty to place value upon thier life and their education. Allowing myself to learn from each student is the experience of a good teacher. The value that any student brings to the school is worth aiding to, especially in such a diversely growing student make-up.

Shelby

I have been accepted to Auburn University as a transfer student in the spring of 2011, but as of now, I am residing at a two-year community college to get started on my college career. It has been valuable to attend this community college because I get to save money, and get an idea of what a real college class contains. Although I hate that I am not attending Auburn this fall, I am so glad I started off small, and gradually worked my way up. Within the last 3 months of being at this community college, I have learned responibility and maturity. I am no longer a high school student anymore, and I am in classes now with adults of all ages. It really makes me realize that I need to buckle down and study hard because if I don't my dreams of becoming a pediatric nurse are on the line. I am very excited about attending Auburn, and I can not wait to get there, but I am glad I prepared myself first!

Darryl

I believe that my college experience has provided me with the opportunity to learn at a comfortable pace and challenge myself at the same time. I would say college is valuable to attend because it helps provide for your future and prepares you to start your career as opposed to working a "job" . I've been able to obtain friendships and networking relationships that I would cherish for the rest of my college career. I would say attending college overall is a great investment because it provides a foundation for your future and it helps you obtain the essentials that you need to begin your journey to success.

LaShelle

I know I would research my options, apply for scholarships, participate in more clubs and organizations, get better grades and volunteer at different nonprofit groups. I say this because these are the things that colleges look for when deciding to accept you in thier school.

Anthony

If I could go back in time and talk to myself when I was a high school senior, knowing what I know now I would say first everything I know about myself to me, so I convince myself that this is real. Once I've done that secondly, I would tell myself about all the information of scholarships and grants like "Scholarships are money given to you by the government that you don't have to pay back, and you can spend it on school, to pay off loans, take care of family members, friends and grants are also money given to you by the government but those are just to cover your tuition for school. To recieve these you have to qualify depending on the terms of the scholarship or grant." After saying that I would answer any questions to best of my knowledge and I would give myself advice about how to stay focus on taking care of my education and my future like "You only give to live once, so you don't want to waste your life by wishing and blaming yourself on what you could've,should've, or would have did you decide champ."

josue

I will tell myself that no matter how many obstacles you have in our life. We have to stay focus on finishing school. It is an important part of our life and it will determine the person who we want to be and the success you will have in life. The life style we all ways want it to live and all ways have so we will have to stay focus. On our big transition from high school to college and by all means stay focus on the big thing. We would have to get done and I would say that school is the biggest part of our lives so we would have to finish college and everything we desire in are life will fall into place.

Evan

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would first tell myself to be decisive about what I want to do for a career. Second I would choose a school that focuses on careers instead of attending a 2-year general education college. Although it would be smarter and cheaper to do that. Third, I would look for as many scholarships as I can on the Internet to help pay for school that way I would reduce the chances of paying out of pocket. Next I would look for a higher paying job to pay for the balances that FAFSA, student loans, or scholarships may not cover. Last I would tell my past self to stay as focused as possble when attending college just like you're (or in this case I'm) doing now while in high school. With that being said, I would have nothing to lose, and everything to gain!