College advice: What would you have done differently?

What I am looking for is advice about College...














If you had to start over what would you do differently? What would you do the same?








What's one thing you wish someone would have told you before you began your college?








What advice to you have for Seniors graduating high school this coming June (2010)?College advice: What would you have done differently?
If you had to start over what would you do differently? What would you do the same?





I would have started at a junior college instead of going straight to 4yr. I would have gotten my drivers license and a car. I would have majored in anthropology and economics in stead of speech pathology. I would have gotten up for every class, studied and made sure I got nothing less than an C in each class. I would have found friend who study and not slackers ( this is hard to do, slackers don't MEAN to be slackers, but it becomes a Habit).





I would have mastered my bad habits and lived with more integrity ( I lied to myself, even when I was failing, and didn't study as hard). No excuses. Managed my distractions ( I swear I had an internet addiction when I was in college).





Its hard to think about the good things, but I will try:


I made friends


I stepped outside my comfort zone


the memories are awesome!











What's one thing you wish someone would have told you before you began your college?





Actually, its not so much what they would have told me before, but having someone to give me tips DURING would have made a big difference.





Don't major in something for money unless I know its what I want to do. Nursing is fine and dandy if you like math , science, people and working long hours. Its not if you hate these things....





Know the educational requirement for the job you want . Sometimes a bachelors degree is not enough to find a job in some fields.





Understand different industries, compare it to your likes and see what will be around in the next 10 or so years. Taylor your major towards what the job market will need in the next 10-15 years AFTER you graduate from college.





Understand the importance of economics and how an economy works. If you understand how an economy works, you are much better off regardless of what kind of degree you have. About a decade ago, ppl could find a job doing about anything they want. Now , the only industries hiring are business, education and health. But if you saw the economic mess coming, you could have changed fields. ( granted, you need to have vision to see certain things... The future belongs to those who can visualize it....)





You can study anything in graduate school, even if you didn't study that as an undergrad. So don't sweat your undergrad major, make sure its something you can get A's and B's in.


For example:





Imagine this, you are a business major as an undergrad. You have to take 16 business classes in order to graduate. Once You graduate from undergrad college, apply to graduate school, and realize ppl who didn't major in Business would only have to take the 8 classes in order to qualify for the graduate program you want. Just 8 core classes. So you worked you butt off taking more classes, where someone who majored in ...lets say art...can take half of what you did. You can bet that art student had a better GPA and experience in college than you did. This is why I say not to sweat your major, a good GPA , internships etc is better for you.








What advice do you have for Seniors graduating high school this coming June (2010)?





Good luck!! Don't sweat your undergrad major, as most of you will have to go to graduate school anyway to become marketable. Try to get at least a 3.0 in college. Most ppl don't graduate in 4 years, so if you want to , make sure you have a plan that works for you and stick with it, or else you will be on the 6 year plan. Avoid Debt like the plague. Here's a tip, only take out in loans 10% of what you would make once you graduate.


For example:


LETS say you want to be an accountant.


They make about 50,000 dollars a year. 10% of that is 5,000 dollars. This means you should go for no more than say.....6,000 dollars. Don't be one of those ppl who has 50,000 dollars in loans and then cant afford to pay that Stuff off!!! ONLY TAKE OUT LOANS BACKED BY GOVERNMENT!! Private loans ( say credit cards) will charge interest rates that will put you in the poor house. Gov loans for education have low interest rates.





Find a good adviser. Be careful of large class sizes. Don't skip class!!! Study!!! DONT get unhealthy ( it will make you procrastinate). Have personal initiative.





The first year of college is fun, but the point is to learn something so you can do once you are done with school. After freshman year, buckle down like heck.College advice: What would you have done differently?
I'm a Teacher. I think I would have majored in Liberal Arts, done a study-abroad, and an internship in some other things, then gone for my MAT. That would have given me more varied experiences... I ended up getting a Master's degree anyway, and as it was in education, a lot of it was the same stuff (just with higher academic requirements) as I learned in undergrad. I know teachers who have done it both ways (the way I did it, BSEd, and BA then an MAT) and I think the ones who did it BA then MAT are better prepared to be teachers than people who get out of college at 22 with a BSEd and start teaching.





Maybe it's just that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence though.





I guess I'm saying I would have taken a more round about way of getting there, which would have given me some different experiences. The shortest distance between two points isn't always the best path.
I would have done something to prevent myself from getting depressed a month before college and completely changing my plans to something below my level.





Savor the time you have before you have to start financially supporting yourself - if you're like me, you'll miss it constantly, sometimes to the point of being unable to do anything else.
I would have nailed more sorority girls.
I'm always tempted to say, ';I wish I'd done better in my classes and had better grades.'; Except that I ended up at a really, really fantastic, top 10 liberal arts school (Davidson). It wasn't my first choice...Harvard was my first choice...but I've come to believe I'm in a place that is a much better match for me. So, when I look at the 2.7 gpa on my final high school transcript, I guess I don't really have room to regret not trying harder. Am I advising you to slack off? Definitely not. Try your absolute hardest, give it your all, and have fun! But I guess the point I'm trying to make is that if you don't get into your first choice, don't worry. Your second choice is probably a better match, anyway! Even if you tour, attend classes, and spend the night on a campus, your experience at the school as a student will probably be very different from your experience as a prospective student.





I wish someone had told me to relax a bit more and enjoy life. I spent a lot of time hating high school. I also fell into the ';you have to take all APs and challenge yourself'; thing. Trust me, I would much rather have taken Forensic Biology than AP Bio. In retrospect, that's one thing I might change. Take what interests you and what you'll be good at. Don't skimp on requirements, but you know...don't kill to get into Calc BC if you hate math.





Get your applications done ASAP and then find a way to keep yourself really, really busy until decisions come. Trust me, they will come, and it'll be much quicker than you think. Before you know it, you'll be walking across that stage to get your diploma. You'll see a lot of people freaking out, but honestly, the more you go with the flow, the more you'll enjoy the senior year experience.





Also, make sure to visit all of the colleges you apply to, or at the very least, to the ones that accept you. You need to be absolutely sure that there's not some huge reason why you shouldn't be at a particular college before you agree to pay the first semester's tuition.





As for next year, sign up for easy classes your first semester of college. First semester is a HUGE adjustment, especially socially, and a lot of kids go off the deep end. Even if you're thinking of taking intense premed classes, perhaps resist the urge for a semester so you don't feel like you're drowning under all the changes.





Also, same as in high school. If you're not an English person, don't take Lit Criticism to fulfill that requirement. Take baby-English like Young Adult Lit or Popular Literature. If you're terrible at science, take baby bio or baby chem or physics...Astronomy...Biology of Plants...Special Topics in Biology, Chemistry of Food and Drink, etc. If you're not a foreign language person, take the language you took in high school so you're already familiar with the basics. Don't make it any harder than it has to be!