The college application process can be overwhelming, and the thought of starting college even more so. Missouri State University students, however, offer advice on how to show courage during the transition.
1. Be Flexible. Mydia Childs, a freshman and psychology major, doesn’t like change, but decided to move from her hometown of Lee’s Summit, in Kansas City, to Springfield for college.
“Making new friends, meeting new people, everything is scary,” Childs said. “Once you get adjusted to it, it’s fun, because now I’m looking forward to … exploring what Missouri State has to offer.”
2. Get out there. Childs knew she’d struggle adjusting to her new environment, so she came to school with a friend to help her find a community.
“I have a friend whom I came to college with, and I forced her and me to go to events,” Childs said. “We see an event, ‘OK, let’s go, even if we don’t like it.’ At least we went.”
3. Follow interests. Sophomore Noah Hendricks said his choice to major in electrical engineering was a “leap of faith” because of the large amount of work that goes into the major.
“Whatever you decide, do what you want to do,” Hendricks said. “If you choose the wrong thing, it’s never too late to switch majors.”
For Hendricks, he’s continued following his interests and has found himself interning at City Utilities.
“I work for the substations department,” Hendricks said. “What substations do is they first transmit power, and then they isolate a fault. All your settings have to be very specific to your Grid applications. Otherwise, you can cause an outage.”
4. Do what can be done now. Through Advanced Placement and Dual Credit classes to passing the Seal of Biliteracy, students can find college credit in a variety of fields while attending high school.
“Definitely take as many college classes as you can while in high school, because you save a lot of money and a lot of time,” Hendricks said. “The classes in high school are way easier than in college.”
