The Truth About College Interview ft. Hannah Marie

Sorry for the break in blogging lately! Life has just gotten the best of me and I've barely had the time to eat, let alone, blog. But I'm back and today I have a super exciting collab post with my awesome Blogger Buddy, Hannah Marie! I'm so thankful for the opportunity to connect with other bloggers through the Blogger Buddies community and I am so excited that Hannah and I got paired up! Keep reading to see our The Truth About College interview and then head over to her blog to see my guest post talking all about my top picks for school supplies! Thanks again, Hannah!

Hi everyone! I’m Hannah Marie, a blogger over at www.mortevivere.wordpress.com. To tell you a little bit about me- I am a devout follower of God, I love reading and writing, and I play soccer! I’m also a junior in high-school. On my blog, you can find book reviews, posts about my faith, and my opinions on controversial topics. I’m so glad for this opportunity to be a guest on The Classical Alumna and ask Lizzie some questions about college! And I hope you guys enjoy reading this interview!

What is the hardest part about choosing a college?

Overthinking things. I wrote pro and con lists at least a hundred times when choosing my school. I was afraid I would make the wrong choice. But truly, you'll know in your heart which school is best for you and you will find your place there. 

Why did you choose the college you chose?

My biggest reasons for choosing the school I did were being close to home and having a great program for my major. I originally wanted to go away to school about 4 hours away, but then when I saw that they didn't have my major and I would have to piece something together.... college in my hometown started looking a lot better!

What do you think is the most important thing when it comes to picking a degree?

Pick something you are passionate about, but also be realistic! Don't major in US History if you don't want to be a high school teacher or work in a museum.

Do you think taking a gap year (a break year between high-school and college) is a good idea? Why or why not?

Personally, I am not a fan of gap years. Once you stop going to school, it is so much harder to try to go back. If you can't afford jumping right into a big university post high school or have no idea what you want to major in, attend community college and knock out your gen eds!

What is the most difficult part of transitioning from high-school to college?

FREEDOM. When you're in high school, you are waking up at the same time every day, you have no choice but to go sit in your classes from 8 to 4, and then you have a few hours after school that are usually consumed with homework, sports, clubs, meetings, work, or hanging out with friends. Your life is 100% planned out at all times, whether you realize it or not. When you get to college, no one is there to hold your hand and make sure you get to class on time, or that you're going to class at all. You pick when your classes are, so if you want to sleep in until 2pm every day, you can. The best way I beat the freedom plague was setting a schedule for myself everyday. Even if I didn't have class until 1pm, I still woke up at the same time everyday and drove to campus to work on homework or attend functions or hang out with friends. I didn't allow myself room for messing up.

What is the most exciting thing about going to college?

Finding yourself. When you get to college, you can become whoever it is you want to be. You don't have a reputation like you did in high school. When I got to college, my very first semester I joined a sorority. It was the very best thing I have ever done for myself and if I could do it again, I'd do it 100 times again. High school Lizzie would never have joined a sorority, but that's okay. College Lizzie is someone High School Lizzie would have looked up to and I think that's awesome.

What is your favorite studying tool?

I am the Flash Card Queen. I write down every fact that could be a test question and use the cards as such. Of course, I color code them for each unit, so that I can go back at the end of the semester and study for finals with the same cards.

What is the best way to meet new people and find encouraging community within a university?

Of course I think that the best way to meet new people and find your home on campus is to go greek. But really, just finding some sort of organization on campus to belong to is going to encourage you to branch out and find community.

For college, what is your preferred kind of board (dorm, apartment, house)? Why do you prefer that kind over the others?

This question is a little harder for me because I commuted all 4 years, but if I had moved to campus, I would have lived in an apartment. The houses around my campus are your typical college houses (AKA rundown) and most of my friends just constantly ran into problems with them. The apartments were always a little nicer and some came with nice amenities.

If you could give a piece of advice to highschoolers, who are preparing for college, what would it be?

Get involved. Go to the football games. Keep in touch with your friends from home, but push yourself to meet new people on campus. Utilize the library. Call your parents often. Take lots of pictures. Go to office hours. Don't procrastinate. Go to the gym. Enjoy every minute of college because it is truly the best four years of your life.

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I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed doing it! Keep checking back through the month of August to see more from Hannah here at The Classic Alumna. What advice would you give high schoolers who are preparing for college this month? Let us know down in the comments!

xx