Interview Quotes
Apply yourself in school to earn merit-based financial aid
There are two types of financial aid: need-based aid and merit-based aid. Merit-based financial aid is the money that a school will offer a student because they want that student to attend their institution. It can be for academic performance, for those students who are at the top of their class or have really high SAT scores, or it might can come in the form of athletic scholarships, or for excellence in theatre or the arts.”
— in Increase chances for merit-based aid by applying yourself in school
Featured: Take school seriously to improve your future outlook
“Take your high school education seriously and that’ll set you up for doing whatever you want. You only get one shot at it. The better you do academically, and personally, the better choices you make, the more options you’ll have later. Then you’ll hit the college level, and you’ll say, ‘I have my choice of these schools I can go to now. I don’t have to worry about fallbacks. I can go where I want to. I can study what I want to.’ Then the power is in your hands.”
— in High School: finding yourself socially while taking education seriously
It takes more than a good resume
“Show enthusiasm for what you do. I’ve met a lot of people who are boring. When they come in for a job interview they sort of hand things to you and they act is if they’re saying, “Okay, I’ve done everything you want so give me a job.’ Here’s the reality of the job search: A hiring manager’s got several people who meet the minimum qualifications so what is it that sets them apart?”
Advice for finding a job
“Have a very open mind and have a lot of things to fall back on. I got all excited here and there because I would think I found the perfect job. Then I’d apply to it, just the one job. I’d wait and wait and nothing would happen. Sometimes people just don’t get back to you; the job will be filled almost immediately after it is advertised. Basically what I would say is don’t get your heart sent on anything. Often times you’ll find a bunch of different jobs that you enjoy in the strangest places. Try not to put all of your eggs in one basket.”
— in Job advice
Featured: Learning to love herself
“While I was at the Shaw House, the issues that I had were primarily fears of abandonment after having had such little time with my parents when I was growing up. I had a lot of fears of not being socially accepted and a lot of self-esteem issues because I’d been rejected for so long. For me, learning to love myself was a huge step.”
— in Learning to love herself and make better choices for a better future
Least impressive interview
“The least impressive interview that I ever sat in on was somebody who was applying for a job in the public health field and they kept talking about how big some of these problems are and how there might not be a solution. And also they had some really disparaging things to say about young people that I completely don’t believe to be true. They shot themselves in the foot with that, but they revealed what they really think and that is how we knew that they weren’t a fit.”
Getting into debt to keep up with wealthy friends
“I went to a college with a lot of wealthy people. I remember one day I said I didn’t have money and somebody said, ‘oh, just go to the ATM.’ On an intellectual level, I knew that was ridiculous and wow, what a difference. That is really when I began to understand class difference and how profound it was, and yet at the same time I did what I needed to do to try to keep up. What ended up happening was that, because I had a credit card, I used it and I maxed it out. It took me years to get out from under that.”
— in Getting into credit card debt and finally getting out of it
How to develop college-ready writing skills
“When you’re reading, practice making some of the kinds of sentences that you see on the page. I would start with simpler kinds of reading and try to move up. This is a kind of learning that comes from modeling, which many people think doesn’t work but which I actually use all the time and find to be effective. If I were in the situation of wanting to learn to write without having anyone to train me, I would get myself two things. First, I would get a very good reference book, learn consciously the parts of speech and the parts of a sentence, and read the sections on how to write a good sentence.”
Microsoft certification program after high school
“I didn’t know what I was going to do when I got out of school. I was kind of panicking, because I was like, ‘What do I do now?’ I went to a job fair and asked around about the kind of jobs that would allow me to make decent money after a year. One of the things that was suggested was to be a CNA, but I knew that wasn’t for me. The other thing that people said was to get Microsoft-certified, because that only takes one eight-week course. It ended up taking me about a year to get certified, but once I had the certification I got a job almost right away and was making $17 an a hour, which was awesome.”
Living with roommates can be tricky
“It’s hard to get along with somebody in a little room, no matter how much you love the person. I’ve lived with a best friend, and it did strain the friendship at times, because sometimes you just don’t want anyone around, but in the end we were closer. I’ve also lived with a stranger, which was harder than living with a friend. I would recommend living with a friend if possible.”
Be flexible when you’re looking at colleges
“Students need to be really flexible when they’re exploring colleges. It’s a good idea to apply to a lot of different schools rather than just focusing on one specific school. Students should investigate many schools from the financial perspective, and even have a financial aid ‘safety school,’ just like one has a ‘safety school’ in terms of academics.”
— in Advice for teens: keep your college options open and save money for school
Nervous to take GED after seven years out of school
“I graduated from high school in 2004, so it had been many years since I’d had a formal education or taken a test. There were certain subjects that I was still quite strong in and then there were subjects were not so fresh for me, so it showed that I had been out of school for about seven years. It was definitely a challenge getting ready for the GED. Adult Ed was really helpful, though. When I first found out from the college that I had to do either the SAT or the GED, I was scared. I had heard of the GED but wasn’t really sure what the process was and I’d heard a lot of stories about taking the SATs and how hard they were, so taking them after seven years out of school was a frightening thought.”
Featured: The number one thing employees look for? A positive attitude.
“I’ve been through hiring people in many different situations, particularly young people. The number one thing I always look for is attitude. A positive, can-do attitude that communicates, ‘I can be useful, I want to help, I don’t care if the work is glamorous’ is really important. Here’s something that young people should know: there’s a lot of research that pretty much proves that almost every interview is over in the first 15 seconds. The person doing the interviewing makes up their mind about the job candidate within the first 15 seconds, or sometimes even within the first five seconds.”
— in The number one thing interviewers look for? A positive attitude!
Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to save $$$
“This past January, my roommate moved out on me unexpectedly. He didn’t leave money for rent, so I ended up having to come up with extra rent in the two weeks before it was due. I had to make sacrifices. I’m a huge Starbucks fan, and instead of getting lattés, I ended up just drinking straight-up coffee. It was little and it’s crazy to think, but I saved three dollars a day just downgrading my coffee.”
Life as a traveling carnival worker
“Working with the traveling carnival after high school was really fun. It was something that I could never go back and do again but at the time, from age 18 to 22, it was great. It was a lot of work – 12 hour days, 6 days a week, a lot of traveling – but it was also just hanging out with my friends all the time, having fun. In that way, I guess, it was kind of like college but without the classes.”
How to prepare for college-level math
“If you have a solid understanding of high school Algebra II, some trigonometry, and some geometry, you’ll be ready for college-level math. At USM our math major starts with calculus, but for another major you’d be fine if you started out with pre-calculus at the college level. The hardest thing about both pre-calc and calculus is understanding algebra, so if you have a good understanding of algebra and can be flexible with it, you’ll do well.”
Featured: Going to college to be a role model for her daughter
“I was seventeen when I applied to UMO. Fortunately, I’d kept decent grades in high school and had great recommendations from teachers. I also had no problem going down to UMO and saying, ‘I came from a disadvantaged background but I’m really trying to break the cycle.’ My dad dropped out of high school, and I don’t want to be in his shoes. He’s still struggling, still working a trade job because he doesn’t have a high school diploma. I wasn’t going to be that person. I wanted to break the cycle.”
— in Going on to college to be a better role model for her daughter
Difficult roommate stole snacks, snored, and more!
“Living with roommates was tough for me. I didn’t have a lot of money, so I was careful about the things that I bought, and what I bought I wanted to have for myself. My roommate would on occasion borrow my sodas or snacks without asking, and that for me was something you just didn’t do. You ask, at least, before you take someone else’s stuff. I know that seems small and inconsequential, but it used to really upset me. He snored, too.”
— in Dorm Life
Supportive teachers helped through hard times
“My home life during high school was difficult because my parents got divorced right before my freshman year. After only knowing life with my family together, I all of a sudden felt on my own and like I needed to take care of myself, in addition to getting an education, playing sports, and doing everything else I wanted to do. I latched on to some teachers, authority figures who I could trust and model myself after.”
Don’t waste time worrying what others think of you
“I sometimes found myself worrying too much about what other people thought of me, and it really wasn’t helpful. The more I worried about my social life, the worse my grades were. You shouldn’t care about how people view you in high school because in four years you’ll be out of the school and probably even out of the town your school was in. That social stuff really won’t matter anymore.”
— in Don’t waste time caring about what other people think of you
Our Picks
Editor’s Pick: Not having as much money as her classmates
“My family was blue-collar in a white-collar town. My parents worked really hard and did their best, but they had four kids and neither of them had advanced degrees. They did what they could. Even though we were always taken care of and I never wanted for food or clothing or shelter, most of the kids at my very small high school – there were about 60 people in my class – had so much more than I did, and I felt that difference everyday.”
Editor’s Pick: Losing her father and leaving school
“My dad died in 2008 and I dropped out of high school my junior year for about three or four months. I just went to work full-time to keep my thoughts away from school and my dad’s death. I didn’t want to go to school because I didn’t want to be faced with the questions about why I hadn’t been in school. It was embarrassing to me. I let my teachers down, I let my mom down; I let a lot of people down. Finally during my senior year I realized that this is not a game; this is real life and I have to support myself. What could I do without an education?”