Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Top Questions

Don't sweat the small stuff. Have patience, and don't let others pressure into making decision you are uncomfortable with. Don't give up, things always seem tougher than they are. Strive for you dreams and never settle for second best. Always look forward, NEVER look back. Don't listen to others when they tell you what to do with your life, they only want to hold you back. Your dreams are what matters, not what others tell you to do. Don't forget to label your food otherwise your roommates will eat it all!!!

Be confident! Try new things! Everyone is in the same boat as you and they are all excited to meet new people. Be yourself. Trust your instincts. Do your best and try to have a good time!

I would tell myself about the challenges of college that no one really mentions: getting to know new people you've never known before and really putting yourself out there to make new friends in a unfamiliar setting. I would also advise myself to learn how to actually study, not just passively study, so I would be ready for the first round of tests in college.

If I could go back in time, I would tell my high school senior self that college is extremely different. I would have told myself to learn to manage my time and not wait until the last minute to complete projects or write essays. Cramming for tests does not work in college. I would tell senior-me to learn to study effectively and force myself to study before "crunch-time." I would tell myself that I cannot assume since I took AP classes that I will know what real college classes are like. Finding resources and help groups is really helpful, and make sure you go to those people or places before the last minute. I would tell myself to eat healthy and get all the available shots. Balancing school, friends, and extra-curricular activites is hard but definitely worth the effort. Making a detailed and realistic schedule also helps tremondously. I would also tell my former self not to worry about whether I will be able to make friends because there are tons of associations, teams, and other students just in my building who are very cool and willing to become friends. And the cliche, never give up.

1. If you want to do well academically, it will be important to study, but do not neglect friendships! 2. Do not allow the housing office to randomly assign you to a roommate. 3. Despite everything you?ve ever heard your entire life about the quality of dining hall food, give it a chance, and form your own opinion; you might be pleasantly surprised. 4. Girls are impossible to understand. Don?t worry about not having a girlfriend. 5. Don?t be afraid of mistakes. When you mess up, laugh at yourself, and make sure it doesn?t happen again. 6. Drop the ?Rat Race? mind set of struggling to one-up all of your peers. Don?t compare yourself to your peers, and don?t be envious of their so-called accomplishments. Set your own standards of what is honorable, only comparing yourself to your former self. 7. Try new things, pushing the edge of what you consider to be your comfort zone. You might be startled to learn what you?re capable of. 8. Regardless of the circumstances, make up your mind to be happy.

If I could go back and give myself some advice I'd provide two points of wisdom. First I'd say, make a valiant effort to remember all the people you meet and get their contact information. Email them or call them in order to keep the lines of communication open. I say that because I've met so many amazing people in my experience, but it is tough to remain in contact unless you really put forth a strong effort to do so. The second piece of advice I would give is study hard, but don't be afraid to go out and enjoy the social atmosphere. You won?t remember what you got on your 3rd chemistry test, but the dances, concerts, shows, speakers, friend's birthdays, and other events around campus are the main experiences you will remember forever.

If I were to go back in time and give myself advice about the high school-college transition, I would tell myself to become better at time management. All college students are tempted to take the easy road and go outside to play instead of staying inside and studying your notes. One of my faults in both high school and at the beginning of college was finding a way to balance my social life and my academic life. I believe that now, in my second semester, I?ve come to the correct balance. However, it would have helped me greatly had I known the correct balance from the beginning of the semester. In addition, I would also remind myself that in college you are on your own and that you are responsible for yourself. One of the harder aspects of college life is knowing you need to be self sufficient by getting your own food, cleaning your own clothes, finding your own means of transportation. College life is great; however, the sudden realization that mom and dad are not there all the time to help can be a hard thing to swallow.

Be fearless. College does not reward a clandestine attitude nor does it slow its pace so that you can acclimate. It is a fast-paced life-changing experience and nothing less. I spent my first year at Georgia Tech hoping to survive instead of making the effort to thrive. When faced with the opportunity to step beyond your comfort zone, do not retreat to what you think you know about yourself, because your understanding of yourself isn't static; it transforms with each of these fearless steps. Today, I am a proud to be one of the most influential student leaders on campus and a member of the most selective and well-respected fraternities, but both of these required that I make the effort to re-evaluate my comfort zone. Don't be afraid to allow yourself to change. Do not let a one year, month, day, or second pass where you are not looking for an opportunity to challenge your beliefs, personality, and certainties you once clutched to for reassurance. Trepidation and uncertainty are simply side-effects of an underdeveloped desire to step fearlessly into new experiences. One-thousand miles to Atlanta is your big first step.

I would definitely tell myself to take everything I'm learning in high school more seriously. Once I arrived in college at Georgia Tech, they really expected us to remember and understand a large amount of the information we learned in high school. I did well in high school, but I didn't really focus on understanding what I was learning. I would usually memorize the info just for the test or quiz. Now I's starting to realize that at Tech, they want to see if you really understand the concepts. Anybody can spit out formulas, but if you really took something from the class, the concepts are very key. Matter of fact, most teachers will give you the formulas on the tests, which shows you that they really want you to know what those equations are telling you rather than just applying the equations themselves. So, I would hope that my high school self would really understand college is not just another set of classes, but rather a continuation of what I was already learning in high school and throughout my life.

Don't meet the deadline, beat the deadline.