Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Top Questions

I would tell my high school self to not focus on one school. I only applied to one school, only looked at a total of two. I love my current college, but I wonder if I missed out. -Also, remember to apply for scholarships. They are out there, waiting for someone to grab them. Please apply for them. Don't be lazy! -Go with your heart. People will try to talk youout of going to your "dream school" or going for your "dream major". Go for it. Don't let them talk you out of it. This is the start of your possible career. You have control. This is your dream, your start. -Remember to relax and have fun. It gets stressful over the next year. Enjoy senior year, but keep it in balance.

know your math very well and build your work ethic.

Take classes related to what you will see in college, or at least expect to do a lot of while you are there. I had not taken Chemistry since my sophomore year in high school, and I went into college knowing full well that I would have to take at least four consecutive semesters of Chemistry. Right off the bat, I knew that I would struggle because I did not have as much recent experience with Chemistry as some of my classmates did. Luckily, I was able to learn the material fast enough to catch up with them; however, looking back, it would have been nice to not have to re-learn how to do the basics and been able to focus more on things that impacted my grade a bit more.

I would tell myself to take AP Biology instead of AP Literature, since biology credit is accepted at Georgia Tech. In addition, I would encourage myself to look for companies in the chemical industry that allow high school students to work for them. That job experience would help immensely while searching for internships at college. Clubs are another important factor, whether they are at high school or as a student member in some national organization, because they help build personal and professional relationships. Scholarships are probably the biggest factor of them all, so I would plead with my past self to look for more of them during his senior year. HOPE and Zell Miller are nice, but engineering grade point averages always suffer, so it would be critical to find other big scholarships that are only offered to high school students. Beyond academics, I would tell my past self to shave his face more, get a shorter haircut, and date more so that he was not so far behind in socializing with others.

I suppose the best piece of advice I could give myself as a high school senior is not to assume that my grades will remain at the same level I maintained during high school. It is difficult to go from making A's and B's to making B's and C's, but that's the way it goes at this school. My high school may have been academically rigorous, but college is simply a different matter entirely. It is easy to be discouraged when first facing a drop in your grades, but it is important to remember that everyone is in the same boat as you are, and that things will get better as you adapt to your new surroundings.

As a high school senior, I was very excited about going to college and leaving home, but there are definitely some tips that I would give my past self on how to prepare. One of the things that I regret the most about my senior year is not applying for as many scholarships as I could have. I received scholarship money from Georgia Tech, which I am extremely grateful for, but otherwise I definitely should have taken more initiative myself and searched for more opportunities. Another tip I would give myself is to focus on managing money and time better and more efficiently. When you're at school, you have so much more freedom than you did in high school with your class schedule along with more free time during the day, which can be hurtful if you tend to put things off. Google Calendar has been a godsend for me this year, as I have my entire weekly schedule planned out, from my eating schedule to when I attend club meetings. Also, I would stress the importance of relationships not only with your classmates, but also with your teachers because they help immensely with studying, recommendations, and future endeavors.

I would tell myself to not be afraid of trying new things. It is college, a new start, a chance to be someone who you never expected to be. Join some clubs, go out and explore campus, or even join a fraternity. College can be intimidating at times, but it is not supposed to be easy. There will be times when you feel overwhlemed and just want to give up, but you cannot be a quitter. Pick yourself up and get right back to work. While you should do your best to maintain a good GPA, but do not kill yourself trying to do so. And in the end, have fun. You only experience college life once.

Everybody is going to be telling you how important what you are learning in high school is. It's not. When you go to college, your professors are going to teach you what they want you to know and, most likely, it will have nothing to do with what they are teaching you now. When you get to school, take initiative. Nobody is going to take care of you; you must take care of yourself and try to get ahead on your own. Also, dump that loser. You'll meet better people soon enough.

Don't be afraid to join clubs or approach professors in office hours. They are a lot nicer and more helpful one-on-one than in a class setting

It's okay to ask for help. Even though you are a very independent person the classes you are about to sign up for are on a whole new difficulty level than you have ever experienced before. Take advantage of every opportunity you have to get ahead whether it be tutoring, review sessions, or help desk. Never underestimate a class at Georgia Tech. Make friends with professors and all kinds of students. Your peers may have the same problems as you do and you can solve them together. The more friends you make the better you will feel when you are looking for help on something. You are about to enter an extremely hard school that will challenge you mentally and emotionally. Do not let the difficulty of the classes get you down. It's not how good you do, it's how much better you do than everyone else.