The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Top Questions

There is not one particular school that you are designed to go to, though many high school students are brought up to think so. I attended the school I thought I was "supposed to go to" originally and left after 1 semester. I currently attend the school that I grew up saying I would never attend and know for a fact I would not be happier had I stayed at my previous institution, nor would I have likely found my major and future profession. Be brave enough to leave home, even if your group of friends is staying at home and together. In the end, you'll be glad you branched out and you'll be more mature, experienced, and traveled. It's only four years. Don't be afraid to fly away from home! You have to do it eventually.

I would tell myself to work harder in class and get better grades, be more confindent in my self as a person and my ability to do well in school. I really wish i had done better in high school because i got through highschool with c's and that meant that i didn't get admitted into the college of engineering at my university. I have been given permission to take engineering classes in the hopes that I will be admitted to the college as an internal transfer student. thats really good for me because it means that i will be able to graduate with a major in aerospace engineering as I had originally planned. I had no friends in highschool becuase i was quiet and didn't talk to anyone to try to be friends. I had little confidence in my self because my grades were so low. If I had known how much fun college classes were going to be and that highschool classes would be very fundamental to my education in college I would have taken highschool more seriously which I think would have led to higher self esteem.

Stop caring about what other people think of you. No one cares in college; everyone just acts like themself and doesn't think twice about it! Stop being so scared and nervous. Let the anxiety go! Just make sure to study and do your work, and you will do just fine. Don't let anyone get in your way or stop you from achieving your goals and dreams. You only live once, so make sure you make this life count.

Dear high school senior self, College life is going to be very different than life in high school and no matter what school you end up at, you will have to adjust. Therefore, don't be afraid to put yourself out there and apply to your dream school. It's worth taking that chance. But also, don't be afraid to accept that sometimes the best option, especially financially, may not necesarily be your dream school, and that's okay! Once you get to college, don't expect to adjust immediately and know that everyone takes different amounts of time to transition to college life. Don't expect your first semester of college to be easy nor should you expect to get perfect grades in the first semester. No matter how simple a class may seem, it's still a very different structure than any high school class you have ever been in. Your first semester, the whole semester, is your time to transition to college classes, college studying, college living, etc. Don't be afraid to try out a lot things, such as different clubs or activities, in order to find where you fit in. Finally, be yourself.

Honestly, I do not know if I could give myself any advice. All the choices I made and the clubs and activites I was a part of in high school helped shape the person I am today and the choices I have made so far during my time in college. Through my experiences, I have learned that the types of people I was friends with I high school are not the types I want to be friends with now and I would have never figured that out had I not been around any these people in the first place. I can come up with no piece of good advice that I would give myself about making the transition except to do it my own way because I will figure it out as I go along. Maybe one thing I could say is that the transition is not going to be as weird or difficult as everybody says it will be. Yes, the food is not as great and nobody is telling you when to go to bed, but for me, it was like I was coming home and I will never want to change the way it played out.

With time and age, I often think about "what if I had done this" or "I wish I could have done that differently" back when I had the chance. With that in mind, I ponder the words of former president, Theodore Roosevelt, "Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you've got to start young." Nonetheless, I have been satisfied yet grateful of the blessings I have today due to my previous choices. However, if I could go back I would tell my young self to give everything more effort and patience because delayed gratification is a very worthy trait. Too often, I would get away with doing the bare minimum and call it succeeding. Unfortunately, that mindset has held me back from tackling common obstacles such as awaiting the news from a job or even completing a difficult novel. I was in such a hurry that I would end up disappointed from the effortless work I put in. Now that I recognize this weakness, it has changed me for the better. Still, some things would have gone smoothly if I had given more effort and waited kindly. A Lesson Learned!

If I could go back and tell myself only one word of advice, it would be to enjoy and relish in the limited time that you have. Graduating from a rigorous magnet school here in Tennessee, we were constantly being pushed to be the best academically that we could possibly be. I definitely feel that my high school prepared me for the workload that I have in college, but I also feel like we were all so caught up in working towards the future, that we often didn't stop to enjoy the time that we had in high school. Our school was full of intelligent people, people that we could learn from, and bounce ideas off of to make each other better. Unfortunantly, instead of taking time to learn from one another, and grow together, we were often caught up in our own lives, and worried about where we would be in a year. If I could just tell myself one thing, I would make sure that I knew that our high school was full of very special individuals, that are rare to happen upon anywhere else, and to take pleasure in the time that we had together.

If I could go back and talk to my high school self I would tell her to not be so worried all the time when it came to certain situations. I would tell myself that college is a fresh start, a time to become whomever I wanted to be. I would also tell myself to save up a little better and apply for more scholarships because it is a lot harder being cut off from your parents than you think. But most importantly, I would tell my high school self that college is an amazing and truly life-changing experience and to look forward to it and the freedom I have now to be who I want and do what I want with my life.

I would tell myself to pack light, keep an open mind and be ready for anything. I mean anything. You may have several ideas about how life will go on campus with a roommate that you may not know and have high expectations but then reality shows something totally different. Always remember your are in control of your destiny. Make the best of each situation, good or bad and never allow others to influence your actions. Call mom or dad when you have doubt. They are always with you and for assisting you. Remember to be happy and give what you have to give and nothing more. Set boundaries. Set boundaries. Set boundaries with your roommate. this is very important. Just because you get along in the beginning, you may eventually have issues along the line so boundaries are necessary. One last thing I would tell myself is to utilize any and all resources. They are there to help you.

Hey man, you do NOT know everything. Go ahead and pay attention in pre-calculus because you will use that trig again very soon, and a lot of it. Oh yeah, and go ahead and start getting in the habit of reading your textbooks. Those help out a lot. Stop fighting with Mom. She has been through this whole college deal and know how it works. Also, your current relationship doesn't work out. Sorry about it. You might want to develop some study skills, too. Those come in handy pretty much every day of school. Start keeping a planner and check it throughout the day. Check the tasks off as you complete them. Keep an eye on the time. That Xbox that your roommate will have will keep you up longer than you think(Don't worry, your roommate is a cool guy). Stay on top of your school work and don't let assignments build up. When they are assigned, get them done. Most importantly, have fun. It's a big school and things can get hectic, but I promise that we made the right decision. UT is our Home. Sincerely, Your wiser, much more handsome, future self.