The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Top Questions

Dear Dillon-In-High-School,I know you are busy being fueled by angst, and don’t have a proper outlet for your energy, but you will find that outlet soon. As hard as it is to imagine, soon you will be somewhat of a perfectionist and you wont procrastinate quite as much- so do me (and yourself) a favor and try not to slack off in the last few months of High School. I promise you that the energy you’ll spend trying to find the easy way out will be more than the energy it takes to just do it. It may be hard to believe but sometimes the best way to ‘stick it to the man’ is to just get the work over with as fast as possible, and not dwell on it. If I know you like I think I do, this advice will probably make you want to try even less, but if you can muster a little bit of foresight and help me out I would be indebted to you forever. But regardless of what you do, just hang in there. The best time of your life is almost here.Sincerely,Dillon-In-College

Stay focused at all times and never give up

Take as many dual courses and AP credit classes that you can!!! I'm not kidding. It will be hard work and you won't have fluffy senior year where you only have 2 real classes, but it will make for a much better time in college. Taking classes in high school will mean that they are cheaper and easier. Once you get to college classes cost hundreds of dollars (plus the cost of books) and they will be confusing with unwilling-to-help professors. Start taking college classes as early as possible in high school.

Degrees are more expensive to earn than they used to be. Avoid loans or you'll end up with annoyed moans. If you want, take a break right after High School, do not feel rushed because society insists you must finish school first. 'Rush' is a state of mind, it is much more important to find yourself first than to live life without knowing your identity and what true purpose you would like to pursue.

The high school senior Summer Palmer should have known to appreciate every moment for what it was. As a freshman at the University of Tennessee, I have made a huge transition. In high school I was in a small, rural town where everybody knew and loved everybody else. Here I am surrounded by tall buildings and rude strangers. I wish in high school I had truly embraced the town that I lived in and the people I was surrounded by, because I know my life will never be the same. However, even now, as I say that I wish I had known this, I still need to learn it. College is a great time where you are surrounded by friends and peers all trying to achieve a common goal and instructors who are willing to help you get there - these are things that should be enjoyed. "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has enough trouble of it's own." Embrace each moment for what it is, love what you have, and stop concerning yourself so much with the future. Today is a precious day, and it should be treated as such.

I would tell myself what college was really about. High school is something many people are able to get through successfully without much study. I was lucky enough to makes A's and not have to study very hard. This uncharacteristic of college and I would tell myself to hit the books every day. I would also read one new thing and meet one new person every day. As much as college is about schoolwork it also holds deep social connections that need to be formed to be a success. I would ensure that I was taking every advantage I was given and reading all the books I could find. College life is different than high school life as well. I would tell myself to learn how to keep a schedule an write down all of assignments that I had. Keeping up with everything is a must because there are no more make up assignments. Working hard will always get you what is needed and I would to myself to always put on mroe steam. Read for pleasure and fun. Learn someone's name everyday. These simple things will help you be the most successful student possinble.

Man, this was a hard question to answer. The hardest part of my transition to college was being away from my girlfriend. She went to OWU and I went to UTK. That first week of school was the worst week of my life. Advice I would give myself is to not stress about it, she will be ok and I should put my trust in the Lord and everything will be fine and I'll ge to see her sooner than you think. More advice I would give myself would be to apply for more scholarships because of how important they are. I would tell my senior self to get more involved in school when I'm a freshman, join different organizations, make more friends, maybe even apply for SGA. I would tell myself to always stay focused on academics and grades because that's the whole reason I'm there in the first place. I would make sure to tell myself to go talk to my adivsor early because of how helpful they are and how important they are to my overall success at my university.

I would explain to my past life that exploring your college community through clubs and organizations will help you learn more about who you are and help you discover what you want to not only major in, but also what you will want to major in.

I would advise myself first to stop eating so much and start saving money. Also, I would advise myself to live on campus and not move back home. Ever. I would tell myself to really crack down and study hard, both for classes and outside of class, because Campbell County doesn't prepare you for crap. I would also advise myself to go somewhere cheaper and possibly farther away so that I would be more independent.

Hold on to your belief in God, your morals, self motivated, organized and persistant in everyone that you do. As long as you can stay positive then you can influence others to be positive. Never give up and remember when one door closes, another will open. Also, you must stay one step ahead of what it is your trying to accomplish. People will dissapoint you, lie, and betray you. However, that only makes you stronger. Get up ,stay focused and have the desire and will to change your life and the lives of others. I promise if your focused, stay deligent, and ready to take on the world each day with knowing that things are not always going to go the way you want them to, than you will keep striving to be great. Life is about choices and the decision you make. Ok. fine. today you made a bad choice. Now lets move on, take that mistake, learn from it, and be better a person.Ok. fine. today you made an excellent choice rejoice and be proud that you have matured and know that anything is possible. One more thing:You are in charge of your life, only you.