The University of Texas at Austin Top Questions

There would be a lot I would tell myself. When it comes to academics in college, I would have wanted my highschool self to know how important it is to make a relationship with your professors, as well as the students in your classes. Sometimes in college, I would feel lost in my classes and would not understand the coursework or the assignment. At first I did nothing about it, and my grades would reflect that. However, later in my college career I began to talk with my professors, meet with them during office hours, and emailing them often. I found my professors to be very accomodating and helpful, and often they would give me tips for the class and higher grades on my assignments. Creating relationships with other students in your classes is just as helpful. It is extremely important to have someone you can talk to about the class work. Knowing a few students in your class provides many opportunities, such as study groups, help with assignments, note sharing, and just being able to ask them questions is a huge help. I performed much better in classes where I knew someone or created a relationship with my professors.

I had a childhood dream of attending Kilgore College and becoming a World Famous Rangerette (college dance team that performs all over the world). I went on to become exactly that and had a fabulous experience. I had developed that dream so early on that I never considered where I would attend college after Kilgore until my sophomore year of college, so I had 9 months to decide where my next destination would become. I was jumping all over the place from schools all the way in Indiana to about five different schools in Texas. It took me the entire year plus a month into summer to finally decide on becoming a University of Texas Longhorn! I know that I made the right choice now, but I was up many nights stressing about my next step, so if I could rewind time to go back to high school, I would tell myself to go to UT AUSTIN!

I would tell my seventeen year old self to start applying for scholarship as early as possible and to not slack off during my freshman year because it does matter. I would also tell myself not to let the death of my father hold me back and keep me depressed.

School as you know is your numbre one pirority but take a step back and look at the life around you and listen to yourself and no one else. Do not let those around you make decisions based on their best interest, use your judgement it will serve you best and have trust in yourself. Believe that you can continue to make a difference in your life and that you will be fine through these rough years ahead. Follow through with your degree and grow into the professional you dream of, their is no bigger drive then your own ambition and it will serve you well into the business world.

Don't give up. Don't be scared. Life will change but your more than ready. You are ready for the time of your life. You have been the same all your life .... YOU (and that will make all the difference). Anyone can convince you of what to do, but you are you, theres nothing new. So stay tough, chin up. College is just another window, for you to look out. The scenery might change, but thats what life is about. You are ready. This is it. Smile. Get ready. This will be rough.

I would tell myself to apply, apply, apply for scholarships and then apply some more. I hardly applied for any scholarships during my entire high school career, let alone my senior year, and I ended up having to take a semester off because my dad got laid off the summer after I graduated and I couldn't afford to go. I don't know how much my dad having a job would have helped, though, because there were a lot of things besides my education on their plate and there still are even though my dad recently got a job. Taking a smester off did a lot of damage. I lost out on a good amount of scholarship opportunities, I became ineligible for certain honors programs, and I got behind in my courses, which is especially difficult on me considering that I am now in an honors program and studying pre-med. Had I just applied for scholarships sooner and been able to pay for my college, I wouldn't have missed out on some great opportunities and I wouldn't still be worrying about whether I'll be able to afford to finish college or not.

I would tell myself not to be stressed out. My teachers in high school made college sound much scarier than it is. When I was preparing to move, I bought and packed mu more than I needed and ended up having a hard time fitting everything into my tiny apartment. I was also afraid that it would be difficult to make new friends, but it wasn’t at all. My roommates were great, and I met a lot of people through them. I met some great people in my classes as well. My first year of school was a blast, and I wish I would have known that a year ago.

If you are constantly worried about school and what grade you have, you will never be able to gain the real benefit from life which is happieness. High school is very petty, don't get too caught up in things that don't matter and friends that don't treat you right; JUST BE YOURSELF. Once you get to college, almost everyone is their own person anyways and no one really cares about whos hair looks the best or who has the highest grades. If you just open you mind, and really engage yourself in everything you come by and do not look at it as a matter of getting a "A" or a way to gain attention, you will enjoy your life so much more. Open your mind and your heart to new people, ideas and experiences. This part of your life is literally a once in a lifetime experience so just live it to the fullest, make smart decisions but still have fun and enjoy life!!

The classes in college are a lot more demanding than the classes in high school. For one, you must actually read the text book for all of your classses, something high school classes rarely required. Another thing, in many classes you are presented information from the professors, but it is mainly up to you to figure it all out and be able to understand it. The professors aren't able to come over to your desk in college like the teachers do in high school. As for having classes full of people you've known and loved for years, that all goes out the window. You won't know anyone in your classes and you can feel quite alone at points, so you're just going to have to get used to that. Studying for a test the night before isn't going to cut it anymore like in high school, you have to start studying days in advance in order to score well on your exams, which, by the way, count more than tests in high school do. You're rarely have homework grades to balance out low test scores, you put in the work on your exams.

I would advice myself to step up and take every single options and opportunities given to me. I have focused only on one goal, one path, and one direction. I never cared to look at anything else, so when the day that I found out that I wanted to have a career in actuarial science, I stumbled across many struggles. It is always the best to look around and search for oneself in regardless.