University of Arizona Top Questions

Live off campus, you'll save tons of money and the dorm life isn't all it's cracked up to be. Come prepared for all kinds of weather, even if the weather in your school's town is consistent, you don't want to be the one wearing flip-flops in the rain, and t-shirts in the cold. Pick a school you can afford; don't assume the financial aid office will work with you, because they most likely won't. Get a bike. Even if you haven't ridden one since you were 11, you'll appreciate it when you have find yourself with 10 minutes between 2 classes that are all the way across campus from each other. Appreciate your parents, learn how to do laundry, and maybe even cook. A Burger King on campus that takes your meal plan sounds awesome, but it gets old fast. Bring a camera. Learn some good study habbits. Come with an open mind; trust me when I say you don't know what you're in for. And, most of all, take yourself seriously. People may doubt you, but if you have faith in yourself, anything is possible.

If I were given the oppurtunity to go back, I would tell myself "you know how you've been dying for these days, well it's totally worth it." I would tell myself keep saving money, keep trying your best and great things will happen. No one thought we could get this far, but we have, everyone around us had their doubts, but we're proving them wrong. One day you will be something great, you've just got to keep pushing yourself. Don't let anyone bring you down. That's exactly what I have kept telling myself this entire semester, when I realized my financial aid might not cover my tuition fees, I've been telling myself I'll get through it, because I have to. I have to ensure myself a future.

Dear Self (circa 2009),College now appears as an opportunity to be everything you wanted to but couldn’t be in high school. College is this opportunity but you should know that merely being a college student won’t miraculously adapt who you are. You have the opportunity to make the most out of your education, but you have to take full advantage of the unique resources and opportunities at your disposal. Don’t expect these opportunities to come knocking on your dorm-room door. Seek out your professors. Ask them about opportunities to get involved. Your experience in college will be as extraordinary as you make it, and there’s no better time to start shaping the outcome this experience than right now. Don’t waste your senior year . Take classes eligible for university credit so you can spend time and money on classes that matter to you and to your education. What lies ahead is new and daunting. Take solace in the fact that everyone around you feels the same way, and that your professors, and even your parents have been there and are willing to help. Be proactive about your education. You will end up tremendously happy.

As an older, hopefully wiser person, I would tell my high school self to stay committed! College is a wonderful time of exploration and self-discovery, but getting caught up in a life-style of partying and putting school second. Grades matter, but learning matters more! Strive each day to acquire knowledge, a fresh perspective, and a love of learning. It is these skills that will carry you throughout your life, even after you forget how to solve the algebra equation you learned in college!

Make a concrete decision about the goals needed to be reached in order to finish a degree that is desirable to the job market. So many people graduate with degrees that don't carry a guarantee for a job. If I was back in high school, I would sit down and look at what I really wanted to do, and make a list of all the interesting careers. I would then research every career on that list, and come up with one or two careers that showed an increase for expansion in the future. I would then take my career choice and speak to a counselor. A counselor is there to help construct a timeline for your education. Use them, and get a detailed list of classes with exact semesters in which they need to be completed. Do not stray away from meeting your goals. Also, prepare yourself financially for your college experience. Apply for scholarships, grants, and subsidized loans. Try to avoid taking out unsubsidized loans, as these will accrue substantial amounts of interest while attending school. Lastly, be diligent in your education. Success comes from hard work and not being afraid to fail.

Knowing what I know now, I would have made my transition from a high school student to a college student much more different. I would have paid more attention to deadlines and the advice current college students had given me. I put off applications until the last minute. In college, I realized you need to follow deadlines and really stick to a schedule of your paperwork and submitting them on time or even weeks before the deadline. When you are able to submit paperwork earlier, the people receiving your paperwork may review it and send it back for corrections. Just being more professional about my work too would have been more efficient later in my future at my university. I was in a panic trying to gather up last minute funds so I would have been able to register for spring classes. Time management is very important to have your paperwork done earlier and not have the inconvenience of stressing over your paperwork at the end of a semester.

In my opinion, knowing what I know now, I would set my priorities and goals as would a high school student and that would be making sure am present for every class am registered for, try as much as possible to study each topic to have a knowledge of what is all about before is being treated in class because that would help me comprehend the instructor more and faster, time management, get closer to people that would inspire me positively and make smart and intelligent friends who can tutor me if I encounter any difficulties in any of my classes. I would also engage in community services to tutor people in courses am very good at and help them make good grades just like I want for myself. I try as much as possible to scan & go through my lecture notes & text books everyday getting ready for quiz anytime it would be mentioned than crame or memorize few hours to the quiz, thus, having text anxiety and not pass, I also would encourage my fellow students to do same as that does help alot. I enjoy networking too.

I would actually go back to Junior year and decide to take a unit of math in my senior year. Though I allready had four units at the end of junior year, I feel I would have been better off had I taken a math class senior year. I am however gald I still had the maxmum possible number of units durring my senior year.

Be open to making new friends, but don't be taken advantage of, either. You can learn a lot at college, and have a good time too. By following the middle path, no excess or extremes, you can perceive the world as it is. Life is a challenge, always be rising to meet it.

What I would do is tell myself that every single class, every assignment, every test/quiz effects your college selection. Do not slack off in any class and make sure you make good study habits early on in high school that way you can perfect these habits into the college life.