University of California-Irvine Top Questions

Live life only for yourself. At the end of the day, you are the only one who is going to have to live with the choices and decisions that YOU make for yourself. Do not live for others. Live for yourself. Of course, take advice, be humble, pray, and make friends. But never give up on YOU, on what YOU want to do. If it's time to go, it's time to go. If it's time to stay, stay. And be positive about it. This school (University of California, Irvine) can be very boring at times, and this monotony can have a depressing effect on the students, but as long as you don't let it get to you, and as long as you keep searching for and finding more ways to entertain yourself and keep yourself interested in waking up every morning, getting out of bed, and going to school, and just living life, then you are golden. You are good to go. Make the transition as smooth as you can. Avoid drama, and learn to observe and assimilate the best qualities of those around you. Become a better person by learning from others.

I would tell myself not to fret about the tiny distinctions between each college, because in the end college is what you make of it. Wherever I end up I will be happy if I make the most out of the opportunities the campus provides me. It's up to me to look for them.

The most important advice is to "not hold back." There are so many opportunities that college offers that you have to take advantage in those 4 years of your life. Holding back would be the greatest mistake you could make because you can never go back and have those first four years of college ever again. Don't be scared to join organizations, to make friends, to put yourself out there and find an internship. At first, college is frightening and may overwhelm you, but once you get a hold of it, it will be the best four years of your life. It takes hard work and dedication to do well in college, but you also need to get involved with the school to have a full rewarding college experience. It's not all about good grades, it's also about opening up to college's opportunities and taking advantage of anything and everything out there.

If I was to go back to high school and give myself advice on college transitioning, I would say go to office hours so that your professor knows your face, even if you dont need the help still go it will help to just to know the professor. Going to tutoring would be another great advice I would take advantage of because believe it or not the kids who are passing the classes go to tutoring even though they already know it, it is just good to get the extra practice. Get involved in clubs or activities on campus because sometimes studying all day or week can get overwhelming and you need to go clear your head. I would also meet with my counselor every two weeks to just make sure I am still on the right track with graduating in time or if there are any opportunities such as interns or volunteer work that will help me with going to graduate school. Networking with classmates and orgs that come to the campus to share info about there companies. All the advices I listed would help me become a better student as entering college.

There are so many things I would like to tell myself as a High School Senior, the most important thing that I would tell myself would be very simple "Believe in yourself and keep your focus no matter what is happening." Let me explain, when I was in High School about to enter into college, my father lost his job. It was a difficult time for our family. My mom was so mad at the situation but at that time I thought she was mad at me. When I graduated and entered into college, I used college as an escape from my family life. Focusing on classes was hard to do and that led to me not doing well. The mounting pressure from home to quit won, because I didn't think I could do it, becasuse I couldn't see the ultimate goal of a good education that would open so many doors for me. Going back I would place the ultimate goal of a good education in front of me, I would not veer to the left or the right but I would put my head down and not look up until I had my diploma in hand.

I would say to organize myself and get a planner. For example, my university does not print your schedule for you so all students must know when their classes are on your own. Also, due dates are very important to remember because no one will remind you when papers or assignments are due, so always write them down! I would also say that professors literally see every student as an identification number. Some professors do not even know half of their students, so if I want to be noticed I must take the initiative and meet with the teacher myself on my own time. It is also imperative to stand out in those 300-student-filled classes because it will be necessary in the future to ask for letters of reccomendation for grad school, jobs, or anything of that nature. One more point I would make is to network with as many people as possible. You never know who you could meet that can really benefit you in the future, referring to your career, etc.

1. Be prepared to make important decisions on my own. 2. College classmates are more fun than the high school counterparts. 3. First Impressions are entirely wrong.

Michael, college is what you expect of it, but it is also very unexpecting. Go to college and you will be homesick, remember that your family will always support what you do. Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone, you will learn a lot about yourself and will love yourself even more. Do everything you can, join clubs and meet people, because you are a very sociable person. But remember academics come first and study a lot. Being a biological sciences major at UCI is very competitive and you have to keep up with your work. Remember those dreams and goals you have for yourself, study hard and continue! Have that social aspect of your life, trust me, college is harder than you think it is, it is no Merced College!

You could begin taking courses at UCI during the summer after you graduate, so you could get a head start. Also, try not to come here with senioritis because UCI goes by the quarter system and it goes by pretty quickly. Many freshman start out slow during the Fall quarter, so try to keep up and do not fall behind in your classes. Usually, you get the hang of it during or after your first quarter. Lastly, many people do not think about this but your professors are experts in their fields. Get to know some of them because you'll be amazed at what they do and you might just get a research opportunity.

Make sure you study more than you do now. College is a lot different than high school. You actually have to manage your time well and participate in class. Don't try to make things up when you're writing your essays because the professors really care about what you have to say and what your views are towards the prompt. If you're going to dedicate your time to pursuing the major you wanted, then you have to work for it and not slack off. Good luck. College is a fun experience - don't waste it.