University of Connecticut Top Questions

Give yourself a break! In high school you spent most of your time under the shelter of your parent's command. You spent your time engaging in activities that you thought would make you more attractive to colleges. Granted some of those things you loved but others you pushed through for the sake of college. While you may not have been accepted into your top school don't stress, you'll love UConn. All the hard work you put in paid off, so enjoy your college years. Don't view these next four years simply as preparation for your life...this is your life. It's good that you study hard, but don't forget to make friends, go to parties every so often (it won't kill you). Remember you don't have to change who you are to have fun. I know you worry about that know, but you'll meet people who you'll be able to have fun with without drinking or smoking. Let loose and get out of your shell just a bit more. Most importantly, trust yourself. I promise you'll surprise yourself these next 4 years. Also remember to love yourself, it matters!

My advice would be to make sure to get involved in all the activities that you can and that you are interested. The number of activities that you join directly correlates to the amount of people that you meet and the amount of fun that you will have. Doing everything that you enjoy and meeting those that like the same activities will be very benificial to not only your social life but also your school work as well because it forces you to be organized and on top of your work.

I would tell myself to take every opportunity presented to me. Now that I am graduating in a few weeks I have been looking back on my college career and wishing I had taken advantage of more at the university. I got very involved and focused in my school work as well as my honor fraternity and feel like I missed out on other opportunties. For example, looking back now I wish I would have forgotten my worry about budgeting, what my friends were doing, and risk of getting turned down in order to apply for a study aborad trip. College is the only time in your life that you will be in a place that offers so many different experiences. I became very independent while in college but I always seemed to hang out with my same group of friends. I wish I would have branched out more to get to know new people and learn about new cultures and activities that I wouldn't have considered before. College had been an amazing experience for me but looking back I would advise my high school senior self to step out of my confort zone to do even more!

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior,I would give myself the following advice;to give my best in everything I do,to take my SAT and ACT exams seriously.Making a transition to college is not always easy just as life does not usually go as planned.I should learn to go with the flow.Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain and to never give up on my dreams.Whatever happens to me in life is part of God's plan in preparing me for what I asked for.College isn't about studying alone.Its also about having fun,getting to meet a lot of interesting people,discovering of talents.I would also advice myself to be part of extra-curricular activities that I would enjoy.

High School Jaylene, You're messing up! Get your head out of the clouds and stop thinking that you will have someone to help you 24/7. Take advantage of how EASY your classes are and the kindess of your teachers willing to help you. You are such a smart, no you are such an intelligent, young woman. APPLY YOURSELF. Im speaking to you now as Jaylene who is in college now, and let me tell you it isnt whatyou thought it was going to be. You only applied to one school and its the one your parents wanted you to go to. Uconn didn't even admit you into the big campus at Storrs. They sent you to the Hartford branch, with barely any financial aid, having to pay thousands out of pocket and making you become a commuter student, it has to be one of the hardest things ever! Balancing a high gpa, job, transportation, and homework, its hard. Now your stuck with wanting to transfer out of state to GA, when you could have easily applied yourself in high school. Dont wish for something to happen, you want it? YOU make it happen. With Love, Present Jaylene

If I could go back in time and give advice to my high school self I would tell myself to get involved in as many clubs and extracurricular activities as possible. In high school a person generally tends to have more time and energy to devote to these things whereas in college, life becomes more about grades and trying to make financial ends meet. Also, through joining clubs and becoming an active member of your school you develop skills and connections that will last you a lifetime. Not to mention it gives your resume an edge when you include extracurricular activities that show you were devoted to a club or organization in your school. Moreover, in high school you have the luxury of time and most high school students do not have to worry about paying for high school. The downside is you do not realize that you won’t always have this much time to devote to extracurricular activities. In college there will be much more demand on your time just to keep grades up. You should seize opportunities don’t let them pass by, make the most of every moment you are given.

If I could, I would urge my high school self to get out of his bedroom and just do something. Joining clubs, volunteering and varying my work experience to be exact. I'm sure almost every high school student slaps themselves with regret when they approach the college application process and realize they have nothing interesting to boast about. When I found myself in this position I was of course worried that admissions offices would find me bland and undesirable. But what really scared me was the fact that on paper I apparently wasted four years of life. What kind of lazy trend was I setting? I have a great respect for education - maybe too much. I had only focused on school and stayed within the comfort of routine - neglecting my life otherwise. When I die I want to look back on my life as a smorgasbord of experiences. I have decided that a fulfilled life has felt every feeling and endured every trial. Comfort is the addictive enemy. It pulls you into houses, wraps you in blankets and you end up thinking the world is made of feathers and trivial problems. I must start experiencing. Just do something!

If i could go back to last year when i was a high school senior I would tell myself to organize and prioritize. When you are in college you have to realize what is important and what isn't. I didn"t take anything seriously at all. I knew college was not cheap but I never knew it was as expensive as it really is. The studies, I am handling, but the financial is what I needed to take more seriously. Every High School senior should know that going to college is a privalege not a right. You have an amazing opportunity to go to college and you should get your head out of the clouds, buckle down, do well in school and go to college to get a degree.

College is just like high school; make the most of your experience in college. Concentrate on your studies and making friends; friends make beneficial study groups and will encourage you to do your best. It is not about the education as it is the experience. College is full of opportunities. College helps you to better yourself no matter the classes you take. Whether it is business or english you will learn more life lessons that will help you on your journey to the future.

My heart was pounding a mile a minute. There was ten minutes before the start of English class and I had yet to write the final page of my term paper. I was franticly typing every logical thought that came into my mind. I knew I was not going to make it on time since I had yet to print out the paper and sprint across campus to class, but I still tried. With every ounce of brainpower, I completed the jumble of nonsense I called my term paper. Time management is the one thing I learned the hard way my freshman year of college. Friends and partying were my top priorities whereas succeeding in my studies came nowhere close. I did not give nearly as much time to complete assignments and study for exams as I should have and it showed. Going back in time, I would tell myself as well as all high school seniors to “work hard, then play hard.” Succeeding in school should be of upmost concern and will make all the difference in how successful you are in your future career.