University of Connecticut Top Questions

I would go back to August and tell myself that employment won't be draining, and that I can handle five AP classes, and Track and Field will not complicate life, and I will keep my friends, and that things will work out with A. or Laura, and I will not suffer heartbreak, even though that’s all a lie. I would bite my tongue, hold back the tears, force a smile, and give myself a hug, and say “everything is going to be alright, promise”. I will not tell myself about the pain, or the tears, or the regret, or all the sleepless nights that tested my sanity. I wish I could be sincere, but I cannot, because no matter how arduous that year was, I wouldn't change it. That year broke me, but it also made me stronger. The experience made the transition to college easy and desired, and gave me the ability to balance my life, and enjoy the little things and cherish intimacy. Life got better because I did too. If I could give my senior-self advice, I would just reassure myself, and give myself a hug, because that’s all I ever wanted.

Don't give up. After your junior year, your bad grades are going to get you kick out of school, and a few weeks later, you're going to break your foot and be on crutches for three months. It won't be the end of the world. You're going to retake some classes and get B's, and they're going to let you back in just in time for 2014 right after your foot is healed and you can walk again. You're going to get a position in a reasearch lab with an emeritus professor who is eager to work with you, and you're going to get housing on campus again. The future is bright and you need to always look ahead and not behind. You'll come out of this stronger and more determined than ever to achieve your dream of being a scientist.

Make sure you pick a major before you start college. The biggest mistake I made was spending my first two years of college meandering around trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. It's an important decision, but college isn't the place to make your preliminary decision, at least. I had no direction in my first two years-which caused me to take a whole plethora of differing classes to figure out what I wanted to do. When I finally decided-I was in my junior year-facing a huge courseload that will likely require an extra semester beyond the fourth year-and a lot of the classes I took in those two years no longer mattered. If I had chosen beforehand, I could have graduated in four years. And even if I changed my mind, I would have at least been working toward a concrete goal the whole time. College is not the place for guesswork-it's a waste of time and money. Even if that means taking gome time off to decide what you want to do. It's okay to wait. Make sure you know what you're getting into.

Now that I am one year from completing college, I am beginning to see the frightening reality of debt after graduation. Because of this, the advice I would give an incoming freshman is to carefully plan your future to ensure that you spend minimal time and money in college. One very important way of achieving this is attending community college, especially if you are unsure which major is best for the career you wish to work in. The worst thing anyone can do is spend $40,000 on classes for a major that you are not going to complete, and then end up changing majors and spending five or six years as an undergraduate. My advice to avoid this is to pick a major that closely reflects your personal interests. College will only work if you are happy with the classes you are taking, otherwise you are likely to change majors and spend additional time and money working toward a different degree. Even if you decide to work through classes you hate, you are still allowing the possibility of spending the rest of your life hating your job because you choose a degree that you are not interested in.

I would tell myself that I should go ahead and apply at different 4-year universities. I would also tell myself to apply for as many scholarships as I possibly could. I would tell myself that leaving home is not the scary, you don't have to be afraid of living somewhere completely new. I would probably also tell myself to go out-of-state, going to an out-of-state college would definitely allow me to see other parts of the country.

the ony advice id give to my highschool self is to know that things are going to get rough but i need to fight through it and make the best out of what i can. make sure you dont waste your time with the wrong peope and make sure you stay in the books 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} because in this world and perfetion you enter, there is little room for mistakes and there will always besomeone better than you. like i said keep your head held high and fight the good fight because in the end all the problems you're going to face in the future will amount to something in your life.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself when I was a senior in high school, I would probably tell myself that deciding to go to a two year community college after graduating was a great decision. The only thing I would tell my past self was to make sure I was employed during those years, so that when the time came to transfer to a four year university that I would not be in such a need for money to afford the transfer. I would probably also tell my past self to change my major from the English Education one to the English one that way I could have graduated a semester sooner. I would also tell my past self that doing all of my science credits in one semester was not the best decision in the world and to space them out and not take Biology.

So much I would tell my past high school senior self but what would be most important? Instead of working full time and attempting school several times right after high school because it is what I thought I was suppose to do and doing poorly and droping out I would tell my high school self to focus on working for a few years till I felt I was ready and then look into post high school education. In stead of trying to balence work, school, boyfriends, and friends I would have taken some time to have fun but tell myself when I decided it was time to go back to school to make that my priority instead of another thing on my daily to do list. Once high school senior me decided to go to school I'd remind myself that although school needs to be my top priority I do still need to keep in touch with those important to me and use them for support as well. That I'm really not all alon even though it truly felt that way at the time.

Attending high school at Marianapolis Preparatory School, I had the ability to experience cultures from all around the world, as the school was made up of students from many different cultures, I was able to play spots that I had never played before, and be involved in amazing activities. If I could go back now, I'd tell myself to slow down, look around, and enjoy life a little more. There were so many days that passed that I wished I could fast forward to when I was away at college, but I now wish that I would have enjoyed that time much more than I did. It was more important to me then, to start a new life, but I'd love to tell myself to soak up all the time with my friends, teachers, family, and community that I possibly could. Life is about enjoyment of every minute, not wishing them all away.

The biggest piece of advice I would give is that thing will not always be easy, however keep an open mind when meeting people, finding activities, and choosing classes. It is important to stay true to yourself and values, however it is also important to meet people and socialize as well. In addition, while grades are important, it is more important not to create a schedule which leaves no room for relaxing with friends or downtime. Nothing is as important as mental health, so keep that in mind when taking a heavy course load and working part time. Most of all, I would tell myself to have fun because four years goes by extremely quickly and the serious nature that has often defined me as to be let go in order to meet people and have fun. Finally, I would remind myself that people are going to be very different from me and that's okay- just get to know them, share stories with them, and learn all you can about people because you never know who it will be that greatly impacts your life.