University of Connecticut Top Questions

Going to college betters yourself as a person and makes it better and easier to get a career. Getting a degree and starting a career is better support not only for yourself but for you family when you decide to start one or if you have one.

If I could go back in time and speak to myself as a high school senior I would remind myself to be my own person; stay true to who I have become up until that point. In doing so, only the best will be brought to me and I would not have to worry about much because I would have confidence in my abilities as well as what I would be able to bring to my community, personal satisfaction, and my future endeavors. Looking back, I did not realize how many opportunities would be available to me and how short four years really is. I would encourage myself to do as much as I could and all that I wanted to do as soon as I have the chance. Entering my senior year of college I am blown away. I would have loved for someone to stress, more than people did, that the years go by fast and most of the experiences, opportunities, and chances I would get in college are only available in such a manner during that time. It is unfortunate to lose those opportunities without capitalizing on them and miss out on very important and interesting events.

What you love is what will make your life worthwhile - work very, very hard for it and everything will fall into place. Seek advice, but let your own intuition be the deciding factor. Don't overspend - make responsible financial decisions. Take out as few student loans as possible. Your comfort zone is your confinement. You can not learn by doing something the same way over and over again. Have fun and take pride in what you have learned from your experiences. Don't listen to people who tell you to put your dreams on hold. No matter what happens, keep working toward your dream every day, even if it is only a very small thing you are able to do. You will see in the next five years that life is so beautiful, and you are too.

Dear High-School-Senior Katie, In about 3 months you are going to experience a drastic change; it is going to be scary, nerve-wracking, and there will be some tears. I know you absolutely love playing Scrabble with your family, lying by the pool with your friends, and having your cat sleep by your feet; I get it. However, you need to realize that change is not a bad thing! God has a plan for you; all you have to do is show up and see where He takes you. Believe in yourself; I know you can do it! Embrace the change, be outgoing and kind, laugh a lot, do crazy things that you normally would not do, do your homework ahead of time, sit by the lake to eat lunch, work hard and play hard, and stay true to yourself but do not be afraid to change a little if it's for the better. Savor every moment because this first year is going to literally fly by. Do not be afraid; love the people you spend your time with, they are going to be your family away from home. Live it up! Love, Katie-a-college-sophomore

If i could go back and time and tell my high school senior self something that I have learned, it would be don't take your senior year for granted. Don't be like everyone else and screw up your senior year, because I wish that I would have taken my senior year serious, because i wouldn't be in the situations that i am in now, stressing about when and how i will get my tutition paid, if i had done well senior year I would have had Florida's Bright Futures financle aid which would have paid 75{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of my tuition. Also don't settle for community college, there is nothing wrong with comunity college but it is not for you and you'll also want the college experience no matter what you think.

Going away to college, I got alot more freedom than at home. I could do whatever I want, whenever I want without having to ask my parents. With this new freedom comes alot of responsibility. Here at college, there is no one here to babysit and tell me all the things I need to do. I have to know what is right from wrong and I have to get things done on my own. The workload in high school and college differ in that you take less classes in college but the workload is even more. In high school, I could get away with not studying for exams and still do exceptionally well. In college, things are a lot different. In order to do well I must put in days of studying, sometimes loosing sleep or loosing out on fun. You have to sometimes make these sacrifices for good grades. As it is important to get good grades, it is equally important to have fun and enjoy college, the important thing is to create a balance between the two. With a balance between the two you can have a fun and successful college experience.

Dear Jaake, Take a deep breath. Your going to be ok. Senior Year is almost over and you probably just got kicked out of your parents house. It's not fair, but it is ok. It's not fair that just because your different your parents believe that your wrong. I wish I could prove to you how much life will get better, that one day you will be strong, confident, out of the closet, and president of the Gay Straight Alliance at your community college, but you wouldn't believe me if I tried. You are about to make one severe mistake. You are going to let whats happening at home and with your parents destroy your grades, you are going to decide not to take the SAT's. I urge you not too. Take a breath and realise you dont need help from your parents. Pay attention for the people around you that truly love you, and try too truly love yourself. Love yourself enoug to follow through and finish strong. You wouldn't believe the doors that have closed for me because I let my parents affect my school. Please dont make that mistake. Sincerely, Jaake

Make sure you know exactly which field you want to go into because once you are in college, it is hard to switch. Also, read, read, read as much as you can so you can expand your knowledge and learn many new concepts and ideas that will be useful to your daily life. Mosly importantly, learn to enjoy your time at college and not just be a book worm.

I would advise myself to seek the extra help that I needed in math and science. Having a better grasp on the basics in theese two subject matters would save me a lot of frustration, time, and money.

If I went back in time and talked to myself as a high school senior I would tell myself to save my money. Back then, I don't think I realized the importance of having savings and having a plan. I knew that I wanted to go to college after high school but didn't know what I wanted to study. I did not receive any financial help from my parents so it was up to me to support myself through as well as, pay for college. I would have told myself to plan for college classes, and plan on paying for them for a while. Which brings me to the second thing I would have told myself, DON'T STOP TAKING CLASSES UNTIL YOU ARE FINISHED WITH YOUR BACHELOR DEGREE. I decided to stop taking classes after I recieved my Associate Degree because I was unsure of what I wanted to study for a Bachelor Degree. Now that I hae decided to go back, it is much more difficult coming up with the time and money. I work full time, own my house, have many bills to pay, and will soon be getting married and starting a family.