University of Illinois at Chicago Top Questions

If i could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, i would advise myself to strive harder to reach my goals. I would advise to not to be afraid and take chances, to believe in myself, and not sell myself short. I would tell myself to go ahead and apply to all the universities as I'd like, and not be afraid of being rejected. Because no matter what as long as I keep doing my best and striving for my goals, I will reach them, and i will succeed. College life may not come easy, but it will be rewarding in the end.

Try to learn more about the college process before leaving. Don't leave it up to your parents or other siblings; pick the college that feels right for you, not just the one that they tell you. Explore more career options and discover more about yourself and what you like to do so you don't waste the first two years of college trying to figure out what you want to do. Read more, study more, talk to more people about what they're doing with their college experience. Get more involved in your high school so your resume looks better for college. Take better care of yourself.

I would tell my high school self to ask many questions and to not fear anything. As the first in my family to attend college, I was very fearful of the unknown. I didn't know what a major was or how to get one. But I learned the hard way, by transferring and spending extra time at school, that there are many resources available to freshmen and all college students for whatever your needs may be. Campus can be like a little city. I would tell myself that being scared only inhibits yourself, and to be confident. To meet as many different types of people as you can - your dormmates, RA's, professors, and TA's, as this will be one of the only opportunities to meet such a diverse and open group of people. You can learn something from everyone and cultivate relationships and resources for the future. That being said, I would then add that staying in a few nights a week is not the end of the world. And lastly to live in the moment, but also plan ahead, meet with an acedemic advisor to plan a timely graduation and for what may come afterwards.

Transitioning over from high school to college is not not the nightmare you were imagining. I thought that I would not see my friends or family anymore because of a potential workload, but that was not the case. I went to a university in the same city that I grew up and went to high school in, seeing and even taking classes with my friends. I lived at home for all of college too, cutting costs on living expenses because I had two other brothers in college as well. Do not pout about taking public transportation everywhere either; you saved yourself and your family a lot of money by doing so. Last of all, hit the ground running once you get there, because the climb to the top will be rough if you let yourself get too distracted too often. Create a schedule for yourself or get a part time job to help you with your poor time management skills. You have a goal at hand and now you need to reach it. There will be others around you cheering you on, but you have to make yourself rise to the top.

Follow your dreams. Go where you want and do what you want no matter what the costs. Most students are going to be in debt up to the eyeballs anyway. If I could do it over again, I would've done what makes me happy...not what I feel like I'm supposed to be doing. I used to be so involved in school: I loved sports and helping the community. Now it feels like that's all gone to waste. I would change everything if I could do it over again.

If I were able to go back in time & talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to live at home and commute to college. Looking back on my college career, I wasted a lot money on unnecessary living situations & simply not understanding student loans. For my freshman year, I lived in the dorms & wasted money on a small, uncomfortable, & often unhealthy living situation. Living in the dorms was a valuable learning experience, but it was also a huge waste of money. Commuting would have allowed me to take out smaller loans & it would have allowed me to be better off in the future. Currently, I owe over 60,000 dollars for my loans. This is making it very hard for me to continue into graduate school. It also does not help that I have not been able to find a job let alone a career with my current undergraduate degrees. The debt that I have accrued over the past 4 years has made my current living situation extremely stressful. With this, winning this scholarship would greatly help alleviate some of the stress that I am experiencing due to loan debt from my undergraduate degrees.

I would tell myself to stick with school no matter what. You don't have to know exactly what you want to do your freshman year of college. Get all your general education classes out of the way and by taking those it might help you to decide what you really want to be. Be confident in the decisions you make and stick with them. College can be the best time of your life as long as you make the most of it and try your best. Interact with people as much as possible it will help make the transition seem not so lonely. Put your studies above all else and it will reward you in the end.

Now that I'm in college everything seems different. The whole aspect of college life is more harder and more work. Transitioning from high school it made me realize that nothing is easy. The best advice if I was to go back in time and talk to myself I would say push yourself more and more it would pay out soon enough. Also pay alot of attention in all the materials given by your teachers everything that you learn their would come in handy when your trying to reflect on something you have already learn. Thirdly , do all your homework it truely makes a big difference and makes you less lazy when you actually have a lot homework . Most importantly please, please, ask for help if you need it. It works for the best. Just think once you graduate college all your dreams would soon come thrue , you just need to indure and survive the hard life in college.

I would advice myself to gather more research about universities and stay at the university for a few days to see how you will adjust to the university for the future.

If I had the power to accomplish such a thing, I would tell me high schooler self to never procrastinate. Work hard because one day it will all pay off. i would tell myself to apply for all you favorite universities first. I would tell myself to complete many scholarships has I could, because there is money out there and you just have to search hard to getting it. "You financial status would be much better if you do, and you would not have a hold on your registration due to payment" I would tell myself. "Search for advicing, that how you get help. And sign up early for classes to be sure you get the best professors" I would cry to myself. "College could be a time of hardship, but with the right advice you could make it through."