University of Iowa Top Questions

You will be okay. Everyone who has loved and supported you will not leave because your in college or going away. You're going to experience some tough things at school. Living with roomates will be hard. Especially when they are suffering and fighting and you just want to make it all better. You can't fix everyones problems though, everyone's burden is different and yours is not to make broken people whole again. You try so hard to be there for everyone but you can't fix peoples' depression, or domestic violence issues. You can't go back in time & tell them not to go to that party where they got drugged. The best you can do is tell someone that your friend is hurting, explain what their going through and try to help them heal. Even though you want to save everyone who's suffering, you just can't it's not in your power. Just help them the best you can, remember their stories and look out for them. Sometimes people can't ask for help. You always were good at noticeing when people need help the most even if they couldn't tell someone themselves.

If I could go back in time and give myself advice I would say follow your heart and passion. Get involved as much as possible. One of the greatest satisfactions I have gotten at my time at Iowa was creating a food drive for my local community and donating over 1,000 pounds of canned goods for families over the holidays. I've stayed true to myself and what I believe in and i'm 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} satisfied with my time at the University of Iowa.

As all the movies say, college will be the best experiences of your life. That is, if you let be. College is the very definition of you get out, what you put in. Life experiences are not just going to fall in your lap, so get out there and make it happen. Easier said than done right? Wrong. College is this magical place where you can put yourself out there judgment free, because every single other student is in the same position as you. Everyone is trying to make friends, get good grades, and get involved. The most important thing to remember is to try, putting effort into everything you do will help you get the most out of this experience. This is a chance to reinvent or improve upon the person you were in high school. It’s a beautiful place where you should take things seriously, and lightly at the same time. It’s a place to find your true self, but it can only be this magical, beautiful, eventful time in your live if you let it happen. Remain open to new experiences and you’ll navigate this crazy, simple, and memorable college world without a problem.

Enjoy every moment. There are so many things that I wish I would have done in high school that I didn't and I regret it so much! I wish I would have worked harder and got more involved.

If I had the opportunity to go back and talk to my high school senior self, I would say enjoy the two-ply toilet paper and drinkable tap water while you have it. Thats probably the worst part of going to college. The loss in comfort of going to the bathroom and not being able to drink from the sink because the water tastes gross. This is the common theme I would stick with, enjoy the time you're in now. It goes by faster than you want it to so make sure you enjoy it. You're laundry isn't always going to smell like your mom did it. Dad's french dip sandwiches won't be waiting for you at your dorm, and I'm sorry, but you're going to have a roommate that likes watching E! News. Yes college is great, but don't forget to stop and look around once in awhile. Take your last months of high school in because theres no going back. Once you've done that, make sure you do the same for college, because it goes by just as fast.

As a high school senior, I was extremely anxious about my impending transition to college life. I was terrified of leaving behind everything familiar to me and moving to a completely new place with all new people. On top of that, I was not even sure I could handle the college course load. Looking back now, none of my fears were justified. I wish I could tell myself not to worry because college is a completely different world than high school was. In high school, students are far more concerned with the actions of the peers that they see every day and compete with for grades and friendships. In college, your setting constantly changes; you are constantly bombarded with new people, places, ideas, and worldviews. As a senior, I felt extreme trepidation because I did not realize that such enormous change could ever be so positive. I would tell myself not to stay in my high school mindset, afraid to experience the fast-paced, ever-changing environment that is college. In summary, I wish my high school self knew that if I just changed my attitude and set my mind to it, I could easily adjust to college life.

Not trying to be vain or state how brilliant I was, but as a high school senior I was a very bright student. I achomplished many things varying from excelling in my studies, to working two afterschool jobs, and still find time in my very busy life to continue volunteering around my community. By doing all this I made alot of people very proud of me like my family, teachers, peers, and myself. I am very glad that I was able to do all this, but there is one thing that I have learned after living on a college campus for jsut one semester. I have relaized that I never really took anytime out of mylife for me. So I would give myself this simple advice to live life while you can because life is to short and tomorrow is not always promised. So don't waste any time living a way thats making you unhappy or a way that will make you regret tomorrow, because each day that you get is a precious gift that should be cherished and spent wisley.

As a high school student you think grades and your social life are the most important time consumers. Don't get me wrong, they are important, but spending time with your family is going to be the most rewarding for the little time you have left at home. I know that playing with your siblings isn't the most entertaining night when you could be with your friends but unless you are staying in the same town as your friends in high school, you most likely are not going to be the same when you get back together the next summer. Your family however is not going to change, plus you will have to like them the rest of your life so making memories with them now will be something to look back on later. My family adopted two children two months after I moved 13 hours away. I wasn't able to grow up with them and make memories like I was able to with my other brother. Now I am trying to cram as much family time in over winter break as possible in order to have some connection with them. Just remember family is forever.

If I could go back and talk to my high school self, I would tell myself not to worry that I was not one hundred percent positive about what I wanted to do with my life. That I would be surrounded by people and resources who would be able to guide me to finding the career path that would fit me perfectly. After two years of being miserable over a major I hated, I finally got the courage to use those resources. I would tell myself not to have so much pride that you won't admit defeat, and don't be afraid to ask for help. I would tell myself to relax, that I was about to dive head first into a community that taught me so many things, not only in the classroom but about myself. I would tell myself that I would emerge from my four years at Iowa no longer afraid, nervous about the future. I would leave Iowa with self confidence, and be heading into a graduate program that could not be a better fit. I would say that none of it would be possible without help from the people at the University of Iowa.

College is better and worse that you expected. You are independent and able to make your own choices, but you are independent and able to make your own choices. The freedom to become who you really are without the leash of a parent or the strict school dress code is exciting and allows you to become independently you. However, freedom comes with a few strings attached. You parents may not be a big part of your life anymore. However, the love your parents give you is can not be replaced with lots of friend. The comforts of home are now a thing of the past, Also, talk to your brothers more. They may seem annoying and smelly at the moment, but you will miss the daily interactions you had with them. College can be emotionally and academically straining. You will hate it, but you will become stronger in the after math. You won’t know who your true friends are until second semester. If they can put up with you for that long then that is love. Last but not least, you will need a thicker coat and studier walking shoes. You are now free to be you.