University of Kansas Top Questions

If I could go back in time and give my self advice I would tell my self to go to a community college first. The biggest mistake I made is going straight to a university after high school. The decision on a university is not a simple choice, it takes a lot of thought and research. There are several universities out there and a more mature version of your self is going to regret the decision your high school self made. You have the option to go to any university in the world and each university offers different perks . Wait to make a commitment to any university and choose one that will fit your needs and interest. Waiting to commit to a university will not only save you money but also save you from regret on making a premature decision.

I'd give myself two pieces of advice. First, to push yourself beyond teachers expectations. Although I was able to secure a great highschool GPA as well as a ranking place in the top 10{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of my 1000 person graduating class, I know I could've done more. Had I pushed myself to do more academically, I believe I would've been better prepared for college and made an easier transition rather than watching my freshman GPA suffer. My second piece of advice would be to create a realistic plan for paying for my education. Because my mom encouraged me to apply to an out of state school, I assumed we could afford it. I found out the hard way that was not the case. The hardest part of going to college is feeling constant pressure financially, that could have been avoided with proper planning. If I could go back to senior year I would utilize the extra time I had to apply for every possible scholarship I could find. I would also have saved more money from my job. I would've relied less on my mom and more on myself to pay for my college education.

I would give only one advice is get to know the campus and schedule campus orientation. That's all.

To be successful in college, you need to be great at networking and be dedicated to stay true to the goal of graduating. In college there are a lot of distractions that could possibly get you off course from what you are going there to achieve. Use those networking skills to make friends who you can utilize to study with and also take time to unwind and enjoy college with. Also, do not take college for granted, you have to stay focused. In high school, it is easy to take a week off, then catch up and still maintain a good GPA. In college, you have to stay on top of all subjects to be able to learn the material in time for the test. If you do poorly on a test, it is hard to get back on top of the material in that class and that can hurt your GPA, which is IMPORTANT for graduate school! In conclusion, stay focused and enjoy college.

I would tell myself to follow my heart. I think I did end up following my heart regardless of what people told me what to do last year. However, it would have been nice to be reassured that everything works out in the end and not to stress about the little things. I would tell myself to just breathe and enjoy life because days fly by really quickly and not every person in your life at the moment will be there a year, a month or even a week from now. Take your time.

Miki, listen carefully because I have important and significant information for you. Right now, as you finish high school, you are convinced that you are just biding time. You are so impatient to get on with the future that you aren't really living in the present. Girl, take note of every moment. Don't be so focused on getting on with your life that you forget to live it now. Yes...you have an exciting year ahead, but the experiences you are encountering will never be offered again. The house you've known for so many years, the friends that have been steady since elementary school and even the routine you are so used to will not fit the same once you leave. Look around and take it in. Take a deep breath and smell the lilacs outside. Run your fingers over the kitchen table and pet the cat. Listen to the familiar sound of the air conditioning buzz on. These are small but powerful blessings and will be an anchor as you open the door to the exciting and unknown.

If I could give myself advice, it would be to prepare myself for the guilt that is about to come upon me. I feel sincere guilt about the financial burden that my parents have. I would like to have been more prepared and aware of the financials of a college education. My only plan of action is to make my college time worthwhile and to prepare now in order to be able to pay it forward when the time comes. As a senior in college, the best thing to do is to make yourself aware of the financials and to have a budget plan. Specifically with my architecture major, I am consistently purchasing supplies with my own money that I feel is bringing me further and further away from being able to pay it forward. I was not aware of these expenses and therefore was not prepared. All in all, my best advice is to save every penny and really evaluate what is worth spending money on.

If I could talk to myself as a high school senior I would tell myself that going into the Navy would be the best decision that I could make. I would tell myself that after four years of being in the Navy, I should join the reserves and go to school full time as I am doing right now. The reason why I would tell myself this is that I would be done with my pre-medical degree by 2013. I would be entering into Medical School by 2014 and then I have the possibility of joining the Navy as an Officer and practicing medicine in the Navy. This would be my best approach to achieving all my goals in a timely manner.

Let me start by saying that college is unpredictable. You will never know what it will throw at it. You might think that you have it all figured out and then the next thing you know you drop out of college. Even if I could go back in time and talk to my past, there's no way I could have prepared for this. But assuming that I could, this is what I would say: Word hard, work very very hard. College is not the same as high school. College is on a whole another level. Attend every class, don't skip. Avoid parties on the weekends because that is valuable study time you are skipping. Study, study, study! Most kids think they are free once they get out of high school and start just doing whatever the heck they want. College is not some picnic you can just casually go to. What you do in college determines your future. If you dropout, you might be flipping burgers for the rest of your life. But if you succeed, who knows what you can become?

Throughout my freshmen year at KU, there was one major thing I regret not doing and would instantly change if given the chance. Instead of living in the dorms like most freshmen, a few friends from high school and I chose to skip the dorms and the experiences that are tied with it and go straight for an apartment. This was probably one of the worst decisions due to the fact that most people form new friendships and it is usually with people who live in the same dorm as them. Living in an apartment, it did not give me the same opportunity to socialize and broaden my relationships compared to the people that chose to live in the dorms. Instead of going out and socializing with other people, my roommates and I chose to stay within the comfort of each other. If I had to give myself advice, I would tell myself to live in the dorms.