University of Maryland-Baltimore County Top Questions

When I think about myself two years ago, I honestly was not too much different than the person I am now. However, I am older, and with age comes wisdom so there are a few things I would say to myself. Number One: Do not be afraid of your professors. Even the scary ones. While most professors at my school are helpful and awesome, there's always one that isn't. But it is their job to teach and help you, so if you need it, go for it. No matter how cantankerous they are. Number 2: Do not pick your roommate the first year. It's much better to be mixed with the pot, because then you meet more people and have a lot of fun doing it. Number 3: Do not pick out your friend group the first two weeks of college, because they will often not be your friends several months later. It's not high school, but people still create drama for no reason. Number 4: Do not stay up past midnight on a school night. Yes, you make friends, but talk to them when it's still daylight. You'll do better in school.

As a college Senior at UMBC i have seen alot of things throughout my past four years that i never really experinced in high school. I learned so much about myself and about others and how to interact toward other individuals. My school is very diverse and I felt like i was in culture shock my sophomore year that i transfered into the school. I believe that you should come into any college with an open mind. Join different social groups and meet people of different kinds of races. Dont stick to one particular crowd. You never know what you could get out of the relationship if you make friends with different types of individuals. Visiting the campus for the weekend would be a good way of experiencing college life is really like. Overall college is an experience that should not be taken advantage of. You should enjoy every minute of it and not let other people influence you on certain decisions that you may not feel is right.

There are many things that I could wish I had known in high school that I know today. But the reality is that if I would have know what I know today when I was a high school senior then I would have probably made the mistake that I did or had the success that I did. I current time would not exit. But I think that they only advice that I would give me self it to always try hard and to just focus, and sometimes it won't be easy and u might fail but to never give up.

I really would not change much, because in a way, that is what makes the college life what it is. You change majors, you change professions; things just change. Honestly, going into my last year, I think I've done everything I wanted to do except graduate :) But if I had to give myself some advice, I would just think about making a couple backup plans if my original plan did not work. Of course everyone (hopefully) has a plan after high school, but it is rather daunting to have a backup plan so I would advise myself to do that.

I wasted a lot of time in Community college because it was easy, cheaper, and the only the credits transfered so it didnt matter how bad you could do in community college as long as you do enough to be able to transfer. It hurt me because when I came to university it was very hard to adjust, and I had taken all the easy classes at community college and took all the hard classes in university making it very hard to adjust.

focus on making lasting relationships, don't isolate. network - people want to help you. make sure to take care of yourself BEFORE anything else

To please your father, or please yourself? To bring glory to the family, or glory to the self? For enrichment and understanding, Or money and rights for bragging? In all these things you must decide, For the consequences are yours to abide. College life is not high school. If you disagree then you are a fool. Be wise. Be careful. For what may seem right is not always helpful. But do not be discouraged, For in this time you will find within you Much courage. Do what is right, No matter what. And in everything you do, Trust your gut.

Dear Ashley,Take a deep breath and relax. I know as a senior you are stuffed with countless emotions day in and day out. You wake up every morning asking yourself ?Where am I going in this life?. Advantageously, this letter is here to guide you. Take what you want from it, and know everything is going to be fine. You will be accepted everywhere you apply (I bet this just put a smile on your face). However, along the road there will be people telling you to give up your swim career. This is when I want you to look in the mirror and know you are a survivor. You can succeed if you put your heart and soul into everything you do. UMBC is where your journey will begin. College life can?t be explicated in words. It is everything you can imagine and more. The transition from high school is made easily as long as you are willing to embrace change. Michael Jordan said it best with ?Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game?. Life is short, so appreciate college and study hard but don?t forget to have fun and laugh often.

With college comes a freedom that will be a new and exciting experience for most incoming freshmen. Though it would prove regretfull not to take advantage of this newly-earned privelage, do not indulge. Stay focused and build a strong and stable foundation to pave a path for the rest of your college career. As college progress, you will find out that your GPA will be harder and harder to raise. This is enough reason to stay focused on school in the early years of college and come out strong with a high GPA. A strong GPA will allow you to take advantages of more opportunities such as scholarships and internships. With the ever-increasing rate of college tuition, scholarships will be more than helpful. Internships will help in securing a post-undergraduate job in your field of study. Everything adds up and if you do not have a strong foundation, everything could crumble. With that being said, make sure you create friendships with many different people. Join different student orginizations and get involvled around campus, but do not overload yourself and forget about school. Balance is the key to everything. Study, socialize, survive and succeed. That is college.

My advice would be to always do your best at everything you do. I would explain to myself how college life is totally different from high school and how you would have to do everything on your own. There is nobody telling you what to do and how to do things.