University of Maryland-College Park Top Questions

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself that this is your opportunity to be who you have always wanted to be. This is a new beginning that requires you to shed all your old fears and conceptions about who you think you are in favor of optimism and confidence in the person that you know you can become. You should understand that whatever change will only ever come from within. College isn't going to make you into the person you want to be, only you can do that. That being said, being in a new place with new people gives you a great opportunity to reinvent yourself or ideally, bloom into the person you've always been but have been afraid to express. I know that maybe you weren't the coolest guy in high school but no one here knows that. They only see what you show them, so it is important to show them and more importantly, to show yourself that you are comfortable taking risks. When it's all over, you will regret the things you didn't do, not what you did.

Knowing what I know aboout college life, I would tell myself first, practice different study methods and find something that works. During my first year it took me awhile to find an effective way to study as well as where to study; so make sure you go to a library. I would also tell my high school self to talk to more people instead of the same group of friends; college is all about meeting people and you have to be comfortable talking to people from different backgrounds and regions. Antother piece of advice I would give is to joind as many clubs and organizations as possible that even remotely interest you. That way you can go to a few meetigns and see what you truly enjoy. It is a great way to meet people who have the same interest as you. And finally I would tell myself to stay true to who you are and stick to your morals, but have fun and enjoy the time you have at an amazing school.

College is definitely a wonderful experience that I believe every individual should live through. Not only does it bring many lifelong friends and different opportunities, but it also helps us to evolve as individuals by strengthening our ability to be responsible and independent. If I could talk to myself as a college senior I would definitely remind myself the reason I am going to college. Many people have all these goals they want to achieve but allow the freedom that college brings to distract them and interfere with the primary reason they went to college. Secondly, I would inform myself that college is all about balance and priority. As long as students are able to balance their school work and their social life then everything will fall into place. College is not just about having fun, we are paying all this money to obtain a degree and create a job opportunity. In order to accomplish that goal we must understand that we cannot take part in every social event that takes place. College is about prioritizing our needs over our wants. In addition, we must take part in campus events to become more involve with the community and other students.

Being 4 years removed from high school and in the college/real world has taught me some things I did not know. The biggest thing it has taught me is to be more decisive in all choices I would have to make. Throughout the beginning of my college career, I was unsure of what I wanted for a career. I decided I wanted to get away from home and attend East Carolina University, and from there I would decide on my future. I stayed undecided at ECU and eventually came back home after a year of school. Then I decided I wanted to try to pursue an engineering degree. I attended community college part-time while working for the Government as an intern to help pay for school, bills, etc. After transferring to the University of Maryland last year and getting into the engineering school I am finally seeing my dreams of becoming an engineering coming true. My indecisiveness has taken me through 4 years of not being confident my decision making when it comes to school until this point. This is why I would advise my high school self to be more decisive when it comes to college choices.

“Life is a blank canvas, and you need to throw all the paint on it you can.” -Danny Kaye College is not high school. I cannot emphasis that enough - it is a world of difference, and you better get ready. Every freshman is thrust into an environment that's entirely new for them, and you'll all be just a little bit lost. College is when you're given a chance to find out who you are: what you want in life, what your goals are, who you'll become. So, explore! Keep your dorm open, and make friends with everyone you meet. If you see a club you're interested in, go out and join it. Find events, go to parties, laugh until you hurt, dance until you can't, and take every opportunity you can to learn more about yourself. College is an amazing opportunity, and you better seize this adventure with everything you've got. Trust me and relax, you're going to love it here.

Don't be afraid. There is a great adventure ahead of us. College is a place where we can truly touch our dreams and passions, it is a place where we will discover the power of friendship and team works. College is a very different school, no teacher will keep reminds us to study for our exams, and no parents will command us to wash the dishes or to clean up our room—because at college, we became the ones that reminds ourselves to study. By doing our laundry, washing our dishes, cooking our food, and budging our finances, we became our own “parent”. We are the ones that need to take care of ourselves. Don’t worry, that only means, we had finally grown up, and we are getting ready for the real world. In College we will learn a lot from lectures, and a lot from outside of classroom. However, for most of the time, we had to decide what we hear is the truth, and make sure we have choice the right thing to do. We will start to learn how to listen with our heart and making the right decisions with our mind.

As a high school senior I was a little cocky (to put it mildly). I knew I still had a few things to learn, but for the most part I thought that I had life figured out. I felt I was way ahead of everyone else when it came to life experiences, that college would not be a huge revelation. I was wrong, and it only took one year of college to make me realize that hard fact. Upon coming to College Park I soon found out what it was like to live independently; the true responsibilities that you have to take on and the hard choices you have to make. Balancing academics, work, volunteer service, social life, and "adult stuff" like health care and tax forms made me realize that I knew a lot less than I thought I did. So if I could go back to myself as I high school senior, I would try to convince myself that I am nowhere near as mature as I think. I would rattle off examples like the ones above and see if I could change his cocky attitude (a slap to the back of the head would probably help too).

The advice that I would give myself would be to actually read as much as possible. I realized that the more you read, you become a faster reader and you develop a bigger and stronger vocabulary. While reading take notes, so you can look back at them later and remember what you just read about. Another piece of advice would be not to judge things right away. Don't ignore an idea too early just because you get a bad impression from it. Just because something seems bad at first, does not mean it is bad. I would also force myself to actually join clubs. Clubs are not just important for colleges to see, they provide new experiences and help you grow as a teenager. You will also meet new people that you would have never thought that you would have similar things in common. My last and finally piece of advice would be to not get involved in the drama. During my senior year I got involved in the drama with prom and other things way too much and it distracted me from my academics. So I would tell myself to ignore the drama and turn the other way.

Bravery. This might not be something that you considered as being a part of your transition into college but it most certainly is. As cliche as you think it may sound, this truly is the beginning of a new chapter of your life. While going to college may seem like a standard part of what people your age are doing right now that does not mean that it will be easy. Go into this experience knowing that. Allow yourself to remain conscious that you are putting yourself outside of your comfort zone and embrace this. This will be one of the best times in your life to indulge in new things that interest you and to develop relationships that will last forever. Use these experiences along with the knowledge you gain in your classes to help you understand what it is that drives you. Trust me, doing so will make answering "what do you want to do when you grow up?" much easier. Go easy on yourself, it will enable you to truly be present for the things you will miss after leaving this campus. You will discover so many things here, congratulations on taking the first step.

Congratulations! You are almost there! As you are getting excited and preparing for the big move into college life, here are two very important tips from yourself after experiencing the first year. First and foremost, do not be afraid to get out there and meet new people. The campus may seem huge and you do not know anyone, but every other freshman is in the same position as you. Go to events and games and clubs meetings. You will be surprised how welcoming people are and it is the best way to meet people. Also, hang out in the lounge or common area and you will meet just about everyone in your dorm. Now, it may seem like a myth in the beginning, but the freshman fifteen is a real things. The dining hall at first glance seems perfect, because it has all of your favorite calorie heavy foods. Those foods are okay every now and then. Become close friends with the salad bar and step out of your comfort zone and go to those group fitness classes. Start off the right way and you will not have to spend your next summer getting rid of those freshmen fifteen.