University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Top Questions

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to not second guess my decisions and to trust that I can do anything I set my mind to. I began my college life at a small private college and ended up transferring to a very large public one. That decision was very hard for me to make but I knew it was the right one. Had I just given myself a little more credit as a high school senior, I most likely would have started out at the same large university initially rather than going through the difficulty of transferring halfway through. As a high school senior, I was afraid that such a large institution would not be right for me and that I essentially "couldn't do it". However, looking back, I realize that I have been able to achieve much by transferring and I wish I would have had that faith in myself all along. So, I wish I could go back in time and tell me high school self to believe in myself and my dreams no matter what. Everything is possible and I can achieve anything.

Knowing what I know now I would cultivate better study habits and use my time wisely. College life can be much more intense than high school. There is a large advantage to having good study habits and an ability to use the available time wisely. At college there are so many more opportunities for extra curricular activites that if you don't already have good study habits and time management skills you will fall behind. I would definitely tell myself as a high school senior to focus on study habits and time management skills.

As a high school senior, I viewed college as a scary place. I was nervous to make the transition and completely change the way I was use to living. Now, being a freshman in college, I no longer view college as such a scary place. I would tell myself that things will be alright. I do not have to make all my career decisions my first year and I will meet new friends and have a lot of fun. The way I live will not change for the worse and I actually become closer to my family. I learn a lot about myself and will become stronger as a person. I would also tell myself that every day in college is another chance to start over. I now realize that I am the only person in control of my future and if I want to succeed, it is solely up to me. Lastly, college is not a scary place, but a great opportunity to explore what I can and will achieve.

If I could go back in tme I would tell myself to based my college choice on where I want to go to school not on where others want me to go. Because no matter where you go you can make the school meet your needs as a student and can find a place for yourself within the community of the school. College is the time to not only study and prepare yourself for your future career but it's also a great place to meet people from different backgrounds. In college you don't have to worry as much about what people think of you because there are all sorts of people and you can always find some that will be like you. Make sure to get involved in the campus you will feel more like a part of the school and DO NOT close your self up in your dorm . College can be a new start where you can be who ever you want your past doesn't have to be your future at college. If your going to college with friends from highschool be sure to spread your wings and meet new people.

I would tell myself to look more in depth at the programs that the colleges I'm looking at offer. I wish I also would've applied for more scholarships. They are not easy to get but they are well worth it if you are awarded any. I also would consider the distance of how far the campus is away from my home town. My current campus is a couple hours away and I now realize that I would love to be closer to my family. College is all about finding your own and I am definitely going to join more clubs and participate in more activities next semester. Participation in school activites helps meet friends and gain leadership opportunities. I would also tell myself that I need to learn how to study for tests because high school is a lot easier than college and I wish I could have prepared myself in a better way for my tests.

I would give myself a lot of advice. First of all, I warn myself of the challenges up ahead. I would explain that it will be a tough transition at times and that I will feel homesick sometimes. With that I would tell myself these feelings are natural and not to allow these things to ruin all the things I am able to learn and experience. The next piece of advice I would give myself is that rather than study too little, study too much and be overprepared. This advice was given to me by my mother and has been very helpful, therefore, I would remind myself of this useful tactic. Lastly, I would tell myself to meet as many people as possible. The further you get into school the harder it will be. By making many good friends early you create a support group for yourself. Along with this advice comes the advice to choose your friends wisely. Avoid people who will hinder your schoolwork because your first and most important priority is school. In conclusion, I would tell myself as long as you keep your priorities straight, meet new people, and lastly enjoy the experience.

I would have told myself not to go to college right away. The life experience I've aquired has made the learning process easier now in college. I am more focused and truly care about what I am studying. From what I've seen many young, fresh out of high school students, have a know it all attitude and cannot apply what they are learning to the real world only to themselves. Although I would like to say I was different during my first time in college, something tells me I wasn't. Sometimes the school of life is more important to learn first.

If I were blessed with the opportunity to take my current knowledge of college life and explain it all to myself a year ago, I would tell myself how to live on my own. I would tell myself to get into the habit of making lists of things that need to be done since no one else will be there to remind you to do them. Along with that, I would tell myself that just because a deadline seems far away does not mean that you have the entirety of that time to do that assignment. Now you must factor in time to: do laundry, buy grocieries, do other class assignments, make surprise counsellor visits, apply for scholarships, call home, keep in touch with friends, make new friends, make a run to the bookstore when you realize you are low on art supplies, vacuum your room, talk to your CA about noise level, take a nap so you do not fall asleep in Astronomy, rearrange furniture so your roommate's guest will be comfortable, and more. I never thought of these non-academic aspects in my college search, and I wish I did.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a senior in high school, I would tell myself to finish strong in the area of academics in my senior year. I made the mistake of not fully making the most of my senior year to obtain the best grades I can earn. I was caught in what most call "the senior slide." At the middle of my senior year, I started to slip in work ethic and my grades started to show. I became unaware of what my teachers were lecturing in psychology and physics because I had little interest in these areas. I did not push myself to the fullest potential to actually learn the vocabulary in psychology and understand how motion works in physics. My work ethic in my senior year made my first semester of college difficult because I had to put in extra work to get good grades. Now, I realized how important senior year of high school is because it is an indicator of success in college. I wish I can go back and fix my mistakes to make an easier transition into college with good habits to bring into my studies.

The most important thing that I can think of to tell myself when I was in high school is to spend more time on scholarships and pay attention to detail. College and college life is very expensive. I missed scholarship opportunities in high school because I didn't pay enough attention to the finer details of the application processes. I should have started working on them much earlier and payed better attention to all the scholarship opportunities offered at all the schools I applied to. Originally, I did not take the University of Minnesota Twin Cities as seriously as the other colleges I applied to because it was not my first choice of schools. I focused on the school-funded scholarships offered at the schools I gave priority to more than independant scholarships, scholarships offered through my high school, and those offered at the U of MN. Advice I would give my high school self includes taking more innitiative on scholarship and college applications as well as treating all colleges that I applied to with equal interest and seriousness.