University of Missouri-Columbia Top Questions

To my high school senior self, Karolina, there is a few things I would like to tell you that you never knew while you were a senior. Firstly, college is not as scary as you thought it would be. You have so much freedom that you have never experienced in your whole life! However, this freedom comes with a cost. Study time is necessary. Juggling it with the responsibilities you will hold and your job is a tough one. You are not rich, but you are smart. Scholarships applications are a must to get you through school. I also want to let you know that going with your heart in your career choice is what counts. You wanted to make a change in the world, but didn’t think much of putting it into a career. Go with your gut! All the pieces will fall together afterwards as long as you put the effort that is needed. Keep pushing, and do the best you can! It will be worth it in the end. Yours truly, Future Karolina.

My advice to my high school self is to enjoy it. Don't worry about the AP/Honor classes because it has not helped out at all in college. Do your best in high school, but don't forget to have fun. Be involved as well! Look into what you want to do in college and life because some people I know now at age 20-25 does not know what to do with their lives and it is sad to watch it, and you/me do not want to be in their shoes. Good luck!

Dear Brendan, We did it man, we survived the first semester of college. We made a lot of friends, found an old love, and found a niche at Mizzou, just like we knew that we would. But, after half a year, we have learned some things that we did not know going into August, and I want to warn you of whats to come. First, do not overload yourself with all the clubs you did in High School. Yeah, it looks good for colleges when applying that you were in eight clubs and two sports, but that does not matter once you are in! Pick one or two, and devote your undivided attention to those and those only! Second, learn how to study and manage your time. You did not have to in High School because everything came easy, but its not like that anymore! Look over your notes every night and study with people! Lastly, buy all the credit from AP and Dual credit courses that you can, because $300 for three classes is a whole lot better than $900 for one. Enjoy senior year man, live it up! With you always, Brendan Simpson

If I could go back to my high school senior self, I would have to go back 16 years. I’m sure I would mention the importance of getting good grades, applying for scholarships, and staying motivated. But most importantly, I would tell myself to quit trying to be someone I was expected to be. I would tell myself to just BE myself. I would tell the insecure little girl that I was, that although many important events were about to unfold, they would not occur in the order I would have planned them. I would tell her to embrace this, and face each circumstance with positivity and gratitude. I would tell her how important it is to have aspirations and goals, but I would emphasize the fact that sometimes all you can do, is take it one day at a time. I would tell her not to worry; that she would find true love. That she would experience feelings of love she never thought possible, until looking into her children’s eyes. I would tell her that time really does fly by and that it’s never too late to pursue her dreams.

My advice to myself would be to open up and seize more opportunities. There are plenty of opportunities at colleges like the University of Missouri to network and obtain scholarships. I found this scholarship through my schools financial aid social network. If I were a senior I would have seized opportunites like these earlier through the resources of the university. This scholarship will take the financial burden off of my mother. Besides scholarships other opportunities include getting more involved at the university. Now that I have completed my first sememster of college, I want to get involved in more activities and clubs at my school. I would tell myself as a senior to start right away instead of waiting. These are small lessons learned that I have taken advantage of.

If I were able to talk to myself as a high school senior I would tell myself to explore all the careers that are out there and not limit myself only to my parents suggestions of either a doctor or lawyer. Today I am on the path to finding what I am most passionate about and finding a job that will correlate with that passion. After entering college I realized that no matter what I end up doing I need to actually enjoy what I am studying and be good at it, especially after watching numerous people around me constantly change their majors within the first semester of school. I would also tell myself the importance of starting off as strong as possible. My first semester I took Precalc because I thought it would help me prepare for Calc, even though I tested into Calc but I was unaware that Precalc would actually prepare me for Calc2 which I will not even need unless I major in engineering. This taught me to look into everything I do and even if I think I am doing something smart, that I need to always double check everything I do.

If I could talk to my seventeen year old self, I'd want them to do everything I did but better. I'd tell her to go with the flow. College is all about new experienes. I'd tell her that finals are not a joke, especially the calculus 2 final. I'd tell her that she will meet her future bridesmaids and being in a sorority is nothing like you imagined it'd be. I would make sure she deletes Kurt Donner's phone number out of her contacts and stress the fact that texting your ex boyfriend at 2 in the morning is NEVER a good idea. I'd tell her to travel. I'd tell her that late night pizza can solve almost anything. So does late night ice cream. I'd remind her to live. Grades are important but sometimes when the best you can do is a C+, accept it and move on. I'd tell her to take advantage of every opportunity presented to her. I'd tell her you don't need alcohol to have fun. Lastly, I'd tell her that these are going to be the best days of her life.

I would tell my self that the easy way is not the best way. High school is honestly nothing compared to college. I would also tell my self that I should prepare my self to begin studying and be more organized because everything must be planned out not just done. I would tell my self that I should begin to learn how to listen and pay attention more because in college the teachers talk and if ou didn't catch what they say you're screwed, they won't go back.

I would tell myself to look into many different options for my major. I would let myself be more open to different options of career paths for college. However, I would not change the university that I am currently attending.

I would tell my past self to apply for more scholarships.