University of Nevada-Las Vegas Top Questions

Cristian, college life is exceptionally different. You will be intimidated by course material, class size, and tuition expense. Nonetheless you must remain firm in your goal. Do not take the unchallenging way. Follow your goal to completion. The road to your desired degree is long and weary, but do not let that thought lead you to an academic limbo. Studying something that is not your passion is just going to waste your time, because you will turn back to study your passion and you will regret not staying on the path. Your course material will be difficult, you may not have as much support as you did in high school, but that only makes the reward more satisfying. Class size is a tremendous adjustment. The lectures are countinous and sometimes questions are left until the end. Recording lectures is highly recommended. The one to one relationship you have with you teacher n highschool is almost non existent. Finally, one of the most important college factors "tuition cost". Apply for all elgible schlarships, you might have to work partime and even take on loans. Dont let that stop you. Cristian, you will be successful.

The advice I would give myself as a high school senior entering college would be to stay-the-course. Do not try to juggle work and school, but to devote all my attention and energy into my academic career. The minimum wage and time spent working is irrelevant in the big scheme of things. To get in the mindset that college is my “job”, but I will not be “paid” until I graduate. Moreover, to stay focus and connect with my peers on an academic and social level. To try and surround myself with people within my degree so that we motivate each other to strive further. Furthermore, to embrace the college experience to its fullest by being involved with activities on campus.

You're going to travel for a while, and it isn't going to be the best trip of your life, but it's a learning experience that you need. Don't fret about being "behind" your friends; this is no longer a group journey. Only two of your high school friendships will last, but hold on to your two best friends tight because they will be your rocks during difficult times. Get up and go to your classes despite the horrendous commute because you learn better in a classroom, and you know it. Your true joy and calling is in teaching; get into the BA program while your GPA is outstanding. In order to make friends, you have to smile! Keep your chin up and don't be afraid to say hello. Reach out to someone who doesn't understand something if you grasp the concept. Above all, be yourself, especially when you go Greek, which you should only do when Sigma Sigma Sigma comes to campus! When you have a big break between classes, you need to study or do work, but don't just sit around and wait for something to happen. It's up to you!

I would tell myself to actually do the math work that was required in my college math class, instead of allowing myself to feel as if I had enough credits and a high enough GPA. The reason for this, is because I ended up taking too many math classes that I did not need to necessarily take. I would also tell myself to have more fun. I should have attended more high school activities and enjoyed my high school career instead of waiting for it to be over. Although my school offers extra-curricular activities, I just never feel I have the time to attend any of them because I always have homework and studying to do. In high school, my workload was not as much but I did not take advantage of it.

If I could give adivce to any high school seniors, it would be to finish strong. Even though it's your last year of high school, you still want to leave knowing you did the your best instead of taking it easy and not performing as well as you could have. It's important to stay consistent, refrain from procrastinating, and to develop good study habits early on. Becoming a skilled planner and time manager will help you get ahead quick once you're in college! Don't put important things off; if you're not ahead, you're already behind!

If I could go back into time I would have a lot of advice for myself. The first thing I would tell myself is to take the most out of the high school experience. I would've liked to have more fun in of high school but also take harder classes so I could've been getting ready for the college life. Without doing that you'd probably go into college thinking it would be easy like I did. Also I would've told myself to study a lot. Studying is something you have to learn how to do, not everyone knows how to study. If I would've study more in high school, I would've learned how I personally retain information. There's many different ways to study and everyone learns in different ways.

There I go again, dosing off in Math. Dr. Gill was just going over the trigonometry homework I must have been thinking to myself. It was senior year and graduation was in a few weeks, what could I have been worried about? "Hey, wake up. You do know he is not just teaching for his health don't you? If you only knew all this work would be sitting in front of you again in a matter of months. You think you don't understand it now? Just wait until you're sitting in a class full of math geniuses and wonder why you can't pass a test. College is nowhere near what high school is like Erica. No one is going to be there holding your hand. The teachers aren’t going to slow down and the work isn't going to lighten up. The fact that the classes are longer is going to make it seem that much harder on you. You have to stay focus and study. Study. Study. I cannot stress that enough. However, you will get the hang of it and you will be excelling more than you could have imagined. I know."

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior I would keep it short and sweet. I would say that high school was fun but do not procrastinate and waste your time. You have your whole life in front of you and it is worth it to take the time to study and get good grades now because it will pay off in the end.

If I were to go back in time, I would tell my high school self to take your time finding a college. Visit every college you are interested in and find the one that you love. Whatever college you choose will be your new home, so you want to love it. I made the mistake of accepting the first college I got into because I received a fairly good scholarship, but I had never even visited the school before, so I went into a University knowing absolutely nothing about it. Therefore, I would give advice to prepare for college better by doing research about every college you are considering and find which one fits you the best. Also, I would tell my high school self to spend as much time with family as possible becuase you may be so excited for college, but once you get there you will miss your family. Lastly, work hard in high school because once you get to college the hard work will pay off. You will already know how to study correctly, take notes well, and write papers, so take high school seriously and listen to the advice elders offer you.

Don't let fear stop you and ask for help when you need it. Life is going to get tough and there will be many things that will get in the way of your dreams. You need to plow through and continue on that path. I didn't and I let fear and family stop me and I regret it. I went to college not knowing how hard it was going to be. I thought that it meant freedom and I forgot about the hardwork that was going to be needed to keep that freedom. I became an orphan early in my college career. I didn't have anyone to help me financially or emotionally. I was too stuborn to ask for help when family life blurred into my school life and I became overwhelmed and I quit school. As cliched as this may seem, please do not go down a harder path in life then you need to. College is a great time and place to find out who you are and how self reliant you can be. Keep on that path and make the changes you need to so you can survive but please do not give up.