University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Top Questions

Looking back to before I went off to college there are a lot of things I wish I had known. When you come into college dorm life make sure not to judge people before you know them. People you don't like may just turn out to be your best friends. The number one thing to make sure you do is get organized. It will help you so much. Don't worry about doing things on your own like eating dinner or walking to class because it is normal. Nobody will think you are a weirdo at all. I look at it as growing up and learning to do stuff on your own. Don't worry about getting enough sleep at night because naps are essential and there is always time to do it. Always set at least three alarms so you don't miss exams and finals. You don't have to go out every weekend sometimes it is nice to stay in and watch movies or sleep, maybe even study. Don't worry about failing some tests there are plenty of chances to do well besides testing. Don't let anything bother you and have fun!

"When you arrive at college you will be on your own; no one to do your chores but yourself. Your parents wont be making all the decisions for you; no one to tell you to get good sleep, do your homework before a certain time, or get involved. Everything is resting on your shoulders. Make good use of your time, read and reread. Make sure you retain everything you learn. The knowlege you obtain at college can be applied to all aspects of life. In order to get the most out of college and your parents checkbook, I suggest you get involved and get to know your proffesors. Don't be afraid to sit in the front row and raise your hand. Studies show that students who sit in the front row retain more. And if your going to sit in the front row, make sure your not half asleep. No proffesor likes to see a student sleeping during their lecture. You or someone else is paying for you college education. You are a consumer, make sure you get you get what your paying for." That's the advice I would have given myself.

Take more Advanced Placement and Project Running start classes, it'll make a harder senior year but it makes freshman year of college so much easier. Also get a good paying summer job that can allow you to return during school breaks and weekends as it is very competetive to find student jobs while at school. Research the text books before you buy them, the campus bookstores tend to be extremely expensive and students are always selling their textbooks for less then what the bookstore sells, also wait until after your first day of classes to buy your books, sometimes the books the bookstore says you need aren't even used in the class.

If I could talk to myself as a senior in high school I would tell myself that friendships are not easily obtained. I wish I knew that coming from a small town, it may be more difficult to get out and meet new people at a large university. With my highschool being K-12 and only about 600 students total, I didn't think that meeting new people would be quite as time consuming yet worth while as it actually is. Over the years I grew up with people who slowly came close together and my class was like a family. Here, at a university of over 14,000 students, culture, diversity, and plenty of people can make it difficult to shape close knit relationships, even more so if you're shy. Therefore, if I were to advise myself to help prepare for college here I would try to be less shy so that I could avoid the nervousness I faced towards meeting new people the first week of school. Even without being able to warn myself, I feel that I broke out of my shell the first week here and it made my experience better than I anticipated.

If I could rewind the clock and visit myself as a high school senior I would say, ?Kristin, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and envision what you want your life to be like after you graduate college.? At the time I would have imagined myself married and in medical school. Then I would tell myself to envision other possibilities, because there would be so many to choose from. I was close minded in high school, and I only saw one future for myself because that was all I wanted. I?ve grown since I?ve been in college and my horizons have expanded, but have also become more realistic. The dreams I once had have dissipated as I?ve begun to discover myself, and I?ve switched from a Biology major to an English major with a minor in Political Science and Education. I?ve found a part of myself that is enjoying all that life has to offer, I just wish I had found that sooner. If I could go back, I would tell myself to slow down and look, really look, at the world surrounding me because it is beautiful and full of promise and opportunity.

High school was one of the best times of my life. I was the National Honor Society president, Varisty volleyball captain and had played 4 years on varsity softball. I was on top of the world. I got straight A's effortlessly. I gave back to my community by volunteering for breast cancer walks, hunger walks, The Special Olympics, the soup kitchen and a nursing home. Yet I flew through high school without taking everything in. So when I went to choose a school, I didn't really know what I wanted or what I prefered, like my high school career, I just wanted to be the best. I ended up thinking that I was going to a private school just becuase I wanted to say I went there, but I ended up at my state school becuase I began to learn that the prestige and name of a school isn't what makes it for you. My advice is to find yourself. Find what you, not your ego wants and maximize these criteria into the perfect match for you.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a senior in high school I would give myself a few pieces of advice. The first, is not to buy any of your books until you have your first class. That would have saved me a great deal of money. On a more serious note, I would have told myself just to focus on trying hard and being active in school clubs and organizations. Go out and meet new people, and get to know your professors. Other than that, I honestly would never change a thing I have done. I have made great new friends, learned from mistakes, and have become a better person for it. I believe that everything happens for a reason and can't wait to see what happens next.

These days a lot of high school students get a bad case of "senioritis". I myself was infected. Looking back, I laugh at how silly a concept it is. Yeah sure your about to head off to the wonderful world of college but, why slack off in high school over it? If you think you can slack off at all in college, you are dead wrong. College is a dog-eat-dog world where you either sink or swim. Why come into your fall semester of freshman year cold as ice concerning academics? I f you just worked hard for the past four years in high school and had success, why change the formula when you get to college to continue that streak. Eveybody's heard how scary the college transition can be. In reality, it isn't and you need to keep an open mind about your new surroundings. College is a ll about meeting new people and learning how to do new things. Home will always be there when your on break, make college your new home.

Enjoy teachers caring whether or not you complete assignments, spend a lot of time with your family an close friends, and go into your first semester ready to buckle down and work hard because it doesn't take much for it to all be taken away.

If I could go back in time to give myself college-related advice, I would tell myself to focus more on my schoolwork in comparison to being social. In my Freshman year of college, I was primarily focused on having a lot of friends, and being well-liked. Over the past two and a half years, I have come to the realization that school is what I pay so much money for, and not to make friends. Through self-discovery, I have found that it is much more important to me to have a smaller, closer group of friends, rather than a countless number of acquaintences. I would tell myself to pick your friends wisely, and maintain those relationships, rather than spend an unnecessary amount of time and effort to try to befriend everyone. By doing this, I could be able to focus more on school, while simultaneously building more meaningful and enduring relationships with my peers.