University of Northern Colorado Top Questions

The advice I would give myself is to do better in my AP classes and on the AP tests so that I could get even more ahead in college than I am now. I am very focused on my major now and I wish I were as far ahead as I could have been. I would also tell myself to be more open to the possibility of making new friends and study buddies. I would tell myself to be more involved with campus activities so that I don't get bored.

If I could give myself one bit of advice during my senior year of high school I would have told myself not to worry. As a high school student I was worried about whether or not I would be successful in college, partially due to the fact that I didn?t do as well in high school as I would have liked; I only earned a 2.2 unweighted GPA. I wasn?t an especially motivated student, I didn?t do my homework, and I refused to cheat off of my peers. This left me with little hope of receiving large scholarships to go to a state university, and made me nervous about how well I would do in a college setting. The only reason I passed my high school classes was due to the fact that I truly love to learn, and I would pass my exams with ease. In college the teachers do not assign loads of busy work and tests are usually the main source for grading, thus I currently have a 4.0 GPA. I would tell myself not to worry because college is truly a setting where you are rewarded for gaining knowledge.

I would tell myself to not take friends and family for granted. My senior year was my busiest and most stressful year of high school, so I never took time for myself, family, or friends. Now that I'm in college and am in a completely different place, I wish I could go back and take time to enjoy my senior year more than I did. I graduated high school on a military base in Turkey, and now that I'm going to college in Colorado, everything is a complete turnaround. Making friends who stay true to themselves and me has been difficult this year, so I would go back and make time for old friends. Being a freshman in college, I don't have a car or a job yet, but back in Turkey, I had a job within walking distance from my house. I would tell myself to take every advantage I possibly could to work and make money (all tax- free... doesn't get any better than that!). Senior year of high school is supposed to be one of the best years anyone should have. I would go back and try to make it the best.

Be yourself and go out and meet new people. Try new things and join clubs! It will be a great experience that you do not want to miss out on. Dont be afraid to be who you are, people will accept you and you will make life long friends.

Oh, you young and na?ve boy, schoolwork is surely important. Granted, any life exists after high school, a better one is not elusive. I still suggest to you, Tommy, to take a few years off. Solidify your thoughts, beliefs, and desires. You will give endless time in a restaurant when you graduate, and the restaurant will give back. You will go through hard times that will force you out of Minnesota. However, understand this; Colorado will bring many incredible and better things. You will work on a cattle ranch in the mountains, do this, gain a deeper work ethic, just do not lose sight on what can be. If you apply yourself now, you will better yourself later. You are intelligent and could easily be doing better. Unfortunately, quality higher learning institutions only care about numbers. Study more, apply yourself, and expand outside of academia?s standard mediums. You will succeed wherever you end up; just know you could succeed in a setting saved for the top echelons of America?s elite. I know you will be fine if you continue unchanged, but if you bite the bit now, you will win a longer, more profitable, and exciting race.

If I could go back in time and meet my former self I would tell myself to continue to do good in school, never give up on any assignment

Dear Kieva, I know that right now you are loving high school. The teachers are great, school work really isn't that challanging and you probably only have to study for 15 minutes if that. But college is a totally different world compaired to high school. You've been hearing it all your life that college is hard, that there is so much to learn and that the teachers are harsh, but you never really get the full effect until you're there. When you see it for yourself you realize you're either going to sink or you're going to swim. At first you may freak out thinking that you're unprepaired and you can't do this, but dont worry, everyone feels that way in the beginning. Sure it's a lot more difficult than high school is and you're going to have to push yourself. But the reward of acomplishment is well worth it. It's just all about balance! Love, your future self

I would sit myself down, for i would know it would be a shock to see myself three years later, and explain that college life is about discovery. Discovery of oneself, discovery of a path in life, discovery of the world you live in, and discovery of other people and things yet to be discovered is what college life is about. College is the place where you begin to paint the canvas of who you are; whether is be with rough hard sharp imposto strokes, or with soft blending lines of monet, you begin to realize that college is discovery. Without the college experience i would not be the fully flushed individual i am now and not to fight the transition into the individual you decide to become. For it is not our DNA or where we came from that makes us an individual, it is the choices and decisions we make.

If I was able to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would probably mostly advise myself about campus involvement. The academic situation is similar to that of my high school and the transition was fairly smooth. It is the social adjustment that takes time. I would tell myself that I will need to get out and get involved. I would describe the different campus events that will help me meet new people and to help others more within my community. I would tell myself to find activities and groups that interest me and find a way to become involved. Along these lines I would tell myself to find a balance between the social and academic arenas of college life. While a social life is important I am attending college for academics. Therefore, I must put my coursework first and foremost. I must allow time for reading and homework while still making time to have fun and hang out with my friends, or to meet new people. I suppose that the best advice I have to give is to get involved and yet maintain a balance between academics and my social life.

If I was able to talk to myself as a senior in high school, knowing what I know now, I would tell myself to relax. I was so stressed out about the transition into college from high school but I really had nothing to stress about. College has been easier than I expected, if I knew that as a senior in high school I would have gotten more sleep at night and relaxed a lot.