University of Portland Top Questions

Enjoy the time you have with friends and family at home. Get ready for a different life, new friends, new classes, and a completely new environment. This school is not very diverse, so get ready to see a lot more caucasians than you are used to seeing. Do not be shy in making friends. Feel comfortable, the first friends you make may not be your best friends, but just keep talking to people and you can make some amazing friendships. Also, be adventurous. You do not have a car, so you have to make the most of campus. Climb some trees, even though you are not supposed to, go down to the river to relax, and say yes to every good opportunity. Keep an open mind, but be confident in yourself. However, at the same time, sometimes you just have to stick up for what you believe in, keeping an open mind does not mean letting others corrupt you. Do not look back on regrets, move forward, so many more opportunities will come, just be ready.

If I could travel back in time to when I was a high school senior I would tell myself develop a study strategy that works. When I started college classes my high school study strategies didn't work with the college curriculum. College is much more heavily focused on reading and I had a hard time comprehending some of my textbooks earlier on this year. If I could go back I would work on finding a reading strategy that allowed me to comprehend material that was dense and hard to read. Along with this strategy I would develop a strategy that helped me to review my readings and notes more productively because college is very busy. If I had practiced more college focused study strategies in high school my transition would have been smoother and would have allowed for a less stressful first few months of college.

I would tell myself first and foremost to get to know yourself as best as you possibly can. Once you hit college hundreds of opportunities will be thrown at you and everyone will be telling you to sign up for anything and everything. It would have been so helpful for me to have been able to make reasonable choices on what and what not to do. Obvioulsy you will change as the years go by in college, but if you have the insight and discernment to be able to distinguish from you and not so you, it will make all the difference in your first semesters. With that being said I would also tell myself to not hold back. With so much going on it can be hard to give your all in anything. I wish I could've given my all to what I'm passionate in so much earlier, because it will give you so much joy in your life.

If I could give advice to myself as a senior in high school, I would tell myself to apply for as many scholarships as possible, to give serious consideration to what I wanted to do as a professional career, and, most importantly to develop good study habits. I would tell myself to apply for as many scholarships as possible because I discovered that after high school, it becomes significantly more difficult to find scholarships, it seems, and there's no harm in applying. I would give more consideration to what I wanted to do with my career because being an undeclared major is stressful, and I think it's better to pursue an interest and make a decision after having previous exposure. The most important thing that I would tell myself is to develop good study habits. In high school, material seemed to come to me more easily and the fact that there is signifantly less pressure. When I got to college, I got a C in General Chemistry in my first semester because I didn't know how to study or take the class seriously. I eventually developed good habits, but that C is now weighing down my GPA .

Alone. I have spent a lot of time alone. Making friends in high school was easy for me. Cheerleader, lead in the musical, homecoming queen. These are all titled a beared. Going into college, my identity was different; I was no longer all of the things I once thought I was. When I leaped into a university, I had trouble making friends, because it wasn't something I was necessarily used to doing. It was difficult to form relationships, because I'd never really had to. Going back, I would not spend so much time alone. I would go out of my way to talk to people, make connections, and learn about their lives. I would leave my dorm room, get involved in some activites, and stop worrying about the finances of it all. I would advise to be fully present in the moment - don't look back at the good times, and don't look to far ahead with plans and stress. Live in the here and now and get out there and live.

My best advice if I could go back in time to high school would be a gentle reminder that it is okay to be homesick. I always heard people saying that homesickness would be a problem that I would need to deal with, but I never thought that it would actually affect me. It was not until I was about to drop out of college at the end of my first semester because I wanted to go home that I realized just how easy it is to become homesick without even realizing it. Not only is it easy, homesickness is also totally natural and fine. Change is not easy for everyone, and learning that I am a person who really dislikes change was more a great learning experience for myself, rather than a miserable time.

Looking back on my senior year of high school as a current college freshman, I would tell myself to appreciate lazy days way more. Don't get me wrong; in college, you will still watch copious amounts of Netflix and go to class in sweat pants, but the work load is so much more than anything given in high school. You may have fewer classes in college, yet the amount of studying you must do to outside of class in order to succeed is crazy! While you're procrastinating and watching that next episode on Netflix, you have a feeling that is a mix of guilt, shame and stress looming over you for every minute your textbooks stay closed and your papers aren't typed. Those lazy days in high school when you come home and have no homework are very few and far between in college and should NEVER be taken for granted!

Chelsea, College is amazing. You never thought you would like school did you? Well, you do now. You never thought you would find something you're passionate about did you? Well, you have and it's business. You never thought you would find a career did you? Well, youre on track to do so. You never thought you would fit in did you? Well, you're on track to be a residence hall community assistant and leader. You're involved in an immersion trip, and are helping lead events for that. You never thought you would do well in your classes did you? Well, youre doing better than you and everyone else expected. You didnt want to go to school? You are, and you're loving it...

If I could flash back to a year ago I would make sure I knew how important it is to make friends. As you transition to college life it can be lonely, and having a good group of friends helps you make the transition. I would also tell myself that college is not as scary as I thought. Professors care about you and how you are doing in there class; they are not out to get you. I would make sure I knew that homework is a lot of reading, and make sure you read because you will be quizzed weekly. And my final piece of advice would be to get a job even if it is on campus. Having your own money to spend and save (to put towards the abundant amount tuition is).

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to choose the college, which is the most appropriate to my career and financial need, rather than the one that is popular to people. Having education is important, but it does not depend on the popularity of the college. Colleges only provide the basic knowledge for you to start your career in life. The important thing is how you learn and take from it. Therefore, it is not worth to put yourself in debt for something that doesn't guarantee your own future.