University of Puget Sound Top Questions

After I was accepted into the University of Puget Sound in March of my senior year, I became very lazy in school. I figured I had already made it and I could pick up my slack the following year when grades "really mattered". It turned out I could have made things a lot easier on myself. If I could go back and tell myself what I know now about college, I would start with the end of senior year. First of all, "don't give up, the fight isn't over". Many scholarships have a GPA requirement, and as I was stressing about my financial situation going into college, I was beating myself up during the summer scrambling to get scholarships done and realized I couldn't find many to fit my GPA standing. If I had tried harder I would have gotten more money. My second piece of advice to myself going into college would be "take off the cool cap". I was shy during orientation week of college and very stand-offish toward my peers. The first weeks of college are vital when trying to fit in. Be yourself and honest friends will the love person you are.

It has been valueable because of the opportunities i will have in the future and all the great people i have met!

My college experience can definitely be called an adventure. I have had my high and low points, but through it all I have grown as a student and an individual. I have learned things not only academically, but personally about myself that I think I couldn't have learned anywhere else other than at my university. Going to college to learn chemistry, art, philosophy, politics, film/media, and a language were subjects I was expecting to learn during my experience. I was not expecting to learn more about myself than my academics, which is exactly what happened. I have not only learned to except other opinions, but to voice my own despite my fears of not being excepted or liked because that is what makes me an individual. I have learned to be more open to new experiences and opinions not only in my academics, but in my everyday life. The main thing that I have learned through my first year of my college experience is to explore the world by learning new things not only about the environment and individuals around me, but to not be afraid to grow and learn new things about myself.

I would tell myself not to hold back in making friends and to be open to join clubs but not to lose the reason why I chose to go to college, to educate myself further.

Listen, young man, I understand how immensely talented and thirsty for knowledge you are - and how far your sheer intellect has brought you with mininal resistance - but there is a harshness in the world you have yet to understand. Your chosen path has been a privileged one, on which financial support has allowed you to proceed thus far, unfettered by the basic obstacles that beset the average person. To be frank, there will come a time - and sooner than you might imagine - when the rug is pulled out from underneath you, when your parents can no longer afford to finance your education, and the gift-money granted you by your chosen university will fail to suffice your needs. Prepare yourself for this eventuality, which I know you have not been made sensitive to as of yet. You must find away to become more financially self-sufficient. You must find the funding for your own education, as there will soon come a time when others cannot carry you any farther. Get a job. Look for third-party scholarships. Apply to cheaper schools that offer what you seek. Open your eyes, that you might escape the trap I failed to see.

The advice I would give myself would be simple. I would tell myself to appreciate my family, my existing friends and my new friends, and to enter all situations with a positive attitude. My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's during high school, but I never understood or accepted that fact until I was halfway through college. I wish we had spoke more often while I was away at school, and today I try to make up for it by spending time with him as much as possible. Also, I made a close friend freshman year of college, who died a year ago in a tragic accident. I will always miss him, but am very greatful to have known him. When I went to college I identified myself as an athlete, not a student, so I thought of the classroom as an obligation, not an opportunity. As a result, I hated schoolwork my first two years, and my grades suffered. I then forced myself to take on a new, more upbeat outlook to academics, and it made a world of difference. I not only enjoyed classes immensely more, but my grades reflected the change in a huge way.

College is going to be a challenge. It wouldn't be considered higher education if it were easy. Do not be afraid to accept defeat every now and then, because at some point throughout your college career, you will experience it. Things change, and are not what they always seem to be. Accept that, be okay with that, and do not stress over it. People will push you, forcing you to show yourself what you are really capable of, as well as help you to realize what your true ambitions are. College provides endless opportunities, so when you arrive to campus, come with an open-mind. Do not feel like you are a horrible student when you receive your first bad grade. It's bound to happen. It doesn't mean you will flunk out. It doesn't mean you are no longer capable of graduate school or a good job. It helps to recognize your strengths and weaknesses, and offers you a modified direction to take to reach your ambition(s). Keep up the hard work and determination, and just remember it won't always be easy, but you are there for a reason.

I would advise anyone looking at college to truly evaluate what is important to them. Location, family, friends, scholarly interests, and weather are all valuable aspects of a school to look at. Once you get to your school you need to be excited and willing. Forming friendships is a vital part of college life and all new students are in the same boat so be outgoing and take initiative when making friends! Don't close any doors when it comes to extracurricular or academic opportunities; college is the place to explore new areas of interest and you can make wonderful friends in the process. Lastly, don't be afraid to seek extra help in schoolwork. There are many people willing and paid to help you with any range of problems from writing papers to calculus problems. If asking for help enables you to succeed then it is worth it!

Work as hard or harder than you did senior year because the University of Puget Sound is all you're hoping it can be a much more. Going to any other school after spending the last three years here would be a huge disappointment. It's going to be hard at first when all your friends go to a state school and at times when you visit them you will feel that you are fading away from the relationships you used to have. But within a year you will realize that you wouldn't trade your collegiate experience for anything. The students here are modeled after everything you value; open, kind, willing to share and genuinely friendly. The professors feel that a class of 40 people is way to big, just like you. Sitting in a class of 12 people, all of whom you can consider a friend is worth all the money that going to school here costs. Keep your nose to the grindstone because if you do, the next four years could be the best of your entire life.

I would say self: I know you want to go have fun, but 10 more minutes and a little more effort will make life so much easier for you when you are out in the world. Learn great study habits now, and you will be normal to you. Talk to your teacher, your guidence counselor, they will help direct you. Now is the time. Go for what you want you are worth it and you can do it. Believe it you are GREAT, YOU can do anything you want. Now is the easy part, later it gets harder and you will have to find the help, it won't be right there for you. It's ok to be be a little scared, so what if you fall on your face, you are out of here in a year on to a bigger and better world. And you will know how to find what you need out there, because you have already done it.