University of Utah Top Questions

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I would tell myself to apply for scholarships and not just rely on financial aid loans and grants. That way you won’t have had to work a full time job while attending school full time so you can concentrate more on your grades. I would also tell myself to have more fun my senior year. It’s my last year of absolute freedom without financial responsibilities. And I would have stayed my senior year summer to enjoy it to the fullest being with friends and family. I have the rest of my life to be independent and live on my own. I would also tell myself to keep in touch more with my high school friends. That way you have a touch more of home since my family moves around a lot. I would also say to myself to get in a healthy eating habit and exercise regime. It is easier to maintain than with an extended routine than when in college eating whatever you want like junk food. Junk food is just good in moderation you don’t need to go overboard. And last but not least continue to be yourself and have fun discovering the world.

Dear Chris, You have some awesome goals and very doable aspirations. Keep up the positive attitude and stay determined! Don't sweat the small stuff like an A- on a test instead of an A. Enjoy your high school experience as much as possible. It's not all about grades and where you get into college, your social life and memories matter too. A word of advice: be more confident in yourself. You are much more capable and talented than you give yourself credit for. Ask the cute girl in your second period class on a date...she might just say, "yes." Get out there and make more memories...you won't regret it. Apply to a few more college than you are planning on. Give yourself options and don't be let down if you are rejected. Colleges don't just look at your GPA...don't panic. Taking Kelsie to the Prom is one of the best decisions of your life. You'll marry her in a couple years and she'll be your biggest fan! P.S. The 90's, bleach-tipped, spiky hair and red parachute pants didn't help with your image buddy! Sincerely, Chris

If I could go back in time and talk to myself in high school I was say, "take your time." This may sound contradictory to the American philosophy, but knowing what I know now, I believe in taking my time. I believe that 18 is way too young to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life, and way too young to understand the momentousness of higher education. If only I had understood that making two decisions (where to attend college and what to major in) was not just a fun thing all my friends were doing, but was two decions that would affect every other decision I made for the next decade. When I was 18, I majored in art and I enjoyed every minute of painting and sculpting, but did I plan a future with art? No. Now, I am 28 years old and have realized who I really am. I am back in school training to become an Occupational Therapy Assistant. I don't regret my initial decision; I think my art background will actually be beneficial with OT, but I do wish that somebody had told me, "take your time."

I am a Junior academically and am a transfer student to the University of Utah. I would have told myself to go immediately up to the University of Utah and not transfer. I would have told myself to immediately get involved in the campus life and not wait until the last years of my college experience to get involved. I would have told myself to get a dorm and live on campus. I am still living at home and feel like that has limited my experiences as far as college life goes. It is nice to save the money and not worry about paying for rent, but the social opportunities and friends I could have made up on campus was not worth the money saved.

I would tell myself not to freak out. Some major changes are about to happen, but they are GOOD. You can still keep in touch with your high school friends, and although college classes are sometimes tough, the rewards for working hard and keeping up on the classwork are great. There is so much knowledge to be attained and so many great people out there just waiting for you to meet them. So many great things lie ahead of you! Be excited! Living on your own is a great learning experience, and living on campus is a unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You may have some issues with roommates but learning to deal with problems like an adult is all a part of the college experience. Don't be afraid to ask questions and talk to people, and don't freak out when things don't turn out the way you planned. Everything that happens brings you one step closer to your goals. Grab life by the horns!!

I would give the advice that I gave to our eleven children, which is: Follow your passion for learning/discovering. Be disciplined, honorable, diligent in all you choose to do. Stay true to yourself, family, and friends! Be a leader for the things that you believe are true, desirable, and worthy of your efforts. I would give them a copy of "IF" by Rudyard Kipling and paraphrase President Theodore Roosevelt's speech: "In the battle of life it is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out where the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of the deed could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is in the arena. Whose face is marred by blood and sweat. Who knows the great efforts, the deep feelings. Who strives valiantly, and falls short again and again. Because there is no effort without failure. Who, in the end, if he succeeds, knows the triumph of high achievement. And, if he fails? At least, fails while daring greatly. So that his place will never be among those cold and timid souls, who never knew either victory nor defeat." Be strong, be true, bold, and endure!

One major peice of advice would be to save money. Right out of high school we have very little financial responsibility, and many take it for granted. If I could go back, I would convince myself to take even $50 from every paycheck and put it into some kind of high interest savings account. The money that you save each year could go to tuition for the next year. I would also sit myself down and give the advice to better my study habbits. High school is not nearly as challenging as college, and there are no benificial classes designed to teach you how to study for classes that will challenge you. Those are the two major things I would do; implement a budget and create a study plan. I feel that those things are the biggest challenges to any college student. It just also happens to be that they are also the best road to success for every college student. Being able to manage those aspects of life may not be a surefire path to success, but a student with a few thousand dollars in the bank and a good study plan, is miles ahead of the average student.

I attended highschool over 10 yrs ago, and I did poorly. I would tell myself that actually applying myself to my studies is more important than hanging out with my friends. Also that I should of taken school seriously so that I would of gone to college straight out of highschool instead of waiting 10 yrs, I could of already been finished with my degree. I would tell my earlier self that school is important and that in order to achieve anything in your life you have to have a college degree which takes commitment and hard work. Also that it feels good to get good grades, showing that hard work does pay off. Also that college is a great experiance and that it may seem scary, everyone is there to help and all you have to do is ask, someone will point you in the right direction.

If I could go back, I would tell myself to become more involved on the campus with acitvities and different groups. I would tell myself to put more time and effort into looking for outside scholarship money so my monetary situation would have been a little bit easier. Although I love the school I attend, I would have attended a different school in order to experience a more fruitful college life. I would have chosen to live in the dorms to participate in more of the "college life", and experienced living in a different city than the city I was born.