Utah Valley University Top Questions

Be thoughtful about how immediate choices affect distant outcomes. The future comes much quicker than we expect; it is wise to plan for school with post-graduation life in mind. You can't "cross that bridge when you come to it". When you enroll for your first semester of classes, you have come to that bridge, even if you think you haven't. Be careful with your finances. Do whatever you can to stay out of debt until you have your diploma. Don't live an extravagant life when you ought to be focused on school anyway. You never know when that extra semester will be necessary, and tuition costs rise perpetually. Take care of yourself. It sounds so cliche, but it is a serious concern. After a few semesters of late nights, skipped breakfasts, and intense studying, stress and malnutrition will start to be apparent in your mind and body. Have a social life. You can't push the world aside because you need to study or practice. Life goes on even while you are in school. Finally, take advantage of the educational opportunities available to you while in school. Enjoy them and invest in them.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. Get help from a lab if you need it. Don't bite off more than you can chew.

If I could go back to myself in High School, I would try to inform me that Secondary Education as a major is not a bad idea and neither is starting at a University. I would tell myself that I can go down to Snow College and focus on getting my generals out of the way and then come back to UVU to get my bachelors and make the same friends I had, or I could just start at UVU and get a job during the school year and start saving money. I had a good time down at Snow College so I would leave the option up to my past self to make but I would strongly inforce working on the correct degree and not wasting time. Both school that I have now attended have been a great experience that I wouldn't give up without a lot of thought into the process.

In my high school they had a concurrent enrollment program which I did to some of, but if I were to go back I would tell myself to do more concurrent enrollment classes and use more of that free college courses. Also there was that one college math class that I took and If I had about that class now then I wouldn't have taken it. I guess over all to just do better and maximize my resources.

The most importatn thing to succeed in college is to be realistic and put in the time it takes. Also alot of classes and extra work can be avoided by being organized early on. That means planning out your entire class schedule needed for the entire college experiance and getting it apporved by a councelor.

Knowing what I know now about college my advice to you is please don’t give up, just stay in college and don’t worry about how much it’s costing you because in the end it’s going to cause a lot of hardship on you and your family. The choices you make now are going to affect every choice you make from here on out. A college degree may seem insignificant to you right now but I cannot stress how important it is even if you think you won’t need it in the future, believe me it is going to hit you like a ton of bricks later on down the road when you have seven children and your husband can’t hold a job and you’re trying to pay bills by working at the Wal-Mart for eight dollars an hour. Yes, please, please, please, I beg you stay in school.

The advice I would give to myself would be that success does not come without work. I have learned throughout my first college semester that if I want to achieve my goals and be successful in college I have to be diligent and disciplined in my studies. In high school I was able to get good grades with little studying. I soon found out that this was not the case in college. I would encourage my high school self to learn how to manage her time. Learning how to manage time is an important skill to learn as it leads to better results, less stress, and a lack of procrastination. I would also encourage her to make study habits while still in high school. If these habits are already made it is easy to adapt them to your college studies rather than creating them from scratch. It is important to work hard and have discipline to achieve your academic goals.

Knowing what i know now, I would tell myself to prepare prepare prepare. Stop procrastinating and fill out scholarship applications so you won't have the worries of loans. I would have also told myself to take as many college classes as I could. Get myself ahead because it would save me from debt in the long run. I would have also informed myself how important it is to save money and work. I would laugh at myself and say you think you know everything don't you, but you don't. I would explain the importance of money and how bills keep adding up. Im sure i could tell myself a lot more, but i fell that money is a big issue for me. I could have helped myself out a lot by saving money up and working a lot more so the stresses of tution wouldn't be that big of deal.

I would have told myself to stay in high school for the final semester instead of graduating early. The scholarship for graduating early was $500, while taking college level courses would have saved me upwards of $3000 dollars; and, I would have finished my bachelor's degree in less than 3 years. For the most part, I have learned enough through what I've done to not want to change things a whole lot. My decisions weren't always the ones that offered the most reward (financially or measurably), but I feel I am who I am because of those decisions. The graduating early story only comes to mind because I had debated severely which decision would be best and ended up taking the advice of a counselor who didn't even remember me a year later.

Oh my goodness! If I could go back. I would say do more math to get you ahead and it will be helpful in the long run. Do well in school now and take as many college credit courses as you can to get ahead. This will give you more time for even more fun and research. Take college seriously, you want time for friends and all the fun activities that will be available, but the grades are important. Get to know your proffesors. Be friends and find time to be a TA in a class you enjoy. Have roomates, if there is drama MOVE. No need for extra silly stress. Go to all the activities and games and dances. It's an exciting time and a time to learn how to manage time a skill that is needed.