Boston University Top Questions

I would tell myself to better my issues with time management and procrastinating. I would tell myself how big of an adjustment it is from high school to college, and how much harder it is. The freedom you receive also comes with much responsibility and in order to be successful you must accept it and use your time to the best of your ablility. Do not under-estimate the work that is needed to achieve good grades and most importantly, college really isn't all about fun. While you can have fun, you must make schoolwork a priority over your social life.

I would manage my time more wisely, and keep my credit excellent. Work hard keeping my GPA above average. I would network with more students on campus to build a great student relationship. This will help me and the students build a strong market after college. I would spend more time brushing up on my basic skills, because they will help me stay sharp while learning a new skills. Spending more time in labs, and getting extra tutoring when needed will help out with success in college.

Just breath and remember that everything will work out fine.

If I could rewind the clock to the beginning of my first semester at Boston University, I would sit myself down and clearly explain, "Do not underestimate any part of your college career, from your academic classes to your social life." My present self might blankly stare at my future self, "What exactly do you mean?" Entering into college, I wanted to be active around campus, achieve amazing grades, meet tons of new unique people, and overall just be involved. Throughout the first semester in Boston I worked hard at accomplishing these set goals but I strongly overlooked some aspects; I underestimated just how much time and energy all of this would take. I quickly ran myself into the ground because I just kept on underestimating as time went by, taking the semester with it. When I should have been asking for help with classes I pushed on until I finally caved in and sought help with tutors and teaching assistants. By then my grades had suffered and I realized my fault. I had been active, volunteering and participating in functions around campus, but I lost myself in the rush of the moment. "Practice self-awareness; be sensible."

The shock of meeting a future version of myself is merely a harsh exaggeration of the disbelief I already felt as a high school senior; the secure life I had been meticulously building for years was crumbling, leaving me vulnerable to the mysterious universe looming ahead. Instead of preparing, I obliviously focused on my old life, fearing change. ?Stop worrying,? I would tell my younger self, ?College isn?t scary! You won?t need to abandon old friendships, but you?ll find it easy to connect with new people if you extend yourself. You don?t need an outlined career path; you?ll form academic goals while exploring your interests. You?ll have independence to follow your passions, but stay organized so you don?t become stressed. Also, spare yourself early classes; you are not a morning person.? If I took my advice, I would not have been anxious. I would not hesitate to strike up conversations in the elevator, ask professors for help, or explore on weekends instead of retreating home. It would have been helpful to hear these words from such a valid source, allowing me to fearlessly leap into college life instead of gingerly easing into it.

Sometimes it would be great to be able to go back in time to be a senior in high school again and to follow a different course of action. In my case I chose Georgetown University because I thought I wanted to be a part of the "real" world one day with a "real" job. Political science and international relations seemed to be the way my logical brain led me. I had devoted my childhood to creative pursuits playing violin and piano since 4 years old and was accomplished as the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra concertmaster. I didn't want a career in musical performance and felt a "real" job was the answer. During my first semester in college everything inside me screamed with rebellion. I hated politics in a political school. I then followed my passion which led me to film, screenwriting and cinema. This is me. I have found a small group of artistic types , including my alternative rock band at Georgetown and I will survive until I can pursue film and writing as a graduate student. My advice is clear--- follow your passion and don't be pressured by the real world around you. Be true to yourself.

If you go to one of the many schools in the cold, windy northeast, make sure you?re driven by something to propel you through the long winter nights, and don?t you dare let that something be brooding. I know it?s in your head now that an institution or another person will lay out life for you, as if an acceptance letter were a feast that could keep you full for a decade, but I?m afraid such a banquet does not exist. Pull out a shovel and a spade, build up a few ideas, and hope that you?ll meet people along the way who are brave enough to come by and knock them down for you, otherwise I can?t imagine how else you would learn anything. Cry out and stamp your feet in indignation, but it?s equally acceptable for life to be terrible and for life to be lovely, either way, you don?t deserve either, you?ll only find what you were looking for. Even love, you?ll find that even in love you?ll have to work.

Just relax. Although this is an extremely stressful time, just know that you will end up where you are meant to be. You will know the second you walk into your audition whether this is the school for you or not. All of this hard work will pay off in a year. College will be the most exhilerating, enlightening, frightening, energizing, altogether AMAZING time of your life. You're almost there.

I would tell myself to savor the moments with my family. I have two sisters and a divorced mother who I neglected in over-packing my schedule with extra-curricular activities and studying. I forgot to breathe and just enjoy being young, healthy, and full of promise, and was instead tortured by anxiety about whether I would get into the college I wanted and how I would pay for it. I wish I had realized that wherever I was accepted, that was where I was supposed to be-I would make the most of any academic program I was accepted into because it is not the prestige of the college that defines the individual, but the student's own work and research and curiosity. I would have told myself to put down the AP Biology book, to stop memorizing the process of respiration in plants at least for a moment, and to spend time with my family on Sunday nights, to not spend Thanksgiving getting in some extra time studying. As a senior in college and completing a BA/MA program, and prospectivly pursuing a PhD in the UK, I know that I will never have those moments back again.

I would have advised my high school senior self to worry a lot less. While the task of picking a university was daunting, it would have been a lot less stressful if I would have realized that things fall into place and that trusting my intuition was equally as helpful as the extensive research on different schools and the excessive effort I made to do everything possible to advance my chances of going to a good university.