Carnegie Mellon University Top Questions

The journey will not be a straight line. You will not come out of college with the same career asperations and life visions you went into. The experiences you are most afraid to try will be the ones you cherish, that you turn over in your head an adult when things are uncertain. Don't be afraid of going abroad. You can and should never ben ashamed of asking for advice. However, remember that you already unciously know what you want. Listen to your gut. Take photos. Take photos of all those moments that seem fragile and transient. Don't be afraid to make mistakes or to go have stereotypical college experiences. The time to be an adult comes sooner than you think. You can trust your college friends with your hardships. When you are diagnosed with thyroid cancer junior year, you don't need to bear it silently. Your friends are stronger than you know and won't begrudge you help. Never let yourself stop writing.Once you reach graduate school, it will seem so important to learn to be professional, but don't allow yourself to lose the love of capture a moment in words on a page.

I would tell myself a great number of things. Firstly, I would say to make more friends early on, to live and experience college by taking risks and joining organizations. Secondly, I would push myself to find a mentor early on and develop relationships with several faculty who truly care about their students. And lastly, I would inform myself of how important research is at Carnegie Mellon. These three combined encompass all that I wish could have been, and I perhaps would alter given a second chance. Much of the past few years have been discovering myself as a person and defining who I am, what I want out of life, and who I should spend that life with.

First off, don’t smorgasbord your college experience. In college you'll have so many opportunities that you've never had, and initially, you’ll want to take advantage of them all. You’ll essentially bite off more than you can chew,and with a school like Carnegie Mellon, you are going to need CPR if you do so. Choose a concise, yet diverse set of activities to consistently get involved in. It’s truly a matter of organization and prioritization that you will later thank yourself for. Also, if you got by easy in high school, take a deep breath and brace yourself, because college is definitely the deep end of your academic swimming pool. Undergrad studies are meant to be challenging when it comes to work and workload, and your professors won't hesitate to deliver from day one of classes to the last final of your spring semester. But you didn't decide to go to college for easy A's, right? Nevertheless, when you are in over your head, don’t be afraid to call out for help. Your greatest relationships are forged in trials and tribulations, so reach out when you are feeling the heat.

No matter how many college tours you go on or how prepared you may be, you will not be able to replace the rollercoaster experience college is going to hand you. Nothing to do but suit up and embrace the ride. It's going to be busy and scary and confusing. Everything's new, from the way you live to the way you learn. This isn't meant to intimidate you, it's meant to help you understand: college is an adventure, a rollercoaster. Those ups and downs are coming, ready or not. So embrace them. Ride the ride. Understand that things don't always go according to the plan, and that's okay! Instead of panicking, accept the falls, brush yourself off, and work with it. You're going to be a changed person when you come back, I can tell you that much. Keep in mind that even when things change, you are the ultimate decider of how you, as a person, change. If someone or something is important to you, make an effort to keep it in your life. You'll be thankful you did. Good luck! Be safe, have fun, and embrace that rollercoaster.

Apply to more scholarships while in high school. It's much more difficult as you age.

What I remember most vividly from being a high school senior was this bizarre notion that there was only one "right" path for me, and that it would be indicated by what college I got into. I was terrified of being the one who came back home from a failure, unhappy with where I was. I love my college but what I've discovered is that even the things that perhaps were unexpected and not "perfect" have influenced me in anything but a negative way. If I had the opportunity to reconnect with my former self, I would simply try to communicate the message that whereever you end up, you are still you and always have the capacity and opportunity to make the most of it.

If I were able to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would probably be much further in my education than I currently am. There are many pieces of advice I would give myself, but they all boil down to one main point-- be prepared. Be prepared by mapping out which classes you need to take and meeting with your school counselor early enough to make sure you know what you need to take, when you need to take it by, and make sure the classes you're taking are transferrable. Be prepared for a whole new world full of unfamiliar faces and customs you may not be used to. Be prepared for the endless nights of studying, writing, and taking notes on reading assignments. If you don't remember any of this a year from now when you're off to college, just remember one thing for me-- it's okay to make mistakes. College is a time to find yourself; a time to completely mess up. Just make sure that when you make a mistake, learn from it. This way, the more mistakes you make, the wiser you'll be.

The number one piece of advice I would give would be to learn how to sit down and study for longer periods of time. One of the biggest problems face is my inability to sit down for extended periods of time to study and finish assignments. I feel like it also has to do with learning and understanding time management. Time management is another thing I wish I could have perfected back in high school. During my first semester, I struggled with studying for different classes and completing homework assignments because it was so different from high school. The work load and what is expected of me on exams is far beyond most high school standards. So, time management and study habits would be two very important things I would tell my high school self to work on extensively before coming to college.

To start with, I would have told myself to go to college right after high school! The biggest regret I have in life is that I waited so long to go back to school. I believe that making the transition from high school to college would have been alot easier at that time then it was a year ago when I decided to go back. I had to retrain myself to take notes, study, allow time for homework, etc. I believe a college education is one of the most important factors in a persons life. Not only will it help you secure a good paying career that you like, but the self-esteem that it builds in yourself when you accomplish these goals is worth so much more!

I think it’s important to know that even though you are bout to make a huge transition, you are still you-- a changing you but you nonetheless. You feel that you're "over" parts of your life. You think that you're ready to give up things like theater because you don’t see a future; try thinking creatively, are there are other theater jobs besides what you’ve done in high school? Consider this: Dramaturgy is a career and a major-- who knew? Don't underestimate the power of your passions. It's important to listen to your heart in conjunction with your head so that you can spend your time doing what you love which will make it easier to succeed. You're going to transition into college life just fine. You'll make friends, lose friends and find a new family just like you did in high school. Remember that everyone is adjusting, so everyone is terrified and unsure of themselves. Listen to your mom, she's right about that electric kettle-- you're really going to want that. And don't spend any money on a bathrobe. They're useless. No one uses them.