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.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior there are a couple of pieces of advice I would give myself. The first is that the world is full of different paths in life. From just a college perspective I see chemical engineers, creative writing students, programmers, and architects. The possiblities from a college education are expansive and should not easily be overlooked. Another piece of advice would be to expect nothing. One thing I learned is that trying to predict how your current or upcoming semester will be an impossible task. Oppurtunity and obstacles are always coming forth and each can only be dealt with at the present moment. Approaching college with an open mind and understanding of your present self is the best you can do. Lastly I would tell myself where good friends are to be found in college. During my first two years I joined different groups and participated in alot. The search was interesting and fun, but when you have good friends by your side college becomes a communal experience. You share more sad and good moments with familiar faces, which always make them mean more.

Don't get hung up on that one pretty girl you met on the incoming freshmen Facebook group the summer before going to college. It's not going to pan out and while you're on that wild goose chase, you could have been meeting the other girls who were going to end up in your social circle and would have been much better for you. Instead they will end up in wholesome committed relationships with peope who aren't you, and you can't even hate the other guys for it because you'll end up becoming good friends with all of them. In other words, my advice to you is that you'll become much better socialized in college than in high school and you don't need to fall for the first girl that pays attention to you.

I would tell myself to be true to myself. Don't worry so much about what others think. Stick to your principals and don't get caught up in the gossip mills. Also, take more time to help others.

In senior year after I got my acceptance and rejection letters, I almost didn't visit Carnegie Mellon. I had gotten unto UCLA, and I thought that was all I needed. My parents told me that if I still wanted to, I could go visit one school out of state. I didn't mind taking a day off to travel, and Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh had looked interesting and fun. Just a few weeks later I flew out with my dad. On the way there, I expected to see the city a bit, tour the campus, and then confirm with UCLA as soon as I got home. By the end of our trip, I was completely in love with Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon's campus, and the school's personality. I enrolled right away. I've already told some graduating seniors I know that if you feel the pull on a campus, no matter where it is, follow it. I've loved nearly every minute of my year there (perhaps except for finals) because even though I've lived in Los Angeles all my life, Carnegie Mellon is not just my school, but my home. Every student should find their home.

I would tell myself that finding the right college is more about knowing yourself than comparing statistics or rankings. I spent so much time trying to balance my college list that in the end I wasn't even sure how I felt about all the colleges. I got so caught up in the pressure of finding a college that I would be comfortable at, but also help me in my future career goals. There was so much to think about, and so much great information from every single college I looked at that I got caught up in all the technicalities. Throughout the entire college process, I was sure that there were dozens of colleges I would be happy attending. The problem was finding the one I would be most happy at. But it would have been easier to know what that best fit was if I had learned more about myself. If I had known what environment and programs I needed to grow and challenge myself, I would have been more sure of my choices and could have saved myself a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety.

You have a lot to look forward to. College will be better than high school, and the transition isn't that terrible. First semester will require some adjustment, even if you're prepared for the change. Be sure to take care of yourself. Even if there's tons of stuff you want to do, remember to keep your life balanced between academics, social life, personal life, sleep.

I've taken classes and I've done projects. I've done the homework and taken the tests. They have taught me much and in no way do I doubt that I have become more educated than I could ever imagine. However, even with all the typical tasks of a college student I think what I have gotten out of college goes past that. To me college was an awakening, a realization that the reality of the world was a lot more different than I had pictured when I was in high school. I caught my first glimpse of what it was like to shoulder all my responsibilties by myself. I made my own decisions. It was no longer about what looks best to wear or when was I going to meet friends. It was about, "how do I allocate my time today?". The steps I need to take to achieve success are known, and experience has been my teacher in following through with my goals. With what I've learned through experience and through myself I am confident in tackling tomorrow.

In the short year and a half that I've been at college, I've learned a lot about myself. I've learned how far I can push myself, and I've learned how to better interact with other people.

Engineering school, even after only the first year, has assaulted my mind with problems to solve. Every homework assignment, whether it be in Calculus, Electrical Engineering 100, or Computer Science, means that I will be staring at a problem, thinking of problem solving strategies and multiple methods to approach a single problem. Even the challenge of paying for college has changed the way my brain works. Faced with a 55,000 dollar tuition and inadequate support from my parents(though they are doing their best), I have been forced to become an entrepreneur, and I've learned to deal with stress on an entirely new level. I know that after graduating from a top engineering institution with a dual degree in Electrical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, I will be very well equipped for a career in which I will be in a position to significantly improve the quality of life of some demographic of the population, a dream I've had since I was a child.

The main thing that I have gotten out of my college experience is self discovery. With every seemingly meaningless task or event that I attend to, I end up learning so much. Not only do I learn about the event itself, but I also learn about my personal interests. College had been more of a social experience than an academic experience. Even though I am paying for a degree, I am getting so much more. Because most people at Carnegie Mellon live on campus, we have become enclosed in our own Carnegie Mellon bubble with its own social norms and mores. This has been the most valuable part of my expereince at college, because this can be directly related to the future and the workforce. In the future, everyone becomes enclosed in their own work bubble. Having the skills to learn and adapt quickly to an enclosed environment is important beyond belief.