Cornell University Top Questions

First and foremost: FREEDOM. Your life will be completely in your hands. It will be sitting there staring up into your eyes, your heart, your soul, wondering what you will want to do next. You will be entitled to so much power, for it will follow your every command and desire. HOWEVER. Great power does not come freely. It is highly imperative that you conjure up the correct types of commands and wishes! You cannot allow yourself to succumb to the wild life of your new foreign environment. Of course, you must roam and romp around in order to experience all of the the fun that college has to offer (oh the fun you will see!), but even more importantly, you cannot get behind on your own duties as a scholar. Be hungry to discover what is in store for you. Dig deep to find what is in the depths of your courses, your professors, your peers, your passions, yourself. I know you will not listen to everything that I have said thusfar, but just remember one thing: breathe in each moment every day as if there is no tomorrow. Never let your life be idle in your hands.

Trying to decide which college to go to is very overwhelming. One important thing that may make the college decision less painful is deciding what you as a student, an athlete, a musician, etc. want in a school. Deciding this before even beginning to look at schools will help you narrow down which schools you want to apply to. Then, once you find out which schools you are accepted to, re-evaluate these original criteria. In terms of the transition to college, you will meet many new people, experience a different environment, and have a heavy workload. It is important to remember who you are as a person and who you want to become because there are many new influences you will encounter. Therefore it may be helpful to create a list ? literal or mental ? of the goals you wish to achieve while at college; it is a chance to establish yourself as a person and to determine what type of career you may be interested in. Although the workload can be overwhelming at times and it can take a few months to establish a work routine that works for you, once you settle in it becomes much more manageable.

Deanna, I'm not going to sugar coat anything. Adjusting to life on the east coast is tough. It's hard to be away from family and friends and live on your own, but it's important to take advantage of your freshman year. This is the time to make new friends, try new sports, join interesting clubs, and give back. But you also need to stay focused and think ahead. It's so easy to procrastinate but just try to manage your time wisely. You're at Cornell to get an education. There are so many amazing resources there that you need to take advantage of! Work hard, and don't be afraid to ask for help. Invest in a good pair of rainboots. Flip-flops do not cut it in Ithaca weather. Take time to be active and exercise. Get out of your comfort zone and push yourself. Take classes in all disciplines and figure out what subjects you like. Go into NYC as much as you can. Even though you have so much work, try to read for pleasure too. Use these four years to figure yourself out. It's scary, but you can do it.

Given the opportunity to talk to myself a little over a year ago, I firstly would advise myself to enroll in AP Chemistry because it would be very beneficial to a great performance in a college chemistry course. With this taken care of, I would proceed to tell myself not to worry about adjusting to college life, as the transition is by no means overwhelming. In fact, the easiest thing about college may be the transition. For this reason, dedication to studying and school work must be a top priority. While a little fun via video games and recreation is essential to my well being, alotting too much time for such activities is a no-no. The most efficient and least stressful way to get through a semester is to create a strict schedulize and adhere to it as closely as possible. As far as relations with others are concerned, always be friendly and helpful. While some friendships are not meant to be, this approach generally works against social problems. This is advice I would not only give to myself, but to any prospective college freshman.

College is a time of experimentation and finding yourself, so do not be afraid to venture out of your comfort zone, but do not change yourself based on the views of others. Go with your gut feeling, it is almost always correct. People exist on campus that do not drink/do drugs for fun, so find them and hang out with them. Not everyone is accepting right away, so do not feel dejected if you do not make best friends right away. Academically, never feel shy when asking for help because your end-grade is more important than how silly you may feel at the time when you ask for clarification. You are in college to learn, so always give everything 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}! It may be difficult at times, but you will feel better about yourself and more accomplished in the long run. Also, do not stress if you do not get an A on everything! As I said, you are there to learn, but you learn better when happy -- so do not be afraid of a study break to hang out with friends, even if it means a slightly lower grade. Most importantly: Enjoy yourself! You are only here once.

If I could go back I would tell myself this: college is for having fun, but ultimately you have to remember why you are there, for your education. College is a time when we are given so much freedom academically and socially which at times can be overwhelming. It is important to have fun yes becuse you have worked so hard in school up to this point, but it is also important to work as hard as you play. The biggest challenge is time management once you are in college. Although you can get away with not going to class, it is important to go to your classes, discussions, or any office hours that your proffessor may have, one as a way to make yourself stand out and two for the opportunity for your proffessor to get to know you better. Especially when you go to a large school, you can get lost in the shuffle and so it is important to keep a good head on your shoulders. Have fun in college and don't stress yourself out too much because college is a time to finally get to take classes that are of interet to you.

I would advise myself to take things in stride and manage my time better. I would advise myself to use fellow students, professors, TAs, and campus resources to my advatnage more often. I would especially advise myself to stay focused on my academics. After the first two years I was more involved in extra-curricular activities and unexpectedly involved in a relationship that was a bit unhealthy and distracting. The distraction was not worth havng my focus diverted. Nothing should ever get in the way of my overall achievement in college. I would probably try harder to avoid the relationship, but some things in life just happen. I never had to deal with such issues until my junior year in college, so it was a good lesson. Life is about learning, and life doesn't pause in college. It keeps going. Our responsilbilty is to be able to balance our academics with our social lives, career aspirations, financial hardships, and unexpected crises. Now I'm ready for a fresh start next semester. My anxiety is a bit high, but I would tell myself if I were a senior that in retrospect, the mental and emotional struggles are worth the rewards.

I would tell myself not to be as reluctant as I was. I did not get into my first choice school, rather I went to my safety school. I could name 10 family members that had gone to that school and I had wanted to do something new and break the mould (pardon the cliche, but I am a living cliche). Now that I am there I love it. I now realize that I have so many choices to make that I make my own path and don't have to do what everyone else did. I can make my college experience, and in turn my life, my own. I wish I had been able to realize that last year.

Enjoy!

Melanie, lose your naivety. Question more, trust less. Become more assertive in academic and social situations. Make sure professors and advisors know who you are. Fight for what you believe in. Don't hestitate to ask for help and know where to get it. Most important, have confidence in your ability.

Be a dork. Wiktionary defines dork as: quirky, silly and/or stupid, socially inept person, or one who is out of touch with contemporary trends. That's what college is all about! College is 4 years of focusing on yourself. Studying what you like, joining clubs you like, and socializing how you like. Unlike in high school, in college you can wear or do or eat something because you like it and more often than not you'll meet other people who wear or do or eat the same way you do. If I could go back, I would say try to find the balance between new experiences and the experiences you've already had that make you who you are. If you grew up on Mexican cuisine, try the sushi, but always keep you're Tapatio hot sauce in your back pocket. If you secretly doodle the Krebs cycle all over your notes (no matter the subject), chances are you'll find someone else as crazy for chemistry as you are. So don't be shy, don't try to be too cool. Be the one who is out of touch with contemporary trends. Be a dork. Be yourself.

Almost any student can adapt to almost any college. It's all about your attitude going into college. If you are focused on making friends and joining clubs, then you will do these things. My advice is to look at college as an experience that allows you to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. Professors and peers will help guide you while you find yourself and determine what you want to do with your life. At the same time, deciding what to do with your life is NOT a race. Students usually have at least two years to take courses in a multitude of subjects before making a decision. College is about making friends, learning about stuff that you actually WANT to learn about, connecting with professors, and becoming yourself in a controlled atmosphere without the pressure of a full-time job. Enjoy college, do well, but don't stress out too much over GPA. It's more important to learn the material and succeed at your job than earn a A+ from memorizing the material the night before.

First and foremost, do not feel like you have to know everything about your life right now. Don't worry about money, or what you're peers are doing, or what your parents want to you be. Find something that fufills you, something that drives you and gives you passion. Once you know what that is, give yourself to it and let your ambitions guide you. Take a breath and trust yourself, even if you have no idea what you're doing. Intuition and confidence will take you farther than anything you will learn in life, but if you don't have faith in yourself you will have nothing to stand on when you're knocked down. Don't be afraid to try as many new things as possible, be adventurous, work hard, play hard, and most importantly be confident. The mind is everything, what you think you become. All else will fall into place. Learn from the past, live in the present, and work for the future without losing perspective. You only live once, so stop worrying and just be you. Do what gives you a reason to live. There's not enough time for anything else.

Look for a school that teaches to your learning style. A big, active univserity is exciting but it's easy to get lost in mix when you're surrounded by all those students. The reason you did so well in high school is because you had such a great support system with your friends, your family, and your instructors. You are going to need to keep that support system if you want to keep doing well and so it's important to find a university or a college where the professors are going to be watching you and working with you so that you do well. And remember, your high school wasn't a hard school. You are going to need to buckle down and study for once. And learn to withstand the pressure. College is important, but try not to take it too seriously or you'll fall apart. You know yourself well enough to make good decisions. Remember that. Remember to think about consequences. Think about what you want in life. Don't stop until you're there.

I would tell myself to follow my heart. Don't let anyone try to tell you where you want to go, what you want to study, or who you want to be. I would remind myself that college is supposed to be the best four years of my life, so I need to live it for myself, not for anyone else. Although it is nice to receive advice from parents, friends, and teachers on which schools seem like a good fit, if you don't listen to yourself, there is a very good chance that you will end up at a school that is not for you. Leaving home and being on your own in a new place is hard enough, so why make the process harder by placing yourself in an environment that someone else chose for you? If I could go back in time, I would make myself promise that I wouldn't let other people influence my decision on where to go to college.

Work hard in high school, don't mess around like you did then. Go talk to girls you like and don't be scared. Find out what you like to do and try to find out as soon as possible.

Have a positive outlook. Be flexible and open to diversity. Be ready to work harder than you've ever worked in your life. Try to apply for as many scholarships as possible. Be ready to make lifelong friends.

One very braod but also important advice that I would give myself is: do not be afraid to present yourself or to make mistakes. I remember in high school, I felt apprehensive about making mistakes, which in turn discouraged me to present myself with confidence. However, after coming to college and after several experiences, I realized that I can only grow by sharing my opinions and interacting with others who may or may not have different opinions from me even if I may be wrong. Learning is really not about making myself presentable to others, but it is actually the progress I make as I flounder through. Therefore, I realized I should not worry about how presentable I am or how agreeable my opinion might sound to others. Fear is the biggest hinderance to growth. Have courage to go on with what I hold or what I know. Then, I will find out soon if I am right or wrong, let alone all the more valuable knowledge and experience that I may have gained along the way.

My only advice to my past self would be to remember my priorities, that while hanging out with friends, watching movies, etc, is fun, I'm going to school for the education, and the socialization is secondary.

College is what you make of it. Don't worry too much about where you go, but study hard and play hard once you get there.