Georgetown University Top Questions

To my high school self, Do not be afraid. I know you’re scared of meeting new people. Since Georgetown is a private school, many of the people don’t know each other so everyone’s in the same boat. I know most of your friends went to University of Maryland and that you wish you had chosen to go there too. Think about it this way. You now have the chance to create a new life for yourself. As the weeks progress, life gets better. You will make new friends and you will meet new boys that are infinitely times better than your ex. Your roommate is the exact opposite of you but that’s why you guys get along. You will get annoyed at her and vice versa, but, in the end, you both love each other. Classes are hard but you shouldn’t be as stressed as you are right now. Go to class, do your homework, study, and reach out to your professors. Other than that, you should enjoy life. DC is a great place to explore and your college life will be the best four years of your life. Good luck, Your college self

Do something! If you want to actually get somewhere in your lifetime, you need to get off the couch, and start working for what you want. You want to go to college? You need to get accepted. You want to get accepted? You need to prove yourself to the school. Do your best! Don't just get stuff done just to say you did; do the best you can do.

Dear Jessica, My name is also Jessica and I am you in the future. As strange as this may be to understand I hope you will trust me and take my advice. I know as a high school senior you are terrified of what you feel may be the most important transition in your life. I would like to counsel you in order to help make the change easier for you. First off, relax. Do not over analyze everything and panic over the small things. You are worried about choosing the right school right? Well, visit the campuses of the universities you are interested in. Once you explore your decisions you will find the school that is right for you. The most important thing to do is apply for scholarships! I can not emphasize this enough! As you may suspect, college is not inexpensive. Costs really add up: tuition, books, housing, transportation, and personal expenses. Please apply for every scholarship you are eligible for! There are thousands of scholarships available and NO excuses! You and your bank account will thank me for this in the future. Everything will be fine, I promise. Sincerely, Your future

Hey! You! Yes, you, the poor unfortunate soul living safely on top of the world. Be wary: the fall from the summit will be tumultuous. Stay enevloped in your cocoon. Don’t wonder what lies outside of Virginia. Are you even listening you insolent fool? Ignorance is bliss. Let the stress frcture that ended your running career be the end of athletics. Immediately seize your rowing on the ergometer. Forgeit the illusions of grandeur that you hold of collegiate athletics before you learn that those that you venerate are just as human as you. Be frightened of pretentious private colleges. You think just because you graduated top of your class in your world full of nobodies that you can compete with students from Taft and Exeter? Sublimate your drive into indifference. Find a nice, homely girl, marry her and spend the rest of your life clocking in at a sinecure. But your fate is electable no matter how LOUD I yell. You’ll still amble mindlessly towards the slaughterhouse you stupid sheep. Brush off my advice as platitude. Just know that you’ll end up convinced that even an immigrant kid like you can have an impact on the world.

Don’t worry. Don’t fret over a single test score, as—believe it or not—it won’t determine your path in life. Don’t forget to tell your family (including your dog) that you love them. Don’t be afraid to try something new, even if that something happens to be spending an entire year on the other side of the world where you don’t speak the language, don’t know the culture, and don’t know anyone—you’re going to love it. Don’t wilt under the pressure that your family, your friends, and your society seem to pile on you. It’s only temporary. Don’t forget to brush your teeth. Don’t be afraid to tell that girl you love her, and don’t be afraid to cry if it ends. Don’t drink and drive, ever. Don’t spend your entire paycheck on ice cream, unless you’re buying it for the children’s hospital event you attend every year. Don’t be afraid to play football, even if you are the only Asian. And don’t live life focusing on what to avoid—do enjoy the one life that you have.

Dear Ivana, I would tell you that college is an exciting and wonderful experience, but you already know that. I will say that you should not underestimate the amount of change you are going to have to endure and that, though difficult, you must embrace it. Not every moment is going to be one you want to remember, but try to enjoy as many of them as possible. At the end of this journey, you will be a stronger, more independent woman. Remember to always have faith in your abilities because fear of failure is no reason to not try and to not keep going. Giving up is never an option. You always talk about working harder, well now is the time. It is one decision you will never regret. Georgetown did not admit you just because you were a great high school student but because they saw in you great potential to become something more. Now you just have to see and believe in it too. Sincerely, An older, wiser you P.S. Take a breath. Things will work themselves out.

I pictured my future as a dark, endless hallway during Senior year. No matter how hard I squinted I could not make out what awaited in the darkness. I did not have a guide to illuminate this path, since I was the first in my family to apply to college. I felt a constant ping of panic because what I wrote never seemed to be enough. I was not enough, never sufficient for those prestigious ivy-league universities. If I could talk to that fretful girl for five minutes I would have told her to throw out those applications. At first my advice might have overwhelmed my younger self, but it would have saved me a lot of grieve. I missed the most important step in the college application process; I did not choose the right colleges. The right college should fit me. It should value my efforts and help me further solidify my dreams. Those ivy-league universities were amazing. However, the instant I felt like I was selling myself because I was altering who I was in my resume, I should have applied elsewhere; for there were universities who appreciated me for simply being myself.

You'll be homesick the first week or so, but really try not to call home every time something goes slightly wrong (an exception can be made when you lose track of the orientation group in the city). I wish I could tell you not to be afraid of the communal bathrooms and kitchen in the dorm, but you'll have to just wait and see there. Be nice to your roommate, even if it gets difficult. Be prepared for Saturday morning chem lab, though it's still impossible to tell if that was invented just to torture you. Find the seven best places to get coffee on campus fast. Don't try multitasking reading for philosophy at the gym, you'll look desperate and won't remember it anyway. Speak up in class and go to your professors' office hours. Go to club meetings, they give away free food. Try to catch a few hours of sleep every so often. And try not to panic. I promise, you're going to make it through the year.

I'm a worrier. Always have been, probably always will be. In higih school, the stress of college applications brought out this unfortunate character trait. I worried constantly about everything: where to apply, what I would write my essay about, would I make the deadline, would I seem interesting enough, would I get in anywhere...? And then, assuming that some school accepted me, I worried about whether it would be the right fit for me, if I could handle the coursework, if people would be friendly, if people would see it as a "party school"...and on and on. If I could go back in time and talk to Maggie at 18, I would tell her to just. chill. out. In hindsight, worrying about everything I worried about was frankly a waste of both time and energy. I got into a great college. I transitioned smoothly. I am incredibly happy now and I know that my school was a great choice. But really, I think I could have been happy at many other places too. I should have had more faith in not only myself and my abilities, but also in everything working itself out for the best. It has!

The wisdom I've gained in the 4 years since I graduated highschool is more valuable than anything I learned during the previous 17 or 18 years of my life. The first thing that I would tell my18-year-old self is that it is important that you pursue goals that are true to yourself and what you want to accomplish. Don't do it for your parents, your friends, your grandma, etc. because true happiness comes from within. I would tell myself to be more self-confident and less dependent on others because the best way to learn is to try it yourself. I would also tell myself that it is okay to make mistakes but it is important to hold yourself accountable so that you can take steps to improve and avoid excuses that will prevent you from blossoming. I would tell myself not to sweat the small things because that's where discouragement starts and that honest hard work and determination are the ingredients for success. My last piece of advice would be to never take the short cut because it is important to take advantage of every opportunity you get to learn; experience never hurt anybody.