Illinois Institute of Technology Top Questions

Hey there buddy, don't be alarmed. It's only me...your older wiser, more decisive self. I'm here to help you transition to college. Thank me later. You'll appreciate the importance of having a mentor. Guidance is crucial for new students so be sure to sign up for orientation. College is a very big place full of opportunities to help you be successful. Take advantage of them. There are programs like the honor roll, tutoring, academic clubs, career centers, you name it. You're going to meet people from all walks of life. Be friendly and mature but keep your focus. Now let's talk decisions. You love computers, don't you? Well don't go into that field. You love helping people more. The medical profession is for you. Do a lot of academic research to understand the degree requirement for that field and volunteer at the local hospital. Turn in all assignments promptly including homework and extra credit. Most of all enjoy the experience. One more thing, you like sleeping late on mornings, true? Well shape up. You snooze, you lose friend. Well you're all set. Meet you on campus. Love yourself.

I would truly tell myself to enjoy the days of freedom and exuberance to their fullest extent. Life isn't black and white, it's in shades of grey. Go out and make friends. Allocate two hours a day to studying at the same time everyday so you don't slack off. You're the one paying to learn, so go and do it. Exercise a lot too, you don't want to gain weight and feel tired all the time. Try to make lasting connections with your peers. You don't want to be a shut-in so go out and make friends and do stuff.

I would tell myself to be more open to people and social events, and to stay away from the Common's food! I would also specifically mention to spend more time at the fraternity houses.

The most important thing to remember is balance. College these days is not just class and school work. College is a mixture of academics, extracurriculars, community service, internships and professional development. If I knew that when I was a senior, I would have better adjusted to all the facets of life as a college student. It is very important to be involved in college, be it Greek Life or Student Government, Internships or Sports. As a freshmen, I could have better balanced myself. Now in my third year, I have experienced the positives and negatives to being unbalanced. It may be fun to only be involved socially, but your school work suffers. On the other hand, you may succeed in school if you only focus on academics, but the professional word is looking for more than grades. Get involved right away but don't spread yourself too thin. It is important to do things that you enjoy but balance that with things that need to get done.

Knowing what I know now about college life, I would advise myself to take advantage of every academic opportunity that was available to me in high school. I would advise myself to take as many Advanced Placement classes possible. Advanced Placement classes prepare high school students for college courses and curriculum. I would advise myself to take advantage of every community service organization within my high school in order to instill a sense of dedication that would only grow and blossom after my transition to college. I would advise myself to build a vast network of classmates, professors, faculty, staff, and friends, which will also be extremely helpful during/after my transition to college. I would advise myself to research in detail, every college I considered attending. I would most definitely advise myself to research and pursue every scholarship and financial opportunity available in order to defer as much college tuition as possible. Finally yet importantly, I would advise my younger self to relax and mentally prepare for a lifetime of memories while in pursuit of academic success. "Marvin, stay focused, set your goals, and achieve them, and have a enjoyable and memorable experience along the way."

If I could speak with the "high school" Bassil, I would tell him this: "Universal truth is scarcer than you think. Those economic models and theories look sexy, and seemingly make intuitive sense, but they discount the intensity of natural chaos and randomness that you will inevitably witness. If you wish to study economics, realize that you may never stumble upon an economic theory that works consistently. Most of your class instructors have taught 'intuitive' lessons and principles; not much of your academic career has been spent with long, disappointing, grinding, or confusing sets of empirical data. As you grow and study economics, you might be very disappointed to find out that the 'money supply model' seldomly produce reliable results. In fact, you may be disappointed to learn that accurate models rarely come by. If 'truth' interests you, the following areas of academic focus will add valuable insight: logic, mathematics, physics (usually), or philosophy. These areas of study will help you embrace and benefit from all the chaos nature provides, rather than to study HOW to eliminate randomness from your world, a very laugable task. You will be much less disappointed in school, and much more accomplished in your field.

The most important thing to remember as a high school senior is that even if you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, it is super important to stick it through, working as hard as you can the entire year. The final leg of high school will be where you get your scholarships, colleges make the final decision on wether your accepted or not, and it gets you your final credits to make sure you graduate from high school on time. Understand that even though you still have those 4 more years of school to finish, they are much more enjoyable as the classes are focused on what YOU find fun, and you really get to enjoy them. At college you make new friends, find new things to do, join clubs that are fun, and run your life the way you want to run it. The freedom you get in college gives you enough of the taste of the real world but at the same time, still shelters you enough to learn how to deal with the freedom.

Past self, even though you are free and away from your parents while attending school, you must not abuse that freedom and become more responsible for your actions, because they can greatly impact you later on during your university years as well as after you graduate.

Study hard, often and a week before a test. Take good notes, and attend everyclass. Establish a routine that is healthly and works for you.

If I could go back in time, I would advise myself to take every opportunity I have regardless of how I feel about the opportunity. Try as hard as possible to finish many scholarships and make contacts with people who are doing their absolute best to help. I would continue by explaing to myself to be very proactive and to not expect things to come to me. Go after what you want to get and do not give up regarless of how impossible it may seem. You must have confidence and continue to strive to have the best success. I would advise to find what your are good at and demonstrate your prowess to many others that want to see what exactly you bring that can help improve the lives of others.