Princeton University Top Questions

I have but a single regret. If I could give any piece of advice to my high school self, I would need just three words: kiss the boy. At the time, I had every reason not to. There were serious questions. Was he gay? Was I? How would my parents react? It’s hard to risk the leap from friends to something more, and back then, I just couldn’t do it. All the same, I was given every opportunity. A guys’ night out, where the others “just couldn’t make it,” a sleepover far away from home, even the moment when he withdrew from his own closet. If I could have taken that advice and told him how I felt, I would have been a more open person. Regardless of what his response would have been, I needed to learn to talk about these delicate interpersonal relationships. It’s all too easy to bottle up emotions, and it’s all too painful when they come pouring out. Since then, I’ve met other people, and I am learning to be more forthright about my emotions. However, it’s a lesson I wish someone had helped me with long ago.

I would tell myself to continue working hard and to learn how to study.

If I could go back in time to my high school self and give myself in any advice I would tell myself to start looking up scholarships and grants. I found out the hard way that money doesn’t grow on trees it comes from hard work, in knowledge of your surroundings. I will also tell myself to look in to your education before enrolling because a lot of times people jump the gun before truly seeing what its worth. The first school I enrolled in a have my best intentions in mind at the time I enrolled. But two later find out I was enrolled in a program that I didn't sign up for. I would tell myself to wait and go to college for what you dream about. To keep in mind that it’s my life and I decide my career path in goals for the future not any one else. I’m in school now for what I wanted to do my whole life so even though there’s been many detours along the way I still will find my way that to living and accomplishing my goals for my dream career.

Chill out and go with the flow because there's not nearly as much pressure as you think there is.

If I could counsel myself as a high school senior, I would impart this advice: high school is more than just the training wheels. For many, high school was a means to an end. From our first days as freshmen to our last ones as seniors, we were inundated with the message that the destination was not where we were but where we would be after graduation. Just as training wheels are a necessity of learning to ride a bike, we were taught that high school was an essential, though temporary, stepping stone to college. This ideology fails us. It focuses on an intangible future goal and obscures the opportunity in front of us: the enjoyable and fulfilling process of learning and being challenged in the vibrant environment that is comprised of hallways, lockers, and cafeterias. As a result, many kids spend their entire high school careers focusing on the wrong things: good grades instead of actual learning, insincere “resume-builders” instead of genuine pursuits, and blind preparation instead of real enjoyment. Our focus on making sure the training wheels are clean and shiny tends to blind us to what we are really doing: we are already riding the bike.

Knowing what I know now that I'm collge I would give myself a few pieces of advise. First off i would tell myself to make sure before I ledt high school, or at least to get into the habit, learn and master the art of discipline. In college you are hit with a new wave of freedom and it easy to get off track with being disciplined in your school work. If that was something that I learned to get down in high school my college life would be a lot less stressful. Although the stress level in high school is different than in college, I would tell myself to make sure I learn to be disciplined and make school work a priorty. Another piece of advise I would give myself would be that when applying to school during senior year to seek much help and advise from people who have been through the process and apply for scholarships as early as possible. I'm finding myself now changing my college plans but mainly due to the fact that i didn't see much help from the start and having to find ways to fund that education.

Assuming that I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to get into the habit of studying all material intenseley. One thing that I learned while attending college is that good notes are important when it comes to passing quizzes and midterms. What I realized is that in high school my note taking was not as good as it is currently in college. I think that I would have been even more successful in high school if I took notes like I do in college. Note taking is not just important to get the information down that the instructor presents, but its important to actually look at the information after and be able to grasp the material. That is something that I did not do as much in high school, where I would not turn back to my notes as often because I couldnt rely on them as I do in college. I would constantly tell my self to take good notes if I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior. Note taking is one thing that is important in college to succeed.

I would enjoy high school a lot more. I would have developed better study habits and work ethics during high school. I would have done more activities and made more lasting friendships. I would have tried harder on my college applications. I would have researched more into my college list and saved myself some time from applying to schools that I didn't even want to go to. I would not have added everybody from Princeton on Facebook before I met them in person later on. I would also prepare for college. I would do something exciting the summer before college, because that will be the last summer you have to really relax and have fun before you get a job. I would have really thought deep and hard if I really wanted to become a doctor, or at least would have explored other possible careers. I would have exercised a lot more and hung out with my friends a lot more during the school year and the summer. I would have tried harder and studied more for my AP tests, instead of blowing them off. I would have prepared myself a lot better for college than I had done.

If given the chance to give advice to my high-school self, I would tell him (me?) to prepare to take advantage of as many new opportunities available to the college student as possible. Some opportunities in college will be familiar from high school. For example, people with athletic or artistic interests will find club teams or performing groups fulfill a similar role in college as they did in high school. However, there are many new opportunities for the college student to pursue if they have the initiative. There are chances to study abroad all over the world. If you have an interest in a particular region or culture, chances are that there is a program that will let you experience it firsthand for a semester or more. In the college setting, you will also have the opportunity to meet and work alongside your professors. If you have an interest in research, engage your professors, and you may find yourself working on scientific research as an undergraduate. Travel abroad and undergraduate research are just two of the new opportunities that accompany the independence of college. You could benefit greatly from them if you have the necessary initiative to pursue them.

The courses, extracurriculars, and dorms are all a great part of college life, but it is the people I have met that define the most important part of my college experience. Amazing professors breathe life into material that might otherwise seem flat and dull, actually triggering a hidden interest that I never knew I had. Knowledgeable advisers and alumni provide outlooks on how life during and after college can be like, opening my eyes beyond textbooks and the lecture hall. However, my friends, my colleagues, are the real gems of the college treasure trove. Differing, clashing views encourage me to go beyond my own narrow opinions. Sharing experiences and cultures with people from all over the world enriches my thoughts in ways words cannot describe. Being surrounded by advanced intellectuals has also shown me what it feels like to be intimidated. Yet at the same time, I was able to experience the exhilarating rush of having fear turn into excitement, because I could see the challenges that awaited me. Such moments have helped me change into a better, fuller, more open-minded individual and I hope I will continue to do so while helping others change as well.

My college experience has given me a lot from confidence to a sense of independence. Before attending college I had never worked before or ever really been pushed out of my comfort zone so when I got there it was a whole new world for me. However, I think that being in college and not being able to go back has given me even more. I now see, as I try to go back, everything that I had at my disposal and truly appreciate it and value it that much more such as the abundant access to knowledge and tools for success. I feel as though college was an excellent and neccessary step in my life to help not only equip me for life but to help mold me into a better and stronger person.

Princeton has such a diverse campus--it really is a melting pot of races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. Coming from a small rural school in western Maryland, I was never subject to the beauty of diversity. This "culture shock" has opened my eyes to many traditions and beliefs that are different from my own. I have learned to be respectful of all different cultures and and to even admire them. I know that the world is not like my homogenous hometown: it is rich with people of different origins, of different creeds. Going to a school with such an assortment of students has helped me think not on a Keedysville, MD-scale, but on a national- and international-scale. I feel as though I am prepared to take on the multi-faceted globe with eyes free from the shadow of ignorance.

Ever since I was old enough to question the concept of education, my parents have stressed the importance of a college degree. Now, after the sweat and frustration of incalculable hours of academic achievement, I stand on the threshold of earning a degree in molecular biology with minors in neuroscience and environmental studies. I have taken every opportunity I could to pursue these goals and they have paid off nicely. Princeton has allowed me to explore the jungles of Honduras and the coral reefs of Bermuda while guiding me towards graduation. I have had the opportunity to learn from world-class professors alongside students from all over the world. I will end up taking more classes than I need to graduate simply because there are so many amazing courses to take each semester. Princeton has done an excellent job of preparing me for life after my undergraduate years, and thanks to its generous financial aid system I will graduate debt free and ready to enter medical school with a clean slate. I am forever in debt to this wonderful institution, and I could not be happier with my decision to attend.

Princeton University taught me what power really is. Power is having the resources and ability to change the world. Princeton has the power to nurture her students to become the best in their fields, whatever they may be. With a neat apron around her neck, she tends to every single one of our personal needs, making sure we may flourish under her arms. Indeed, her motto "Under God we flourish," reflects this magnanimous maternal attitude, one that only a truly powerful institution could ever afford. At Princeton, I have gotten a life's worth of lessons in my personal, academic, religious and social spheres. I have learned how to describe the vibrating membrane of a drum mathematically, and I have learned that that the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus is the center of our biological clocks; I have learned that God is with me when I am glad and when I am not, and I have learned that putting together a professional rock concert is something teenagers can do. I have learned I will never quite have learned enough. Princeton enabled me to flourish, with her wondrous love and experience, and I will give back to her in the future.

In high school, I was an Eagle Scout, I had been a national leader for Students Against Violence Everywhere, and I was ranked first in my class. Though proud of my success, I was eagerly awaiting for the catalyst that would give me the tools and knowledge to reach previously untapped potential; college proved to be that catalyst. At Princeton, I met other first year students who were accomplished athletes, researchers, writers, and artists. Meeting other dedicated students was a truly inspirational experience. The classes I took, Social Psychology, Epistemology and Metaphysics, and International Relations, made me grapple with questions I had never previously considered, and stretched my thinking and understanding of the world in ways I found exciting and refreshing. It is this world-class education that will prepare me to create change on the global scale I’ve always aspired to achieve. The tools and vibrant diversity of thought that college provides are essential to succeed in nearly any enterprise one chooses to undertake. College is an invaluable experience that is giving me the inspiration to reach higher and the preparation to succeed in what I choose to do, bringing my fullest potential to mind and to fruition.

I've always been working towards something - towards an Ivy League school, a trophy, an A+. And finally, after overcoming a plethora of obstacles and challenges, I'm faced with a problem - I'm now in an environment in which there are too many opportunities, too many goal oriented people, and a grade deflation policy that prohibits no more than 5 A's per class. From Princeton, I've learned that life is not as simple as "winning"; it's more complicated than that, because it requires that one chooses the very challenges that one will eventually have to overcome. And that's what makes life so difficult - knowing that you have the jump the very hurdles that you set for yourself. Mom isn't there to tell me to run the race, nor to pat me on the back if I win it. Now something else must define my existence. There's more to life than just getting high grades and winning a trophy - it's also about defining the character of your life. I've come to realize that living is not about "working towards" life, but rather, defining and living it yourself.

I've learned so much about topics both academic and otherwise--about people, about life. I've met awesome friends and been exposed to great opportunities, and I finally feel like I can live up to my potential. What's not to love?

The value of Princeton University is not the educational experience that a student will receive there. Granted, academics at Princeton are top notch and the university?s faculty places a special emphasis on undergraduate teaching. The real value of Princeton, however, is the intensive leadership training that the environment provides: Students are plunged into a peer group of a thousand other brilliant and interesting young people. The wealth of extracurricular activities allows every student to take a huge role in shaping the campus environment. The vast resources of the university allow every student to pursue his or her passions. Faculty and administrators do not just lecture, but challenge and engage students to make a difference and to go the extra mile. I received a wonderful academic education from my four years at Princeton. I am more grateful, however, for the experience to interact with other amazingly talented youth who are going to make a difference in the world ten, twenty years down the line.

I would advise myself to go with my instincts and to keep an open mind. As a high school senior, I was eventually admitted to my first-choice school, which was in my home state of California. Having applied early to this school and been deferred, however, I would advise myself to not apply early. Applying early just increased my stress levels, and getting deferred was a huge disappointment. Instead of applying early, I would advise myself to keep considering all schools and to really think about the possibility of going across the country for college. I ended up choosing between two schools, my initial first choice in California and another school in New Jersey, about two hours before the deadline. Ultimately I chose the New Jersey school, but seriously considering that possibility from the beginning of the process might have made my decision easier. I remember that at the end, I was almost crying from the enormity of deciding to leave home. Thinking about that possibility earlier might have made the process less emotional. But most importantly, I would tell myself to have faith that my college experience would be worth the pain of applying.

I was always extremely eager to finish high school and begin my college experience. I thought I had everything figured out. I knew exactly what I wanted to pursue and couldn't wait to begin. If I could travel back in time, I would tell myself to let go of that close-minded certainty. I would advise the younger me to open her mind to all of the extraordinary possibilities Princeton offers, even those that may seem incompatible with what she wants for herself. College has expanded my way of thinking in a way I never could've imagined. In my first semester at Princeton, I learned more about myself than I did in the last two YEARS of high school. The preconceived ideas I had about myself dissolved within months. I'm now pursuing a major in Astrophysics, something I never would've considered as a senior in high school. I am discovering who I am as both an intellectual and personal individual. College is such a valuable and life-altering experience if one enters into it with an open mind and heart. "You don't know anything," I would say to myself. "Your real education starts now."