The University of Texas at Austin Top Questions

Relax. Everything will work out just fine. Have faith in God and yourself. Have more fun. You don't even know how smart you are.

Even though I entered UT at the age of 19 with two years of higher education under my belt, I was looking for love and a MRS. degree rather than applying myself as a serious student who wanted to engage in meaningful work throughout my life. I was way too immature. I didn't apply myself and now at the age of 61, I find I am having to redo a lot ofmy education inorder to experience a meaningful job. I would strongly advocate that young people truly prepare themselves emotionally before making the higher ed plunge.

Establish better study, time management and financial management skills.

Dear High School Senior Lydia, Don't be afraid to approach clubs and organizations that you never think you would join. Don't just hang out in cliques with old high school friends; reach out to other diverse cultures and ethnicities and meet new people. Don't be so shy and afraid to take risks; just take a leap and do something crazy. Don't lock yourself up in your room and study all the time; academics are important, but be sure to embrace the college life. Experience the social aspects of college--go to sporting events, explore downtown, and try new things. Take advantage of all the resources available to you! DO take classes that interest you, not just classes that will help you get a degree that will make a lot of money. DO talk to and get to know your professors--they will prove to be very beneficial and helpful in the future if they remember you! Basically, just HAVE FUN. College will fly by before you know it, and it should be one of your most memorable times in your lifetime. Sincerely, College Lydia

What do other people tell me that I'm good at? What do I enjoy doing? Even if it doesn't make sense and doesn't seem to have a future, shoot for it anyway. It's better to do something enjoyable than ace your way through misery.

dear me, Try harder. As much as you want to socialize and go out with your friends, it's worth it to try just alittle bit harder in all your classes. Also, start reading as soon as school starts. Get ahead and it will pay off.

College is something that you will remember for a very long time. Who knows, maybe until you're in your 80's before you begin to lose your memory. If you thought high school was a time to remember, college is much more thrilling and exciting. College is the start of the real world. The decisions you make in college will follow you as the days go on. The classes are much more bigger than high school and the course work could even be harder. You receive more work than you did in high school, so if you are a procrastinator, you better change that when your in college because you will fail and you will be behind on your course work. Things tend to happen when you wait the last minute. Don't make the same mistakes

I would give myself a few pieces of advice: The first piece of advice I would give myself, would be to start applying myself to school earlier. I didn't start really applying myself until my senior year of highschool, which made it much more difficult to get in my school. The second, would surely be to relax and enjoy the time I have in highschool. So many people are FREAKING OUT about college, or this and that. High school was good while it lasted; no bills! And finally the third piece of advice would be to get more active with extra curriculars in highschool, and diversify. Maybe theatre, dance, and who knows? So many possibilities I missed out on!

I would definitely tell myself to join more organizations and be as involved as possible in anything and everything that interests me and that I have time for. Also, it would have been really helpful to get close to my professors, the classes are so big and you don't want to be just another face. I would also advise myself not to take school as seriously as I did my first year. Having other things going on in your life besides school is very helpful. Just have fun but stay focused.

If I could go back in time and give myself advice as a high school senior, the first thing I'd tell myself is to start saving up more and to apply for more than just a handful of scholarships. School books for just five classes can total up to more than $400 and that if you shop around online for used books too. I would also suggest that I start working out. The campus is huge and not called The 40 Acres for no reason. I'd suggest working my glutes because when you have to try to get across campus to a class on the very opposite side, in under 10 minutes, being very athletic would be helpful. The very last thing I would suggest myself is to not be afraid to come out of my shell. Austin is a big campus and I should not be afraid just to be friendly. It's nerve-wrecking to leave a city where you've grown up and leave to a city where you know nobody, but the main thing is to not be afraid to make new friends. You have to be able to make networks and connections.