University of Alaska Anchorage Top Questions

What should every freshman at University of Alaska Anchorage know before they start?

Brett

So far I have gained some very useful job related skills but these skills will also benefit me as I continue with my education. Some of these skills inculde technical knowledge such as computer skills, advanced mathmatics, and problem solving. I have also gained some personal skills from the interactions that I have had with ohter students and my instructors. These things have made me a better employee at my place of employement but more importantly have made me a better person and a better participant in my community.

Meneka

I have learned a lot from the classes I have taken at UAA. However, that is not the most valuable thing I have gained. What I value most is my ability to speak and communicate with people and my new found confidence in organizing events and people. When I first got to UAA I was extremely shy and I didn't know how to get started in working with other students or making a difference on the campus. However, with the help of various student government bodies and clubs, I now have the confidence to make things happen. I helped to successfully organize a fundraiser for relief for the earthquake in Haiti, something I couldn't have imagined doing when I first started college. I also now have a network of people that I know I can go to if I need help doing anything. Because of this experience, I know that in the future when I have a job and am working to make a difference in the world, I have the abilities to find ways to make things happen.

danielle

i have been able to further my knowledge at an exceptable price of tuition. its a easy and accessible campus. close to town and has everything i could need.

Kayla

My college experience has been great, I enjoy being treated like an adult capable of doing my work without feeling like I am being babysat. I also enjoy the freedom of living by myself and make decisions for myself. I am exited to get a degree and finding a career that I enjoy and having my own income.

funmilayo

first of all i like the fact that you get to make your own decision, i know about 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} make the wrong decisions by the first or second semester because the "freedom" to make their own choice got in their head. but eventually we all get use to it one way or another and start to make positive choices. if i can turn back time i'd go back to my high school days and do somethings different but being in college is the real experience i wouldn't change a thing about it. for every diifficulties i challenged in college it made me a stronger, wiser and more willful person because everyday of college open my eye to reality and it keeps reminding me "this is the real world" well literally not the real world but yes college is an eye opener. if i can be this mature while attending a junior college i can't wait for what a four year college has in store for me nor can i wait to become a pharmacist. The over all satisfaction i get from attending college is the feeling of getting one step closer to my life's ultimate goal .

Renee

As my teenage years steadily dissipated, I watched my friends, one after another, head out on this journey of self-embetterment. through college. I was poor, on my own, and trying to cope with becoming an adult. I worked hard at professional jobs but always envied the experience that so many I knew were getting in school. Now I am in my early twenties, and most of my friends have graduated. I have only just started my college career. I could feel bad about a late start, but I don't. Working has given me perspective, and school is the perfect outlet to award myself with a sense of accomplishment. I have familiarized myself again with my strengths and weaknesses, surprised myself with my abilities to learn and apply, and appreciate the hard work of millions of college students around the world working towards similar goals. I have made new friends, and feel good that I can often give and receive help. I belong to a network, that is as self-less as it is selfish. As much as each person works for themselves, they are working equally hard to make college valuable for everyone else as well.

John

This question is difficult because it is quite simply hard to gauge what anyone would need to improve upon, or prepare for in that transition; and also because I actually was attending college already as a high school senior! Since I didn't have many credits left to fill, my correspondence school had a program that paid for up to two classes for two semesters before I graduated. That made my transition to UAA extremely fluid and comfortable. In the event that such a program was not available to me, I would strongly compel myself to focus foremost on basic core classes such as Math and English. Those skills are immeasurably useful everyday, not only for college, but for all my life. Secondly, I would be encouraged to begin thinking about where I wanted to go. As I type this, I'm currently a Justice Major, and if I had the same consuming drive to do this then that I do now, I would have taken more relevant specialized classes. Finally, I would convey the importance of involvement in the campus community, touring the facilities, talking to faculty, and maybe even studying out there to get that feel of belonging.

Joseph

I was never one to take academics seriously always first to think physical strength was the greater of the two. I would first mention the importance of reading and how it enhances your writing ability, as well as taking math more seriously. To get to the heart of what I?d say takes me back to essay I just wrote for my English 108 class, it was a narrative about me and my struggle with my mother all the way through high school. To keep it brief it was a journey off her dragging me out the bed in the morning and standing over me to get me to accomplish my homework. I would have rather played ball all day then study. Because her I?m able to write this today so I?d tell me listen to your mother and treat school like basketball you only gain what you put into it. If you want a wet jumper you?d shoot a thousands shot a day, so apply those principles to your studies and I can only imagine where we would be today.

Yoshihiro

Yoshi, I know you?re stressed about college, so here are a few pearls of wisdom to make it an amazing, eye-opening experience: First, learn as much as you can, right now. You lack certain life skills and qualities, like organization, passion, money management, and core beliefs. Reading books like 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Zen to Done, and How to Win at College will teach you these things, empowering you to thrive in school. Second, stay calm. I recommend breathing exercises. Life will be up and down, slow and fast, easy and hard. Calmness and clarity will lessen the lows and amplify the highs. Third, in the midst of growing and living at college, don?t forget about your friends and family. College is only one of many life stages; friends and family are life-long. Treat them well, and have fun.

Nathan

I would of kicked myself in the behind and told myself I should of taken college classes while I was in High School. I had that option and never took it. I could of gotten ahead in life but I never took the chance.