University of California-Santa Barbara Top Questions

Hello high school self. I have some advice for you. Enjoy Mom's cooking! You said you'd never end up back home but you're going to wish you were home all the time. The food is nowhere near as good. Also, you should move in with your brother now so that you'll get used to having messy roommates later. As far as academics goes you're doing pretty well for yourself. You should really start working on those long-term goals now. That way i would almost be done with them. You should also enjoy as much time as you can with your friends now. Once everyone leaves for college it becomes very difficult to get everyone together at the same place and time. That's all the advice your much future self has for you.

Dear Younger Me, Well look at you. You received the top test score seven times in your science classes, straight A's the last two years of high school, skipped two math levels because you thought they would be too easy, and not a single financial worry. None of that will matter, apply, or last once you go to college. High school is a self-contained bubble that kept you safe from experiencing a real challenge. Your exceptional ability with mathematics that made you so great at physics might not actually translate into being passionate about it. What you can take with you to college is not your GPA, your parents' money or even your friends. What you can take with you is completely intangible: your determination to succeed. There will be nothing to guarantee success other than your ability to fight, claw and study your way through to the end. Sincerely, Older Me

My advice to myself is to make time for your personal life too. Oftentimes, we get so caught up in the five homework assignments, labs and readings that we forget to take some time for ourselves. Read a book, catch up with a good friend over coffee or see a movie! Don't spend 12 out of the 24 hours slaving over a lab! Everything in moderation.

High school was fairly easy for me. I got good grades without putting in much effort, and was able to get in to my college of choice. In my first semester, I got my first C. A few mediocre grades later, I came to realize I was hurting myself if I wanted to return to school, or if an employer asked for a GPA. I put in more effort, but was really just trying to memorize key points for the test. My grades did not improve much, and I decided to sit down and dedicate time to actually learning. Soon, I realized the applications of what I was learning. The history and political science classes enabled me to make better decisions in elections, and economics helped me balance my own finances. I started going to classes with the intention of learning-not to figure out what will be on the final. I found what you learn will make you more informed, and enable you to make smarter choices. My grades naturally improved. I would tell my high school self to not learn for the grade, but learn for yourself and your future.

The only advice I would give myself would be to try harder. College is harder than it seems and certain things about life will always get in the way alongside the trouble you face. Whether it's dealing with the courses yourself or the events like my dad's death, the people I had to deal with, or just personal things that we all eventually face. It's a hard road through college because you're not an adult when you get out of High School, you're one when you finally have to deal with life itself. Just try harder, be stronger so you can be prepared for it all; that's the only advice I have myself.

“It comes a day when every bird leaves the nest”. When I left home to UCSB, I felt scared and unprepared. Till this day the same feelings plague me. As a first generation college student, I had no one to look up to or know anyone in the same situation as me. My footprints are the first ones to take place in this new land. I was given the resources, finance, and knowledge to survive the first year yet they fail to save me from the untold traps of adulthood. If I had the ability to go back to high school to warn my former-self, I will spare myself of the upcoming nightmare. I will tell myself of the different resources, give warning to wait out any high purchases until an appropriate time or resource, and never take action without expert advice firsthand. This act of self-redemption would had made my first experience blissful but sacrifice is needed. I landed in this new world and it’s my footprints the next generation will follow. I can’t predict every snare but I know everything will be okay. That’s a message I always have in past and future.

If I could go back in time and confront myself I believe it would go something like this: I would say to this younger version of me, "Look, You are on track to get this diploma from Tumwater High School, and that is great. However, college is a whole 'nother beast. One you may not be ready for. It is important to get your education and make sacrifices to do so. It is more important to finish your AA than to make friends and spend money. Start cooking for yourself it's the best way to save and learn to be frugal. No one is going to teach you these things you will have to learn the hard way if you don't make changes now. No one ever told me how to do anything I just did what I assumed I was supposed to. You can make so much progress with your amount of time. Don't stop your pusuit of happiness and love for music, study hard, don't worry about dating girls til you're 30, and always wear a condom. Mom and Dad had no idea what kind of world they were sending you out into.'

College is not a place where you just become independent. It is a place were you learn and grow. You develop skills like time-managing, setting priorities, and meeting deadlines. You are becoming an adult now, and the truth is adults have many responsibilities. You are walking into a different life, with different people, a different home, and a different enviroment. You may have made mistakes in high school, have those mistakes of memories if you ever encounter a similair problem. However, college is by no means similair to your high school experience. In high school teachers told you what to do and how to do it. In college you are on your own.You must assign yourself own homework. It is your job to seek out the resources and put in the effort to meet other people who can help you along in the process. Do not let shyness get in the way of participating when you are having discussions and do not allow anyone to intimidate you. Most of all do not think that all the time when you are not in class is "free time," it is time for you to study.

In high school I had no idea how imperative having a defined plan when coming into college is. So many majors and opportunities require you to be exactly where you need to be, whether that be in the right academic college, pre-major, et cetera. I entered into my school as an Undeclared and thought I would just figure it out when I got here, and all my relatives and friends said that I would be fine. However, as an undecided major I'm finding time moving by very quickly and debt racking up at a similar pace. I would definitely say that the pressure of all this has required me to buckle down and focus on what I want to get out of life, however. I'm learning an incredible amount about myself and what my potential is, but I realize now that I could have had a lot less stress if I put more thought into my path through college. After a lot of maturing I have become much more confident in my ability to succeed but I still often wonder what it would be like if I had a more optimal beginning to my college career.

Bring shower shoes. Study. Study a lot. Study more then you think you should study. When you're done studying, you should study. The people are awesome, but meeting a group of people on the first few days doesn't anchor you to them. Look for the people with good hearts, and make them your friends. Appreciate every single second of down time. When you are done studying, socialize. If socializing is tiresome, it is always okay to go into your room and read. Being solitary sometimes is neccesary. Be comfortable with yourself and you will understand others.