University of Central Florida Top Questions

First things first: take your studies seriously. College is a big step forward that will open all kinds of doors for you, if you are only willing to step through them. At times it takes hard work and determination, but it's worth it in the end. When you do have some free time, take a moment now and then to step back and plan. Does your class schedule fulfill your degree requirements? Being a 7th year senior really isn't that cool. Are you meeting your personal goals? Are you leaving yourself enough time to relax and have a life? Planning your time well and working hard are the keys to excelling in college. At the same time, college is also a great opportunity to meet new people and try new things. Get out there and do stuff! College, especially at a larger university, will offer you the opportunity to participate in swing dancing, late night parties, helping the homeless, video game clubs, and anything else you can think of. You'll meet some of your best friends for life. Study hard, but remember to live!

I would have gone back and told myself to follow my dreams and apply to all the schools I really was interested in. I would say, "don't make your college choice based on other people and do what you want to do." I would also make a better choice about my major and tell myself not to close and doors and explore my options.

This is an interesting question to me because I think about this all the time. If I had the opportunity to speak with myself about college life and making the transition when I was a senior in college; I would say that the experience is priceless. I would strongly emphasize to not let yourself adapt to the freedom and stay on top of your responsibilities. I would say that college is the beginning stages of the rest of your life and the knowledge that you will recieve will carry you throughout life. The transition can be challenging to some but it is important in remembering the reason for being there. Finally, the last thing I would tell myself is that in life people control their own destiny and life can turn out what you make of it.

I would inform myself about the dangers and different paths that college has to offer. I would advice myself to stay concentrated on my schoolwork and not be distracted by my peers' bad decisions. As far as everything else, I wouldn't advise myself for college life. College is exactly what I expected. All my responsibilities are exactly the same (academically and financially). I have always been on the ball and don't plan on dropping it. With the help of any financial offerings, I will be able to put all of my focus on school and not on any monetary issues. This will insure me a bright and successful future.

The most important quality you can have in college is a great studying habit. In high school, your teachers fed you the information through work sheets and activities. You could ask as many questions as possible, and earning that high grade was easy to do. In college, however, things are a different story. In most classes, your professor lectures on a given topic. Some assign homework to further your understanding of the subject. There are no work sheets, no free time, no easy grades in class. In order to do well in your classes, you must be able to study to the point where you can ask complicated questions on a given topic and be able to answer them. You will need to know definitions as well as the concepts behind the subject. The only way to achieve such knowledge is by having a study routine in which you can ensure that you understand the subject and recite it. The best way to start a good studying habit is to take 30 minutes per subject each day and dedicate it to studying one concept that you learned in one of your classes. This will help you ace your final exams.

In high school, I was a proud perfectionist who happened to be a bit shy. So if allowed to time travel to a point during my high school years, I would give advice on a couple of things. The first thing I would suggest to my younger self is to realize college courses will be challenging. If there are any topics covered that are unclear, ask questions and get help from professors, tutors, and other students. Receiving help will make things clearer and allow one to meet others who may be pursuing similar interests. Also, it is very beneficial to be open-minded and aware of new opportunities while in college. Keeping quiet and staying to oneself is a hindrance when it comes to trying new things and meeting interesting people. Joining clubs, taking internships, and volunteering time are a few ways a student can make networking connections and broaden their horizons. Overall, it is important to realize that you are paying for this college experience and you are in control of your success. There are many opportunities that will allow a college student to do well and to become a better person. Take advantage!

Advice I would give myself as a high school senior is to always stay focused. Also time management is a big factor in college. If you don't have good time management then you may struggle a little and maybe even become stressed at times. Just because you need to study a lot, don't over do it. Give yourself a break sometimes, you still have time for a social life. Enjoy yourself but stay focused!

If I could go back and tell myself a few things about attending college they would varied. I would let myself know that college is nothing to fear. I would tell myself that it is an enjoyable experience. I would talk to myself about emotional, educational and intellectual goals. I was frightened because I had a difficult time in high school and I felt different from everyone else. I'm bipolar and I thought people could tell that there was something about me that was defective. I stayed away from people because of it and that included going to school. Had I known that I would have done well, my belief in myself and my abilities would have improved. I would advise myself to go into a social service degree program because I understand what it is to be mentally ill. I would tell myself that one of the ways to reach that goal would be to get good mental health treatment myself. I would encourage myself to reach out to others, to find healthy people that would support my endevours. I'm doing well now, but it would have been nice to have had that encouragement.

If I were to go back and talk to myself as a senior the advice I would give myself would be first of all take as many dual enrollment classes as you possibly can. It is a great way to understand what to expect when you do enter college. Another piece of advise would be that don't be to overwhelmed when you don't know one person in your class because you will be transitioning from classes that had 30 students to lecture halls with more then 400. Also it will be the first time that you will be away from your family and friends that you have grown up, though times will get tough be strong. As long as you keep faith you will get through everything. Don't get caught up and make mistakes that almost freshman go through by wanting to go out every night because though it seems fun that's not why you are there. And make sure you always remember who you are and what you stand for.

If I had the chance to go back in time to my senior year, I would appreciate the workload and lifestyle that I had while living with my parents. I remember stressing heavily over small papers and homework in highschool, but when I got to college I learned right away how much more important doing well on papers and tests were. Now I find it funny because I got to college and it's a completely different game here, there is no extra credit, no room to do terrible on more than one test, and various other things that I was able to recieve and do to get a good grade. Also, I would tell myself not to get caught up in all the highschool drama and silly cliques because it is just a waste of time and once in college it is pretty much non-existent. Once you're in college, no one cares what or who you were in highschool because all everyone cares about is meeting a new friend to help them through this new stage in their lives, and I found that to be the most wonderful part of my freshman year, how everyone was accepting.

If I was given a chance to go back to high school with the knowledge i have now things would be done differently. Instead of completing the work just to pass, I would put more effort into understanding the material. I would not worry so much about what other students think and focus striclty on my education. I would like to take different classes to learn completely new subjects. Furthermore i would join more clubs and sports teams.

Do not take all of your core classes at the same time. Mix it up and take classes for your major and a few core classes. Math is a demanding class, take it with some of te slower classes. Also, attend all of the building meetings, that is where you are going to make friends. Do not be shy, and introduce yourself to people. College is fun, so study hard, but have fun too!

If I could go back in time and talk to myself, i would tell myself to practice managing your time. To explain, being in college has taught me that if you don't know how to manage your time nor schedule you will lack organization in your life. Managing your time helps you to perform your day better with less distractions.

The first thing i would tell myself would be to live off campus and to look for a job sooner. The dorms and parking are horrible, and it is much more affordable to live off campus. I would have also told myself to schedule my classes closer together so I could have bigger time blocks of free time to have a part-time job. My freshman year was difficult because of my schedule and it was hard to find a job, which made my financial situation difficult. Efficient scheduling would have helped tremendously, and I would have most likely gotten a job easier. I would also tell myself to budget my money more wisely, and not buy food on-campus since it costs alot more in the long run. Grocery shopping and packing meals would have saved me alot of money my first year.

Do whatever it takes to get to college as soon as possible-- even if that means living with your parents! But at the same time, realize that it is never too late to be a college student, and if you have to get over some hurdles before you're ready, the important thing is to focus on getting there eventually. And once you're there, know that you've got a right to be there. Don't walk with your head down; keep your chin up and you'll meet amazing people and see amazing things. Focus on getting your general education requirements out of the way first, but take fun electives (that's how I discovered my degree program, and I love it!). Make use of the libraries on campus, makes yourself a calendar for each term, and celebrate your successes.

Knowing what I know now, I would advice myself to less close minded and more optimistic. Senior year is the perfect time to start thinking about what you want to be and how you want to get there. I would advice myself to develop my interest more and pursue them in order to find my passion. I would have volunteered more, intern at different institutions and be open minded to different career paths. Going to college without some form of a plan or idea makes it harder to transition into this setting. Even though there are advisors and counselors available, no one knows you better than you know yourself. No advisor can tell you what kind of classes will interest you or lay down ?a golden pathway to a successful career.? I would advice myself to find something that I love and want to do verses what I think is expected of me. At the end of the day, I have to sit in these classrooms and complete the assignment by myself and this would be a pleasurable experience if you are doing something you truly enjoy.

Shavon, Call mom! Shavon, don't spend all of your spare time with your boyfriend! These are some of things that I would tell young Shavon while she was in high school. I know this kind of starts off questionably, but I had the best high school experience ever. During my senior year My twin brother was homecoming king, I prom queen, I was in student council, I was in the National Junior Honors Society, graduating cum laude, and during the graduation ceremony I received an award for being a good humanitarian. I wanted to experience everything positive that would enhance my collegiate opportunities. But now that I look back I wish that I would have spent more time with my loved ones. I have a very tight family and they understood personal growth and space and it's greatly appreciated. But young individuals don't recognize that when great opportunities present themselves, such as school, which is time consuming, comes less time for family involvement. My family has supported every single endeavor of mine but if I could I would tell young me to stop and take more time to love those that will always love you.

Work and study hard.

The best advice I could give myself was to not take everything so seriously. College is as much about learning scholarly material as it is about learning how to develop yourself and have fun. I would have braced myself for the extreme increase in work load and would have told myself to relax! I would have told myself to make and effort to connect to my peers better. A major problem I had my first semseter was I did not network with students and found myself isolated on many occasions. College now has taught me that life is so much more than school work. Responsibility is key and must be learned through trial and error. If I could talk to myself I would tell myself though that I made the right choice to become a UCF Knight!

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to immediately jump into different organizations on UCF's campus. As a freshman, I was a little hesitant to get involved, yet if I could do it again, I would not have waited. I love being involved in different organizations on campus; from my sorority Alpha Delta Pi, to the President's Leadership Council, to the UCF Burnett Honors College, there are so many opportunities to leave your mark on campus. I would tell myself to not hesitate, seize the day, and take advantage of everything the comes my way! GO KNIGHTS!