University of Colorado Boulder Top Questions

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself that it is okay to take my time in deciding what I want to do with my life. I would tell myself that it is better to take your time and really think about what you want to do rather than waste time and money in college because you feel pressured to go. I would remind myself that I have my entire life to make money and work, so enjoy the time you have now to change your mind and try different things. I would tell myself to follow whatever inspires me and that I'm not going to get it right the first time, so don't worry about it. I would tell myself that it is more important to enjoy my classes and learning, than to stress about the grade I get in them. Have faith that if you enjoy your college experience, the rest will fall into place.

If I was given the opportunity to go back in time and speak to myself as a highschool senior; I would tell myself to work harder, apply for more scholarships, and read the fine print of everything. The reason for this being that if I were to have worked harder I could have earned a higher highschool GPA. WIth this higher GPA, in addition to applying for more scholarships, I could have been eligable for more scholarship money to help me pay for this outrageous out of state tuition. The reading the fine print statement is because of the insident that occured with my tuition classification. I was told I would be paying in state tuition but then that was retracted and I am now forced to pay three fold what I was expecting.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would definitely tell myself to take AP Chemistry. During my Junior year of high school I took Honors Chemistry and thought it was fairly easy. Because of this I chose to take Physics my senior year because I thought I was prepared enough for Chemistry in college. However, this year I realized that Chemistry was a lot harder than I thought it would have been. If I took AP Chemistry I would've realized that Chemistry is a lot harder at higher levels and I would've become more prepared for Chemistry in college. I also would've learned different ways to study for Chemistry that would help me do better overall in my first semester.

Assuming I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior. Knowing what I know now about college life and making the transition, I would offer one main piece of advice. Discover and develop your study skills! In high school I adjusted my study skills based on which classes I had to study for. This made me inconsistent and perplexed in college. After much trial and error, I finally discovered which study skills work best for me during my first semester at college. I tend to study most effectively when I speak out loud, when I am consistent, and when I draw and rewrite. If I discovered this before coming into college I would have saved myself a lot of time and frustration. In the beginning of my college career, I wasted a lot of time making flashcards and studying in ways that did not help me. Going through the trial and error in high school would have improved my grades and made me more productive.

In a matter of only six months you can grow in ways you never expected so don't be stubborn and always keep an open mind because your certainty that San Francisco was where you were supposed to spend the next 4 years has left you feeling like you wasted your first semester of college. You didn't though. Although you view this as a mistake, your ability to sense negative situations and change your environment to guarentee your happiness is the trait I am most proud of. Listen to your heart when making this decision, not other people's opinions and demands. You must live your life for yourself and not other people. Go to USF and watch yourself grow by coming to the realization that although San Francisco is home, you need to see the world and experience new things. Spread your wings and fly to Boulder, Colorado.

The advice I would give to my high school self would be to go for a Linguistics degree first instead of a Graphic Design degree to save yourself the trouble of being in school longer than you had to. To say that a Linguistics degree would be the right career path for you and that you need to learn to be more independent in your life, and not to allow other people to get you down when you know who you really are. Become stronger and more confident with the way you do things and to learn not to sound so strong in statements that are being made so it does not come off worse than how you implied it to be.

If i had the opportunity to go back in time and talk to my high school self, I would start by saying "you will support your undergraduate education successfully on your own so don't stress about that. Instead, remember to enjoy these upcoming years which will be some of the most difficult and memorable years of your life." As a high school student I was always terrified to attend four years because I knew I had to support myself financially. I worked while in school so I could afford housing, books, and my overall education and I would skip certain social functions because I constantly stressed about finances. I never really stopped to experience the social events that college had to offer, but looking back now I realize that supporting myself financially through school is not impossible and I graduate debt free. I would want my high school self to know that it is in those social situations that you learn the most about yourself personally and professionally and those experiences determine the person you will become. College is difficult, but it doesn't have to be so serious all the time. Lighten up and be a kid too!

I would recommend to myself that I not worry as much about socializing, and focus more on studying.

The most important aspect about your college transition is to explore new opportunities, no matter how scary or unsure you may be. This is the time to learn about yourself as much as you will learn about your studies. You should not be afraid to take a chance at trying out for a club sports team or learning about research conducted in your department. The numbers of doors that are open in front of you are endless, so don’t be afraid to poke your head through them and see what is on the other side. When you take these chances and succeed, you will find out what you are really capable of and it will surpass any limitation you set for yourself. You are going to be motivated and focused on your studies, which should be your primary objective, but remind yourself to step outside the classroom to learn about the world once in a while. Those chances you take to learn something different will be the best decisions you make.

The advice I would give to my high school self would be to find your true friends first before joining a fraternity, to work hard enough in school to where you aren't worried about failing out, and to save your money for the finer things in life like going up to the mountains for the weekend or for bringing out a beautiful girl on a romantic date. You are going to graduate from college no matter what and you are going to be able to drink with your friends for the rest of your life. Make sure you make the best possible experiences you can while at college because those are the memories that you will cherish forever.

College is a wonderful place, opportunities are endless and everywhere. You can study nearly any topic you can think of and research deeply into said topic. There are clubs that meet for reasons from politics to video games and everything in between. To go to college is not something you will be disappointed with. That is, if you apply yourself, with all these opportunities there are many more distractions. If you come to college to party, you will have a great time but your grades will suffer and so will your involvement with the community.

If I could talk to my high school self before entering college I would tell myself to not worry about finding life long relationships immediately and to focus on school and surrounding yourself with people that encourage you. When first entering college, it is easy to feel lost and lonely among a bunch of people that you don't know and the desire to find connect with people as soon as possible is strong. I have learned in my years at school that friends change, but your dreams and aspirations should't. It is easy to allow the wrong people into your life that will alone distract and discourage you from succeeding in school and the rest of your relationships. If you can be strong, patient, and focus on your education the rest will fall into place.

Take a gap year! There's really no rush to be in college and going to Israel for the year would be a much better experience. I know you just came back from New Zealand less than a year ago, but college in Boulder is not what you think it's going to be. Go on Nativ or another program and experience being an adult while not being in a school system. Next year will be the beginning of your life as an adult so don't waste time being somewhere you don't want to be and doing something you don't want to be doing. Be with the people you love and love you the most. Apply for college in the north east where you really want to be and live for most of your life. Make the best of your senior year and continue being who you are since you were always great at that and don't waste a single moment of your life. Be happy.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would approach myself and say "Look, life isn't easy and neither is college. Learn to let go of your past and move on, more motivated and stronger than you were before genuinely happy that you had the experience. College is not a giant party and it will take hardwork to learn the material to pass your classes. Don't be eager to get anywhere, enjoy how easy high school is, and know when you get to college, life will throw obstacles in your way. The excess time you spend wasting on video games is time you could spend proving to yourself that you are smart and entirely capable of doing great things with your life. All you have to do is wake up and decide you're ready to make that change."

I would tell myself to manage my time better and plan my classes better to set myself up for success.

I would tell my high school self two large pieces of advice. The first would be to stop being a procrastinator. In college, assignments come at you left and right and the due dates sneak up on you so fast. No longer do you get three weeks to write a four page essay, you might get three days. No longer do you have one big assignment a month, you have four big assignments a week. The second piece of advice I would give myself would be to really hone in on time management skills. Even though, four or five classes seem like nothing to a highschooler, they are a lot of work in college. I would want to make sure my highschool self understood classes do not mean go to class and maybe have some homework; they mean going to lecture, taking notes, reading, taking more notes, studying, and taking even more notes. If I had that advice as a high schooler I do not think the transition to college would have been such a shock.

If I could travel back and have a chat with the high school version of myself I would have a few tidbits of advise to give. First off college is going to be an overwhelming but ultimately awesome experience so have a plan of attack going in. Make sure you join clubs and get involved with various organizations that seem important to you, this is a great way to meet people outside of your major who you still have similar interests with. Don't be afraid to go to office hours and get to know your professors and TA's. They are no where near as scary as they seem, they truly want to help and will be extremely appreciative that you care enough about the subject they are teaching to come in and get some extra assistance when you need it. Also make sure you try extremely hard to get good grades in the introductory courses you take in the beginning of your college career so you have a nice GPA buffer when you reach higher-level more challenging courses. Lastly make sure you still enjoy yourself these will be some of the best years of your life.

If I could go back to when I was a senior in high school then I would tell myself that first I was going to do a great job. Although school can get tough and there will be times when you feel like giving up, you must keep moving forward because there will be a glorious end. Also I would tell myself to focus on the little things like applying for scholarships and looking for ways on how to save money because I was too confident that I forgot to apply for other financial aid. This would come to hurt you in later time. Also take this year to learn how to manage your time because that will be important in college. All the learning and work is not enforced by the teachers and they could care less whether you pass or fail and that is why you must teach yourself to open the textbook out of freewill and study. You must prepare now for college because soon it will be too late and there will be nothing you can do to fix it.

If I could go back in time, I would tell myself I made the right choice to drop out of school in 10th grade becasue my mother refused to pay rent on our house and we became homeless for the third time during the two short years i attened highschool. if i had attempted to continue to go to highschool i know i would have never been able to graduate. Getting my GED allowed me to go straight to college and everyone says college is harder then highschool but they are wrong ive done better in college then i ever could have done in highschool. After getting my GED i started relying only on myself because at that time i realized i was the only one who could support myself and keep me from being homeless. I would tell myself to keep your head up one day you will be the first in the family to get a degree and prove i can do anything i set my mind to, and not to give up things are tough but they will get better and having an education will make things much easier as i grow and mature even more.

To my high-school self: I would tell myself that i should work a little bit harder. That high school really in't that bad, and no matter how dull it might seem, you're still going to miss it someday. High School only happens once, i should try to make it the best i can. Every opportunity is important, and even though no one tells you, each one has a purpose. Never stop learning.