University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Top Questions

The advice I would give myself is think about the career you want and how it may be affected in the future. Look for as may scholarships and grants as possible. Try to graduate with as little debt as possible because that money you borrowed, you eventually do have to pay it back. Think of loans as a last option. Secondly, learn to save money. For example, there are ways to get used textbooks for a lot cheaper. Ask around. People before you have taken that class before and can guide you which professors to take and if you can borrow their notes/material. Use the school resources. If they offer tutors, use them. You don't know everything and it's okay to ask for help. Another great idea is to go to a community college. Get all the prerequisites out of the way and in the process you don't spend so much money paying for classes you can transfer. Lastly, enjoy your time. Live in the dorms, join activities, make new friends. This is the time to get out of your shell and experience new ideas and cultures.

When I was in high school, I never thought what my future life in college would be. I was busy with getting good grades and preparing for the college during the high school years. Until I really entered the college, I found out college life was way busier and harder than high school life. All my college life must be arranged and planned by myself. I had to decide a certain major and tried the best as I could to pass all the required courses. Therefore, if there are any opportunities I can go back to the past, I will tell the past me that I had better choose the professors whose classes are easy to pass because it not only saves a lot of time and strength but also makes me relax and happy. In addition, I would like to tell the past me to read more novels and practice the writing skills more because writing skill is vitally important in college. I hope the past me will listen to my advice and make the decision to study for a certain major so that I will graduate from college much earlier.

Don't expect too much or make assumptions. People like to tell you that everything will be different (aka better) once you leave high school and go to college. Things will be different, but not always in the way you may expect. You won't magically become a different person and neither will anyone else. And maybe that's ok. It can be lonely sometimes, making the transition, but all you can do is try. The hardest part about college, for me at least, is the social part of it. Don't spend too much time worrying about what other people are doing or what college is "supposed to be like." Life doesn't always go according to plan. Actually life rarely, if ever, goes according to plan. All you can do is try to figure it all out along the way, which is scary and overwhelming. But you'll survive because it's your life and you have control even though it might not always feel like it. Sometimes you have to get lost before you can really find yourself.

Dear, Jamie- You might not think that it's a very big deal or important for you to commit to going directly into college once you've graduated this year, but just trust me. If you wait to go into college it will be much more difficult for you to maintain good grades and much of the information which is still fresh in your mind now, may not be as easily remembered later on down the line! Any areas of difficulty for you would be merely challenging to overcome, as opposed to having them become huge hurdles for you later in life. The knowledge you've aquired during the last four years in high school will come into play as you prepare to attend college straight away. Listen to me on this, I know you better than you know yourself... I've seen how the future unfolds for you, and it has been somewhat of a challenge. It doesnt have to be that way, all you've got to do is stick to the plan. Don't wait to start college, go into it immeadiatly after graduation, Jamie. You won't regret it, I promise you! So, Good Luck!

If I had the chance to go back in time, knowing what I know now about college, I would assure myself that everything would be great! Everything I was doing was on track, and would get me through my first year of college. I would advise myself to start going to the study sessions offered for my biology class as soon as they started. This was the key for a successful second half of my first semester of biology. I would want to make sure to tell myself that taking advantage of all the resources that the school offers is one of the key factors to success as well. "The writing center is your best friend" I would say, "Know that they can help you with any writing piece you could ever need". I would tell myself to make more time to take up yoga or other stress relieving exercises because this would be able to give me a much needed break in between study sessions. Being able to tell myself these things would have helped me adjust quickly, however, it was rewarding not knowing and living the experience of an incoming freshman and anticipating the success in the end.

I would tell myself that "the college life is different from the high school life is different" saying is true. I mean that because of how challenging it was to me to make that transition from high school to college and how to balance my personal life with my academic and social life. I would tell myself to make new changes such as study habits, managing your time, and to gain new friends to help you with your content. Knowing myself, it would be difficult because of the anxiety and that my parents will not be involved with my work anymore, but I would tell my senior self that experience from the real world will improve if my former self would allow it. Finally, I would life to let my past self know that it is okay to see failure in the first semester. I say this because I failed hard in the first semester because of dorm life and study habits, but I learned from this mistake and later better myself in my behaviors. In conclusion, if I would talk to my past self of the college life, I would tell him to get prepared for changes.

As a high school senior, it would have been beneficial to know how different college is than high school. The work load, intensity and difficulty is extremely different than high school, and studying and maintaining good grades is beyond important. I also would have liked to know how much freedom I would have in college to be myself and explore my interests to find something to make a career out of.

I would congratulate my senior self on picking a fantastic university. I would tell myself that we did a good job our first year of college; that we ended the year with a 3.9 GPA and made the Dean’s List for both Fall and Spring semester. I will tell her that she will need to continue to work hard when she gets to college. However, I will tell her not to stress because she will be able to balance school and a social life. I will tell her not to worry about being out of state because she will love Denver. She would feel like she is right at home. I will tell my future self so continue the path she is leading because it has been successful so far.

I would ask myself to really think about what I wanted in a college instead of just picking the obvious choice or the choice that all my friends made. If I could go back I would do more research on the colleges I wanted to attend and explore their financial aid options so I didn't spend so much money my freshmen year. Loans build up after a while and although you think it may be your dream school think about the financial burden you may be putting on yourself. There are other options for school that may be even better in terms of academics and financial aid but you just have to look into those schools. In the end I would tell myself to do more research, I got in to every school I applied to but I don't think I really did the research I should have on the schools that I did get in to, I wish I could go back and redo that.

Of all the things that could be said, what would I say to the younger version of myself about college life? I would have just a few important things to say. Firstly, I would remind the high school me to simply enjoy the college experience, to enjoy the process of learning and to not get too anxious about the future because it's not just about getting through school and getting your degree, but also it's about taking delight in learning. Secondly, I would warn myself not to be too frivolous with my spending or too eager to take out loans because if one is not careful one could end up in serious debt. Lastly, I would instruct the younger me to beware of distractions, distractions that take my focus away from my learning and diminish my level of my excellence as a student—because the extra pains it takes to get an A instead of a B will pay off in the long run. If the younger me would follow this advice, he would be a successful college student with a bright future, and would be in position to achieve great things.