University of Connecticut Top Questions

Assuming I could travel into the past and converse with myself as a high school senior, there would be one point I would attempt to absolutely stress to myself. Although I was extremely busy as a high school senior from headlining my entire college application process, (post high school education in general)while working nearly full time in order to secure the financial means I would need to make any post high school education possible I would have to tell myself to stress the importance of applying for scholarships. Instead of working my behind off in order gather the neccesary funds for amenities such as books and housing or meal plans I would have been able to concentrate more so on the immediate problems I had at hand such as improving my GPA, or SAT scores. Applying for scholarships during my senior year of high school and even before would have drastically helped me out in my now struggling freshmen year. Financial stress has become nearly unbearable this second semester, not even having sufficient funds to buy books Ive found myself reading assignments at the bookstore just to get by when friends' books aren't available, scholarships would have helped.

Being an actor, I have often found it easy to pretend to be someone other than myself. This works great on stage, but in personal life it can have devastating effects. Instead of talking to myself as a high school senior, I would prefer to start even earlier, like age 7, where I first began "acting" as a way to avoid getting to know myself. Now, in my sophomore year at school, I am discovering the joys of letting myself simply "be", and see how it has improved my outlook, friendships and, yes, acting! I would also tell my former self to try 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} in all of my activities, first making sure that the activities I choose to partake in are of interest to me and beneficial to my career goals. Trying my best pushes my limits, and gives me a tremendous sense of satisfaction.

Gradutating high school is a monumental milestone; it marks the beginning of the part of everyone's lives where the plan is not laid out for them, where they have to make all of the decisions themselves. This may sound terrifying or exciting. The trick is to completely embrace oneself. One's life is not a read-thru or a dress rehearsal -this is all there is. Although, that seems dire, high school students must resits the urge to become overwhelmed. They must mak an effort to be true to themselves. If they are honest with themselves about what they want out of life, they cannot fail at making the right decisions. Seniors should take the time to consider if their plans will really fulfill them or if they should go out on a limb and find new, grand adventures. The process can start with making a list of all the activities, morals, etc. that are undoubtedly important to them. Then, as one looks at colleges around the world and future careers, one must keep those priorities in mind. Distractions will pop up, but students must always come back to who they really are deep in their hearts.

I if i was given the opportunity to talk to myself as a high school senior i would first praise myself on all the hard work i completed. I would tell myself that i turned out fine even when i doubted myself. i would inform myself that i have to let go of some people in my life that are preventing me from obtaining my goals and dreams because of their negativity. i would tell myself to fill out more scholarships and save my money from my job. i would tell myself to be prepared to know what makes me happy and what i really want from life, because no one can make that decision for me. Also, because this will be my motivation when times get hard and situations aren't working in my favor. I would advice myself that its okay to seek help because that doesn't neccessarly make me a weak, dependent person. But a smart resourceful individual. Lastly, i would inform myself to rememeber why i want to go to Uconn, that all the hard times i was faced with will finally pay off, and that truely everything happens for a reason.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior the first thing I would tell myself is to keep an open mind in regards to majors and possible career choices. Colleges have such a big range of major to choose from and going in with a set major can be detrimental to someone if you can't achieve what you want. Secondly I would tell myself to apply early to colleges and for scholarships. The sooner you begin to look at colleges and scholarships the better picture you can have in the future as to where you will be going, what you will be doing, and what you will be paying. Lastly I would tell myself to really push my senior year. I would tell myself to consider taking an AP class or setting my expectations higher as far as my coursework is concerned. This would include breaking old habits like all-nighters or cramming. I would push myself to be a more rounded individual with focus on my academic work and service to the community allowing me to have greater opportunities in my future.

I was an alcoholic during high school, so I was not thinking about the future at all. Now at 52 , I find myself unemployed and unqualified to find a job even though I have been gainfully employed for over 30 years. Things are different now and an education is the only way to get ahead in this society. I should have told myself, way back when, that a personality with a little brain and will power is enough to get by, but not enough to have a good retirement. I don't have that many years left to make a nest egg to retire on, so I need the training/education in order to do that. If I knew then what I know now, I would use my self- talk to let myself in on the fact that life is long and should be fun after you grow up. Learn young, work hard, save as much as you can and enjoy an early retirement.

When I first came to UConn, I expected to work hard. I knew I would have to keep my GPA high in order to be accepted in to the school of education, and I was prepared to be in it for the long haul. However, after submitting my application for the school of education and completing three semesters here, I wish that I had taken the time to socialize and meet new people. I still believe that I am here at college to work-I am paying for this education and I intend to work hard and succeed. But my drive for perfection and a 4.0 GPA has denied me the opportunity to meet potential friends. I wish that I had realized that I didn't need to achieve the 4.0 GPA to be happy. I wish I took time to hang out with friends and join clubs that sounded interesting-because in those moments life long friendships are made. I want to look back on my college years, and be able to say that I got a fantastic education, but also had fun and made new friends.

Now that I have a semester of college behind me, there are definitely some things that I wish I knew before I started. The greatest change I experienced coming in to college was the departure from High School grading and that style of work. No longer would my grades heavily rely on attendance, participation, effort and homework?all of which I did in high school. Learning the material and studying for tests would be essential for success in an environment where there is no homework (at least not homework like in high school), attendance is optional and I would not know all of my teachers on a personal basis. If I was aware of these differences before I started, I would have spent more time studying and I would have taken advantage of professors' office hours to help reinforce and understand difficult material.

Having spent almost an entire year at college, I have found it to be quite a different experience than I expected. I expected to have a ton of friends, do spectacularly in my classes, and simply sail through very easily, as I did in high school. However, once I got here, that is not how it worked out. I chose UConn based more on financial capabilities than I did on how much I liked the school. They awarded me the most scholarship money, so to make things easier for myself and my family, it was the clear choice. If I could go back in time and tell myself something as a high school senior, I would advise to expand my options of schools. I applied mainly to schools everyone has heard of, and didn't do much research in terms of finding one maybe not so common. I would also siggest not soley base my decision on finances and consider taking out loans if there is another school that would suit me better. I have enjoyed my first year here, but not as much as I had hoped I would. I hope I can find better luck in the future!

Sometimes, I wish I could go back in time and warn myself about the obstacles that I faced in college. While I came to college with 25 credits, I still had weak studying habits as the classes on campus required a lot of independent studying. I wish my classes in high school required the same effort. Since, there is a lot of material on one exam, it?s important to study a week before the exam. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to improve my studying skills so I wouldn't have struggled with my fall semester classes. At the same time, being the first person in my family to go to college, I wasn?t aware of the importance of standardized tests like the SATs. Once I began applying for colleges, I realized how important SAT scores are in receiving scholarships. I wished that I had taken a few SAT classes so I would have been able to increase my score of 1790. While I can?t literally go back in time to change my past, I pass on my tips to my siblings so they can learn from my mistakes.