University of Connecticut Top Questions

The advice I would give to my senior self is to imagine each assignment and/or exam as the grade that will make or break you. The worst feeling as a student is during finals week when you realize you need to earn a solid B on the final in order to pass your hardest course. Work hard throughout the entire semester so finals do not determine your GPA for the year. Also, realize that if you do work your hardest and still do not accomplish the goals you set for yourself, remember that the importance of that course is the size of your pinky nail in comparison to the big scheme of your life. You did the best you can do. All that is left is to push forward and continue to work to the best of your ability towards a major that is suitable for who you are and what you are interested in.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would give myself advice on how to prepare for college and get the best experience out of it. I would tell myself, that it is very important to try many different things as a freshman. Its important to join clubs and try to meet as many people as you can. Most freshman will be in the same situation as you, and will be looking to make new friends as well. Go to as many sporting events, and cultural activities as you can, and don't think anything isn't worth experiencing. Along with the extracurricular activities, it is important to work hard in all of your classes, and important to know that every grade will effect you in the future. Try to sign up for many different classes and don't limit yourself to just one subject. It would have been great if I had spent more time exploring all the different subjects offered to me. Be open to new experiences and enjoy every minute of your college experience.

If i was to go back and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself that, first of all, college is NOTHING like high school. It requires much more time and effort. Maybe leaving everything until last minute and cramming before a test works in high school, but it doesn't in college. The worst mistake you can make is assuming you can put things off and there will be time to catch up later. More than likely, you will just get more and more behind until you will become overwhelmed and won't have enough time left. The best thing to do is just take everything as it comes. Do everything in your power to understand the material you're learning at that moment and stay on top of things. Just set aside a little time everyday to go over the material or to get extra help and it will really add up. Also, it might be awkward not knowing anyone in the beginning and trying to find someone talk to, but almost everyone feels the same way. Take this to your advantage and just introduce yourself and talk to random people around you!

With the knowledge that I've gained over the past semester about college life and living away from home for the first time, I would tell my high-school-senior self to try everything that the school has to offer. Getting involved on campus creates a close network of friends and a "family" away from home, while also connecting you to the pride of your school. With these people around you that share your interests, the transition to becoming an independent adult and accomplished student is smoother. Also, meeting new people with completely different life experiences from you can really teach you a lot about life and different ways of living and experiencing it. Being able to make my own choices about the way I wanted to complete my first semester turned out to be a very liberating and exciting experience, as I got to learn what I enjoyed doing, what my passions were, what didn't work for me, and what did work for me. Walking away from that semester, I felt like I was a much more capable and well-rounded person for putting myself out there and joining many different groups and meeting so many interesting people.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to focus more on me and who I want to become as an individual. During my senior year in high school, I was more focused on helping some of my less unfortunate friends advance in their studies and curriculum when in fact, I should have been worried about myself. I tend to care so much about others and that may have been a small hinderance in my academic performance. However, as a young college student, I would tell myself to balance out my leadership qualities and outspoken tendencies. I would stress the importance of independence and time-management as well as the significance of work ethic. The transition from high school to college life has allowed me to better my ability of reading others, decision making and understanding events- skills of which I wish everyone was blessed with. I would tell myself to take time out to evaluate my peers and the many environments I found myself in.

If I could go back in time and speak to myself as a high school senior I would tell myself to branch out more and participate more in the school?s functions. Currently I am a member of the Filippino American Student Association (FASA) at UConn, however I have not really done much. I constantly felt the need to study rather than have fun with other kids. When FASA would have meetings I would be home rather than with them. I still believe that school work is the most important part of college life, however I think that everyone should still have fun too. I would tell myself to take part in more fund raisers and to volunteer at the Asian Center. I would also tell myself to take an easier work load. When I first went to college I bogged myself down with a huge workload and didn?t think about my social life. This is similar to my last piece of advice, however I think this is important. College is supposed to be fun. Yes, school work needs to be done and kids need to study, however it is also the best time of a person?s life.

I would advise myself to be open-minded. I applied to college so sure of my major, my career choice. Whenever people told me that everyone changes their major, I'd think "that won't be me." But change I did, half way through my second semester. I am not even remotely interested in the career I had been so focused on since the 8th grade. I've also considered several double major options in social sciences (namely Geography and Anthropology) and even in Geoscience and Meteorology. I never would have dreamed I'd be interested in those, especially the latter. I would advise myself to experiment more with what I then considered "random" subjects, because freshman year was the best time to have done so. I would also advise myself to join in more activities earlier, and experience new things just for the fun of it. I'm still just starting out, and I'm branching out too.

The number one advice I would give myself as a high school senior would be to learn how to study and to figure out what suits me the most. In college, study skills are the most important thing to have and one is best off learning how to study before it is too late. While classes in high school collect homework and administer quizzes, many college courses only grade an individual on their exams. Therefore, it is difficult to make up for poor exam grades that might be due to a lack in study skills. There are many ways to go about studying so it is important to figure out what suits an individual's needs. As a larger piece of advice, I would also tell myself to do a lot of research before school. This would include finding out resources on campus, and looking into managing one's own schedule or getting a job. There are many ways to prepare for college, however it often appears that people learn the most by attending college as opposed to receiving advice.

I would tell myself to not be so afraid to make new friends. People are so friendly here that you might just become best friends with your roommate (which is what happened!). You might think UConn is too big, but you will soon learn that it isn't that bad. I would tell myself to be a little bit more outgoing than the usual. Even though I am very shy, just try to be more outgoing and confident because it will make meeting new people 10 times easier. I also would say that even though you feel like you might be over you head in schoolwork, that you will pull through strong. Sometimes classes may stress you out, but you just have to take a break and refocus. Take advantage of the many free things UConn has to offer like free performances, games and t-shirts! You will learn to love UConn for all it is and the husky pride runs deep!

If I had the ability to go back in time and give myself some useful advice as a high school senior, I would assure myself that it was alright to leave home. As a senior in highschool, I was apprehensive about leaving my hometown for an assortment of reasons. My family was going through some very turbulent financial changes during that stage of my life and I often felt as if I needed to stay and help support them, both emotionally and financially. After working several part-time jobs during high school, I recognized the value of obtaining a college degree. If I wanted to succeed in life and pursue my dream of being a journalist, I needed to let go of the past and seize the day. Those three words, "seize the day." I would go back in time and reassure myself that it was o.k. to leave home and begin a new journey in life. You must look back upon your past and be confident in the decisions you made, but not dwell upon them, as it is my belief that a college education is the most powerful tool in achieving success.