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.

Stop looking for more colleges ? you already applied to 7 universities! You know the criteria you want and all the universities you applied for have those characteristics, so why are you still applying to similar colleges? It?s not the campus that will make the most of your college years; it?s the students. Universities are good at assembling diverse people with unique personalities, quirks, or beliefs. Never have my friends or siblings from different colleges sighed about how the students there have uniformed character. There are so many unique individuals in every college, come out of your shell and be forthcoming to everyone. That guy who you had a great conversation with at the end of the semester might not have the same class as you again. Take initiative to build and preserve that friendship. Friendships take work to conserve and will decay once both party stop caring. Stop expecting others to be the one to ask for your number, they might be just as shy as you. Don?t lose the opportunity to continue a promising friendship and take charge. By doing that, any college you go to will be satisfying ? so stop applying for more colleges!

If I could go back and give myself some advice during my senior year of high school to better prepare for college, I would tell myself to learn for the education and not for the test grade. High school was very easy for me, and I rarely studied for my classes. I would simply remember what the teacher said, replicate it on the test or quiz, and then forget about it. I fell victim to the belief that I really learned the information, when all I did was remember it. College was no where near as easy as high school was. I can no longer just remember what the professor said. In college, I had to teach myself how to study, something I never did in high school. I now realize I need to learn for the education and not the grade; it would have been easier to start this approach to academia in high school and not college.

I would tell myself that college is not high school. When I was younger, my parents told me that middle school was not the same as high school. When I got straight A's, I told them that it was the same. When I went to college my parents told me that it was not the same as high school. I did not believe them thinking it was going to be the same as high school. This must have been one of the biggest mistakes of my life because college is not like high school one bit. I would tell myself that my parents are right, that college is no joke. You have to constantly study in order to do well. I figured that out my first semester. Another word of advice I would give myself is to join clubs and make a lot of friends. That is going to be my home for the next couple of years and I should get involved in as many things that I can. The most important thing is to maintain balance so that I can study and have fun and enjoy the college experience.

If I could go back in time to advise myself as a high school senior, I would instruct myself to think big. Advisors often try to take a more conservative approach to the college transition. They tell students to ease their way into college by taking small course loads, finding a few activities and getting to know the people living in their dorm. I argue that approach is completely wrong and misguided. I would urge myself to learn as much as I could about my field studies and scholarship, internship, and job opportunities immediately. In college, academic advisors do not tell you what classes to take or programs to get involved with, so the time to take the initiative and find out is senior year. I would tell myself to join groups that are active and diverse. I would challenge myself to meet people of multiple ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. Mostly, I would dare myself to be different, to not be afraid of doing things outside the norms and of trying things most would never think to. College is more than just receiving a degree; it is about broadening ones horizon. I would aggressively urge myself to do so.

If I were to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would give myself a lot of advice. First I would prepare myself more for the transition into my freshman year. I would have met with my roommate before moving in with her so we would feel more comfortable with each other. I would have talked to other people I knew going to the same school as me more and help them with their transition as well. I would make sure I got more involved with campus activities and joined a sorority like I initially wanted to but I got too nervous. I would of built more confidence to do dorm activities with the other girls instead of being shy and staying on my computer in my room. So overall I would change my way of thinking throughout the first couple of weeks of my freshman year.

Some advice I would give myself about college life is to seriously consider the housing application, and not to room with my bestfriend. I didn't believe what everyone said about how rooming with your bestfriend could end horribly, but it did. I found that she was a very selfish person, who didn't know the meaning of the word "compromise." I'd also tell myself not to go to UCONN, not because it's a bad school but because I never get enough sleep there. People walk down the halls at all hours of the day, screaming and laughing, with no consideration for anyone but themselves. They also like to skateboard down the hall. I think the most important thing I'd tell myself is to find a club and join it, because being bored and lonely is something that can make the whole college experience very depressing.

The advice i would give to myself is to stay focused and get involved because doing these things in college had led me to a positive experience. I would also advise myself to explore other majors before actually declaring one. I have had to change my major a couple times because I thought i was interested in certain subjects before I actually new what that subject required. Make friends! Which I think is the most important piece of advice because not only can friends make your college experience fun and rewarding but friends can also be a big help with your academic struggles.

I must confess that there are two pieces of advice that I would give myself if I oculd go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior. In college, classes only last for a semester as opposed to an entire school year. Consequently, in the typical college course there are fewer tests than in the typical high school course, and tests therefore tend to carry more weight in a college course. Thus, in college it is imperative that one take all classes much more seriously than one would in high school. Had I realized this, I would have worked harder in college than I did initially. Furthermore, if I could go back in time, I would advise myself to enter college with a tolerant attitude so as to not become angry with my roommate for being much messier than I am. It is not healthy to be worried over trivial matters, especially things that are none of one's business, such as how one's roommate chooses to organize his personal space. Such anger only causes unnecessary stress. Moreover, having an enjoyable college life requires a positive relationship with one's roommate.

Keep up a positive attitude and take risks! You know what classes you like and don't like, but that shouldn't dictate your schedule. Taking new classes, joining clubs, and doing activities that you've never done before are great. Not only will you meet more than the people on your hall, but it's a great experience to have! It might totally change the direction you're going to take, or it could further reinforce that you are the right path. Don't be scared to make new friends who want to make the most of the school too! Sign up for these activities and clubs together. There is a lot of new opportunities available and who knows when they'll come around again so take advantage of all the great things around you. So sign up for the ancient Iraq history class, join the skydiving club, and go to the silent dance party in the quad!

I'd tell myself that everything's okay - that everything works out well to the good of those who believe and have faith in themselves, that no matter what happens, it's going to be okay. I'd tell myself that there would be difficult challenges to face, that moving halfway around the world doesn't eliminate problems you seem to run away from. I'd tell myself to reach out more to people around me, that I'm not the only person who's going through the same thing. I'd tell myself to reach out to ethnic programs, maybe apply for oncampus housing with other "international" students, maybe join an ethnic association. I'd tell myself to relax, that freshmen year is the time to screw up, but that doesnt mean it should be an excuse to allow yourself to screw up. I'd tell myself that I'm only human, and capable of making mistakes and that I shouldn't be too hard on myself. I'd also tell myself not to accept those stupid credit card offers in the mail, and that I should manage my time and money wisely.