University of Denver Top Questions

Dear 18 year old high school self, You are not the only one to not be going startight to a university after graduation. Do not beat yourself up over it. Getting a job is great but please take community college seriously. Really buckle down and think about what you want to do. Take classes that matter in community college and make sure everything you take is transferable. Nothing is quite as heart breaking in a school sense to learn that only eleven out of the 30 units you have is transferable. Juggling full-time work and full-time school is difficult, but you can do it. But, take advantage of the support your parents are giving you. You may not think so now, but life really does get in the way, with rents, bils, and etc. Do not take your parents support for granted. Life will be much easier for you if you buckle down now and get the education out of the way before you are forced to work to live. Life as an adult does not stop, but it will become difficult with unneeded stress if you do not take care of your eduation now. Believe in yourself.

Dear Whitney, Although you are very nervous about leaving the nest and finding yourself in college, have faith in your abilities for making friends, knowing what is best for you, and following your true passions. There will be a lot of possibilities that will open up for you in college. For example, you wil sign up for seven different clubs during orientation- make sure you go to the meetings!! Also, you will not know what you want to do for a few years but make sure you start by building a foundation that is practical. You may choose psychology because you think that is the best route to help people, but don't forget to search programs with international emphasis (business and international studies). These programs are nationally recognized and will serve you well in your search to find a way to sytemically change the world, as you will soon learn is your calling. Regardless of which path you choose, understand that DU is the perfect launch pad to make you successful and find yourself. Have faith in yourself and be authentic to who you are and the world will make sure you succeed. DU is only the first step.

I would say start early as possible! Start trying to narrow down what you're really interested in. With that in mind, start looking at schools that fit what you want out of a college experience and make sure they offer your interests. I wish I would have started much earlier in looking into schools that offer what I wanted to do. Also, utilize every single scholarships possibility there is out there. Also, use your schools career center and couselors to help you find out what is best for you and help with the apllication process>

Hey there, high school senior. I understand how you feel. You're walking around with that "senioritis" attitude, saying you don't care anymore--not about the drama, not about your classes--you're ready to move on. But on the inside? You're scared. You've realized that you're leaving behind everything familiar about your life--the friends you've grown up with, the house you've lived in, and the town you call home. More than anything, you're afraid you'll disappoint people. You're afraid of failure. Well, hey--it's okay! What you don't know now is that college is different than high school, in a good way. You're going to make new friends and find new familiarity on campus, and pretty soon you'll call the university your home. But more importantly, you will succeed--you've made it this far already! There's a reason you were accepted into this school, so don't worry about failure. You just have to be willing to ask for help, be open to new possibilities and opportunities, and be true to yourself, and you'll carry yourself farther than you ever imagined.

I would tell my elf that college is important. Apply to any where and everywhere because you never know how far you can go. Applying to a school because your sure you can get in is fine but it is also important to apply to schools you might not get into because you never know wherether or not your capable of going to ivy league until you try. Aslo college transition is very hard sometimes. but making friends helps make college that much eaiser. The best way to make friend is to get involed!!! Join a sport, club, sority etc. And last but not least if you have a challaging class find help before its time for finals. There are resources around campus you just have to reach out and find them. There is nothing wrong with getting help and it can make your life a whole lot easier :)

The advice I would give myself would be not to get myself stuck in a major that I did not enjoy. I spent two year in a major where the faculty and the classes were not supportive or stimulating, and this caused me to become totally unmotivated for socializing and classes. This turned around when I found the right major for me in the business school, and I regret not listening to my common sense and that I should have left my other major earlier. It's always wise to explore your options and to not settle.

If I could go back I would tell my younger inexperienced self that keeping your head in the books is cool but remember to come up every once in awhile to have some good old fun in the sun. Also to remember that mistakes are prime opportune moments to learn. They're no biggie! Just own it! But the most important thing I would tell myself is do what you love. Find that one thing that makes everyday worth getting up for, worth breathing for and go for it! There's no sense in wasting your precious life minutes on something that will only satisfy you for a day. Go for something that satisfies and keeps you full for a lifetime. Chances are if you're enjoying what you do others will to. It'll be an endless cycle of positive energy and who doesn't want that!?

I wish I could go back and give my high school senior self a pat on the back. I wish I could sit her down and tell her I am proud of her. I wish I could concoct some magic liquid that would give her the confidence she deserves. Knowing what I know now, I would tell her that she needs to take a few deep breaths, because she is working harder than a great deal of her classmates and thankfully, it will all pay off. Because the greatest thing about college is that what you put into college is what you will take out of it. My high school self worked very hard to get into a school everyone told her she couldn’t and in return, I received what has so far been the best experience of my life. Transitioning between high school and college was rewarding because I made the effort to take extra AP classes and do all of the extra-curricular activities. Doing all of that gave me experience of becoming an individual, which is essential in college. And as for that magic confidence? I am working on earning the real kind before the degree.

When I attended DU, I went through a program that only had 3 degrees available. I really thought that any degree would be helpful to me, but that was a falsehood - because I still had no connections and finding work was very difficult. I might have told myself not to participate with the Women's College and to go to another school where I would be able to really utilize my degree. I would have also forced myself to find out if TWC had numbers on how many women they had helped find work following their participation in the program. It all sounded so wonderful in the beginning. I really believed in what was sold to me - and I feel like I was sold a product that I can't return or get the years back from. I would tell my former not to be so despirate to get out of my financial situation that I grab at anything. I might be able to say I graduated from DU, but I can't say that my degree got me into any doors. I would tell myself to look elsewhere - and it bothers me feel like I need to say that.

If I could go back and tell my high school self something about the future it would be to dedicate more time in finding funding aside from loans. During high school I was more focused on getting done and which colleges to apply too. I guess I assumed that funding was just going to happen. After getting my associates and then my bachelors, I have learned that funding is hard to come by unless it is a loan. Now that I am moving onto my Masters I have found that there is even less funding.