University of Hawaii at Hilo Top Questions

Your number one priority should be happiness, then health, next comes thinking about the future. Without enough sleep or taking care of yourself we both know your work suffers. It is true, being an excellent student has always been of high priority for you, but in the years to follow, you will learn to do your best work after you have learned to take care of your emotional and physical health. We live in a world that puts high expectations on everyone, everyone is put to the test and as we globalize and populate more and more, you might feel the need to ?keep up? in such a competitive world. You will grow to see clearly how the most important things in your life cannot be measured or reproduced accurately on a resume. The most important parts of your life will be the interactions and learning experiences you have with others, and the moments in which you are fully present. Never limit the expanses of your imagination when it comes to planning for the future, and always take each moment in stride, because each moment is not preparing you for the life you will have, it is your life now.

Don't rush yourself! Coming out of high school I felt tremendous pressure to pick a major, decide on a career and commit to a specific life before I had even set foot on a campus. Allow yourself to explore the academic arena; I am pursuing my Masters in a subject that I knew nothing about when I began university. Most importantly, chose your major for yourself. Don?t listen if people question your choice, if you are passionate about it you will be successful. Many of my friends pursued degrees they thought would guarantee them a job and now regret not studying what they love. Live on campus your first year, or term at the very least. It makes it much easier to meet people. Talk to people in your classes, professors and students alike. Expanding your social circle or forming a social circle will greatly enhance your college experience. It feels very "safe" to stay within one familiar group but it also limits possibilities. Interact with people that are different than you, the growth that one undergoes at university extends well beyond the classroom.

I would tell myself to not get distracted, and that in college there are many things I don't understand, but everybody had things they don't understand and that is the reason we all attend. The work is not hard, you just have to keep up with it.

In a nutshell, I have learned that college is about time management, being studious, as well as being prompt, prepared and goal oriented. From taking the SAT's to the application process to exceling in classes, being able to delineate your time and energy to the appropriate tasks and execute them with excellence on time is what makes or breaks the college experience. Given the opportunity to talk to myself as a high school senior, I would have said just that. These qualities are what is expected of people in the professional world. All of us are unique, but there are many, many other unique people in the world, and to stand out and look desierable to prospective schools, scholarships and intern opportunities, one must apply these qualities to their goal. With practice and dedicated use of these skills, helpful friendships, opportunities and careers are made easy, fun and rewarding.

If I had the opportunity to go back to high school and tell myself anything about college it would be a fairly lengthy speech. But the most important would be to make my teenage life a little easier by explaining to myself what parts of high school are not worth the struggle because they don?t have a lot of meaning later in life. For example, in the small town that I grew up in, far too much pressure is placed on athletics. Of course it was helpful to learn how to keep good health and learn team qualities; I placed them before my academics in hopes of obtaining an athletic scholarship someday. However, athletic scholarships are so rare for a kid in a small town. I now wish that I realized that sooner so that I could place all that energy back into my community. I wish I would have spent more time volunteering and helping others rather than myself. Nothing, not even a full ride scholarships, is more rewarding than helping others. And I wish I had realized that back then.

As a high school senior I made the decision to take it easy my last semester. I still had my main core classes but other than that I figured "what the heck...after this I'm done and off to college." Boy was I wrong. Life as a college student does not get any easier. You are thrown into a huge environment with more people then you can count. Your little classrooms in high school triple and sometimes quadruple in size if you happen to be in a lecture hall. Most of all, what you thought you learned in your high school classes just became more difficult. If I could go back in time I would tell myself, "Yes this is my last year...lets make the most of it." In stead of all those student helper classes that pretty much gave me free reign of the school I should have been in college prep classes. Little did I know that your basic math class in college was your advanced math in high school. One thing I would tell myself, "Prepare yourself because your life in the workforce depends on your college education."

If I were to go back in time, my first advice as a senior would be to stay on top of my school work and not have what we call "senioritis." When senior year comes, many students feel that they can finally relax and not work so hard in school since its their last year in high school. But, a lot of kids don't realize that college is much harder than high school. If one decides to "slack off" their senior year, the transition to college would be much harder since the college material one has to learn requires much more studying and focus. My other advise would be to apply as many times as you can for scholarships. Every year, college tuition increases and more students end up with huge loans to pay for after college. You can't always depend on your parents to pay for college, especially if you have other siblings attending college. If you end up wanting to stay at your instiution, especially if it's out-of-state, you should try all that you can to get money so that you won't experience any problems with staying at that institution.

As a college student i have learned through my own failings that the biggest barrier to attaining my goals in college have been to get myself disciplined enough to settle and study. The problem lies in the fact that it is easy to procrastinate work, and that there are always reasons not to do homework right away, finish projects, or even study for a test. My strongest point that i would make to myself would be to always finish every assignment and study material as soon as possible. I have only recently disciplined myself enough to earn my place on the Dean's list. Once there, i wished so much that i could go back in time and convince myself to get my act together sooner.

If I could go back in time and inform myself about the transition from high school to college this is what I would advise. Money, yes it's an easy thing to spend and you're going to get a lot of it in college, but you need to start saving. College is not cheap and you need to think about all things you're going to need. Books, food, school supplies, etc. That's all going to add up and if you just spend all your money on clothes, or food for friends, or things you don't need, you're just wasting money you're going to need. Save your money while you have the chance, just put it into your savings account and you'll be set for college, also try getting a job. You have what it takes to go far in life, all you have to do is apply yourself. Study hard too, don't play around every night. You waited your whole life for this moment, do your best no regrets. Don't worry you're going to make it through, though you may struggle, just loook to your heart.

Don't be afraid of majors that seem flooded by the "overly smart" people. You may not be the best at your future job, or the best in your graduating class, or even the best in your semester class. Don't let that discourage you from DOING your best. You don't have to be a genius to enter the job field and contribute to our free society. It is very difficult to make ends meet without a college degree. Many of us have found out the hard way. We live in a free country, and that can be difficult to grasp. Even if you don't feel it, trust me: take advantage of this excellent opportunity, and enter each day (even frustrating days) with a thankful heart. Lastly, do not overload yourself with a class schedule you cannot handle. There is no competition to graduate, especially in an economic lull. Do not make yourself rush through textbooks for the teacher's sake. Read your textbooks, even if you'll not need it for a quiz. A lot of this information is far too enriching to treat lightly, and this may be the only time to hear it.