University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Top Questions

In high school I was not sure about who I really was or what I wanted to do later in life. I had no concept of how I learned best. Looking back, these would have been priceless things to know about myself. I wish I could go back and take some time to get to know myself and my interests better. To accept and learn to love myself. If I could go back I would take time to explore my interests more thoroughly. I think that knowing my interests and learning style would have made a difference in the colleges I looked at, and ultimately, the college I ended up at. It's important in high school to have fun and learn about yourself. I wish I would have done that; taken more risks, tried new things, become comfortable with who I was. If I could go back, I would be more aware.

Do not procrastinate on paper or studying. Under no circumstances should sleep be more important than going to class. Don't judge chemistry by the introductory chemistry class, because you will become complacent. Don't even bother taking a math course at the university, you won't even be able to understand the professor. Become involved right away in clubs and don't hesitate in approaching professors and introducing yourself to them; they could give you research or internship opportunities in the future if they take a liking to you. Just because a class seems like a blowoff doesn't mean you shouldn't bother studying for it, it's always good to review material for exams. Don't take more than two big science classes at a time or you will suffer the consequences. Don't be afraid to run for leadership positions in clubs, even as a freshman. Clubs are always looking for freshman to take leadership roles because they want the club to continue after the upperclassmen in the club have graduated and gone on.

If I were to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, the first thing I would mention is: Be excited (not scared) about going to college because they really are the best years of your life! College is a great opportunity to discover yourself and build on your character and individuality. As you experience college, you mature and begin to feel more confident about making your own decisions. You will have plenty of opportunities to meet new people with whom you can hopefully develop lifelong friendships. In college, it is important to be involved! Join a volunteer organization, social club, intramural sport, or just-for-fun club. There is so much to gain from being involved in college activities: meeting people, being able to include them on your resume, taking your mind off of schoolwork for a while, and having fun. Try not to consume yourself with only academic achievements because that is not what college is about. Be sure to apply for any financial aid, such as FAFSA, and scholarships, even if it is a small amount. Any amount is worth it because college is becoming more expensive. Finally, put yourself out there!

Definately take more AP classes, younger me. Don't be scared that you won't make friends, because you will. You may have been not very cool in high school, but in college you will find people who will like you and all your geeky, quirky, weird ways. The learning is harder. You used to be able to coast through high school, but don't try to do that in college. Definately start studying early and try to make friends in your classes and in your major, because you'll see the same people a lot. Those people in your concentration are really cool and really nice, don't be afraid of them! They're different from you, but they'll like you for being you! Don't be scared younger-version-of-me. College is fun. P.S. Don't live in the dorm called FAR... it's really far. Duh.

The transition into college personally wasn't very difficult, but I have observed that many students came into college with up to 50 credit hours from taking AP tests. Qlthough I did come in with some hours from taking AP tests, senior year I opted out of taking a couple of tests which would have eliminated a few more of my general education classes. And if I had recieved credit for these classes I could have saved alot of money on books and tuition and I could have already started classes focused on my major. Also, I would tell myself to apply for more scholarships and save up more money because in college you do not have nearly as much spendingm one as you did in high school. I would tell myself to learn to be frugal now, so it would be an easy transition once I went off to school.

Don't freak out. It is not as bad as you thought. You do make friends, just put yourself out there and get involved. The school is not that big, yea I know it looks big, but it grows on you. You really will love it and in four years when you graduate you won't want to leave. Please give it a chance and don't think you are giving in to Dad or anyone else, it is the right choice for you and you will love it. Oh and kick mom and dad out if they are staying to long, they don't mind. Oh and grab the lightbulbs so that you have them already instead of having to purchase and then forget the ones that we left in the car.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself in high school, there will be a few thing that i would mention. When you first come to college, it is very helpful to be friendly to new people because it helps you to be more socialized at this very diverse university. Also, it is helpful that you create an organized schedule for different tasks that you may need to complete for your classes before the deadline because your instructors will not inform you what needs to be done. Lastly, it is good to become involved in school, but you just have to make sure that it is something that you can benefit from and it does not interfere with your workload. Mostly if you go by these guidelines in college it will help you be more successful.

I would say pace yourself; pertaining to course load and social life. My freshman year I thought I needed to take all these fast-paced courses in order to be ahead of the curve. But, that first semester I really hurt myself with too difficult of a course load and ended up with a GPA that represented that. My best advice for the first two semesters of college would be to take a good portion of gen-eds and make them as diverse as possible! Thankfully that first semester I also took a Speech and Hearing Science course and I loved it! And I was good at it too. If you have a balanced course load, then your social life should balance it self out. Since I was so overwhelmed with school, I looked to relieve myself a little too much and got all wound up in the aspect of being the life of the party. Don't get me wrong, you shouldn't be a slacker in terms of what classes to take; still do something worth while. But, people say college years are the best of your life. So think logically and make them that way!

High school students have differing visions of college life and the freedom it brings. Some focus on admission to the most competitive program, while others are simply looking for a change in scenery. What some fail to prepare for, however, are the responsibilities of college life. This includes responsibility for grades, life without the family, and most importantly, personal behavior. I would advise high school seniors to continue working hard through senior year, so that they may maintain good work habits needed for academic success. Choosing a school based on friends or a significant other is common practice. Relationships change. Students? decisions should be based on their own needs. The right school not only has the best program, but a fitting community environment as well. To summarize: 1. Don?t slack 2. Be selfish 3. Learn to do laundry

First off, I would tell myself to relax. I have found that I put way too much pressure on myself to succeed. I judged my success on my grade point average instead of what I had learned. Secondly, I would tell myself to be proud of getting a B in an engineering course in one of the top engineering colleges in the nation. Thirdly, take advantage of the career center right away. They are there to help you prepare for the right career and introduce you to what is expected in the professional world. Lastly, I would tell myself to have fun! Don't spend your Friday nights doing homework. If you keep yourself completely focused on your studies, you're going to miss out on a lot of what college has to offer!

When you go away for college, you aren't going to have anyone to push you to stay on task or give you reminders about important dates. It seems daunting, but being responsible is not as hard as it sounds. You just need to set your head on straight and remind yourself that you are an adult now. It will be a great feeling once you realize how responsible you have become, you just need to knock down that fear! Also, scholarships are your life right now. Do not spend a waking moment NOT filling out scholarships because you do not want to end up filling out scholarships, trust me. As long as you keep your fears in check, you are going to have a blast this upcoming year, so stop stressing! College is a fun time and you're about to embark on a whole new learning experience.

They will tell you it?s easy. They will tell you it will be the best years of your life. You and your friends will become filled to the brim with excitement. Your parents will become melancholy as August rolls around. Then you will be off on your own. If you go into the process knowing it will not be a walk in the park, you will succeed. Face the changes that lie ahead of you. Face them so you can conquer them. Pretending that adjusting will be uneventful is lying to yourself. College is hard because that first week everything sets in?you miss your family, you wish you were around all your close friends, you wish you could go back to the level of high school work. You will ?wish? quite a bit, but know that these wishes will not come true. They aren?t supposed to. Work through this great change in your life and grow stronger from it. Acknowledge the fear and strive to make your experience EXACTLY what you have in mind. Do not let anyone else write your story. Know that this is the first great, giant leap on the path of YOUR life.

If I could go back in time, I would advise myself to keep an open mind in high school. I went through high school thinking that I knew exactly what I wanted to do after I graduated, but I ended up at a University that I had not originally considered attending, and I have discovered an interest in medicine, which I never considered in high school. Had I kept an open mind in high school, I could have taken more science classes and worked harder to learn more about science. There is nothing wrong with making a plan while in high school, but it is important to keep an open mind and be conscious of the fact that the plan may change. I would also encourage my high school self to consider many different schools. I only applied to a few schools, but I wish that I would have visited more schools and applied to more Universities. I am happy with my current University, but I only thought about applying to the University of Illinois at the last minute. In summary, I wish that I had considered more paths for my future when I was in high school.

I jog up the stairs to my bedroom in excitement that another day of senior year is over, and college is one day closer. I see a sheet on my desk that was not there when I left for school this morning. It appears to be my handwriting but I don't recall writing it. I read slowly, in shock that I'm reading a letter to myself, the date in the corner reading "March 2009," more than a year into the future. My eyes scan slowly, appreciatively over the advice somehow given to me by --well-- me. "Dear Me, I've done a lot of things right this year, but knowing what I know now, I want you to know in the present you have the power to change the future. Savor your senior year and graduation: You only have one of each. Study hard, study often, and complete all your assignments. Don't take your education for granted. Meet as many people as possible. When you're tired of meeting people, meet some more. Be exactly who you want to be; college is a time of self discovery. Know that your dreams are never out of reach. -Me"

I would tell myself that it's ok to accept failure, there's no way to look at your life as a highschool student and know exactly what your life is going to look like a year, two years or even 5 years from now. Right now you expect that in 5 years you will be an elementary school teacher, and have a husband and a house with a white picket fence. Little do you know how much life can throw at you all at once. Take it from me, I'm 30, married 2 years ago, dropped out of college the first time and have since been working with financial services and finally ready to go after our dream of being one of the top chefs in America. Some times you have to fail, just make sure that you fail forward and keep the lessons that you have learned in life.

The main thing I would tell myself is to be more open minded on all topics. I judged people very quickly my first year of college and I feel I may have missed out on some experiences. I had already made up my mind that all athletes and fraternity and sorority members were not people I wanted to be associated with. Not everyone is the same and should not be judged for a group of which they are a member. I also felt I needed to choose a major right away, I ended up changing my major several times and will now be graduating a year late. Once in college you are exposed to more people and classes and views, your own views my also change. You will grow and change and there shouldn't be a rush to decide on your future career. The first semester or even year is a time for exploration, take a chance and try new things.

College is one of the best opportunities there is to make memories. No matter what life throws at you, there will always be someone in the same shoes as you or even worse. Don't be scared to be different than the people around you and never settle for someone less than you are. There are way too many people and experiences waiting to be met to accept something that you are not satisfied with. It's not highschool anymore so don't be afraid to make a change and take a risk, because there is no more halls to be walked down and stared at. Anything that you have done in the past is now erased, so be who you want to be because this is the one time in life you are guaranteed a second chance. No matter the temptations don't forget that school is for work, but DONT get too stressed and forget to smile. Once you stop believing in yourself is when failures start to occur. If there's one thing I want you to get out of this is that there are only a few things in life worth fearing, so take a risk.

I would tell myself, don't just go to college to make others happy, go to better yourself for yourself. Make sure you going for what you want to do as a career, not what makes good money. Then no matter what it is you do you will know it's something you love and will enjoy having to work everyday.

High school is very slow-paced compared to that of college life. In high school I had a lot of free time on my hands. Once I entered my first semester at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I felt as though I had even more free time with an hour, sometimes more, between each class or not having that class until later in the week. To my surprise, at the end of first semester, I realized that those hours between classes and days between the next time your class meets, are very precious. In the hour between one class and another you can get an assignment done, maybe even two, rather than sitting at your computer or napping. Time management is everything! Those one hour naps where you could have been doing work would have saved you an all-nighter later in the night. I feel very strongly about this. I wish I would have realized this before first semester was over. Best of luck to all future and prospective students!

Home to 40,000 students and 2 cities, the University of Illinois is a huge place. If I could talk to my senior self, I would educate myself on how to navigate around the giant campus. I may be a number calculating, graph reading math major, but I have never been able to read a map or calculate distances. My first harship of college all revolved around this idea and my mistake of coming to college oblivious to my surroundings. On my first day of classes, I paid for this. I left for my first class 10 minutes before, not knowing how long traveling would actually take. I spent tens of minutes lost, walking aimlessly. I wound up being 30 minutes late to a small discussion class with a peculiar professor. He was so odd he took out a nerf gun and pelted me in the face singing "You're late, you're late!". One bruised chin and a histerical class later, I vowed I would learn the campus and never be late again. If I could have told myself anything, it would be a lecture on where everyting is on campus, so I could have avoided this embarrassing occurence.