University of Louisville Top Questions

Since I am an older student making my 2nd attempt at college, I would tell myself to show up for class the first time so I wouldn't have to attend at 37 years old.

How the parking situation works. Underclassmen parking passes are good for the parking lot at the football stadium only (unless you're a resident, then you can park at the dorms), and you have to ride the bus from the parking lot to campus. It really isn't a hassle at all, but it's nice to know before hand how it works.

If I could go back and give my high school senior self advice, I would tell myself that the transition is not as scary as I thought it was going to be. I would also tell myself to focus on my senior year and a little less on college. College is just around the next corner, which means that senior year is going to be just behind the corner before I know it. I need to stop and focus on holding onto those moments because they will soon be gone. Lastly, my senior self needs to spend more time with my dad. Even though I'm ready to be out on my own, my dad is not. He still views me as his baby girl who needs him for everything. Senior self, humor that about him. He needs to feel needed-it keeps him going. Tell him that you love him everyday and send him a message out of the blue telling him to "have a good day!" or "I love you and appreciate you, dad!" It will mean more to him than you could ever know. Senior self, cherich this advice. You will wish you had known it.

Knowing what I know now about college life and making the transition, I would advise myself to have endurance. We have become a society of instant gratification. We expect great big results on little work ethic, we want fast money with little education, we desire marriage and family without chivalry and dating, all of which generally take time. I did not realize the dedication and perseverance it takes to continue your education. Many things, absolutely anything can be a distraction if we allow it to be. I have learned furthering my education is not a sprint of quick learning but a marathon of educational loyalty. My youngest brother is a college freshman and I continue to encourage him by explaining that he must endure all obstacles that come to knock you off your higher learning path. It is important to me to pass down the experience I have gained the last ten years so that he will supersede my educational endeavors. Then, he will pass down his experience to my son who we expect to surpass us both in the educational realm.

Stay focused and try to finish every class you start. You'll screw up a little, but you'll come out on top in the end. Perhaps mistakes are what have made you strong and capable of achieving any goal you set for yourself, but try not to make any anyway, when you can help it. You're going to have to maintain a job to pay for living expenses and college costs, so try to work on your time-management skills and worry less about socializing. You're an intelligent person - everyone tells you so - believe them and be confident in your ability to overcome obstacles.

I would try to work hard and use more baking soda.

I would tell my high school senior self to study AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. When you're a senior in high school, you think you know everything in the world. But the first day of college, you realize the world is so much bigger than you thought it was. And suddenly you're a small fish in a big pond. And then you go in to take that first test of the semester in your Biology class, and you realize just how unprepared you are. You thought you could miss a lecture or two, skim the chapter the night before and ace that test. You graduated high school didn't you? You can apparently do anything, can't you? Wrong. Never assume, never get cocky. You are just a high school senior with much to learn. College is a whole different world with a whole new set of rules. Professors aren't as understanding as your favorite English teacher that let you hand in your essay late because you had a game the night before. In knowing this, you have to adapt to college life, and a huge part of that is to study and prepare yourself like never before.

I would tell myself not to rush the college experience like I have been. Taking it easy and getting good grades is better than having to rush through your degree. However, there is a medium. Don't take six hours. Take as many classes as you think you can handle. Also, to put in an ample amount of study time for each of your classes. Study even if you think the class is easy. Once you get further into the semester, it won't be easy and you'll need all of the fundamentals that you didn't pay attention to during the beginning of the semester and will have an extremely difficult time catching up. Put school before everything else, because you're moving to Louisville to go to school. You're not going there to focus on work or have fun constantly. You're going there to better yourself and make a future for yourself. Don't take out loans unless you have to. Work your hardest to earn every dollar by scholarship. It'll help you out in the long run.

I would tell my self to go to a smaller university, out of state. I can be a very out going person, but that the size of UofL is overwhelming and that i will be more challenged if I move away, out of my comfort zone. Also that there are too many things for me to do in Louisville that I wont focus on the university and how I can be involved there. To have the best college experience I need what is the exact opposite of what I thought I wanted, a small school far from home, where I can make new friends and become completely independant.

If I could go back in time and talk to the high school senior version of myself, I would first and foremost tell myself to take my school work much more seriously. Pay attention in class and put all your effort into every assignment you receive. The high school version of myself doesn't know what's coming with college assignments and exams, and I wish someone would've told me. My high school allowed us to exempt out of our final exams if we had good grades in that particular course, but if I could go back I would take those cumulative exams anyway. My first college exam didn't go as well as I imagined and I wish I could've practiced and prepared. Besides academically I would tell my high school self to calm down and relax. College is amazing and there was absolutely no reason to "freak out" or be as anxious as I was. Leaving home was hard but you will develop a whole other family within Louisville through your sorority, your nursing school classmates, dorm mates, and all the people you encounter on and around campus. Good luck high school Kelsey!