University of Maine Top Questions

If I could tell my High School self anything it would be to not be as judgmental. One of the greatest gifts the University of Maine gave me was the ability to see and work with other people that were nothing like me. I believe in High School many students are so focused in actually finding out who they are, we forget to learn from the people directly surrounding us. As a High Schooler, I really wish I took the chance to get to know the people that I spent countless hours ignoring. I believe they could have truly impacted me to be a better leader, student, and person today. I never anticipated that college would open my eyes up to things that I disassociated with in High School. If I could go back, I would be more humble and open to the different opportunities around me, most importantly the different people around me. I feel as though if I missed out on anything in High School it was never the dances, football games, or school events but rather soaking in the wealth of culture that my High School had to offer.

I would tell myself to learn how to organize things before starting college.

Looking back on senior year, I realize that I did not exactly know what I wanted to do. If I had the chance to do it all over again, I think that I would maybe stay home and go to community college until I really knew what I wanted to do. Going into college I just thought that everyone did it and that I should just go and figure it out. That was the difficult part; really figuring out what I wanted to do. After coming back home second semester of my freshman year of college, I realized what I really wanted to do and dove in. I went back to UMO and never turned around. For the choices I made, I had to go through what I went through to get here and I am very satisfied with the outcome. Being a senior in high school was not that easy now that I think about it. If I could tell myself anything now, I would say to just go into college with an open mind and don't take on a Major just yet. Look around and enjoy what you can until you realize what you really want.

If I had known about what college life was really like when I was a senior in high school, I would have made more lasting friendships, since now my school is very far away from my high school friends and I didn't keep in touch with them. I might have gotten another job because it is very expensive and having more money would make me feel more secure about my future. However, I'm pretty happy about what I've done and where I am now, so I feel like I was plenty prepared.

"While money is important, respect and happiness can get you to the same state of fulfillment that you would achieve if you completed the impossible by becoming a physician. In the end, money is materialistic, so follow your heart. Follow your dreams and if you ever become comfortable with where you are, change something to keep you busy. Every day is one more day that we have and one less day we will get, so be better, try harder, take that responsibility and try something new every day. In short, live your life, pick paths as they come because aiming for one door may close other doors you never knew existed. Talk to strangers and heed your elders, their life has taught them lessons that may be beneficial for you. Learn to Scuba dive, jump out of a plan or go bungee jumping. These activities remind us that adrenaline is the best high you can have and can give us new perspectives on the same world. Just because being a doctor is respectable doesn’t mean that this is the only path you can take that will make you happy. From past experience, I hear Marine Biology is pretty cool."

Now having gone through the transition to college life, I would have told my high school senior self that you're never fully ready for college. I would have told myself that you're never truly prepared for what college throws at you until you get there. College is a roller coaster. The ups of doing well, making new friends, and starting a new life; but also the downs of tremendous stress, studying all day and night for exams, and accepting that you are going to fail at times. As a college student, I've done well in classes, I've had fun, I've had my fair share of failures that include getting bad grades and getting so stressed that I broke down. But I realized that you and only you determine your successes and failures. I would have told myself back then was that you have the ability to do well, to not be so hard on yourself when you fail, and that if you believe in yourself, you really can do anything. The advice I would have given myself would have been that your own willpower makes the difference between the fine line of success and failure.

If I could go back I would tell myself to stay highly focused on finding work and doing scholarships. I fluffed off way too much my freshman year in college because I didn't understand the severity of working and making sure I stowed away money to pay for school. Now that I do I wish I had been more serious about it. Academics were always something that came to me as far as paying attention and doing assignments, but finding work has been difficult. If past me had been more proactive I don't think I would be in the situation I am in right now.

As you advance academically, the work gets harder, so it's important to develop good work ethic when the work is the easiest. The last thing you want to do is realize halfway through your senior or junior year that you're not going to be able to get into your dream college because you didn't work hard enough. Work hard now, it will pay off when you get to relax later.

I think the most important thing that you need to know as a high school senior is that in college you get to start all over again. You need to be as social as possible the first couple of weeks at college because that is when you make all of your friends. If I could go back, I would tell myself to open up and be more confident because that is how you will succeed in college. I would also tell myself that I need to prepare myself for a busy schedule and work on my time management. When kids think of college, they think of all the parties and fun that they will have which is why sometimes people have a rough first semester at school. As long as you can manage your schoolwork with your extracurricular activites you will succeed. You also need to prepare yourself for surviving on your own. I personally didn't have a hard time with that but some people have never done laundry before and are not confident with being by themselves. However, the most important thing I said earlier is to be confident and ready for a big change.

College, is the next step, is a big step and is scary and beautiful at the same time. If I would go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would say first to stay focus and not over-stress. It just gets better. Getting involved with a group outside of your major is very helpful and you meet new people. Ask a lot of question. Be friendly with the other students in your major, because those ahead of you have been through what you are going through, they can give you good advice. Go to class, take notes and set your goals. Be confident.You know more than you think you know. Be wise in choosing an advisor, who will help you. Start a research as early as possible and take choose the classes wisely. Read a lot and spend the first year talking to tons of people.Be more proactive. Every minute in graduate school is precious.Start doing volunteer work on campus.You need to be truly dedicated and motivated to complete a graduate program. Don't be afraid to fail, because setbacks bring you one step closer to success.