University of Maryland-College Park Top Questions

If I were to go back in time, I don't think that I would tell myself to do anything differently. I am completely satisfied with my school and love everything about it. The only thing that I constantly worry about is how I am going to pay for each semester. That being said, I guess I would tell myself to pick up more hours at my job. Other than that, I feel as though I have made great decisions and could not be at a better university.

I would tell myself to create a clear plan on what I want to achieve in college. I would tell myself to list my goals as well list my weaknesses, so that before college I could work on them.

I know you hate them, but participate in the icebreakers. Make a real effort. Be genuine. Be nice. These people, your roommates and your classmates, don’t know you. The girl to your left hasn’t been in your homeroom for years, and the boy to your right isn’t your ex-best friend’s ex-boyfriend. Nothing relates you to them but your common interests. Don’t let that scare you! It should excite you! They may not know your sense of humor, your quirks, or your history, but that is okay. Give them time to get to know you, and try (really try) to get to know them. You aren’t obligated to be these peoples friend, you can choose who you get closer too. This isn’t high school. Be thankful for that. You may have had 10 friends to walk from class to class with, and always knew someone at lunch, but you have 30,000 new friends to choose from, enjoy.

Asia, when you get to college, please remember how important it is to stay strong and focus. So many things will be thrown your way that will heavily impact you in both an emotional and mental way but you can deal with it! Please don't forget who you are or where you came from because everything you've been doing up until this point has been prepartion for this journey you're about to embark on. Situations may get hard, but you will never be alone. God and your family are the best support system a person could ask for. Be patinet. You may not excell in all areas as you have in the past, but you can still achieve your goals. You may stumble on the way to your destination, but don't beat yourself up. Failure is a mindset by which you are not plagued. You know that every "mistake" is a learning experience that will give you exactly what is needed to pave your way to the top. Be fearless. Be outgoing. Be the strong, determined girl you've been all along. And, above all else, rememeber, prater works.

I would advise myself to take as many classes as I could and finish early. iwould also advse myself to go straight into a graduate level program instead of working first.

As a high school senior, my head was filled with the supposedly simple concept “this or that”. This university or that university. This program or that program. This financial aid package or that one. I never imagined for weighing options to be so difficult. On May 1st, I made the decision to attend the school I loved instead of the one that offered better financial aid. In every moment of the months to follow, I was constantly thinking about whether I made the right decision. Looking back at my freshman year, the uncertainty regarding my college decision led me to get caught up in formal matters such as repaying my student loans and earning the best grades possible to keep my scholarship. Attending college is an honorable experience and a route to fulfilling your dreams. Every day on campus is a day full of opportunities to make new friends, interact with professors, and most importantly, to learn. I would advise my high school self to trust my decision and enjoy every privileged moment I have as a college student. I would tell a high school student, “leave your apprehension about college at home, trust yourself and everything will be fine”.

First of all, how amazing would that be if I could travel back in time? I would say pretty amazing, right? Anyway, back to the topic of discussion. What would my advice be to my high school self if I could go back in time? I would say just be bold; embrace everything that is college. Make sure you take a couple weeks to get adjusted, and then make new memories for yourself with new people as much as you can. Do things you have always wanted to do, see things you have always wanted to see. This would be my advice, because during my freshman year I was very conservative and focused completely on my academics. I was smart and saved money on books. I was independent in high school so living on my own was not as bad of a change as I thought. Now academics should always be your focus in college but that is not everything college is about. College is about the whole experience of going in uncharted territory, stepping up to the challenge and coming out on top.

During my first year of college I contemplated high school a myriad of times. Although college was an amazing new experience of being completely responsible and independent I always thought about what I could have done better to prepare for college. If I could go back to my high school self the first thing I would tell myself or rather beat into my head about would be to take those AP tests seriously! If I would have gotten passing scores I could have saved tons of money on the various introductory courses that felt more like a repeat of the AP classes than furthering my education. I would also tell my high school self that picking a college that is just far enough from distractions will help make you more focused academically as well as more sociable to enable you to make new friends faster. I think the last most important thing that I would tell myself would be to start saving money or working a job while you have it easier because once you are in college you want to focus solely on your studies to succeed. College is hard but definitely worth it for the experience.

If I could go back and advise my high school senior self about college life it would have to be over coffee for it would take all afternoon. As a twenty-eight year old college sophomore with seven years of volunteer and non-profit experience working in the worst of Philadelphia's public schools, I would tell my former self not to go directly into college after high school graduation. "If you do that - you will find that you're just not ready for college yet. You won't take it seriously because you take yourself too seriously. You need to see the world outside of tiny town, Maine and realize that you are capable of doing so much more with your life than what you think right now. If you go right to school next year - you will end up dropping out after a year with more student debt than it was worth," I would say. I'm sure former me would have questions so I'd have to explain how experiential and service learning is the key to my success - and that college will still be waiting for me when I'm ready for it.

I would tell "my high school self" that somehow, some way, everything works out (at the end of the day) and in quite a remarkable way! I would also remind myself not to "sweat" the small stuff and to never lose sight of the "Big Picture" and that although it's insanely overused, life (INCLUDING your high school life), is truly all about this most incredible "journey" we all have the fortune of going through and the invaluable life lessons (both good and bad) to be learned during this rather extraordinary "voyage!" In this regard, no "step" can be viewed as a "mistep," so live EACH and EVERY day to the fullest!