University of Maryland-College Park Top Questions

Learn to properly manage your time because college school work is fast pace and very challenging. Also, study and understand the materials taught in class. If you do not under the material make sure the professor explains things properly to you either in class or during the professor's office hours.

If I could go back in time to my senior year of highschool, I would give the advice of 1. Be open : to yourself, to others and new experiences. 2. Learn to breathe and not get overwhelmed. College is all about the experience of learning; about yourself, others and their perspectives. That is why the advice that I would give, is to in general "be open" If I came into college, closed-minded, I would not have been able to get a new perspective on my own beliefs. Also, I would tell "be open to new experiences". College is a place where you can experiment with new things; new activities. It is a place that is much bigger than high school; a place where you can spread your wings and become an entirely new person. Without being open to new experiences, you cannot achieve that. The last set of advice I would give myself, is to "step back and breathe." In college, it is very easy to get overwhelmed with your school work and your social life. At these times, simply stepping back and breathing can really help and not allow you to be overwhelmed by these new college surroundings.

At the beginning of one's senior year, there are so many exciting events and activities occuring, making it easy to get caught up in all the fun of high school life. It's hard to start thinking about leaving a place where you are comfortable and safe. At least, that's how I felt at the start of my senior year. College seemed so far away, but I didn't realize how fast it was approaching. I hated to think about leaving my school, friends, and family, so I pushed off the college search for a long time. However, I didn't realize how much time and effort goes into finding the right school. I was so scared to leave my comfort zone that I didn't give myself many options and I took the easy way out. Although I am very happy at UMD, I wish I had put a little more effort into my college search. If I could give myself advice, it would be to really take the time to consider lots of schools and be less afraid of change, because it can be a good thing!

I definitely would have told myself to become involved in more structured activities from the get-go. Although I met enough people through dorm life etc., it would have been nice in that first semester to have a structured schedule. It is hard to prevent yourself from just hanging around in the dorms all day with friends. I wish that I had gone out and explored campus and it's options more fully.

it will all work out.

With one semester under my belt, if I could go back and mentor myself as a High School senior, I would tell myself to participate in more extra curricular activities that could supplement my resume. In college, people often talk about how organization and time management are the most important aspects of college life. While this is true and these characteristics often determine your success as a student, your experience outside of the classroom is equally important to your growth as a person, and to your uniqueness as a potential employee and scholarship recipient. When you are competing for opportunities or employment against other students or employees, your experience is often what separates you from the pack, and shows the varied set of skills you bring to the table. Also, the skills developed through participating in community service activities or holding positions of responsibilty instill valuable instincts and can offer memories that last a life time. If I could go back and counsel myself I would definitely tell myself to strengthen my extra curricular participation because the most important lessons in life are not always learned in the confines of a classroom but often through interacting with the world.

After going through the college transition, I now understand that SAT scores really do matter. I am not a test score and I do not believe that my SAT score reflects my academic achievement. However, if I had the opportunity of talking to myself as a high school senior, I would probably encourage myself to enroll in an SAT prep course. I scored average on the SAT's; however, all the universities I was interested in required above-average SAT scores. Luckily, I did get into my first choice college, but I was admitted for the spring semester. Undoubtedly, the University of Maryland, College Park is a very competitive school and does have high SAT score standards. Thus, I believe that if I had done better on my SAT?s, I would have had a better chance of getting in for the fall semester. I know colleges also look at other criteria, but I already full-filled many of the requirements. For example, I had a cumulative 4.0 GPA, a good amount of extracurricular activities and even leadership experience.

I think what I would say is : please make most of your time and do not hesitate (It's actually what I always tell myself ). One's lifetime is limited - less than 3 billion seconds if he or she is alive for 80 years. Nobody could avoid the lapse of time. So the only thing I - and everybody else could do is to make full use of the time, not letting hesitation or those purposeless actions occupy the limited seconds. However, all those above is under the condition "assume". Even in the novel "The Time Machine", the main character could not change what has happened - the fact that his girlfriend died. So, for me, it seems better to look ahead and avoid those "go-backs" than go back to tell the "ghost" yourself lots of useful advice - it's almost meaningless.

The most important advice I could give anyone is to be themselves. Don't worry about what anyone else thinks, but do what makes you happy. I would tell myself that even though making friends wasn't always easy, not to worry about that at Maryland. There are so many fun, exciting people to meet; don't be shy or afraid to initiate conversations. Second, I would say to get involved in an international service organization called Circle K International first semester instead of waiting. It is a great club to get involved in because they have so many opportunities to improve the campus and nearby communities. When it comes to academics, just take it easy. I care so much about my studies and work so hard that sometimes I stress myself out unnecessarily. If I study hard and do my best, I will get the grades I want. In closing, college is supposed to be some of the best four years of your life. Make the most of every opportunity: every chance to meet someone new, chance to try a different activity, or a chance for a job or internship. Make it a memory worth looking back on.

Well, besides the pure awkwardness of talking to myself in the past, I would definitely love to give myself some advice that would unquestionably change my initial college experience. Everyone just seems so much nicer in college compared to high school; therefore, it is a lot easier to make new friends. So I would tell my high school senior self to be friendlier and introduce myself to my peers early on, so the classroom experience would improve. Another thing that I certainly underestimated was the difficulty of motivating myself in college. Professors tend not to care as much as high school teachers when it comes to students? performance. So it is essential to grasp that fact early on in my college career to prevent an undesirable GPA at the end of the semester. One final warning is to take up on every opportunity that presents itself regarding education or recreation. Of course, always manage my time better and fight the urge to procrastinate. Hopefully with all of this in mind, my transition to college life would be even better than the one I had!