University of Maryland-University College Top Questions

Respect I would tell my self to respect college life because it wont be easy as it seems and alot more stressful than high school. College is about doing stuff on your own and everything has to be done by you so be ready for challenges that comes forward and to take that challenges as learn experience and for your future.

I would have told myself to try harder and look longer at school options. I never thought I would go to college and didn't have the tinies clue about how to pay for it. I really believed the only way was to join the military. Knowing what I know now, I could have made more of an effort to find a college I could afford and started early.

I took challenging classes to prepare me for the college level. But I would have told myself not to bother with the four years of Spanish. I didn’t retain hardly any of the information, and I do not need it for my major. Instead, I would advise myself to only take two years and then sign up for the classes that I could have used. Also, I would tell myself not to skip out on the final exams. Even though they were optional for me, I still should have taken them (especially the science ones). I would also tell myself to hang out with more people. I won’t have my best friends there right by me every day. If I would have hung out with people who didn’t know everything about me, then maybe it would be easier to talk and get to know others without taking most of the semester. But the thing I would stress the most is, start better study habits. In high school I hardly ever studied for a test. I still did good on them, but the tests in college are much more of a challenge. Lastly, don't procrastinate.

If I could go back to talk to my self in high school I would tell myself do not put off today for tommrow. Only thinking about accomplishing something will not get you anywhere. You must think, plan, and explore your options and most of all make a committment of action to achieve your goal. Friends will come and go, but don't let them detour you. Be a leader and think for your self. Recieving advice is good, but follow your heart. Chose a career that you love. Its not always about the money. Being happy with what you do will bring much success to you and those around you. The main key is to stay focus and commited. Never forget where you came from, nor the people that supported you. Having fun is alright to do, but stay focused, and watch how well you will prosper.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to not delay my continued education. I waited eighteen years after high school graduation to start earning my college degree. Partly because I hated the rigid environment of high school, and partly because of financial reasons. I am now in my mid-thirties and wish, oh how I wish, I had just continued on into college. Now that I have enrolled in a university and am working towards my degree, I can now appreciate the value of an education. Because I am taking several of my courses online, I am able to continue to work full-time while completing my degree. I know that once I have completed my degree I will secure a well-paying position and finally have a career in a field I love. So, eighteen-year-old self, you need to stick it out and sign up for college immediately. There are government loans, grants and scholarships out there to help pay for it all, so you just need to show up, smile and do your best. Lastly, your future wife is really cute. Good luck!

If I could go back in time and give myself advice, I would definately say to be true to yourself (assuming I'm talking to myself). This statement has a few different meanings in regards to transitioning into the college life. The first aspect that it has a special meaning is in my studies. Be true to yourself in what you want to do with your life. If it's your dream, make it a reality. The world is at your feet and if you make a mistake, well, your only human. You get right back up and try harder. Be true to yourself-believe in yourself-also in the sense of your college life. Yes, you want to have fun and hang out with your new friends, but that doesn't mean you need to party every weekend or go out drinking or any of that. Your starting your future, your life and you don't need to mess this opportunity up by throwing it away. College is different from high school. Make the transition slowly. Its hard work, but if you keep your studies up and grades up, it will pay off in the end.

I would have to say stay focused and do not take a break in between school. Most likely if you take a break right after high school you will not go to college. If you choose to go to college as an adult it is alot harder because of all of the responsibilities you have such as a full time job, and a family. It is also harder because you tend to lose what you learned in high school and you have to play catch up, we all know the saying use it or lose it.

When I first entered college in 2005, I felt an incredible amount of pressure to perform up to a certain standard in school. That standard was set by the school and my parents and was evaluated in the form of my grades. The pressure to maintain a 4.0 gpa was incredible and ultimately lead to a period of time where I left school. Had I the ability to talk to my high school self, I would remind myself that it’s not the grades that count but the knowledge. Certainly, maintaining a high gpa says something to the extent of your dedication to a subject but standardized tests carry a margin of error. Had I spent more time focusing on truly knowing and enjoying the information, as opposed to memorizing the content to pass tests, I believe I would have already earned my degree by now. Being a young adult in a struggling economy has helped me see the value of truly working hard and that my successes will be at the hands of my knowledge and not my degree.

The advice that I would give myself would be not to totally depend on high school guidance counselors. When I attended high school, I was not in a 4-year college bound curriculum, and those counselors were not very focused on vocational studies students. As a result of not being properly "guided", I navigated 2 year colleges for a time without a clear understanding of how to get admission into a 4-year college. That is, I would have preferred to go straight to a 4 year college after high school.

I would say to myself, go to community college before finishing your bachelor's degree. Instead of doing or going along with your friends opinion about school, listen to postive influences of parents and others before making hasty decisions. Community colleges have so may benefits such as, individualized attention from professors, smaller class sizes, great advisors who council and guide students in the right direction, and fun and exciting activites of the student body that helps break the ice between peers. This envirnoment coupled with dynamic and sustaining coursework, helps adjust and eliminate any self-doubt about going to the sometimes over-populated universities. At larger univeristies, the average student can become distracted and less likely to focus on courses, by getting lost in the shuffle. That is the sage advise I would give myself.