University of Maryland-University College Top Questions

The best advice I could give is to study more for the ACT and SAT. Having a better score allows you more opportunities in classes and scholarships. Next, I would tell myself to make sure I am taking a math and science class in the last semester of high school. Math and science alike are easily forgotten if not utilized frequently. If there was going to be down time between graduation and my first semester in college I should set time aside to refresh on those skills. Planning is everything and thinking that the school is going to do everything for you like your highschool is a huge mistake. It would be advisable to talk with family members and friends who are in college or have been through college and ask what kids of things that should be planned for in advance. Lastly, having a budget and sticking to it is crucial. There is no reason to have every new thing that is trending at the moment it is a waste of precious funds. Managing your money will be hard but it will be rewarding when you are through with school and have no student loans to pay off.

To complete college while I was young.

“Don’t give up. Paying for school will prove to be impossible, I know, and you’ll end up with quite a bit of debt in student loans because financial aid won’t cover everything, or even most of ‘everything’. You’ll have to work full time and pursue your degree full time – but it will be worth it. One day you’ll have that degree in hand, you’ll be pursuing the job of your dreams, making a true difference in this world, and you’ll look back and realize that it wasn’t that bad. A few years of overload is worth a brighter future for you and your family – you must remember this! Apply for scholarships and hope that the committees that review them will recognize your potential; even if they don’t, you must always have faith in yourself. You are deserving of your dreams, and your goals in life are only as obtainable as your drive. Speed forward, and don’t ever slow down.”

Be patient. You will achieve your dream of getting your BS in Accounting with hard work and persistence. Finding an education/work/life balance is important. Education is important and gives you opportunities. Work will get you experience (don’t underestimate experience) and help pay for the education and life you want to have. Life is a wonderful thing to enjoy, especially your children. Take the time to enjoy the experiences. Patience, your life will be all that you hoped for with time. As a side note, fill out for financial aid and buy your books used … save a little money.

Pay attention, take the basic classes first, and try a few classes you think might be interesting to see if they represent a career path you might want to follow.

As a college student now if I could go back to my senior year I would have done things much differently. I would have told myself to take more duel enrollment courses to not be afraid and underestimate myself because I did take 3 courses and passed them all with honors. I would have told myself its ok to enjoy my senior year but to make sure I take time to look for scholar ships because financial aid is not always certain and that it can be taken away from one day to another. I would have told myself to join more clubs where I would get a big amount of community service because just that can make the difference between you and another applicant applying more the same scholarship. Overall I would just explain to myself this is the finale year but it counts just as much as the past 3 years so to keep it up and fight till I get that diploma. Thank you for your time in reading my essay, Carine Castillo.

If I could go back and provide my high school senior self with some advice, I would recommend taking things more seriously. In my high school honors and advanced placemene courses I didn't try hard enough and I didn't realize how much of an opportunity I had to excel. Additionally, I would tell myself to appreciate my family more. Family is the best support and should not be taken for granted. If I had actually listened to my family members and solicited advice from them, I could have been in a better position after high school.

Were I to chat with my high school self, I would tell her to think very carefully about which university she chooses. Instead of choosing a school solely based on reputation and curriculum, she should look at the social landscape, student diversity, and class size. In my experience, these things have had so much more of an impact on how I measure the learning experience than anything else. When I was a senior, I was so ambitious about my studies, but I found my chosen school to be too large and the class size overwhelming. I ended up leaving before the end of the first semester. If I had found a school that was much smaller, I may have been more successful.

Joel, You should take a break, go to explore Europe or get a full time job. 12 long years of school can be taxing and you are burned out from learning. Find yourself and come back to taking classes when you are ready and have a hunger to gain more knowledge. I know that you think lacrosse is life and that you have to keep playing; but Joel, lacrosse is not life. Do not make your future decisions based off lacrosse, you can't make a career out of it. Apply to more schools in your time away and perhaps take some entry level courses to find something you like. Give yourself as many options as possible and not just school A or school B. I think if you take this "vacation" from school and find your passions you will lead a much more happier and successful path through college and down life's path. Sincerely, Joel Giljam (8 years wiser) ******P.S. If you made it this far I am surprised*******

I know that you love your family very much, but you should follow your path of what you want to do. Don't let your fear hold you back. Go to University of Maryland College Park and finish school there. Family will always be there to help you out and support you when you're there. If you still can't take the big leap, do two years of College of Southern Maryland and transfer to University Of Maryland College Park.

If I could go back in time to my senior year in high school I would tell myself to never take things for granted and always push for what I know in my heart I deserve. I think back then I was so focused on just finishing school and becoming an adult that I lost touch with who I was. I would want to enjoy life and not assume that things come easily, because now I know that things aren't as simple as they may seem.

I would tell myself to make sure to study hard. College and high school are two totally different worlds and in college you are 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} expected to learn for yourself and not have the information handed to you. Having waited 7 years to go back to school I learned that studying in college in also different because it is not just retaining the knowledge but understanding the knowledge as well. Taking most of my classes online I also learned how important self-motivation in. In high school your teachers remind you that you have assignments due and they often even help you prepare the assignments. In online college classes you get a syllabus at the beginning of class and most professors will not remind you of deadlines, they just tell you to keep checking your schedule. Professors expect college students to be professional in their work, in high school you can often get away with turning in not your best work. So, make sure that you know how to study and to keep yourself motivated. No matter what anyone says you can do this, just remember to believe in yourself.

I would say be yourself and forget about popularity, if they don't like you for who you are then thats fine but remember to be yourself. Also apply to scholarships because college is expensive.

I would advise myself to give mysefl a chance and ensure myself that there was nothing to be afraid of. I would emphasize that getting my education done while I was young, unmarried, and without children would be easier than when I had all of these things and had to try to "go back to school". I would encourage myself to take as many aptitude tests as possible so that I could have built up my confidence and picked a career path that I liked much sooner. I would have focused on visiting campuses so that I could have been informed and knowledgeable about what my future could have been. I would have made a strategic alliance with my guidance counselor so that I could have had an insider to the scholarships that became available and would remind myself that there was no harm in applying or trying for something that I both wanted and needed. I woud lecture myself about the importance and necessity of a degree and try to outline for myself all the different paths I could choose from; both good and bad. Perhaps if I were armed with this much information, I'd have done better.

I would give me the advice to not take any breaks in between my two kids and just go on with my schooling. Other than that I am pretty comfortable with my school and everything is as I expected.

Take more upper level classes in high school, as well as pick a school and stick with it. Changing schools will put you behind the power curve.

This is it! You are preparing to graduate from high school and begin to fulfill the life you have always dreamed for yourself. You can do it, do not give up. You are going to feel like you will not succeed, but keep pushing forward. You can do it! Your future seems so far away, but it is right now; right here in front of you. You are in control of your own destiny. Don't you dare give up! The difficulties that you face now will shape you and mold you into the strong independent adult you so desire to be. Don't lose that desire, that passion to follow your dreams. You are going to fall, failure will come your way but it will not be the failure that will determine who you are. It will be the way in which you handle yourself and get back up that creates the person you desire to become. No matter what, no matter where, no matter how, and no matter when; don't ever give up on your hopes and dreams.

When I was a senior, I would have told myself to not talk a semester off from school when you are already in college because I was attending Duquesne University Pharmacy Program when I took a semester off to help family take care of my grandmother who had terminal lung cancer by doing this I got automatically kicked out of the program even after the Provost of the school (a Catholic priest) promised this would not happen. I also lost my scholarship and the ability to play football at a college level anymore. It was an overally crappy experience that I would tell myself not to make that mistake again.

Don! Get out of high school now and go on to college! You'll work harder than you've ever worked, you'll give up sleep, and most of the time, your social life, but it's more than worth it! Go to the parties, but don't be a part of them. Hang out with people you never thought you'd pay any attention to before, and listen to them. Get in on research with one of the professors immediately - don't wait until your senior year like everyone else. Keep up the doctor-shadowing in the emergency room. This will help you get into medical school. When you think that you can't possibly get all the work and studying done, you can. Prioritize by what's due first, and just do it. Help someone else. It will give your brain a break and make a new friend. Make a schedule, and stick to it! Lay off the junk food, don't stop exercising and get out in the sun every day. Your brain will be more efficient, making up for lost time studying, and you'll sleep better. You can do anything if you really want to!

If I could go back, I would tell myself to better prepare financially and focus on school more, and even take a full course load senior year instead of taking a half day. By taking a full course load, there would leave more room for taking extra college classes and even more advanced classes that would count towards college credits. By getting a head start it would help with taking down later course loads each semester. Financially, I would have advised myself to talk to the counselors more, and get more knowledge about financial aid and how different loans and scholarships might work and get a better understanding of them. By not knowing the difference between loans and grants, applying for financial aid now, it makes it more stressful and possibly more time consuming then if I was better educated on the subject. All in all, what I know now, I can take and apply to family members that are looking at going to college and help them prepare better.