University of Nevada-Reno Top Questions

My first semester, I was severely depressed. I fell behind in classes, lost 15 pounds, and suffered panic attacks. I was put on anti-depressants, and spoke with a psychologist. For a while, I considered quitting and going home. However, I realized I was sick of feeling the way I did, and only I had the power to make myself feel better. I began trying to be more positive and to talk to people. After a while, I noticed the sadness diminishing. I successfully finished my first semester with a 3.8 GPA along with some new friends. If I could go back and speak to myself as a high school senior, I would be honest. I say that this transition is not going to be easy, and that I must go into this with an open mind, or I will never survive. I would tell myself to be serious, but not to stress all the time. I would advise myself to be outgoing and happy. Overall, I would tell myself to make the best of the situation and those to come; if things are bad, they won’t be forever. No matter what, I'm going to make it.

As a senior in high school I made the decision to go play softball at Northern Illinois University. After my first year there I knew it wasn't the right fit for me and I decided to come to the University of Nevada-Reno and play softball. If I could go back in time I would tell myself to think about my decisions and make sure it's really what I wanted. I took the first offer that came my way because of my dream to play college softball and instead of being true to myself, I got excited and settled. I learned that not challenging your ability in one area can lead to not challenging yourself in all areas. I needed to take a challenge and strive for something better. I needed to be confident in all the work I had put into school and softball. I would tell myself to never settle for anything less than what I deserve and to always strive for more.

Knowing what I know now about college and the transition, I would tell myself as a high school senior to be wiser about saving money, to just relax, and to study hard and make good study habits as early as possible. I would tell myself to be wiser about saving money, because finances are a big part of being in college. The struggling college student stereotype is definitely reality at times. Learning to relax and just have fun sometimes is also very important in college and in life in general, because if you don't, you're just going to break down at some point. The statement I would emphasize the most would be to buckle down on studying, because as a high school student, I didn't have very study habits, but I got away with it and had very good grades and an amazing GPA. But I've learned that, in college, a person can't just slide by. I passed all of my classes with A's and B's without studying much. But I know that I could have done so much better if I had buckled down and studied my hardest last semester.

Challenge yourself! As a highschool senior, I understand that you want to get out of the petty highschool stuff, but this year is extremely important in your future, although I know it may not seem like it. Once college starts, you'll wish you would have taken writing essays or practicing good study habits in highschool more seriously. But it's not about just passing the classes or having an amazing essay, it honestly is about getting the most out of your education as you can. I look back at my senior year and remember just wanting to finish, but I had teachers who were willing help me pursue my passions and not just pass or stay in my comfort zone, but actually challenge me with the sole purpose of me learning something and stretching my education. Take AP classes, even though they are hard you'll absolutely have the upper hand and understand the pressures that come along with college. Knowledge is something that nobody is able to strip you of and the earlier you start pursuing what you love, the earlier you are able to actually use that knowledge to tangiably make an impact in someones life.

I would advise my high school self to wait to get married until college was done. It is a hard process to work and go to school all at the same time. Family life doesn't interfere that much, but having to work, makes it very difficult to find time to complete classwork. Since there is the ability to do online classes, there is no need to even be near a school, but you do still need to have time to complete the required assignments. Make school your first priority, and once that is out of the way, even if only with an Associate's degree, it's better than being middle aged and trying to scrape out the time, or energy, to complete classes.

The main thing that would be told to my past self would be to not listen to a word that anyone says about college academics or the college life. College in itself is nothing at all like high school, whether it be the social aspect or the academic side of college. The classes are much, much harder, and getting up for those classes is probably the hardest part because if you hit the snooze button on your alarm, there isn't anyone there to make sure you got up. As a college student, you are literally on your own. When it comes to the social aspect, college isn't like it is on T.V. If you go out and party hard and get caught, there isn't a special someone you can talk to to get out of trouble, there are consequences to the choices you make in college because your an adult, not a child anymore. I think that is the main thing that I would try to get across to my past self. Make your choices wisely.

If I could go back in time,the advice I would give myself would be that; YES! in College you have to take things seriously, apply yourself, set up your goals and achieve them, but that is not all. Another very important aspect of going to College is to learn about life, intercat with other people with different backgrounds, grow up as a person, and to get to know yourself better. Once College starts you learnto make your own decisions taking into account the priorities. Each student decides how to manage their time between school work, social life, and jobs. College life also teaches you how to appreciate things and understand that hard work eventually pays off. While being a student one also has the opportunity to interact with people from different countries, people with different backgrounds and experiences. These people can be either a professor, a college advisor, or even one of your classmates. One wil always learn something from other individuals and more importan; you can always finds that something or that someone that inspires you and encourages you to be the best version of yourself.

If I was able to go back and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would have a whole day conversation about many things. Some of the things that I would tell myself are about financial, academic and to not give up. At first I would start by encouraging myself to enroll in at least 9 or more credits. Second, I would show myself how apply for scholarships because this is actually the first time that I have applied for a scholarship. Third, I would recommend to keep those grades up in order to qualify for university financial aid. The last thing I would tell myself is to keep my head up because there are gonna be some tough times ahead but that I will make it because I have faith in myself and know how much I can accomplish with out any one motivating and showing me the path. Remember that there is no greater motivator than myself because no one knows me as well as I do.

Go ahead and go to a four year university. Most of the scholarships out there are targeted to graduating seniors. You can’t do anything with associates except transfer, and by that time it gets harder to find scholarships.

"Remember this vitally important thing: the only person at the university that's going to care anything at all about you at the university is your advisor. Study and stay on top of your work."