University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Top Questions

Hey! I am you from the future here to give you some advice about college. Seriously. Just be quiet and listen. Okay, the first thing you need to know is that what everybody has been saying is accurate--you do need to study and read a whole lot more. Also, when choosing your roommate(s), try to choose someone who likes to wash dishes because if you don't, the dishes tend to stack up in the sink and get smelly. If you can, try to get out of living in the dorms; they are cramped, expensive, and you have to share a bathroom with three other guys. Buy a nice laptop that you can afford. This will come in handy when researching for and writing papers, which are activities you will be doing quite often. When selecting a major, make sure do some research first, such as reading course descriptions, talking to other students or alumni, and discovering what scholarships/grants are available for that major. Since you want to study medicine, start volunteering now. Through volunteering, you will discover others' perspectives that will enrich your own and help to develop your character. Keep learning Spanish. Eat more vegetables.

I would tell myself that I need to learn to manage my time with school and friends so that I do not slack off in study sessions.

If I went back and talked to myself as a high school senior, I would have advice for myself about classes. The required classes for all majors are not good at the University of Oklahoma. These classes included history, art forms, and political science. I would suggest to myself to take them at a community college before entering OU. The classes would be smaller at a community college and I would have learned more! Also, if I took the classes at a community college, I would have saved myself money. I entered college with my best friends from high school. I would tell myself it is great to keep those friends but also find more friends too. The first semester I stuck with my high school friends and I didnt venture out to meet other people compatable with me. Since first semester, I have made many friends, but it was harder to find them after the first semester.

Senior year is definitely not the time to slack off. I made the mistake by slacking off and not putting much thought into my studies. Sure, friends are important and seem to be all your senior year revolves around, but truth is that they aren't going to be there to help you with your studies once in college. I wish I would have focused more on studying and made it a habit to have a certain amout of time to study so I would be more prepared. If you have the chance definitely take concurrent or AP classes. These will help you get ahead, just make sure you are focused when taking these. These classes are the base for higher level classes so make sure you understand and grasp the information. Overall I just wish I would have focused on school more and preparing for the classes in college.

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior I would inform myself that it is important to start really studying now. I never had to study in high school because there just was not much need. My classes were fairly simple and I rarely had homework. This mindset, however, did not prepare me for college. I had to teach myself how to intently and intensely study and do homework for the first two years of college. It took a while to really grasp it. I feel as though if I had practiced this skill in high school, my first few semesters of college may have been less stressful. I would also let myself in on the secret of budgeting and saving money. In high school I had no idea how much money college was going to cost me and how I ultimately was going to be in charge of handling all of those finances, both school related and personal. I wish I had known how to save then because now I am tight for money and it can be very stressful. College is more expensive than you think.

As a high school senior I remember being extremely excited to open a new chapter in life. I remember being anxious about essentially taking the first steps to starting my career, but I was most excited about leaving home to start a new more independent life. Now that I have completed over two years in college, I know that my priorities we a little off back then. If I could go back in time to give myself some advice about college, the first thing I would stress is ?school first, social life second.? Many freshman come in thinking it will be easy to juggle their new social life and class work, but it is a lot more complex than people think. College work and high school work are on two different ends of the learning spectrum. If I could go back in time I would tell myself to be prepared mentally and physically for the work load that was to come, and never underestimate my classes. Last but not least, I would tell myself to go in to my freshman year with a higher level of confidence. If you work hard and believe you will attain success; you will.

There is so much to say about the transition. If I can go back in time and talk to my high school senior self, I would discipline him in a heartbeat about preparing for college. A transition is expected going into college, but a very vague one. The distractions, transition and procrastination will throw many freshman off track. The number of distractions in college is uncountable. Having the freedom to go to sleep, have fun and do whatever is too care free. My first advice is to discipline yourself from all the interruptions that is pulling you away from getting that A. My second advice is knowing how to handle the transition. In high school, you attend the same classes and turn in homework for those classes on a day to day basis. In college, the classes are spread apart throughout the week, thus giving you time in between to do your homework. But the problem is, you don't finish due to the activties and distractions involve. My third and most important advice is to never procrastinate! That means, submit your FAFSA asap because it is a first come first serve deal and apply for scholarships right now.

I would tell myself to quit being lazy and put some more effort into my school work and sports. Now that I know which classes I needed to have, I would have made sure that I tried to take the hardest classes I could take to prepare myself for college. If I would have done better in high school, I would've been able to got straight to the college I wanted to attend without having to transfer courses from another institution. Also, if I would've had better grades, I wouldn't need to worry about applying for this scholarship, because I probably would have received better/more financial aid.

Why, hello, me-from-the-past! How's senior year coming? Let me tell you something. You're going to look at several colleges that you've kind of had your eye on for a while, and you're going to be pretty interested in each of them, until you move on to the next newer, shinier one. Here's a hint. Check out colleges that you never thought you'd go to. Talk to people with similar interests who attend there. Visit. And not just the tour-de-campus with the paid tour guide. Spend the weekend with your buddy in the dorm. Try the food! Because, you see, I was you, and I never in a million years thought that I'd go to the school where I am now, and yet, here I am, and I love it. So step outside that little box you built around yourself and check out something different. Oh, and also, apply for more scholarships! I know they're boring, but me-from-the-future's going to go broke trying to fix our mistakes. Ok, I gotta go. See ya later! Or, rather, you'll see me later. In the mirror.

If i could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior after going through my first year of college I would say that college is a lot harder than people tell you it is but, it's not impossible. The most important thing is to use time wisely. I'd tell myself to be more out spoken in class and to ask more questions. Teachers really do want to help in any way possible. Lastly, I would say keep being yourself.

I would have taken the ACTs more so that I could have gotten a better score to enter the college with a little more scholarship money. Learn about more scholarships and get them finished on time or earlier so that I could get an early disembursement in the future. Study more for AP tests so that I don't have to take classes over and over again. Understand more about GPA and grades so that I could have concentrated better in the future. Don't procrastinate or be lazy.

I would tell myself that college is nothing like high school. You have to focus more on your academics then you did in high school. Course content and the way instructors will grade you is much harder. It would be best to choose a major, and stick with it. I would use your freshman year to figure out what you are interested in, and then declare a major. College also makes you change your lifestyles. You may be staying up late studying for exams while eating a late night snack in the student union. You have to be able to set your priorities straight. You must decide if succedding in school is more important than work. Fillout all the scholarship applications that you can, then you will not have to work to pay for college and you can focus on your academics. Your parents do not have the money to send you to college, so you need to work hard on saving money in high school and getting all of the scholarships available. You are a smart person, but remember that college is a new experience and will prove to be challenging in it's own ways. Achieve your goals.

Take time to relax. Of course you must study and make great grades but you can't kill yourself over studying and bad grades. There is always time to get help and study more. You need to study like crazy and figure out how to study: take study courses. You WILL have to study in college, it wasn't easy like in high school. Don't eat twizzlers and keep going to the gym- it's your stress reliever. Be yourself, have fun, make friends, don't be shy. There are many pressures in college, don't give in. Keep your faith and know that God is always with you. :)

Choose your college carefully. The decision should be based on your career goals not strictly on the college, so think carefully about what you want to do before choosing a school.

All I would tell myself is to take more initiative to fill out as many college scholarship applications as possible. Financial aid is not a significant source to rely on. Also work harder on grades. National Merit Scholars at my school get their education paid for...this would make financing school so much easier!

To try harder in school my freshman year, and not get caught up in being free.

Trust your instincts, and trust yourself to make the right decision. I had a scholarship offer to go to a smaller school. No scholarship offer from OU. But I knew OU would be the better choice for me. So I took out loans to go to OU. It was the right choice for me. Maybe I would have been better off financially by going to the smaller school. But I knew I wanted to go to a large university to take advantage of all it has to offer. So trust your instincts to make the decision in the first place, and then continue to trust your instincts that first year. You will have a lot of changes and a lot of decisions to make. You will usually make the right decision. And the best thing about college is that if you didn't make the right decision the first time, you can try another path. Trust yourself and you will enjoy yourself.

I would tell myself to appreciate family time and home-cooking more, because college food and being on your own is completely different than always being with family or friends, and always having food ready for you or available whenever you want it. I would tell myself to take high school more seriously and to study more, because although I made a 4.3 GPA in high school, I hardly ever studied, therefore I had to learn studying skills when I came to college, and had I already been practicing this, it would have been easier to adjust and manage my studies during my first year of college. I would tell myself to ask my counselors in high school how to apply for scholarships, grants, and loans so that I would know how to do these things if I needed to as I do now.

Research the school throughly. Be prepared to struggle, but never lose faith in what you're doing. Enjoy it because it's not going to last.

Be more prepared.