University of Pennsylvania Top Questions

To look back on my senior year of high school brings forth a tangled mix of emotions. Unfortunately, my primary memories of that year are clouded by stress and anxiety, and to recall this now truly frustrates me. The regret that I have is not for what I accomplished, for I was accepted at my first choice of schools, but for my general outlook throughout that journey. In all honesty, I allowed myself to become entirely consumed by my pursuit of perfect grades, perfect applications, and acceptance into the "perfect school." There's no way to disguise the fact that I had made myself miserable. My parents knew it, I knew it, but I honestly couldn't shift my focus. I was working incredibly hard in school, maintaining two varsity sports, plus working a part-time job, and instead of taking pride in my accomplishments I was gritting my teeth and waiting for my admissions decisions to arrive. I let the numbers and the grades rule my life, and that was a mistake. If I could rewind and speak to my former self, I would take myself by the shoulders and simply say "BREATHE."

The advice I would give to my high school senior self would be to not start withdrawing. As a senior who was already accepted into colleges, I just wanted the school year to be over and to continue into college. What I didn't put into consideration was that college would be another four years of the same thing, learning. I would tell the past Christina to keep working hard and to expect to work harder in college. There will never be an easy way out of school, so the best thing to do is to study and to relax. Stressing out will only make matters worse, especially in a tough situation. The last thing I would tell myself would be to just be happy and to not hold back on what I want to do. I recently just learned that my future is not to be successful, money wise, but to be successful in happiness.

Breathe. Learn to maximize your high school experience by finding the right balance of work and play. While college is very important, it is not important enough to sell your health just to reach too high for the stars. Dream big. Don't dwell aimlessly in the past. Look towards the future, and believe. However, don't dream too big because when reaching far out of reality's realm can be detrimental to mental health later. Sometimes it'll hurt when you can't seem to grasp what you want, but there's always something else to dream big on. Explore. Assess all the options that you can take, but always keep in mind that there is a countless number of paths you can follow later. Science or math--not your friends? There's others waiting. "See feelingly". Don't always see through your "eyes". Learn to become empathic and become more in tune with the rest of the world. Stay modest and accept what you have, and don't hesitate to reach out for something else. Learn to "see" things in another light. Don't just graduate to a higher level of academics but to a better person.

Congratulations on getting accepted into college. I'm pretty sure you think now all you have to do is pass your final classes of high school, get that diploma, and move to your new home in September, right? Wrong! Speaking as someone who is in college and ignored a certain opportunity, I'm begging you to take on something that really doesn't sound attractive: summer programs at your university. Now I know that doesn't sound like an attractive thing to do, going to classes (that don't have an effect on your GPA, by the way) during the summer instead of relaxing. It sounded like a waste of time to me too until I realized the impact starting at new student orientation. Those who went through the summer program had a better connection to the campus. They already knew classmates and upperclassmen and knew how to get around campus. Because of this sense of community stemming from enduring classes, they also were more successful in classs during the initial semester because they knew how to get help immediately. Take a summer program and become a freshman that knows what to do before the fall semester starts.

As a high schooler I was extremely focused and driven, the end goal being college. Now, as a freshman settled into college I wish I could go back and tell myself that college is not the end of the road, rather the beginning of a new journey. As I tell my high school senior friends now, grades are not everything. Even after coming to an Ivy League school, I discovered that a 4.0 gpa isn't what got most of my peers into this school. More than anything it was their passion for learning and their creativity in thinking. I would tell my high school senior self that despite academic success, nothing can replace the memories of the times I had with my friends and family. When I reflect on high school, it is not the 100s I scored on tests, or the report cards that I think about, but rather my three best friends and the overall experience of knowing that we were not yet adults, with the promise of the rest of our lives ahead of us.

Rush a sorority. This sounds trivial and superficial, but I took the road of "I don't need to pay for friends" and chose not to rush. Whether or not you will join a sorority is left entirely to your future self, but my advice would be to at least rush. In rushing freshman year I imagine I would have broken the personal box I built. It probably would have frozen and crumbled standing outside a sorority house in January in a painfully long line. But instead, I chose not to rush and so my box remained until much later than freshman year. I was afraid to rush, I was afraid to try. Rushing is your step one. Rushing will give you a heads up to the multitude of people, groups, and opportunities on campus. Step two will be taking advantage of all those opportunities you learned about in line rushing. You will now be comfortable springing into groups and activities. You'll get involved with a non-profit or a political group or whatever entices your future self. But, by not completing step one, my own step two was delayed. Rushing is Introduction 101 to trying everything on campus.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself not to worry so much. The transition to college life is overwhelming, especially when you are thrown into an unknown environment and have to learn to be independent very quickly, but you aren't the only one who is experiencing college for the first time. Millions of students just like you, who have been panicking and agonizing over college applications and writing essays that best capture their thoughts and personality, will join you on this experience of a lifetime. College is a place where you can expand your horizons and become engaged in deep philosophical discussions that can last for hours on end inside or outside of the classroom. However, college is also where you can meet new people and develop friendships that can last a lifetime. Even though college is a new place and you may be worried that you won't be able to manage your time well or have enough time to get involved in every activity on campus, just remember that the new friends you meet in college will always be there to support you.

It's happened more often that I'd like to admit: on my way to class, on the main walk of campus, I feel a chilly wetness on my lower back. I turn around and see a trail of water on the brick pathway. I haven't wet my pants; rather, the water bottle in my bag has come open again. In an attempt to be more environmentally-friendly, I purchased a reusable water bottle at the beginning of the semester, and it simply refuses to stay closed. In a perpetual rush, I haphazardly shove the troublemaker into my backpack and dash of to my next lecture, never stopping to think about the last time I made the same mistake and had to leave my notes out to dry overnight. I don't regret buying the sustainable bottle, although it does make my water taste a little weird at times. But my first semster of college has taught me this: take a little time for yourself. Save yourself some stress and walk, don't run, to lecture. You will gain a lot from taking the extra minute to shut your water bottle properly. I guarantee it.

I would tell my younger self to stay motivated. As a senior, I had just gotten accepted into the Huntsman Program at Penn, one of the country's most competitive college programs; and as a result, I decided that I had accomplished all of my goals. I relaxed. I did little more than was required for school for the rest of the year and I completely slacked off during the summer. I had no more goals. My GPA suffered during my first semester of school because of this. During the middle of the semester, I realized the importance of taking advantage of your college experience, if not only for the knowledge, then for the grades that will count in getting your first job. Being more motivated for the current semester, I am doing substantially better. I have no doubt that if I were as aware of the importance of the future the previous semester, I would have preformed superiorly. If I could, I would tell myself to think about the future and do what would benefit me in the long run. I would also tell myself to buy heavier coat, but for another reason altogether.

As a committed athlete in high school, the whole point of going to college seemed to be volleyball. I would tell myself that volleyball really does not matter in the long run and should not be part of my decision. That being said, volleyball did allow me to go to an ivy league school and have opportunities that I would not have otherwise had. I would tell myself that it is difficult to know exactly what you want to do, because college is going to expose you to a lot of new things and you may change as a person. Choose a college that will challenge you and help you in that growing process. Choose a college that is big enough to expose you to new and not yet mainstream ideas. Choose a college that is in a different enviroment than what you grew up in. And trust yourself to make the right decision,. Because no matter what, you will gain experience and learn something and be forever changed. Challenge yourself to embrace this change and change as much as possible.