University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Top Questions

College is referred to by some as the time of your life. I like to think of it as a fresh start. I wish I would have understood the multitude of opportunities available. Although I became involved early, I wish I would have done more. Each year I pushed myself to become more involved. It?s not that I had more free time in my early years of college, but I just better allocated my time. Grades aren?t as important as they may seem and I wish I would have known that from the start. I spend a great amount of time on school work, but I spend just as much time (if not more) on extracurricular activities. I now understand that your experience and what you learn as a whole is more important and beneficial then what you learn from books. Now my schedule is constructed by things that I enjoy doing and things that teach me what I need to know.

You need to balance your time extremely well between meeting new friends, school work, and other activities. You need to realize that of course it's important to have fun, but also your future is at stake if you do not do well with your academics.

If I could go back to high school and give myself advice in order to prepare myself for my college career, I would tell myself to relax, study, and prepare myself for the long journey to medical school.

I would tell myself not to go to college until I was ready, until I wanted to learn, and once I was there to stick it out. As a transfer student and someone who had been out of college for several years until I enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh, I discovered that I was not emotionally or financially stable enough to complete college directly out of high school. A friend of mine gave me a piece of advice in my freshman year, just before I had to leave school due to financial reasons. She told me that I shouldn't go to college until I found my hunger for knowledge, until I really wanted to learn. Going to school because you feel that you have to is a good way to end up hating it, and never enjoying yourself or your education.

I would tell myself to start applying to colleges as soon as i could, but more importantly start looking for financial aid. Everything does not just fall into place once you leave high school and that is what impacted my life the most. I would also tell myself to really picture staying at a school for four or more years before deciding to go there. The school i was planning on going to was in the middle of nowhere and had a very small student body. I love being around lots of people and I also love the city. I would tell myself to prepare for a whole new life and a lot of great people and experiences.

If I could go back in time and give myself advice for the future, I would encourage myself to learn to manage my time well. Too often I find myself being distracted by things completely unrelated to school as I am doing my homework, and these constant self-inflicted distractions make everything take more time than is needed. Consequently, I miss out on important things (like sleep) because I spend too much time doing a simple task that could be wrapped up quickly if it were not for the constant distractions. I believe that a good work ethic, and specifically using time well, is something that can only be learned through practice, so if I were able to I would go back and discipline myself to finish all my necessary work before indulging in fun activities or relaxing with friends. Time management is a critical lesson to learn, and one that I am still learning, but the sooner good habits are formed the sooner any committed student will begin to succeed.

I would advise myself to look into more outside scholarships. Don't give up looking for scholarships. They are out there, just hard to find. Don't be afraid of making friends. Get involved in groups right away. Take time to get to know people. Don't be afraid to try something new. Stick to your morals and ideas. Go after what you want.

Senior year is a blow-off. You've worked hard for the past three years, put the time in, already sent your transcripts to colleges. So go ahead, sit back and relax. Enjoy those 4 art classes you scheduled, and if you feel so inclined to skip first period and go out to breakfast on a weekly basis, you've earned it, right? Wrong. It may seem glorious now to feel like you're in the "home stretch," but if you plan on being successful in college, you're nowhere near the finish line. It may seem like a drag to be taking AP calculus when all of your friends are passing on the math classes altogether, but you'll be glad you did when your calculus professor in college is covering the amount of material it took you a year to learn in high school in one month. College is tough, and the best way to prepare for it is to jam-pack your schedule senior year with classes that will sufficiently prepare you. Time management is key in college, so senior year, when you're involved in extracurriculars galore, is a perfect time to test the waters.

Make sure that you do work during the week and in between classes to free up your weekend so you don't feel left out or pressured in classes.

Work hard in high school to set yourself up to do well in college. College isn't a cakewalk, you're going to spend a lot of time in the books but you'll be a better person for it. Have fun and don't regret a thing. This is the best time of your life hands down.

Before stepping foot onto a college campus, have an idea or an outline of what you would like to accomplish in your four years of college. Whether it's joining a club, looking for courses, or playing a sport, know what you're looking for out of a college. It will better enable you to choose your best fit. After choosing your college, take a tour of the campus and learn everything you need to know about it. Know where you can go to get help academically, financially, etc. Having this information helps in the long run. Also, become very active on your campus. Students that are active tend to succeed better not only socially, but also academically. When you find your niche, it propels you up the ladder of success. Last but not least, network, network, network. Networking gives you a plethora of connections worldwide. When you network and make bonds with people in your prospective job area, you create a greater access to obtaining what you ultimate goal is--and that's graduating as a well-rounded adult capable and ready to delve into your career.

I would tell myself that at first the transition is hard and you get homesick a lot, but as the weeks go by you start to find your own place on campus. It's almost as if your life starts when you begin college because of all the day-to-day decisions that you have to make on your own. You can do things your own way without having to worry about what others think is best for you.

If given the chance to give myself a piece of college wisdom, I would say to audition for the shows during my freshman year. I feel that I have missed out on an entire year of experience because of my indecisiveness. I would also let myself know that reaching out to people and not being such a bookworm would have helped me feel more accepted during the college transition. I would also encourage my belief that partying is a way to relax after a stressful period in time, not a weekly ritual. I have always felt that taking partying a little too far is never a good thing, and my peers remind me of that constantly. Love like you've never been hurt, dance like no one is watching, and laugh full-heartedly.

Apply to more schools. Don't worry about social life as much, it comes naturally. Don't exclusively date anyone. Drink less alcohol

When planning out your schedule, put the classes that will be most difficult within the 11am-4pm time range to avoid sleeping through important material or being burnt out by the time those classes start. Still, don't be afraid of morning or evening classes. They can sometimes be the best. Pick one or two club activities to get seriously involved with, but get on the mailing lists for any that seem interesting; often you can pick-and-choose meetings or events to attend without commiting time every week to a given club. Talk to professors and befriend advisors because they will be the best sources of help for present and future concerns and can provide awesome recommendation letters to employers if they know you on a personal level. Have as many new experiences as you can fit in, and try everything offered. Take advantage of the many resources around you and become a member of the city community as well as the student body. Work hard, get sleep, always save a little money for food, and mostly have fun. You'll grow the most out of your experiences and education when you enjoy yourself.

Don't stress about money. Focus on your school work and your education will pay for itself after all the hard work you put in. Also don't worry about leaving home. Everything will be fine there and you will be fine one your own. P.S. You actually end up liking Organic Chemistry so stop dreading taking it!

As I stated previously, I would tell myself to find a career path that I really wanted to pursue. I had no direction going into college and just bounced around from major to major. It is a problem millions of students face when first going to college. I would have sought out help either through my high school counseling services or career services at local colleges to help understand the different fields that exist. This would have prevented me from spending an extra year in college just to complete my undergraduate degree and would have given me the determination and drive to do much better in school. I figured out that I wanted to be an occupational therapist during my junior year and I currently attend graduate school for occupational therapy but when I look back on those first few years of college, I feel like I wasted a lot of valuable time. I could have been researching the the occupational therapy field, shadowing clinicians, and possibly working as an occupational therapy assistant. That is the most important topic I would discuss.

Selecting a college that best fits who you are and what you are looking for is a difficult task. I looked at both larger and midsize universities and universities that were in the city and in the country. You get a feeling when you walk onto the right campus. I knew from the minute I walked onto the University of Pittsburgh campus that is were I belonged. It is not easy your freshman year trying to adjust to the larger classroom sizes and making new friends but I would not change the experience I had. It made me grow as a person and at times made me dig deep inside myself and push myself to go on knowing that I could find who I really was if I looked deep and hard enough.

Parents might be paying for college, but remember it is the kids who are going. Students- please go to the school that is right for you if possible. These 4 years will be some of the best you've had! Parents- please let your children go where they want if you can!

First be realistic about what you can afford. A student should not have to constantly worry about your families finacial situation. Private schools may not be the best option for some people if scholarships are not provided. Students, do not let your friends influence where you want to go- when you go to college you will only keep in touch with a few people from high school. When finding the right college, look at a variety of opions, and students, listen to your parents and see at least one school they recomend. I go to Pitt, and I didn't even want to look there at first. Now I love it. Just keep an open mind and when you see the school that you are meant to go to, you will know. Oh, and if you visit a school and as soon as you enter the campus you don't like it, drive right home- don't waste your time taking a tour if you are not interested.