University of Southern California Top Questions

You cannot do this alone.

Dear Andrew, You are in for one wild ride at the college of your dreams. It may seem sublime, but you need to realize that you are going to one of the most difficult schools in the nation. Remember that your school work comes first. You will be pressured to go to parties instead of studying for an exam or doing homework, but do not forget that it costs lots of money to go to college. You would not want to make our mom waste their money right? Just be sure to keep your priorities straight and be true to yourself. Do not try and impress the fraternity boys or try and be somebody you are not. You know who you are and you will be a success if you just stay on the right track. Always work hard, then party as a celebration of you success. P.S. Please do not get distracted by all the beautiful women on campus. Love always, Andrew Acosta

Dear my nervous, perfectionist, trembling High-School-Self, Do you know how beautiful you are? Do you know how much strenghth is balled up in your clumsy, awkward body (it's still beautiful!) that you're still growing in to? Why do you only say a tenth of the things you want to say? What are you so afraid of? You've worked hard. You've done enough. You are enough. You are about to pick up and move across the country and that's okay. You are going to stumble, you are going to miss your mom, you are going to regret this for a few weeks, you are going to cry yourself to sleep. And that is okay. This experience is going to grow you as a student, as a sister, as a daughter, as a friend and as an indivdual. You are going to be challenged and pushed around and not everyone is going to like you. And that is okay! You need to leave your hometown so that you can come back and see how much you've grown. Leave your footprints. Come back and see how far you've come. Love, ME!

I would tell myself that while the future is scary, complacency is scarier. Colllege is the next step in my life that can take my abilities to another level, and I should fully embrace the unknown ahead.

Lisette, Make sure to get involved in more school activities and build relationships through internships. Also, when looking at paying for school try not to take as many student loans because it will be debt that is not very easy to pay. You should start off by going to a junior college and complete your general eductaion classes first and then transfer to a more expensive University. No matter what you choose make sure to enjoy yourself and have fun. Don't worry so much about knowing what you want your career to be because you will figure that out with experience.

Don’t be afraid if you don’t know what you want to study just yet. Specialization is overrated and so is the idea that everything you study or do has to have some sort of practical application. Being interesting, having a story to tell, is more valuable than being valedictorian. Don’t devalue personal relationships and don’t let others tell you who you are. Taking care of yourself doesn’t make you selfish. Drink water, keep breathing. You’re doing just fine.

From first hand experience, I know what it feels like to lie in bed awake for hours wondering if I’ll get accepted to a college. I understand that months before acceptance letters, all you and your friends can talk about is college. I remember the self doubt when everyone seems to be getting early acceptances, and you’re just waiting to get the first letter. But in hindsight, I realize that many high school seniors, including myself, make the mistake of wasting months worrying and stressing for something we can’t even help. These emotions won’t give us better chances of being accepted, and frankly, getting into your first choice isn’t as grand as we all make it out to be. Yes, college is important, but why are we going to college? It should be because we want to learn as much as we can, so that one day, we can help make the lives of those around us a little bit better. With that aspiration in mind, we shouldn’t waste time worrying. Instead, we should continually live with passion, and trust that wherever we end up, is where our journey to a better world begins.

I would tell myself to slow down, stop and smell the roses once in a while. There is no need to hurry through life, college is something that should be savored. Just as important as the classes you take, are the lessons you learn about life. College provides you with life expierence that nothing else can match. Use every opportunity to network and meet people with similar interests and goals. They might someday be your future co-worker, boss or even help you get that job you've always wanted. College is about so much more than a degree or a series of classes you take, you wont remember half of them. Once you leave you'll recall little about what you were taught in the classroom but you will treasure the people you met and the expierences that shape who you are as a person, so try and have as many of those expierences as possible. Dont rush them, don't overlook them and don't forget about them. When its all over you have a lifetime to work and grow in your career but you can never get back those 4 years, so live a little.

Treat your depression. The same things you did in high school won't work here, not ever.

Hindsight is 20/20.This has gradually become my favorite phrase. It begs the question, what if? What if I chose a cheaper school instead of the University of Southern California? Then I would not have as much debt that haunts me everyday. Then again, I would not have met the love of my life. What if I volunteered more at Rocket Propulsion Lab (RPL)? Then I probably would have gotten that prestigious job at SpaceX like my classmates who were in RPL. Then again, I would not have had time for the Christian club where I met all of my closest friends. The only “what if” that I do not have a “then again” for is: what if I majored in something sports related, which I actually enjoy, instead of Astronautical Engineering? Then I would not have wasted 8 semesters, an internship, and a year at an engineering firm. Then I would not have to go to graduate school for Physical Education and Sports Management and augment my mountain of student loans. So, if I could advise my high school senior self, I would say, “Go to USC, but choose a major based on your heart not on expectations.”

If I could go back to senior year, I would tell myself to not stress so much about what I wanted to do in life. Going to college gives you so many options to consider, and there is plenty of time to figure out exactly what you want to do in the future. I would tell myself that instead of focuing energy on worrying about my career path, I should focus more energy on the present. I wish that I would have spent my final year in high school focusing on school work, extra curriculars, and loved ones instead of worrying myself sick about grad school and my career options.

I would tell myself to apply for way more scholarships, especially given the school I chose. School costs a lot of money and I wish I had been applying for scholarships my first day of high school.

It seems so easy now, but I would tell myself not to worry so much. Worring wastes so much time and energy and achives absolutely nothing but creating a negative aura around my life. My relationships with my friends and family suffered and could be so much smoother presently if I hadn't been an inssesant worry-wart in high school. I must now spend my time with my loved ones to show them how different- positive and easy going- I am, so that I can heal realtionships I injured with my past brusque "beacause I'm worried and stressed" attitude.

If I were to go back and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to apply myself more in the classroom. I would say to get better grades to get in a better position for college. I would tell myself this because inn high school I was never the best student and due to this I didnt graduate with the rest of my friends. Coming out of high school, I would never think I would make it to the University of Southern California. Even though I made it, I wish that I could of done better in high school because I know that I had it in me but I didnt apply myself.

College is an exciting time in any undergarduates life and there are so many things that could be said to help prepare you for what you are about to go through, but the main thing is very cliché: stay true to who you are and never change. This brand new world of freedom is full of temptation and of people, professors and ideas that are meant to exist to influence your thoughts, actions and tickle your intellect – remember your moral values and do not let yourself be easily swayed by people who mean to sneak you onto their side of the spectrum. The worst thing that you could do is let college change you. College is a time in your young life that should help you develop into the person that you are meant to be; here, you're supposed to discover things about yourself that you did not know existed, because of this be logical, but also follow your heart. Money may become an issue, as long as you follow your passions and do what you love and put 110{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} into everything you do, I can guarantee that in the end you will be happy and money will come.

You are about to embark on a journey that will become the best four years of your life. Make sure to join every club, take every interesting class you can and enjoy every single minute of it. The next four years will fly by!

I would tell my previous self that I should go to the college or university that I was in love with. It is important that you never settle in life as it is too short to waste on things that are “good enough.” I would tell myself to apply for on campus jobs during the summer between my graduation and first year in order to provide a supplemental income during the first year. I would tell myself that I need to have the confidence to face rejection in order to put myself out there. I would tell myself that people will invite me to parties, expecting me to drink and do drugs, and ask me support causes that I would not agree with, and that I could say no and rise above the peer pressure. That if I have confidence in my decisions and in my abilities that I will succeed.

If I could go back in time to when I was a senior i would tell myself to prepare alot more then I did. College life is far from easy, it is the very first time when you are offically on your own and living your own life. At that very point and time you realize that it is all up to you. Al l the studying , laundry, food, cleaning, and work is all up to you. I would tell myself to believe in what all the highschool teachers were saying because they tell you time and time again that college professors are not going to be easy on you and they are 100 precent correct. Most importantly I would tell myself to work hard and love what I am doing with all the passion in the world, because its what you're doing for the rest of your life. Work hard for your dreams because they're all you've got!

If I could tell my 18-year-old self anything, I'd tell her nothing. I would watch her make every mistake she's about to make, keep mum on every wrong choice, and let her do whatever she wanted for the next 4 years. I'd watch her switch her major 5 times, date the wrong guy, drink the jungle juice, take in more calories through coffee consumption than actual food, and sit back as she freaked out about it all. Then, after 3 and a half years, I'd watch her realize that she just spent the last 3 and a half years making a million terrible decisions. I won't tell my 18-year-old self what to do but I'll hope she makes every mistake she should, because those mistakes will teach her more than any tenured professor could. They'll teach her who she is. They'll teach her who it is she wishes never to be and who it is she wants to become. They will prepare her for the most fulfilling life. But I won't tell her that; I think I'll let her figure it out on her own.

Being an Resident Advisor, one thing I often encounter si that in college people appreciate hard work and talent more than in high school. People arent' a worried about imageand ore instead worried about making themselves and finding who they really want to be around. At a large school, one can equally find themselves lost or in the right place depending on how they are able to find the appriprate groups of people - primarily through activities and proxomity, to be around nd do stuff with. While the focus is on grades for high school, college gives you so much more flexability, often you can't focus on grades as much as you did in high school, spcially on many professional fields, if you're able to have more valuable experiences during your time in college. Depending on your school, many sterotypes about college aren't too far off for many schools, but whatever you're doing is a decision and you should be strong enough to make that decision once you reach college. In high school, many things were limited but at college you have more flexability to change environments, friends, and surroundings to your benefit or not.