University of Tulsa Top Questions

Keep a completely open mind. Don't pass down opportunities to try new things, meet new people, see new places just because it seems "weird" or you never thought about it before. But do everything while sticking to your morals, and go with your gut feeling about things, it's usually right. You're mature, you have a great head on your shoulders - but don't get too confident about that - always remember you have so far to go, and so much to learn. Don't try to replace the best friends you had in high school, forge new friendships; once you realize the new friendships are different and uncomparable to the old, you will enjoy them so much more. In conclusion, trust your friends, trust your family, trust yourself, and trust in God.

Pursue more scholarships because your family will be hit hard financially with your brother also going to college then getting a second kind of cancer and will lose over half our business. Line up more medical field shadowing opportunities for the first two years. Take advantage of tutoring for the transition during freshman year. Do not be afraid to talk to your professors the first year, they are very accessible and do not feel intimidated. Do not underestimate yourself because a quarter of your classmates are national merit scholars and that 80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of them came from private schools. Overall, do your best but do not beat yourself up if you do not make a 4.0 as long as you did your best.

Erika, I know you want to go far. I know you have big dreams. DON’T GIVE UP. Look around and make sure you breathe. You have done a lot of research on colleges all over the United States. But, you know what? Education is what you make of it. You will go through hard times and you will soar high. Take it in and enjoy yourself. Talk to everyone, smile and soak up anything you can. Never let go of tea, drink, and steep, and read. College is not all parties, don’t worry! You are serious about school but also let your hair down and enjoy a cup at the Coffee house. You will make mistakes, learn from it. Try out for the Vagina monologues and take back your sense of woman. Get to know your professors, they really are human and are so interested in you. It doesn’t matter that you were wait listed at the University of Chicago… education is what you make it to be, no matter where you go, you are your own and you want to learn. That is all that matters. University of Tulsa is full of opportunities, take them!

If I could go back in time and talk to my high school self, I would say, "Self. You really need to stop worrying about what everybody else is doing. You need to stop trying to fit in. Pay attention in your classes and really focus on learning because you're going to college! You're not just going to finish high school and not do anything for the next 5 years. After you wait too long, it'll get a lot more challenging and tougher for you to remember all the things you KIND OF paid attention to. Get on the ball and start filling out applications to colleges and for scholarships because if you don't, you'll just be trying your hardest to survive on minimum wage and going from job to job! If you want to live paycheck to paycheck for the rest of your life, go ahead! But I can guarantee you it's not where you want to be. Further your education so you can have a career, not just a job, that'll last you all your life!"

Knowing what I now know about my college and college life, my high school self would have felt very enlightened to have heard some advice like this: Just be confident in yourself and do what you do best. Everyone at a university has their own unique style and they all work together to form one of the most functional communities out there. Also, no matter how smart or good you think you are at something, when you get to college there is always some nerd who is smarter or better at it than you. Practice, study and tell your determined, resolute self within to do whatever it takes if you really want to excel in something.

I would tell myself to find an identity. In college, you have to take ownership of who you are. I would tell myself to figure out what I want to believe, and persue it full heartedly. I would say that my academic success depends on how much effort I decide to put in. Also, I would forwarn myself about how performance driven college is. I am an athlete on TU's track and field team, as well as a pre-med student. The pressures to perform come from all sides. This comes back to the identity issue. If I only knew who I am, and what my worth is, the tresses of transitioning into college would be much easier to handle. I started to realize this by the end of the second semester. Knowing that my self-worth isn't based on how my race goes, or how well I do on a test is very freeing.

Look for more scholarships becasause it is going to get more stressful months down the road. Don't rely on others and take matters into your own hands and make sure things get paid and that there is enough finances to back it. And NEVER give up.

If I were to go back in time and talk to myself as a senior, I would tell make sure and tell him to focus on what is important. Do not get caught up in the partying, but rather to take advantage of every opportunity that is available at the university. The world is yours if you take it seriously. It is not going to give you anything, you have to work for it.

"Don't worry about succeeding or failing. Don't worry about where things are or whether people will accept you. Enjoy the ride. You'll find your way around campus. You'll be surprised by the people you meet: the friends that will be just like you, and the ones that are different. You'll appreciate both types of friends because they'll each make your life more beautiful in their own unique way. Some days will be hard, and you'll wonder if you can survive. But you will. You'll rise to the challenges and overcome the obstacles. You'll realize that you absolutely love to learn. You'll find out what matters to you: who you are, and what you want to do with your life. You'll be different... the same kid who had big dreams, but also a new person, confident and sure of yourself. The University of Tulsa will give you that. You'll never be the same, and choosing to make TU your home will be one decision you'll never regret. I promise."

One factor sticks out when asked the question if I could talk to myself about what would ease my transition over to The University of Tulsa and that is stress. I grew up in a small town with a low percentage of peers who were going to attend college, none of whom going to The University of Tulsa. Therefore it was somewhat intimidating because I was taking on this experience blind with little applicable advice from others. Building on the previous statement, I believe that a certain amount of fear is good because fear is a good motivatior as well as a good indicator of integrity and a chance to test oneself in a once in a lifetime situation that cannot be replicated. In conclusion, the most important advice I would give myself would be more relaxed about the social aspects of college and still be fearful of the academic aspects. This advice would have lessened the amount of overall stress without losing the motiviational and focus to succeed in the classroom.