University of Washington-Seattle Campus Top Questions

I would advise my eighteen year old self to take control of stress. Stress can be the spark that lights the fire of motivation. Or, the taunting devil on one’s shoulder. The difference is mentality. One cannot eliminate stress from their life; it is a fact of life. Applying to colleges, keeping up with classes, and being a competitive athlete was a good learning experience. I used stress as a motivator, and I am very happy with the result. I was a Division I athlete at University of Washington my freshman year, and now I focus full time on school and work. I should have been grateful for the opportunity, instead of fretting about possible rejection. Needless to say, I spent the remainder of my senior year stressing about getting into college, even after I sent in my applications. Complete. Waste. Of. Energy. I realize in hindsight that it distracted me from my classes, as well as robbing me from enjoying the fruits of my labor. I don’t have a time machine, so my only option is to implement this advice going forward. Stress can be an undermining force or a source of strength.

It is difficult to know exactly what I would say to myself as a high school Senior because it took me 10 years after that to realize that higher education was a necesisity and something I would be successful in. I would tell myself to continue to work hard at the things that I am pasionate about and spend more effort in trying to make college and my studies a priority. I am grateful for my experiences but wish I had someone to cheer me on and tell me how important college would be to me one day. I would want my younger self to understand that college would give me opportinities to interface with people that can help me succeed in the career of my choice. The straight A students in high school are NOT the only students that will be successful in college. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication but it is aboslutely possible for you.. or myself to be successful in College. Just go for it!

Don't be afraid of your own potential. Start a business. Tell her how you feel. Start longboarding. Stop adapting and just be who you are. Say no. Start a group on facebook for those coming to UW who go to high schools in the area to create a network.

Dear High School Self, Your mind is full of 'what ifs.' What if this isn't the best college for me? What if I'm not smart enough for college? I am here to tell you to stop. Stop stressing about the 'what ifs.' You worked hard to get to where you are today and you need to take a moment to be proud of yourself. Now, here are a few key things to remember to be successful in the transition to college. First, make sure to set goals that are for yourself and not anyone else. It is YOUR life, and you are the only person that knows what will make you happy. Secondly, push yourself outside your box. That can mean anything from participating in study abroad to trying rock climbing. Don't let your fears hold you back from things you may fall in love with. Finally, make sure to enjoy yourself. College is as much for personal growth as it is for academic growth. You will discover who you are in college, so don't get your nose too stuck in those books. Go out there and rock this whole college thing! Love, Future self

I would tell myself to start saving a lot of money because college is really expensive. I would also tell myself to study harder and always do my own work instead of using a friend on some assignments.

If I could somehow communicate with my high school self, I would emphasize, more than anything, that I devote myself to my schoolwork. I thought I was a "smart" kid, who could maintain good grades with minimal work. Out of that mindset, awful habits develloped that really crippled my college career. UW demands much from its students, and that high school attitude would not prepare me at all for what was to come. That being said, there are many opportunities that will present themselves in college that are not at all as exciting as you might think them to be. Stay away from drugs. Above all else, say no to drugs. The mystery and danger they present might be alluring, but they are nowhere near as exciting as you expect them to be, and not at all worth the cost. Not only are they financially taxing, they place a physical and mental burden on you that is not only unnecessary but also extremely difficult to overcome. In the end, you won't feel any wiser or more experienced for having experimented with them. Certainly go out and make friends, but always ensure that school comes first.

After completing my Fall Quarter at the University of Washington, I flew home to my hometown, San Clemente. Visiting my high school and speaking with my high school friends, I gave them one important piece of advice. In high school I was always concerned with what people thought and how successful I would be. However, after being in college, I told my friends that none of that matters. The most important thing to do is to be yourself and do what you want to do. Ultimately you are in control and whatever you choose to do, you have the opportunity to be successful.

As a child on family hikes, I loved to follow rabbit trails off the main path. Usually, they dead-ended with blackberry bushes, but sometimes I made jaw-dropping discoveries, like a giant, abandoned tree house. By high school, I had forgotten how to follow rabbit trails. I was on an honors track, involved in Wind Ensemble, and church activities. I assumed once I began college, I would be a real adult who knew exactly where she was going. Actually, college is much more about accepting that you will always be a person in progress. It's about goals and exploration, ambition and flexibility. College broke down many assumptions about myself, the order of things, and what success should look like. I switched my career path from music to social work to English. Writing a poem abroad at the coliseum and helping children make paper machete balloons were my unexpected tree house moments. These moments have led me to where I am now in pursuing Elementary teaching. Now, I would say: high school self, don't be afraid of rabbit trails. You will never have everything figured out. Embrace the messiness of an unknown journey. Enjoy the person you become.

If I were to go back in time, I would tell myself to prepare for college in advance. I would have done much more research and tried applying to more scholarships. I would decide much earlier in advance what I wanted to study and what I wanted to become. I would do this so that I could do more research on what goals I have to accomplish and what requirements I have to meet. In general, I would tell myself to be more prepared.

You need to sit down and think about your future and what it is going to take to get there. Because your parents have not attended college, you do not have the same guidance as other kids on how to prepare for college and what to do once you get there. You have big aspirations, and with those big aspirations come a lot of hard work and thorough planning. Doing your research is very important on what it takes to become a doctor and the standards that come along through your education. Knowing what is coming will help tremendously so you won't start college without a clue what you are doing. If you knew what to expect, then you will not waste time and money. Most importantly, you will know the importance of grades and studying and how dire they are to your success as a doctor and even just getting into medical school. Advice for anyone getting ready to go to college is to know what you want and take it very seriously because it is a whole new world completely different from high school.

To not procrastinate and put absolutely everything you have into your college applications because they truly determine where and how happy you are going to be the next four years.

Life as a high school senior differs greatly from the life of an undergraduate in college. One of the major differences is independence. As a high schooler, you learn to depend on teachers to tell you when certain assignments are due and you also occasionally depend on your parents to help you with homework, laundry, and food. However, once you're in college, you must learn to do these things yourself. The single most important thing to master independence is to learn how to manage your time. The best way to manage your time is to use a calander. Using a calander allows you to see when certain tasks are meant to be done. By learning this time management technique, you will easily be able to depend on yourself.

College. That word which causes even the strongest of high school students to tremble a little inside. However, after three years of college, the concept of higher education is not as daunting as it once was. I have shed much blood, sweat and tears to arrive at this point, but college has made me into a much stronger and well-rounded person. If I could travel back a couple years and tell myself something, it would be to stay one step ahead. When I maintained a jumpstart on the syllabus and my fellow students around me, I was very relaxed and able to contribute better to my classes. On the flipside, when I was just barely hanging onto my classwork, I was extremely stressed and started to fall behind. As a result, I would highly recommend to my senior self to schedule my time in a calendar to peacefully work on my assignments. However, the bottom line of college is just to enjoy the experience, your fellow classmates and most importantly the incredible opportunity to gain knowledge of this world!

Young lady: I am going to tell you some things that you need to keep close and grasp with all your strength. I am going to tell you things that you will not like to hear, things that you will cry over, but will ultimately make your young life easier. You resisted these things as best as you could, but I am here to tell you now that these things will resurface again in ten years’ time. First, you cannot escape the essay. Writing will dominate your world from now until the end of time. It will define your college career in more ways than you can imagine. Second, do not fear your classmates. You should all work together to reach your final goal. They are not your enemy; they are not your competition. You may meet them again one day and you may rely on them once more. Finally, you cannot be shy anymore. Even if it is scary, even if it is painful, you must expose yourself. You must meet and greet and hang onto the lifeline of every last soul you cross, because that is how you will advance through your life. You cannot do it alone.

I would tell myself to enjoy the presence of my friends in high school while I still can. Although I still talk with them every now and then, it is not the same as it used to be. Sure, I made new friends when I went to college, but one of the best friends that I have now is someone who I was acquaintances with in high school and is in the same college as me now. I did not have many true friends in high school, only one or two, most of the people that I hung out with were barely more than acquaintances like the friend I described above. For some reason, I was not letting myself get close to these people that I saw every day, but now that I am in college, I see that friendships are extremely important when going for a higher level of education if you want to remain sane. If I would have allowed myself to enjoy my friends more, I would have had a much more relaxed final year of high school, and many of them would continue to be my friends today.

Those whose joy bursts from their bodies like firecrackers are those who choose to be happy. You are just a young kid – the world that surrounds you now is not the world that is waiting for you. Don’t let shy passivity stunt the growth of your creativity. You are not old – don’t try to act older for the sake of blending in, your youth is worth so much more than to be wasted. Clutch your joy in your hands and don’t let it go. Give your all to the college you are accepted to: opportunities will ebb and flow as your time there grows, seize the ones that bring passion to your life. You are entering a time of “brand new” – go on adventures, stay out, explore, make choices based on the person you strive to be in order to better the one you will be at college. Most importantly, don’t hold back on forming new relationships – your friends will be your comfort when you feel homesick or lost among a sea of work. Nurture the time you spend with others.

I will look back on college as one of the best times of my life. However, there are a few pieces of advice I would give to a high school senior about to begin college: The first is purely practical - I highly recommend looking for a job on campus soon after you start. You will be able to get valuable academic and research experience that will skyrocket your chances of landing a successful job or graduate school application after college. Many of my extracurricular activities and recommendation letters came from a job I got during my freshman year. Second, stay organized and on top of your classes, both with your lecture material and with the schedule you need to keep in order to graduate on time. This will save you lots of stress and possibly a large chunk of tuition money if you don't need to stay an extra semester to take a missing class to complete your degree. Finally, meet as many people as possible, find friends to live with, study abroad, and take as many opportunities as you can. Make the most of your time in college, and be prepared to love your newfound independence!

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to relax and center my undergraduate experience on what suited my career personally, not on "what I was supposed to be doing" or my GPA. I would tell myself to challenge myself with classes that I found interesting as well as subject matters that I wasn't as good at, in order to be well rounded and make sure that certain career options did not suit me. With the exceptions of fields such as pre-med or business, the undergraduate experience is a privilege that allows a student to explore and find what they are good at. Many do not take advantage of the tools at their disposal because they are set on a certain path or mindset, even if they haven't taken the time to test our their different options. Second, I'd tell myself that having issues adjusting to college is perfectly okay. I feel that I would have coped better with the mental health issues I struggled with (anxiety and anorexia nervosa) if I had allowed myself to be okay with how hard adjusting is.

I would tell myself to do more research on colleges and majors before deciding what you want to do. The more research that you do, the easier it will be to make a decision that will effect your life. The earlier you research all options, the greater the chance of you making a definite decision in your career path. The sooner you start searching and applying for scholarships increases the opportunity of receiving financial support. Stay focused in school and make the best grades you can for this will also increase your chance of receiving a scholarship to the school of your choice. Do not settle for second best. Strive for excellence.

Going from high school to college was an exciting yet nervewracking experience for me. Having gone through that period of transition before, I am about to go through it once more. I will be attending graduate school this fall and the same questions are running through my head. "Is it going to be harder?" "What will the people be like?" "How different will it be?" Advice that I give to my high school self is the same I'd give to my current self. It would be to take advantage of all the opportunities available. Take the fun classes like graphic arts or ceramics that are seemingly frivolous because those classes may actually help you in your career or become a serious hobby. I would also tell myself that I can do much more than I think I am capable of and to not be afraid to take on challenges. I never knew how hard I could work until I got to college. Don't sell yourself short because you are afraid you won't do well. I'll make sure to follow this advice to my past high school self as I embark on a new academic journey.