University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Top Questions

I would suggest exploring things more. Push yourself to go outside your comfort zone while you still have the bubble of high school around you. Once you're here, you're here. Mom and Dad are only a phone call away, but it's still a lot different and you have to learn how to make decisions on your own.

The final nine-month period of high school can be the most rewarding, or the most stressful time in a student's life. There are expectations to meet, scholarships to write, and most importantly, a college to choose. Looking back now, there are so many things that I wish I would have done differently. How would things have ended up if I could go back in time? My life could distinctly change, or perhaps it wouldn’t be affected at all. That, I will never know the answer to. If I could have a conversation with my past self, I would mention the concept I think is most crucial in receiving an education, as well as in everyday life. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. I used to never worry about due dates, and I always told myself that I could finish at a later time. Having this mindset got me into trouble more often than not. I would often forget that assignments were due, and then would spend the night before cramming it in so that I could at least receive a decent grade. With a college workload, having a habit such as procrastination will bring you down, both physically and academically.

There are many things I would advise myself to do. Academicly I would advise myself to start studying before the year started on the major I wanted so I could be a little bit more prepared for my classes and they would go much more smoothly.. I would also advice to set up a planner as well as try to find as many scholarships as possible to reduce the price of tuition. As for living in college, I would advise myself to learn to use less things and live in a smaller space. This is key when it comes to college because of the limited spacing and the needing to move out of the dorm so often. Another very important piece of advise is the tips to living with a roommate. Always try your best to choose a good roommate and get to know them before the year starts. All of this is very important for starting college but the most important piece of advise I could give myself is to relax and meet new people as soon as school starts.

Dear Future Austin, I know you did not enjoy your campus visit to University of Wisconsin-Madison but if you do well enough to get in, it is the only school to consider attending along with University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Both of them are great institutions, communities, and have a great social life. Doesn’t matter which university you choose, I have two pieces of advice for you: 1. live by the motto work hard and play hard 2. get involved on campus. Remember you are there for the education first. Take care of your studies and find out what it takes to be successful in college. That being said to survive college you need to have fun. To balance out the stressfulness of school make sure you let loose. Get involved on campus. By getting involved you will meet people who will become lifelong friends, great mentors and learn lifelong professional skills. For me I chose to work at the campus recreation facility which was probably the best decision of my time at La Crosse. Follow this advice and you will have a fun and successful time where ever you choose to go. On Wisconsin, Austin

The most obvious piece of advice I would give myself would be to get more involved at the beginning. When I started college I gradually got involved, trying to take time to see what interested me. However, because of this I was not able to gain any leadership positions during my first semester. Making the transition into college leadership roles would have gone smoother if I had just picked a couple campus organizations and jumped right in, because as a college freshman it's okay to not know what you're interested in, and quickly trying something new would be a great experience and a better way to transition into college.

If I could go back and give myself advice as a high school senior, there would be a lot to say. One of the biggest pieces of advice I would give is learn how to manage your time because in college you have a lot more free time, but you also have more homework and studying to do. Also, I would tell myself to read the textbook... don't just skim it. In high school you can get away with just looking for the answers but in college professors test on things in the book that haven't been covered in class, so reading the book will be the only way to get that information. Lastly, I would tell myself to create good study habits. Whether it be making notecards or creating outlines, but if you start them early they will stick with you and studying will become easier in college.

I would tell myself two things: first of all, live on campus your sophomore year as well. Living off campus limits the friendships you make and also makes it more difficult to use campus resources. Secondly, do not choose your friends based on what they do on the weekends. My strongest friendships were bound by staying in on the weekends and actually getting to know each other rather than by going to parties every weekend. The latter choice only led me to losing those friendships when I decided not to go out anymore, and I ended up wasting my time on superficial friendships, rather than building others even stronger.

The mistake I made was that I took many AP courses which could have transferred to the university but did not think of it at the time. That would have saved me a lot of money and allow me to choose my courses for the next term easier to obtain instead of trying to get overrides into it. When does not fully understand the importance of this until it happens to them and one of my biggest regrets in life because it put me back trying to reach my profession in the health field. One other thing was to tell myself to work more. Everyone told me that college is expensive but I never knew how bad it was. Money is one of the biggest obstacles because I was a first generation college student so this was all a new/stressful expierence trying to see if I could even afford going to a post secondary school. In the end I would beg myself to be proactive about paying for courses and working as much as possible to be financially stable.

I would give myself the advice to be myself and be more social as a college freshman. I was so concerned with the stereotypical "change" that people make when they go to college that I didn't realize what was important to me and thought that I had to become a completely different person. I would give myself the advice to stick to my beliefs, values and true personality through college. It is so important for any person, let alone college kids, to stick to their true personalities and to surround themselves with people who will accept them for who they are.

If I could go back and talk to my high school senior self, I would tell myself that...it's okay. It's okay to be different. It's okay to be unique. Do not change who you are or what you believe in just to fit in. You WILL find friends who appreciate the REAL you. Be open, and be honest. Live your life to the fullest and love others in every way possible. Go the extra mile. Lend a willing hand. Be so happy that when others look at you, they become happy too. If I could go back and give myself some advice, this is what I would say. I'd encourage myself to get more involved and take chances. College only happens once (or we at least hope it only happens once), and it is one of the BEST times of your life. Experience everything you can while you are at this stage in life. Get out there and make yourself known. Be who you are. Be who you want to be. That is the advice I would give my high school senior self.