University of Wisconsin-Madison Top Questions

Upon Finding Myself in the Past (Double Meaning?): Listen, baby. I know you're all content with yourself right now; it's only September, it's your last year in this horrible high school, and you can spend the whole thing thinking about how great college will be. You're taking it easy in your classes and focusing on clubs and friends and fun things. This year is all about what doing what you feel like doing, isn't it? What you should do comes second, is that right? Well, guess what? I am so proud of you. Staying calm and cool like this is exactly what will make the terrifying transition of child to adult much less terrifying. You can trust me on that. So continue to do exactly what your little, easy-going heart desires. It all works itself out in the end.

I'm glad that you'll maintain the good habits that you established in high school at Yale. Continue to work smart and rest well to succeed as you encourage others on campus. You'll continue to make wise use of your professors and Career Services. Keep living your passion to empower marginalized communities. You will do this with Spanish and French-speaking communities in the United States and abroad. After college, you will do this through corporate social responsibility as a lawyer with a finance background. The friends and family that you have now will remain in school, and your compassion for others will develop many beautiful, long-lasting friendships. You'll enjoy cheering others on as you and your friends realize new goals and benefit the community. Congratulations on your success thus far. Enjoy what is to come!

If I could go back in time and talk to my high school self, I would tell myself to make sure that I study harder. I would want myself to develop better study habits so that I would not have to try to discover what study strategies work for me during my first semester of college. If I had established a solid base of study habits in high school, I think I would have had a better first semester of college.

Firstly, I would give a background introduction of each college and university I am interested in attending. Then, I would give a detailed explanation on the university's academic education and the various undergraduate majors offered, and how the programs can be used as a stepping stone in the future working environment or in graduate studies. Besides the academic aspect, I could also talk about campus life, including the people, culture, living residences, food, sports, transportation, costs and virtually everything else that will affect me. If the university is in a different city from that of my high school, I could give a general perspective on living in the city, and even introduce myself to new and interesting places of interest that I could visit, as well as what I could enjoy and what needs to be avoided. These advice will definitely help a newcomer, like my high school senior self, to integrate seamlessly into the college and city community, easing the pressure of adapting to the new environment.

I would advise myself to wipe away any preconceived notions about what it means to grow up in a “normal” environment, as well as what it means to be “normal”. I grew up in a place where the norm was to finish high school and go to college. When people graduated from high school, you did not ask what people were going to do after graduation; you asked where they were going to school. This was normal to me. However, going through college and talking with people who grew up in different environments than me made me realize that there is no normal. People come from all different backgrounds and this shapes who they are. Learning from people of all backgrounds helps give you a different perspective on life. It helps you grow as a person and realize how you want to live your life. I believe people who never learn about lifestyles different from their own will never be able to understand some of the struggles people in this country go through. Because of college, I have a been able to challenge my view of the world and this has helped me have a better understanding of the world.

Some advice that I would give myself back as a high school senior is to take more challenging classes before getting to college. I didn't take easy classes but some AP classes like AP Biology or AP Chemistry really good've helped me do better in some of my gen ed classes I am taking this year. I am taking Zoology 101 currently and it is very similar to AP Biology. If I would've taken the AP class, I would be doing better in Zoology 101 and would have a great backround knowledge of Biology, compared to me now having not taken Biology since 9th grade. Another thing I know now that I would advise to my senior in high school self is learn how to truly study. In high school, I was never forced to study a lot, or study very intensely. My parents would tell me I need to learn to study before I get to college but I didn't know what they meant. College classes take many, many hours in your dorm room or at the library studying just to pass. I had no idea what the rigor would be like at Madison.

Our battle is with the time. My mission is graduating in the regular process, even in the shorter time than the regular graduating. This means to me: To be perfectly organized, to spent the time with highest efficiency, to be very concentrated in studying. At least, to understand that I will be running in all my life. For me, the High School must be the right place where I should have learned how important a good schedule is, and especially, how important the schedule realization is.

I assumed my time at UW-Madison would be a breeze. My first semester proved this wrong. I wasn’t prepared to face the emotional, social, and academic challenges that hit me as soon as I arrived. At first, I clung to friends from high school. When these friends made new friends and I didn’t, I found myself alone. While the rest of my classmates found their place, I fell into the background and my grades suffered. Other students stayed close with their families, but I was always “too busy.” To top it off, I gained the “Freshman 15.” I contemplated dropping out. I’d lost my identity. Soon I realized I needed to step out of my comfort zone and make communication a priority. I developed friendships. Having friends for support, made everything easier. I joined student organizations, got to know my instructors and reconnected with my family. Soon my grades improved. Instead of just another student on campus, I started to feel significant. I’m learning to appreciate communication. The more people I meet, the more connections and opportunities I’ve had. This huge campus gets a little smaller each time I see a familiar smile.

Listen up, you don't have to rush this. Education is about being involved, and that means forming a relationship with knowledge, with your teachers, your peers, and your community. Yes, your parents want you to finish in 4 years and then get a job. Maybe you think it will look bad if you don't, or if it takes you longer or you want to start making money or don't want to graduate without your friends, but this is can be the beginning of a lifelong relationship with what makes you a passionate, cultivated, and self-reflexive citizen. Being educated is a privelege. Attending lectures with 500 other anonymous, voiceless students, never knowing your professor, cramming for tests, and never applying the knowledge as you learn it is, is a shame. This is the moment in life when you are priveleged enough to be given the space, the time, and the resources to really learn something about the world and yourself. Take your time.

Save the money! I worked throughout high school and always spent the money I earned right away on things that I do not even use anymore. The biggest stressor during my college career, other than school, has been money. I would tell myself to save as much as I could because, there are some emergencies that happen that you cannot control. I would also tell myself to stay true to who I am. Once I got into college, there are a couple of times that I have questioned about who I was, if I was doing the right thing, and if I was where I belonged. I would say that get to know yourself as best as you can while you're in high school, because it saves time during college of trying to figure out who you are. The last thing I would tell myself is that you have a blank slate. You are going to a new place where people may or may not know you. Embrace that, try new things, do not dwell on things that happend in high school, because nobody cares in college. You have a blank slate where you can become whoever you want.