University of Wisconsin-Madison Top Questions

I graduated from high school with a class of 51 students. When I came to UW-Madison, one of my first classes consisted of a two-floor, theater style classroom with over 600 students. It was definitely a culture shock. But going to college opened my eyes to see what the world has to offer beyond the comfort of my hometown. It was both refreshing and challenging to be living independently for the first time and to know that, as young adults, no matter where or what we've come from, we're all embarking on this journey together.

This school has enabled me to really understand psychological processes and to do research with faculty to learn more about the process behind studying psychology. The school also has one of the top psychology programs in the country, so it has given me a good base to expand to future studies and eventually go to graduate school in order to get my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. The professors I have met and friends I have made at this school can never be replaced.

I think one of the most important lessons that I have gotten out of my college experience was learning that once you are in college as a young adult, you are made accountable for all of your actions. Time management and responsibility are things that all students must learn when they first make it into college. I think learning these lessons has helped me be as productive as I can be and to fully take advantage of the opportunity to attend college. It has been valuable for me to attend college because college has helped me become fully aware of all of my responsibilities and has helped me realize what I need to do to achieve my goal of becoming one of the first doctors in my family.

College has opened me up to a variety of new people and experiences that I never thought would be possible in my small Midwestern hometown. I am proud to be among the best and brightest of my peers that recieve their degree from UW-Madison, being aided and inspired by professors who represent new worlds and ways of thinking. The world is not as an oyster falsely impregnated by a grain of sand whose pearl is destined to be merely another on a strand. My world is a book and each page contains experience and knowledge I intend to collect.

My degree has been my union card in the workplace.

Being in college has allowed me to come out of my shell and has given me the chance to find my own person. Through meeting new people and working through my college classes I have been able to see my own self worth and have learned that when I put my effort to it I can succed in reaching my goals.

I have received so many gifts while attending UW-Madison. I have been able to broaden my horizon on my own goals for my life while understanding how those goals can be integrated into the community. I have become involved in the Schools of Hope Juventud Program here in the Madison, Wisconsin area. This program made a bridge between my personal goals of traveling abroad and becoming a Spanish teacher with helping the community. I tutor sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students who tend to need some help with their English Language skills. I would never would have had this opportunity if it wasn't for the service learning course offered by UW-Madison. The professors, academic advisors, students, and volunteer operators have all assisted me in achieving my goals of learning what I am meant to do with life. If it wasn't for UW-Madison I would still be undecided, wandering around a campus somewhere, wondering what to do with my life. Now I have focus and perspective, along with goals that will benefit both the community and myself.

At the University of Wisconsin, I discovered who I am. The amount of personal growth I experienced as an undergraduate profoundly changed my identity. When I transferred to UW-Madison as a sophomore, I simply hoped that I would begin to enjoy more academic and social freedom than I had at the small, Catholic college I’d attended my freshman year. Instead, I found my life’s direction. My diverse academic classes pointed me on a path of discovery that introduced me to professors who would become my mentors and to peers from whom I gained inspiration, knowledge and lifelong friendships. My journey even led me to study abroad in Cairo, Egypt, an experience that has forever reshaped my perspective on the world and life itself. Perhaps most importantly, as an undergraduate student I met the man who would become the love of my life. My years as a UW-Madison student taught me to seek out those moments that can change a life. When I started college, I needed to learn how to step forward and take ownership of my life. UW-Madison showed me the way, and that is a lesson for which I am forever grateful.

My initial impressions of success in college life were purely focused on good grades and getting to know and impress the professors. I could not have been more wrong. Although both are very important, they are only a small part of the college experience. The relationships that I have developed, on this journey to my adult life, are what really have surprised me. I came to this school with a narrow understanding of people and with a small group of friends in tow. Now in my second year of college, I have developed a wide variety of relationships. These relationships vary from very close friends to sports mates, to a self developed prayer study group. A year ago I would never have thought that I would have thrown my relationship net so wide! This is what I now believe the college experience is really about, forming new relationships and making life long connections. And if I am correct, I look forward to a successful completion of my college life and the realization of a transition to my chosen career.

I started college because I knew that I wanted a better life for myself and my future family. I needed to know that I could be independent and would be able to take care of my family. College was going to make me a better person. It was hard for me to take college seriously when I first enrolled. I believe this was mostly because I doubted myself and partly because I was still trying to figure out how I was going to survive outside of college. I struggled through it at first and hit a few bumps in the road, but I worked through it and eventually got to a place where I started believing in myself. I figured out better ways to study and manage my time. Feeling like I finally had a purpose in life made all the difference in the world. It changed my approach and my outlook on school. I have been successful in every class since then and am so excited to start the nursing program in two semesters. I can see a light at the end of the tunnel that keeps getting bigger every time I look up. Never give up the dream!