University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Top Questions

Dear high school self, Don't worry, you will be able to combine your passions of learning about other cultures and the environment. Don't think being a scientist is your best route. Your open-mindedness, kindness, and outgoing personality will help you make lasting friendships with people of various backgrounds and ethnicities. I know you are very unsure of yourself, most people are at this age, but you will gain more confindence as you come to better understand who you are and what you want through a life changing study abroad experience in Japan. Yes, I know. Your dream is to visit Japan, and guess what, it happens! Your academic and career opportunities will expand, to include possibly graduate school or an internship in Japan. Wisconsin is only a small part of the world, don't let your parent's influence limit you to this place. They don't know of the possibilities elsewhere, but they still love you and support you, even if mom keeps hinting at jobs in Milwaukee. She just loves you and wants you to stay close, but she will eventually accept your want for an unconventional adventure. Sincerely, Future Self

I would not change anything.

Don't give up. College is hard and most students don't know what they want to do right away and that's ok. Keep at it, experience the college life because it is a very important factor in your life. Meet new people, go away to school and leave home to be on your own and learn how to live on your own. You only get one chance to do something like this so take advantage and make something of it.

Dear Erick, Don't go to a college based on its name. Just because it may sound great on your resume in the future wont make a world of difference if you absolutely hate it there and eventually drop out. Don't let others make your decision so they can display you as some sort of trophy to brag about. I cannot emphasize this enough but this is YOUR future, and although they may not be content with your decision for a bit, they will come around and be absolutely PROUD of you when you finish your career. Pick a place where you'd think you'd be happy, whether that's a place that only offers a two year program, or whether it's situated out of state or even out of the country, don't be scared and go to a place that best suits the type of person you are.

I would make sure i took high school more seriously and that i should have worked harder to get into AP classes. Not that i didnt care about my grades or recieved bad grades, i just wish i worked harder to get the best grades that i could. I wish i came out with a better GPA nd a lower class rank number.

I graduated early from high school, it was the best decsion I made. Sad to say I was alone for a while in college, and all of my friends got to atttend and do what high schoolers do. If I could go back, I would say that I should have taken harder classes so that I was better prepared for college.

As a high schooler, especially a senior, everyone looks at you in a different way. As a freshman, they see the child. As a sophmore, the kid that grew up. As a junior, the young adult, and finally as a senior the role model. Being a senior really changes your views on things you never really thought of the three previous years you were still a kid. Things like a career, life after high school, choosing to go to another 4 years of school, graduation, leaving home. What no one really stops to tell you is that while it's good to work hard and get into college, you need to enjoy the little things such as football games, dances, teachers who hound you to get your work done, free textbooks! I wish I could tell my senior self to be more carefree, cheerish the moments with your friends, spend time with your loved ones and be a kid. High school prepares you for college and college prepares you for the 'real world', but there't nothing that could prepare you for the bittersweet ending of one chapter to the next. Enjoy every bit of being a 'senior role model'.

Going back to High School, I would've definitely prepared myself to be more time manageable. In my opinion, time management is extremely essential. It's a lot easier to become overwhelmed in college due to the fact that as college students all responsibilty is on us, meaning no reminders from teachers to complete certain tasks. I would've worked more on preparing for adult life when it comes to handling important situations and/or tasks. Also, I would've better worked on balancing my social and school life. in college it becomes a lot easier to get off task because of the freedom to do so and the eliminiation of the constant reminders our parents or teachers may have given us. while in High School. At the beginning, college was very difficult for me to transitition to because I hadn't gotten these responsibilities mastered. My only advice to transitioning in to college is to remain focused and master the skill of time management.

Volunteer as much of your time as possible when you are in high school. This is the advice I'd give to myself as a high school senior. Volunteering can get you involved in a variety of different situations that prepare you for real life situations in ways that no class really does. Volunteering your time should not be done because it "makes you feel good", but rather for the benefit of others. Another benefit of volunteering is that it allows for personal and professional networking and may give you an insight on what you would like to do as a future career. High school is the perfect time for volunteering because you have a lot more free time than you will later on in college, especially if you're a full-time student with at least one job as well. Take advantage of this time when you don't have as many responsiblities to discover how helping in the community not only will benefit others, but will also help you discover more about yourself and what you enjoy doing.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school, I would most definitely tell myself to not stress myself out, I would tell myself "Don't overthink situations, everything will be fine. Just focus on yourself and work hard and to not procrastinate, do your work on time, turn in all the assignments given to you on time and to study". I would also tell myself college life will be way harder than high school, everything you do in college can affect you, to pay attention, take notes when its needed, to not take things for granted because the difference between high school and college, college is not free. The people in high school that messed with you, tried to start fights/ drama with you will not mean anything when you start college, stressing over them is unnesessary. You may think college is useless and unneeded but if you want a good job and to further your future college is needed. Invest your time and money into yourself to better yourself. Also to apply to colleges and scholarships, don't wait till last minute to do them.