University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Top Questions

Dear high school self, Relax! Breathe! Everything will be okay! You don't need to be doing homework 24/7, you need to allow yourself some you time. There is no point in getting worked up and getting stressed out, that doesn't do you any good, it just makes things worse. You need to believe in yourself. Have confidence in yourself and stop beating yourself up. No one is perfect and that is perfectly OKAY! You are truly an amazing person and you need to recognize that and be able to look in the mirror and tell yourself that. You were the lead role in the Nutcracker Ballet and you still did not think you were good enough. How? Why? If you were not good enough you wouldn't have gotten that role, but you did! You need to not be so hard on yourself because once college comes around, you will only beat yourself up more. Confidence. Remember that word, and remember to relax, and breathe. I am not lying to you when I say, everything will truly be okay.

I would tell myself to study harder and get better grades.

If I could go back in time and talk to my senior self in high school, I would tell him to make sure that you feel out as many scholarships as you can. You never know when you might need them. Also don't clown around when it comes to studying and getting a tutor. Forget your pide and get your butt to a tutoring center and don't waist time when you're studying. Take every moment that you can to study. It will be helpful in the long run. Make sure you get to know the upper classmen and your professors also. Knowing your professors may just help you when it comes to grades at the end of the semester. Get known on campus in the most positive way possible. Make sure to talk to people in your admissions office. They can be a bigger help then you think. Always remember, it's not always WHAT you know, it's WHO you know.

Be prepared to drive a lot -- contrary to what you think, you will miss your family. Otherwise, I really don't want to tell you too much because, where I see the mistakes we made, they made me into the person I love to be today. So, that being said, go give 'em hell, kid. See you in a couple years. :)

I would tell myself not to worry so much about how I was in high school. When you go to college, you are able to be a completely new person, and try on new "hats". It has been a great experience meeting new people and finding out who I truly am. Although college will be a little overwhelming at first, don't worry. There is not as much pressure to drink as you thought there would be, and college is nothing like what you see on tv.

Stick with it, and be prepared for a lot of changes. Also make sure to become involved with campus as much as possible because that is one of the greatest decisions I have ever made.

College is not only about fun and games, but it's about trying to figure out what you want to really become in life. The opportunities that you get in college is only once, so we need to think criticually inorder to get what you deserve. It's about making life long friends that would help you get through college and support your ideas of bettering your education. Study hard and focus on what you really want to become so you wont fall behind. There are always help around the schooling that you can go and find to study. Teachers and mainly your best friends because they know what is best for you in the classroom and what to do inorder to better your grades. But also remember to set time for yourself to study and explore the world differently than as you were a child. You are still growing, but we are growing in a different world where our ideas matter.

Hey you! Ya you.....Okay we need to have a little chat about college life. The transition is hard, but do ot be afraid of it...fear will only make things worse. Have confidence and be open to making as many friends as you want. You can be anyone you want to be in college, but please remember to still be your self. What I mean by this is you need to still have your morals and expectations, by not sacrificing you. College is the time where you are going to discover who your true friends are, so be prepared and do not be devestated if things change. Change is inevitable, but progress is choice. Remember that!!

My freshman year in college I was shy and uninvolved. I also did not take advisors advice as I should have. If I could go back in high school and tell myself some advice I would tell myself to study hard and be involved! Getting involved is one of the greatest things you can do to adjust to a college setting. I would also tell myself to have faith because everything will be okay and to follow my heart because it has led me where I am today. Today, I am a happy, successful student.

Woosh! Wind zooms by my face and I find myself staring into the eyes of a younger, less mature me. I have only five minutes to advise the high school version of myself all about college. What do I say? What have I learned? Then, it hit me. I thought back to my valedictorian speech. I remember stressing to “always follow your dreams” and “never give up.” In the few minutes I had left, I conversed with my younger self on what one should know for transitioning into college. I told myself that it’s true that one shouldn’t give up on their dreams, but it’s also true that a your whole life doesn’t need to be all planned out, like so many high schoolers think. You should know your strengths and use them to your advantage to find a career that best fits you. “You,” I said. Not your parents, not your guidance counselor, and not your boyfriend. You and only you. I also advised myself that if you pursue a career only for money, you won’t be happy. You must choose a career that you love and can’t wait to learn more about.

If I could go back in time I would tell myself as a high school senior to apply to college as soon as possible, don't procrastinate with anything, and to get my financial aid taken care of right away. College is a fun and new experience that you will love and is not like high school at all. You get to choose your classes and the time you would like to go. Plan out your classes wisely and make sure you can handle all of them. Don't plan your classes to be around one of your friend's schedule or to be in the same class, especially if its one you don't need. And to just listen to your instincts and don't get discouraged about anything or anyone.

All you need to do is get through high school. Once you get that done, your life can truly begin. It can be so easy to get caught up in high school politics, but it is a complete waste of time. After you graduate, and you don't have to see these people again, you are going to regret having spent so much time worrying about what other people thought. When you get to college you will be immersed into such vast diversity, you'll be forced to realize how secluded from the world you were in high school. Just pass high school with decent grades and get accepted into a good college, because that is when your grades really start to matter and you should strive to achieve excellence. Be the mature, knowledgeable, moral, and ethical person that you are and don't let anyone tempt you into being someone that you aren't. Being yourself is so liberating, especially once you realize that there are people that want to be your true friends. People who care about you, want you to succeed, and love the real you. Forego prejudices and go forth to college with an open mind.

It only became clear to me once I started college that life is short and time is wasted. Everyone has heard those two overtly cliche lines before, but for some reason they didn't stick until well into my college career. As "life is short" and "time is wasted" remain ambigous I would then elaborate to my high school self some practical points he could rest his mind on. One, I would tell him to not worry so much about girls. They are expensive and unless you are getting married all they do is distract you and rob you of your time and money. If you focus on the right things, a good one will come after you. Two, study abroad and a take it seriously. The experience from my trip to Spain is invaluable. Three, rest well, work well, and play well should be the motto of your life. Too many times have I overemphasized one and deemphasized another. Finding a balance in those three areas of life will lay a foundation of success no other maxim will. Lastly, don't take yourself too seriously...It's just life...live it.

Go to college! Do not take for granted the opportunity to learn. So much in life depends on your level of education. Enjoy your college years but also do not take them for granted. Work hard and remember that anything is possible if you work hard enough. Make your mark with determination and relentlessly pursue your goals. This is the prime time in your life with an opportunity that lies in front of you for you to be anything and everything that you can dream of being....IF you don't take it for granted and choose to work hard for it. Go to college, have fun, make memories, and most of all create a legacy that you will be proud to pass on to the next generation. A legacy that begins now with the things you will learn and do in your college career. Time goes fast, enjoy every moment!

There would be two main things I would tell myself if I could go back in time to when I was a senior in high school. The first would be to not stay in your room and get outside to meet people. Your experience will be so much better once you turn off the television, go to the next room over, and introduce yourself. For the first two month at school, I stayed in my dark, small room like a vampire. It wasn't until I got out and played a ping pong game with the neighbor that my social life at college really began. Now I can say that because of getting out of the room, I am real socialite, having plans every single weekend. The second thing I would tell myself is to keep doing what you're doing academically. I have always been exceptional academically, but my dedication toward it dropped once I got into college and other responsibilities disappeared. I know now that even though you don't have to read those chapters every night, doing so will go a long way toward your success in the class and in the school itself.

If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to stay focused and go to class everyday. I'd make sure to tell myself it's not going to be easy, but it's never going to be the end of the world either. I'll get a bad grade or 2, but it's nothing to cry about or stress over. Some weeks will feel like they go on forever and that you have a never ending pile of work to do, but in the end it's all worth it when you can say, "I did it". Homework should never be put off until the last minute; spend enough time on a single assignment so you know for a fact there is nothing more you can do to it. I'd tell myself to have fun but make sure this education I'm paying doesn't go to waste.

If I could go back in time to when I was a high school senior, I would tell myself to plan better and to prioritize my career and studies ahead of having fun and hanging out with friends. I have found myself having a hard time figuring out the best way to fit when to study for which classes as there is much more responsibility of planning in college than there was in high school and I wish that I had started getting into the habit of planning before I graduated. I also wasted a lot of time doing "fun" things and hanging out with friends and now I wish I had spent that time getting extra things done that would have been beneficial for my future (e.g. improving my resume, working more, networking, etc.). I think that if I had done these two things, I would be in a much better place than I am now.

If I could go back in time as a senior, and knowing what college would be like I would definitely change a few things. Some things I wish I knew is to take advance placement courses. That being said I would have already skipped a few classes I don't need. Another thing I would say to myself is to just focus and take it day by day and not stress out. In high school I taught college would be very different, but now that I have completed a full year, I learned that college is not as bad as I taught it was going to be. The only things that is different and obvious is that college is more more meaning more homework. I believe that would be the best advice I would give myself about the whole college experience.

The first thing I would have done is change the classes I took. I would have went ahead and took the college class in high school I was going to take but didn't. Then I would tell myself to apply for more scholarships. I applied for one UWO scholorship for chancellor's acedemic excellence and won. I would also tell myself to join flag football right away. I missed out on flag football for the fall and am really wishing I would have participated. Lastly I would just congratulate myself for taking challenging and rigorous classes in high school, and reasure myself that these classes in highschool would make college way easier.

If I could go back and talk to myself as a senior before I went to college I would tell myself, "Don't worry". When I was a senior I was worried about everything with school from classes, to friends, and many other things. After my first semester though, I would go back and tell myself not to worry. One thing that scared me was college classes compared to high school. Yes the class are harder in college, but they are not unmanageable at all. If one is willing to sit down and get the work done then one can handle it, procrastinating does not help at all. My other really big worry was making as good of friends as I had in high school. I learned very quickly that I didn't have to worry about that. I got involved right away in a Christian organization called CRU; I found my best friends there. Yes it took a month or two to find them, but once I found then I knew they would be friends for life. Those were my two biggest worries that I would tell myself don't worry about, but also to not worry about anything.