University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Top Questions

My advice to my high school senior self would be simple: school matters more than you think. Having to deal with the requirements of college life, I have found, to be much more rewarding than working in numerous go-no-where deadend jobs. Sure there were moments of being "independent" that were amazing, but in general, the time spent in those things turned out to be fruitless. Actually, I would smack my high school self, proceed to tell him about the road of uncertainity he's about to embark on, and stress that while things seem meaningless now, the life you want will require effort and all those things teachers told you actually mean something.

Just like every other high school senior, I slacked off. Most seniors take easy classes for their last semester and just have fun. If I were able to go back in time and give myself advice, I would have told myself not to take those easy classes. By not keeping up with my normal study habits the semester before leaving for college, I lost some study skills and homework procedures. I believe that if I would have kept up with the classes that were up to my academic lever, I would have been more successful in my first semester of college. When it came time for those first semester exams in college, I was a little bit shocked at the amount of studying and time that I had to put into the class outside of lecture. It was definitely a good wake up call though because in the test scores following those, I showed great improvement.

I would tell myself not to stress about it as much as I did. I think a large factor in my late graduation from highschool was due to an overwhelming of stress. I have learned that one of the most valuable skills you can have is the ability to control that stress.

College is meant for getting an education, not partying. Trust me, staying in and studying WILL pay off. Whether you studied in high school or not, you WILL need to study in college. Surround yourself with people as ambitious as you, because people who aren’t as determined will only drag you down. Everyone learns differently, so find the way that best suits you and use it to your advantage. Do NOT compare yourself to others. You are your own person. Dress how you want to dress and be who you want to be. This is the time to either enhance yourself or make changes for the better. Focus on being healthy, not necessarily skinny. Open yourself to new relationships. You will meet people who will become lifelong friends. You will learn a lot from them. Not only about yourself but also about life in general. They will help you through the hard times and be a major part your best memories. They are your true friends. “Be yourself” is the biggest cliché, but it’s one you should to listen to. Above all, respect yourself, do your best and focus on the big picture. College is just the beginning.

Hey Becky, You're finally done with High school. What is your next step? If college is your next step, college is nothing like high school. Don't procastinate!!! Ask for help when you need it! Don't be afraid to ask your professors, friends, advisors etc. becasue they are more than willing to help you out! Sometimes they're just waiting for you to go to them to ask questions! Get involved in sports, activities, volunteer, organizations. It will look good on your resume. Aslo learn how to manage your time wisely! Learn to workout your schedule between classes, studying, work, and free time. You don't have to know what you want to major in right away, so try/take some new classees, maybe you'll come to like it. And when you know what you want, stay focused and study hard. Some people don't even get the opportunity to go to college, so embrace the education your getting. Be strong and smart about the choices you make.

Hi Ashley, You're a high school senior and you know you want to go college so be prepared. Don't procrastinate on applying for colleges and getting all the paper work done for financial aid. College isn't like high school. Learn how to manage your time well. Manage your time between homework and friends. If you don't understand something don't be afraid to go ask your professors, they're more than happy to help and if there are tutors/study sessions, go to them. Use the resouces around you. Join different clubs or go to events held on campus and meet new people. Don't be afraid to try new things. This is the time to get out of your comfort zone, find you who are and what you want to be. But most importantly, remember why you are there. You are there to get an education, to learn, grow and have a bright furture. So don't let anyone or anything discourage or bring you down. You are a smart young woman and you can do it.

I would like to tell my past-self that going to college so your family is proud of you is not a good enough reason. Also, college is not an escape route from the pain of your mother’s death. I understand you are trying to work so hard to avoid having enough free time to feel the sadness, hurt, loneliness, and even anger. You have to know what you really want to do with the rest of your life; something you have wanted to do since you were young. I know you have talked to your counselor about American Sign Language Interpreting as a major and the community colleges that offer it. I would suggest you take that opportunity, it is a wonderful major but it does take some work. College is not like high school where skating by works well enough to get a passing grade, you actually have to do the reading and the homework. I hope that as soon as you start college hit the ground running, know the classes you will need and talk to a counselor regularly. Also, I would highly recommend forming a study group with other sign students, make friends at college.

I truly wish that I could go back in time and give my high school self just a few words of advice. I would start by telling myself to spend as much time with my family and friends as possible and don't take any of those moments for granted. However, I would advice myself to not get too connected to one specific person. Having such strong ties to one person makes leaving for college even harder and makes for many homesick nights. I would advice myself to reach out to as many people as possible within the first week of college and don't rely on your roommate to be your best friend. Be open to new experiences and don't judge activities or people to quickly.

The advice I would give myself is to always keep focused. Remeber to have fun but also be serious when it comes to school and academics. Its important to set goals and follow through. Always try new opportunities or you may miss out on a chance of a lifetime. You should research more about majors so they can have an alomost final major by their sophmore year. Although going to a new place is hard not knowing anyone, be a good judge of character and make good friends early on because it was always true what your parents told you that your friends affect how you act. We all make mistakes but don't make too many that could effect your entire life or at least give you a big reality check. I hope that you always stay true to yourself and to not change for others. Always remeber where you came from and remember to go to school for yourself not for anyone else becasue in the end you only did this for your own future and the future of your family. This was the best decision to go to college and form your own footsteps to success.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, the advice I'd give would be to SLOW DOWN and breathe. I'd explain that college is a great choice and a wonderful stepping stone to expanding ones knowledge and to gain more life experiences, but slow down as you encounter new ideas, concepts, and people and remember to take it all in. Enjoying college and embracing the moment is all part of the experience. I would emphasize on how important it is to take every class seriously, even if it's a general course that is unrelated to your major, because how hard you work in each class reflects who you are as a person. Last but not least, I would advise myself to not be afraid to ask questions. The only way one can learn and expand their wisdom is by asking thoughtful questions and getting them answered by an educated person. Be fearless in college and embrace the moments because you're creating your personage in the process!

If I could go back in time I'd tell myself to stop stressing over the little obstacles and begin to cherish the time that I currently have with family. I'd let myself know that I'll be ten times busier than I thought I'd be and not be able to have the time I was expecting in order to talk to my family. I'd tell myself that even though my brother's stereo woke me up once again, that I should get up and dance with him instead of being grumpy with him the rest of the day. I'd tell myself how I should referee my brother and dad's sporadic wrestling matches instead of being annoyed that they knocked over all the laundry I just folded. I'd tell myself that even though it was frustrating when my mom talked while I was trying to do my homework, I should stop and listen to her stories because someday soon I'd give anything to hear her voice. As unbelievable as it is, I’d tell myself the annoying things my family did would be the things that I missed most.

There is an overemphasis on end results of education and not enough emphasis on the learning process. Pressures from teachers manipulate students to focus on how well they are doing as a substitute for focusing on what they are doing. Students are caught up on results. Students begin to view school as an obligation, not an opportunity. As school becomes an obligation, school work becomes a task. As achievement combined with school work is stressed, the amount of genuine learning declines. Students who have put success out of their minds are more likely to be successful than the student who only looks for the correct answers. Due to stresses of society, students are under a significant amount of pressure to reach a higher level of achievement that may just be too high. Everyone falls short at some point in time; however modern society tends to construe minor flaws as huge failures. In addition to personally failing themselves, students believe that they are incompetent. Harm comes from paying too much attention to the end results rather than learning. If too much emphasis is placed on results students tend to think less about learning and more about the test outcomes.

Dear 17-year old, high school senior self, Don't change a thing about yourself. Don't try to act different. Don't assume college is a clean slate and you can become a new person. You're amazing the way you are now. You'll find that people appreciate you for who you really are and that acting out-of-character won't really get you anywhere. If for some reason people don't like you, then just realize they're missing out. Focus on finishing out this year strong. Enjoy high school while you can. Salvage these times with your buddies and make sure to say goodbye to the people you care about. Maybe ask that cute junior out...you're going to kick yourself for letting her get away. All-in-all, college will be a blast. Try not to party too much, otherwise your third semester will be pretty rough. Classes are tougher, but you can handle it bud; just study hard and pay attention. If you work hard enough, you can do anything! Best wishes, from your future self. P.S. The Packers win the Super Bowl next year, so make a bet with Ty.

While in high school I didnt even think I had the option to make it into college. I am a first generation student and did not have much support. While looking back I wish that I would have thought about what career path interested me and maybe done some job shadows or just talked more with my advisor about it. Looking into a career would have helped me to take courses right away towards a major that I was interested in. The biggest advice I would give to myself though is to not hold back and try to get involved right from the begining. I would have hooked up with good friends before starting college.

I did very well in high school and graduated with honors. One thing I would tell myself or anyone is to learn very good study skills. The thing that hurts me the most in college are poor study skills and has really brought my gpa down. I feel that I had a good amount of fun but also made sure I stayed on top of school more than my other friends and that has tought me to be more self disiplined in college.

Just do it. Do your work, go to class and get your priorities straight. Don't ever under any surcumstances miss a class. You are paying for this so you better do it right. Ignore all other things that don't relate to school. Don't get depressed when your friends start killing themselves around you. Just do college nothing else.

I would tell myself to be less dependent on my parents and to try to find a way to pay for college on my own because counting on parents to take care of my finances may not always be the best option. I would also tell myself to study more for tests like the ACT or the SAT because it can really be very beneficial in the long run. I would also advise myself to be more organized when starting college because college life can quicly become very hectic and very overwhelming. I would most importantly remind myself to be a more responsible individual and to be aware of my goals and that some sacrifice may be necessary to meet them.

Work hard, concentrate, college is different, the course work is tougher. Everything MATTERS.

I would tell myself to stop worrying about whether or not Oshkosh was "prestigious" enough. Oshkosh is sometimes known for being a school that a lot of people can be accepted to, and isn't very selective. My grades have always been really high, so I worried about how I would be perceived by going to Oshkosh. I shouldn't have been. The education I get here is wonderful, especially for the price it's at. Also, it has an absolutely wonderful program for Radio/TV/Film. Many different student-produced projects have won national awards, beating out some of the bigger schools around the nation that are known for film production. I would also tell myself not to worry about making friends. All I had to do was get involved in different organizations relating to my major right away, and I quickly made friends. Overall, a lot of little things that I was stressing about are now things that I see aren't something to stress over at all, and I wish I had just enjoyed the experience of my first time being in college a little bit more.

Dear high school me, Don't be so afraid. I know that college is sometimes scary to think about. But don't worry about it! You'll make friends, just be yourself and everyone will love you. Don't let others get you down. Get out there! Experience new things. Don't be afraid to try something different. You'll be a lot happier with yourself if you make friends with the girls in your hall. The first week there, go knock on everyone's door and meet people. It'll be the best thing you ever do. Also, classes are hard, and you will need to study. Don't procrastinate like you do in high school. You know you're smart, use that to your advantage. Have fun in class, make friends, but also make sure to pay attention. Your GPA will thank you for that later. Study hard and do the best you can on your exams. They're hell, that's for sure, but they sure are passable and you can do it. Love, Your college self P.s. Don't take anthropology, you won't like it at all :)