University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Top Questions

What should every freshman at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point know before they start?

Taylor

I do not need 200 words to answer this question. I would simply say to myself: "Go get 'em tiger."

Bethany

The advice I would give myself is keep your head down your freshman year and observe the dymanics that are so different from high school. Do not try to skate through classes but put in the effort to do well in the first-year classes because it only gets harder from there. Do not get into trouble and find a group of people that share your beliefs and will be a good supposrt system. Having good friends you can vent to makes all the difference when things get rough.

Christina

Life goes by so fast, just take it all in and enjoy the moment that you are in. Every time you have an opportunity to learn, go for it, knowledge is power. We must all maintain an open mind because nobody knows everything, and we can all learn from the people we least expect to help expand our horizons.

Carey

Carey! I only have two hundred words to prepare you for college and our future this upcoming fall! You will graduate in six years with three majors in Broad-field Social Science, History, and Political Science with international honors society memberships in each one. Upon graduation you will be an awesome long-term substitute teacher for the Wauapaca School District in which the faculty and student body will admire and want to hire you! Two years out of school you will become the Alternative Education-At Risk teacher for Merrill High School that has pushed failing students to graduate high school and go on to college! Without you, they would have failed and dropped out of high school! That’s pretty impressive don’t get me wrong! My advice to you is to enjoy your college experience by attending school functions as much as you can. In your six years at college you attended ZERO school functions. You spent your whole time studying and working forty hours a week which left zero time to enjoy college. College life is one thing I can’t get back and wish I could! Listen closely: Please enjoy college life and take my advice.

Molly

I would tell my high school senior self that "Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back." Don't be afraid to pursue your interests, even if others don't share the same interests or think your interests are strange. Put your happiness first, not your parents', friends', or professors'. Curiosity is the main driver for all your endeavors so don't squander the "free time" you have in college and instead take the time to explore all the questions you have. College is really about egocentrism, we are there to learn about ourselves and the topics that interest us. We need to make it about us, stay in our own hula-hoop and breakdown the monstrousity of a task that completing a college degree is so as not to overwhelm ourselves worrying about the future. Focusing on our fascinations in life is the most beneficial way to approach college, and I would advise my high school senior self to pursue my curiosities and push away anybody else's opinion. It's your life and your choice what you do with it.

Lorelei

“College”? You mean “challenge”. Right now, you’ve got a bad case of Senioritis that’s going to need some heavy TLC in the fall when you head to college. Remember when you started high school and didn’t know anyone? That’s college, but at three times bigger, and way weirder. Remember how easy algebra class was? Not when you’re learning quantitative statistics and measuring the area under a curve in calculus. Most importantly, remember coming home to dinner, completing homework is less than an hour, and then chatting with your friends all night? The dog days are over when you have multiple exams in a single week. Mental preparation isn’t enough to combat the rigors of higher learning. You won’t get to sleep in. You’ll barely see your friends and family. You are going to be hungry all the time . Unless your precious hours are used for work instead of sleeping or studying, you’re going to be completely broke, and in debt. “Why put myself through all that stress?” you’ll ask. “Because,” I’ll respond. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. And I know you can’t resist a challenge.”

Rebecca

If I could go back in time and talk to myself, the first thing I'd do is slap myself and say "stay focused and be positive." Things can be very stressful at times and I need to remember to enjoy the little things. When life becomes too overwhelming, to stop and think before jumping into a decision. Most of all I'd admit to myself that life is about making mistakes and I will probably make many. As long as I learn from those mistakes is what's important.

Adam

I would tell myself that I should continue with my plan to go to the 2-year college because it will save money and it is a very good school. Then I would tell myself, to make sure to choose the correct college to transfer to; basically to tell myself to do plenty of research. I would also tell myself about getting a research assistant position instead of working at a planetarium or do it with the planetarium. Finally, I would tell myself to be more social at the dorm. I would tell him to open the door so that people would talk to him, go to more events, talk more to my roommate that came from Brazil to learn more about him and his culture, and just to actually go out and talk to people, that is one of my biggest regrets about my first year of college and that something I should have really did and would have helped me a lot.

Lori

I would have given much more thought to what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I have had several jobs and have been working on my bacelors degree for the past 14 years and will graduate in May 2014. I will them be going to Lakeland College to complete my master's degree as a school counselor.

Haley

Be paitent! Everything will seem like a blur at first and you'll think that you'll never make it through even your first week. Taking things slow and really talking to people about campus or classes or different teachers really makes a difference. Sometimes it seems scary to ask what seem like silly questions but you wouldn't believe how many people, even upperclassmen, have questions just like yours. Getting lost and being late is way more embarrassing than just asking for the correct direction to go for a class. And don't just skip your class if you see that you are late, many teachers understand the first month or so that it is sometimes difficult to figure out where you are going. Especially when some universities all the buildings look the same. And last but not least just go for it. Join clubs and make tons of friends and have fun. Good luck.

Jessica

The number one piece of advice I would give myself would be to pack less when preparing to go to college. Looking back on my past self I question why I packed fourty or more shirts, and that isn't even counting pants, shoes, and other various clothing items. Two large bins just filled with clothes is extremely unnessary, which is obviously something I didn't understand when preparing for college. Besides packing, and on a more serious note I would make sure to tell myself to enjoy high school while I was still there; I would go to atheletic games, hang out with more friends, and not just focus on getting out of high school. Now that I am in college, far from friends and people I spent four years around, I really regret not enjoying my high school surroundings when I had the chance. I am glad that I focused on my studies as much as I did in high school, because it was a big help when getting into schools of my choice. Overall, I would make sure I spent more time with my peers, study hard, and pack a lot less clothes.

Tiffani

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself that high school and college are way different than you expect. In high school I never studied and got A's and B's all the time. College is completely different and you have to work for your grades as well as trying to include yourself into a new environment. I'd tell myself to take more AP classes and challenge myself because all those classes paid off right now and I came into college with 20 credits making me a junior standing in my sophmore year of college. I would also tell myself to keep the friends that I made in high school because college you can make new lifelong friends but it's difficult and once you aren't living in the dorms and near each other, everything changes. Having friends and family close to you helps the transition into college a lot easier and less stressful. If I could go back I'd tell myself that yes college is the best four years of your life, but it's also your hardest so don't give up.

Jun

3 things. First, stick to my old habit of not procrastinating and always doing all my work in a timely manner. Most student, particularly in College, gets sidetrack of a lot of activities resulting to procrastination. Secondly, always ask questions. I find this very helpful because a lot of student, specially freshmen, don't ask questions because they are shy or they're not use to their surrounding. Asking questions could really help a student in many areas such in class, social activities, and any other outside matter. And lastly, I would remind myself to never forget to have fun. College is one of the most precious things you could experience in life. Not many people get the chance to ever step on college. Don't sweat, remain smile, and have fun.

Hannah

Save your money...

Katelyn

I would tell myself to learn how to find study tips that work for me and stop trying to be like everyone else. I would pay attention eariler as to how I did so well in school without really trying, but realize that college is different than high school and that even if you are naturally gifted, at Mount Mary they challenge you so much that you need to buckle down earlier and don't rest on your morels. Try harder ealier and I could have achieved even more. I would have made myself work on my time management and self disapline in my first year of college.

Christian

If I had a single piece of advice for my past self, it would be this; don't worry, you'll figure it out. Two years ago, I really didn't know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I went to UWSP to begin generals with a vague idea of a career path. But my time there and the time spent with friends and professors helped me to choose a goal for my next year in college, as well as the upoming years of my life.

Jennifer

I would have told myself to stay in school and not have taken time off for myself. I also would have told myself that the earlier you get into college, the earlier you get out instead of sitting behind and looking at all of your friends who have graduated. Perhaps I would have told myself I was smarter than I thought and I had the potential to not let other's bullying get to me and to deal with the world on my own.

Shannon

Enjoy every minute because you only get to live each day once. Never stop pushing to be the best you can be and you will be surprised at what you can accomplish. Use all the resources you have, because someone else already wishes they had. Don't be afraid to speak up-there's no such thing as a stupid question. Call your parents ! They will miss you , you will miss them, and they make really good care packages. If it all gets to be too much and you don't know what to do, stop and really think about whre you want to go. If your decision won't matter in ten years, don't sweat it and save yourself the cortisol. Never be afraid to let everyone see you try, because if you aren't trying at life, you aren't really living at all.

Jessica

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a senior I would reasure myself that going to a community college would be worth it. It not only saves money but it's a great transition into college life. Also to use every resource I can, the tutoring center or get to know the teacher if possible, it prepares you for any kind of homework or tests that get thrown at you. The biggest advice I would give to myself as a senior going into college would be to have fun with it and not to work so much. I felt like my whole community collge experience was full of two jobs, volunteering at the hospital and being a full time student. I am greatful I got to have all those opportunities but I wish I would have just taken some time to be a kid and have fun, but the college experience is not over. I will take all of this advice with me to the university and remember to keep my heads in the books and get good grades but not to be afraid to take it out for an occasional fun college adventure.

Heidi

Dear 18 year old me,I know you are uncertain of what lays ahead, but I want you to exude the self-confidence that radiates through you, even when you don’t feel it. You will arrive at various forks in the road, hurdles in your path. I want you to hold on strong to your morals and have faith that you will prevail, even when it seems impossible. Stay focused, and dedicated. Keep your sense of good judgment and hold your standards high. Speak up when things bother you, dare to stand out, be the first and be a leader. Do something that scares you everyday, push through those uncomfortable experiences. I know you be tempted to quit, but endure because in the end the sense of personal growth and accomplishment is a high that will cause you to “raise the bar” higher, continuing to develop into a strong, confident member of the professional world. Relish the moments helping others, and recognize that it makes you feel complete. Overall, maintain your sense of humility, you’re going to be fine.Your Later Self.