University of California-Los Angeles Top Questions

Start early on applications and GET ORGANIZED. I always thought I was an organized person, but college life brings everything to a whole new level. You truly need to be pro-active when it comes to just about everything.

I would have told myself to start applying for scholarships instead of nervously anticipating college acceptances and rejections. I come from a middle-class family, and so while we are rather well off, it's going to be difficult for us to pay for my college fees. Thus, I should have begun desperately looking for scholarships at least a year ago. If I earn this scholarship, I know I will cry of happiness.

Dear High School senior version of myself, Never let where you come from determine where you are going. I know that is a bit cliche, but take into account what it means beyond the surface. When you go to college, you will come across people who grew up in much nicer areas than you and had expensive tutors to guide them through the SAT's. Do not be discouraged. You are an intellgient, idependent, strong, and hard-working girl. You are capable of accomplishing anything in this life. You may feel inferior in comparison to others, but remember this: You are at the same place as people who grew up with the world at their hands; your perseverace and determination will not stop in college. Continue striving to be your best. Do not take tuition lightly. I know you are the first one in your family to go to college, but that does not mean you can slack off and be satisfied by the fact that you were accepted. Look for scholarships; apply for them all. Find ways to fund for college, because it will not be easy for your parents to pay for it.

I didn't think the high school to college transition would be that dramatic, however, after surviving my first year at UCLA, I realize that it was a huge step. I thought I was responsible then, but looking back, I see that I am ten times more responsible now. High school only requires that students be responsible for their grades, but college requires that students be responsible for their well-beings, for seeking academic help when necessary, and for becoming self-motivated to persevere through stressful times. Knowing what I know now, I would advise myself to form better study habits during high school instead of just breezing through classes and not submitting my best possible work. I would advise myself to realize that I study and persevere through all of the challenges and hard work in order to achieve my career goals, not anyone else's, so it only makes sense that I be self-motivated instead of relying on my parents to push me. With that, I regret nothing because I was given a chance to learn from the past, and past experiences are what shape people into unique individuals. College is the medium in which we grow.

If I could go back in time knowing what you now I do not give any advice because if my advice were to change something that I have experienced would not be where I am today. Would not have met the wonderful people that are in my life right now. Would not have learned from my mistakes. There are many things but finally give me advice and be a master who would not change anything that I miss and nothing of what is today. Also if I have given advice and changed something I would not be writing this right now.

Just enjoy it. The transition to college can be an abrupt an deceivingly simple one, but it's filled with many twists and turns that will turn out for the best. Money will certainly become more important as you will actually be spending a lucrative amount on your education. Talk to people and do your best to take care of and understand what you are about to walk into. Everyone walking into college feels a little apprehensive about meeting new people and leaving your old identity in high school behind. When you arrive at orientation, enjoy meeting new people knowing that most of them know nothing about you. This is the time to reinvent yourself. Most likely you will be living in a dorm room with one to two other persons. Most people have some sort of trouble living with somebody else and the most important concept to understand is the vocalization of your concerns. Tell your roomate if something is bothering you. On the other hand, roommates can also turn out to be your best friends. Telling your roomate that you want a peaceful relationship with him/her is crucial to both scenarios. Overall, just enjoy it.

To put it quite simply, I would tell myself not to worry. According to every movie about post-high school life, college is about "finding yourself." I was always worried that I would not like what I found. At first, I was worried that I was not even smart enough to get into college, but once I was accepted, I was worried that I could not handle the pressure, that I would miss my parents, that my roommates would hate me, that I would be too shy to make friends. I had never encountered such insecurity and doubt in myself as I had during my senior year of high school. I would tell the Naomi from senior year not to worry. Naomi, you have worked hard all throughout high school and colleges are bound to recognize that. Naomi, college is hard but it is not impossible. You will not be that far away from home. Naomi, you have made friends before and you can do it again. Naomi, stop worrying about the things you cannot change. Just make all of the tuition payments on time and you will be fine. Do not worry. And buy more socks.

If I could travel back in time to the last semester of my high school career and knowing what I know now about college life, I would advise myself to attend college for the social and career networking and to attend college as soon as possible. Because I waited a couple of years after graduation and I did not believe that I would attend college, I missed out on some of the traditional college life experiences and my career path made some detours along the way. Although I had maturity on my side as an undergraduate student, which assisted in my hard work and seriousness of college studies, I also realize that a college degree earlier in my life could have jump started my career sooner and the years until a comfortable retirement would not have been pushed further down the road: Work hard now; play hard later--but not too much later.

Hello High School Self, Just in case you’re wondering: yes, your crooked teeth strapped in metal wire will straighten out. Yes, you'll meet some awesome people: friends you’ll cherish for the rest of your life. And no, the acne doesn’t get any better. You’ll pull all-nighters, wish you didn’t procrastinate, and end up procrastinating because you were too stressed about the last time you procrastinated. Please don’t wait for the last minute to file the ‘06-07 FAFSA, DO IT ASAP!!!! Your transition to college will be easier than you thought; always remind yourself of your ultimate dreams: to be an empowered, educated woman. This vision alone will take you further than you can imagine. Don’t lose sight of your potential, don’t be afraid to take on more than you’re used to: trust me; you’re capable of more than you can imagine. College life will be a breeze if you surround yourself with people who motivate and inspire you. I wish you believed in yourself, I wish you knew you have more to offer than you think. Dream bigger, stand stronger, and never lose sight of your ambitions.

be yourself because college is so diverse and feels like an ocean full of exotic fishes that you will find your family, what you love, your friends and yourself.

Knowledge is power. That is my family’s motto, but I never really took it serious in high school I just settled for ok work and ok grades. Until I was in 11th grade and was faced with the decision on what to do with the rest of my life. I had a lot ides in my head but it wasn’t guaranteed that they would come true. My family’s motto came to mind and I really thought about what the motto actually meant. Is knowledge really power? Everyone says, “The mind is a terrible thing to waste” and maybe if you push yourself and your mind you intellect will open the doors for your success. When high school ends it is a very scary thing, it feels like your childhood is over and the responsibility of what your life will consist of weighs heavily on your shoulders. Since knowledge is power it was only right for me to go to college and do the best I can do. Knowledge is my power and I am getting stronger every minute.

If I could go back in time when I was a high school student and give my self college advice I would tell my self to begin acquiring better study habits because although things in class seem easy, tests are not as easy. I would tell my self to apply for more scholarships while in high school because it will help me in the future because having to worry about money while trying to focus in studying makes things more complicated. I would also tell my self to not be shy or scared to join new clubs or activities in school because at the end those are the things that help you relief stress from all the class work that is given in college. I would tell me self to get in the habit of excersising from the first day of college because trying to get back into that habit half way through the year is not as easy as people think. THe last advice I would give my self would be to go out and have fun when the time permits since this is my first year in college and I should have fun.

Keep a positive attitude. You will need this everywhere you go in the world. There are those who will discourage you from doing whatever you want to do for the sake of seeing you fail. There are even those who think this negativity helps you succeed. However, just think about the last time you were running up that long hill in Cross Country, and you will see that by keeping your mind focused and fresh, you were able to complete the race and do your personal best. Be flexible. Whatever's in the way may be the way. Sometimes, things get into our way of getting whatever it is we want/need. Just use them to your advantage the best that you can. It may seem like students may not understand your low-income backgrond, and that this gives you disadvantages in every aspect of life. However, there are plenty of ways to seek help, and in doing that, perhaps you will learn valuable lessons about people, community and preserverence. UCLA coach John Wooden once said, "whoever doesn't plan is planning to fail". So plan, try, fail, plan, and try again, each time growing as a person.

If I could go back in time to talk to my high school self, I would have three words of advice. First, I would make sure that I hammered into my head the importance of getitng the ball rolling early. College admission and scholarship apllications are long processes and need to be handled early. Second, I would stress the importance of staying ahead of homework and reading. Falling behind or evn not doing the reading at all has not worked out too well. Last, I would tell myself to not stress out so much about the money. with all of the grants and scholarships out there, it is not impossible to put together a decent amount of money for your tutition.

Spend time thinking about what you want to major in so you can avoid taking classes you won't need later on. Make sure to be really friendly because you never know when you might need someone's notes for class when you're sick. Don't drink or smoke, this is California, so there's plenty of fun things to do besides getting wasted.

The first thing I would tell myself is to not let anything, especially grades, get in the way of your learning. Just because that microbiology class is an easy A or has an easy professor does not mean you should take it. You should take classes based on what will hold your interest and expand your intellectual horizons, not what will boost your GPA so you can get honors at graduation. The second thing I would say is to join a variety of clubs as soon as possible. Joining a few clubs at the beginning of the year would have made making friends a lot easier. It also would have prevented many dull nights you spent in your room not doing anything. Plus it would've exposed you to a great deal of new experiences that you haven't thought about before. Finally, I would advise myself to just enjoy college and not to worry too much about getting out quickly or what the job market is like. Yes, those things are important, but thinking about those things too much will just serve to lessen my enjoyment of the college experience.

I would tell myself first that I made the right decision going to UCLA. The second thing I will tell myself is to really try and study my best to understand the material better. Because learning is a fundamental fact of college life that requires time and effort to succeed in the classroom. The third thing I would tell myself is to get to know the professors because they themselves have viable knowledge in assisting in writing or the material in general. So far these are the things I would tell myself if I could return back in time, but most importantly at least I learned from my mistakes.

The advice that I would give myself would be to work harder on my SAT. I would advise myself to take an SAT prep course class becuase your SAT score and SAT 2 are the most important factors in what college you get into. I would recommend that I get more involved with my highschool, such as running for a studen body position. That way I would not only get leadership expereince but also be involved in the school. Last but certainkly not least, I would advice myself to be more open to people. Originally when I was in high school I stuck to the same groups of friends and now that I am in college, I find it increasingly difficult to make new freinds. So if I were to go bacj in time, I would advice myself to be more open to receiveing people, and to not be afraid of putting yourself out there.

Growing up in a suburb of San Francisco, I was a really big fish in a very small pond. School, athletics, family, and social life all came easily for me. When I was leaving to go to college, I had no doubt in my mind that I would continue to accel in every aspect of my life and that it would not be any harder to do at UCLA then it was at Carlmont High School. However, once I got to school, every other student in my courses were also the top of their class. They were just like me, student body president, star athlete, and valedictorian. Suddenly I realized all my past accomplishments meant very little. I could no longer base by self-worth on my successful endeavors of my past; I needed to embrace my uniqueness, find myself, and learn to treasure what aspects of my personality makes me a great individual. I learned that those past successes gave me the opportunity to attend this prestigious university and start my adult life with a blank slate. I had four years to jumpstart my life in the correct direction and learn to love myself in the process.

Many go to college in search of a career. While attending UCLA did lead to greater professional prospects, it offered something much more valuable: the opportunity to become a well-rounded person. Through my college experience, I gained not only the academic but the personal wisdom necessary for success. This wisdom was achieved through my scholastic, social, and internal experiences while at UCLA. My coursework taught me to think critically and intelligently about life and society, while a rigorous academic environment helped strengthen my work ethic. The extracurricular activities in which I participated lead me to adopt new interests, learn about diverse cultures, and gain compassion for various social causes. Encounters with people on campus, from professors to roommates, opened my eyes to new ways of thinking and communicating, and lead to life-long friendships and connections with some of the best and brightest in the country. Lastly, learning to live independently and productively contributed to personal discoveries that would otherwise not have been made. I graduated Magna Cum Laude from UCLA with a baccalaureate in psychology, but the greatest reward I received was gaining life experience amongst wonderful influences that contributed to my becoming a well-rounded human being.

My college experience furnished me with a strong grasp of the written word, an innovative approach to research and broad academic foundation. Beyond this, I made life long friends and truly enjoyed life. Not only did I learn at the feet of giants in their fields, but I was also given the opportunity to study abroad and learn about foreign cultures in the appropriate setting.

My parents and I had a large argument over what was apparently going to set the course for the rest of my life, specifically my major and college. My father is very traditionally Chinese, with a firm belief that everything should be as perfect as possible the first time you do so, otherwise you would ruin it completely. He wanted to ensure that my future was succesful, and while I'm thankful for that, the standards set were almost suffocating. I believe the one thing that I'm most grateful to college is proving, at least to myself, that I'm not in any way dooming myself if I want to pursue something I enjoy and keep myself open to new options. My parents never wanted me to close myself off to new experiences, but they wanted too much certainty. There are more classes, clubs, and activities in UCLA that I could have ever imagined. Rather than confine yourself to one road to a supposedly "succesful" future, and possibly burn yourself out in the process, I'm glad to have an environment with so much diversity and classmates all prusuing so many different dreams.

The biggest thing I have gotten out of my college experience so far is that I have really started to figure out who I am. I have been able to get out of my small city and meet new people, and decide what kind of person I am going to become. I have always loved learning and this school has provided me with the tools to figure out what I am really passionate about.

I have learned alot about psychology and it has been valuable to attend there because it helped me stay connected with a professor who had studied at UCLA and is now teaching at a university in Eng;land.

College experience gave me good sense of American Affluent class community and why American with affluent background are able to graduate in younger age and succeed in life over middle class. Financial aid is available to full time students and the middle class students to maintain high GPA has to study as well as work. I experienced the struggle of students who are middle or lower middle class. It was an eye opener of the myth of equal opportunity in academics, in the US. How they hard they have to work and study for successful academic outcome. From these struggling students I learned a lot what it takes to succeed in life for instance strong hope and desire to succeed.

I have become a better person socially, academically, and personally while attending UCLA. This university has challeneged me to work hard and set high goals for myself. Although difficult at times, I was able to overcome the obsticles that were set out for me and become independent in every aspect of life. I met amazing scholars and professionals as well as made lifelong friendships that have shaped me into who I am today. I believe that the UCLA community has been an amazing experience for me and has prepared me well for life after college. I was able to get involved in a variety of clubs and organizations while carrying on a very rigorous work load. While working in a Sports Medicine Internship for 3 years, I was able to gain the experience needed to continue on to my desired career goal. Without such opportunities, I would be much less sure of who I am and what I want to accomplish in life.

Only three weeks into my second quarter at UCLA, I feel that I've already had so many meaningful experiences essential to my growth as an individual. Being undeclared lets me explore a wide range of interests and discover things about myself along the way. I’ve learned that I can master whatever I set my mind to, no matter what the difficulty level. I found this evidence while dancing for VSU Modern and balancing my schoolwork with other responsibilities. By volunteering as a tutor and peer advisor at San Gabriel High School, I’ve realized that I enjoy contributing to another person’s success and helping others overall. I value all the friendships I’ve made; having people I care about to share my experiences have a significant impact on the way I perceive college life. Knowing that I have a network of friends to support me and that I will always have someone to turn to for help is important to continue to take risks to reach for goals. Little by little, I notice things about myself that I wouldn’t have known without my experiences at UCLA. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Attending college has taught me not only a lot about other people, but also about myself. I learned the importance of compromising and showing respect as I've lived with roommates for the first time. In addition to living with others, I've definitely grown into my own person and started to assert my own independence. From being responsible for my classes to making appointments to taking care of my body, my experience here at UCLA has really taught me the importance of taking initiative and making responsible decisions. No longer can I rely on the luxury of my mother taking care of things when they don't work out. It's truly been a rewarding experience so far, and I cannot imagine how much more I will mature over these four years. For the first time, I genuinely feel like I'm making something out of my life and I'm excited to see how much I can accomplish here.

Through my college experience the most significant thing that I have gained is the technical knowledge and hands on experience that I need to succeed in my chosen field. With technology ever evolving, the chance to learn at the forefront of the industry using the most current methods, is essential in order to stay ahead of the curve. My college education is providing the basis for my future success.

My commitment to social justice inspired me to partake in the Ethnocommunications program at UCLA. The program allowed me to create a documentary about my Thai community where I investigated human trafficking in Southern California. I met a Thai immigrant who was lured to America and deceived to work under inhumane conditions that forced her into slave labor. I wanted to share her story with the world because consuming products that are created in sweatshops continues to support and enforce human trafficking. My documentary informs the public not only about human trafficking, but also about the steps that people can take to fight against forced labor. When it premiered at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, I was proud to provide another page to the history of the Thai community and bring awareness to such a global issue. This enlightening experience of creating the documentary was the highlight of my undergraduate career as it has shaped the person I am today. The privilege of attending college has given me the resources to use art as a vehicle to make histories of communities of color come alive to leave their imprint on not only me, but also the world.

In my college experince, I've fully realized the diversity of the world. In my high school, yes there were people from various backgrounds; but instead of really exploring it, I've only acknowledged its existence and passed it by. Now that I'm in college, there's no simple way to not get involved with different and exciting people. Of course, meeting new people isn't the only reason that attending college is valuable; but of all the things I've done in UCLA so far, it's been the most worthwhile.

I am returning to school after a four year break. I have learned that I have to be persistent and ask a lot of questions to get the answers and things I need to achieve. I would not reccomend some of the schools I have attended in the past because the admissions and counseling centers were not helpful in showing me the things I need to do in order to reach my goals. I believe that even when you have family and friends that support you, it is much more helpful when administrators take a part in every students planning of their educational future. I think that every college should have an orientation session for every student who will be attending school. Attending college has made me realize that I need to have a degree in order to have a more financially stable life. I also will be very involved in the education process of the children I have because I have gone to schools where the staff was not helpful at all.

In this tough economy times, I realize more than ever how important it is to get a college education. Being able to attend college is a huge privilege. I would be the first in my family to graduate with a bachelor's degree. So far in my college experience I have grown to be very responsible, hardworking, and dedicated individual. My professors strive to challege myself to be prepared for future clients and job opportunities. I am pursuing my passion and dream to become a graphic designer. Taking courses regarding to my major has helped me grow into more of a professional. This college experience has taught me so many life lessons and at the same time I have discovered so much about myself as both a designer and an individual. Hopefully with the help of scholarships I will continue with my college education and earn a Bachelor Degree in Graphic Design. I know there are many more lessons to be learned and experiences to be gained.

I have experienced college for a total of one quarter. Amazingly so, I have learned and experienced the most important life lessons I could learn. I still have a lot to learn but so far I have begun my path to discovering myself. I have come to many personal and education realizations about who I want to be and where I want to be. It has been valuable to attend because I am truly learning at UCLA. I am better preparing myself for the real world and what there is to come ahead. I have yet to still make the most of my college experience.

I have started my college experience at a two year community college in 2008. During this experience I have gained more confidence in myself to pursue my education at a big name university, I never thought I was good enough to go to a university because of my grades in high school. Northwest Vista community college has allowed me the opportunity to work hard so that I could achieve good grades and right now my GPA is at a 3.2 and I am very proud of that. My next college experience will be at Texas A&M where I would be able to achieve my dreams by becoming a elementary school teacher.

Hello, my name is Les Daniel Finster. I am 21 years old and currently attending Wyotech. At Wyotech I am studying to become an HVAC technician. Wyotech is providing an excellent education and support for me to become a part of a successful future. I have achieved first place two of the three phases and obtained honor roll, perfect attendance, professionalism, and super student. I believe I have the ability to be a valuable asset to our country. I have passed core and type one test with scores above 80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} allowing me to take type two early. In addition to exceeding expectations academically I will continue to grow, becoming certified for type one, two, three, and universal. I am very determined to succeed in my goals. I will do all in my power to be an excellent, good role model to my sister who looks up to me and mimics my every step. I hope that through my work I can improve the quality of life for all of us.

I've learned a lot since going off to college. Instead of having people responsible for me, I now have to be responsible. I have learned a lot about time management and work ethics. Living with people that I previously did not know has been a new experience and has taught me about community. It's been difficult leaving high school and living away from home, but my college experience up to this point has been a wonderful and valuable experience. It has taught me a lot about the real world in ways that I don't think anything other experiences could teach me.

I didn't much from it. My freshman year was the worst. I don't feel as if it was valuable for me to attend at all.

From my college experience, I have learned that I am an intelligent young woman with a lot to offer the world. I have also learned that there are many different methods of teaching and learning. I have realized that with the right teachers even when I am struggling with something, I can master it. The reason college is valuable to me that it holds my future. Everything I do and everything I learn in college will change my whole future. I know that I will be able to use everything that I am learning to have a very successful career in the medical field. I have struggled financially and know that my new career will help bring stability into my life. My college experience is far from being over but I am excited at all the opportunities that are ahead of me.

I decided to study at Santa Ana college for two years . During these couple years, I would improve my english and take all general classes. To improve my english, I have learned more vocabularies and practiced speaking and writing everyday. The first semester I couldn't understand what my teacher was talking about. he taught the lecture by showing power points. I took notes and learned it by myself. Not being discouraged, I registered to volunteer on campus. I began working for the service learning center on campus. However, I realized that it didn't help me much with my speaking skills because my assignment was only to enter documents into the computer. Therefore, I changed to another place, the Fremont Elementary School. At this school, I helped the children learn how to read and write simple sentences. During break time, I got to converse with the children and learned a lot from them. Having worked for this school for two months, I improved my speaking and listening skills. From there on, I was able to understand my teachers' lectures and talked to my friends more fluently. Now my current GPA is 3.70 on a 4.00 scale.

Before I came to UCLA, I was frightened. I thought no one would accept me for my zany, eccentric self. Diversity was not rare in my hometown but, still, as a student from Texas moving all the way to California I was fearful about being judged. However, as soon as I arrived at my college I realized that was far from the case. Regardless of my interests or my race, people were willing to hear me out whether they were students or faculty. It didn't even matter that we might not share the same common interests; everyone wanted to simply hear my opinion. Of course, this was a huge relief but, most importantly, from their open mindedness I was able to expand my own horizons. I never considered myself close minded before but, through my college experience, I've learned to greatly appreciate others' knowledge and advice. The diversity and new perspectives my campus and fellow classmates have brought are refreshing and enlightening. We may not see eye to eye all the time but just being able to hear about different aspects of a situation from various minds is what I value most of all about my college experience.

My first year of college has been a roller coaster ride. From the depths of self-pity to the heights of self-confidence, my college experience thus far has revolved greatly around self-discovery. I know it sounds like a cliché, but I have found that you really do learn a lot about yourself and what's important to you n college. I play on club lacrosse at UCLA. For my whole first quarter, I wanted so desperately to make the A-Team (the equivalent of Varsity in high school). Throughout the quarter I was bounced back and forth between the A and B-Teams, which put me in a state of mental turmoil. It felt though as soon as I had what I had worked so hard for, it was snatched right back from me. At the end of the quarter, I was put on B-Team. I was asked to join the A-Team during my first week of second quarter. It had taken time, but I had realized that although the prestige of the A-Team was so inviting, I was truly happy with where I was, playing for the B-Team. I declined the offer.

So far, I have learned that in a hard academic setting, I can still strive.

My college experience has provided me the opportunity to excel as a professional. I have been connected to a network of academic and working professionals in my fields of Environmental Studies and Business Management who have enabled me to excel as a professional and a student. I have been provided with a network of professionals whom rely upon one another for success in academia and individual career paths. It is this team of professional and academic resources that have been most valuable to me in attending college. The teachers, students, and professionals I have worked with have been technical experts in their fields enabling me to become one in mine and have provided me invaluable human resources for networking to find answers and guidence I have needed throughout my educational and professional careers.

Attending college is one of the most memorable experiences in my life. The good, the bad, and the ugly all seem to happen in college, which makes it an irreplaceable training zone for acquiring academic knowledge and personal growth. College is where the 4.0 high school student struggles to even maintain a 3.0 and realizes that school gets harder and requires more effort in order to succeed. College is a giant social playing field that one can easily get lost in with their newfound freedom and without a sense of focus. It teaches one to regain and maintain their focus after it is lost. College provides the diversity that exposes one to differences and allows one to see the value of uniqueness in those differences. One may not know much about themselves and what to expect stepping into college and still may not know much about themselves coming out. However, the value of college isn't just measured by a student's future income but lies in the value of their life. College has changed my perspective on life and how to live life so that I can become successful eventhough I may only be making ends meet.

Attending and graduating from San Diego Mesa College with my Associates degree in Business Management has been invaluable to what will be a very successful future. My experience there has given me confidence and a support system.

So far, I've learned to be more independent and responsible. At college, there's no one to tell you what to do or enforce you to complete your tasks, so you have to have the motivation to do it yourself. This has been incredibly valuable for me because it's helped me realized that the real world requires me making my own choices and going through the consequences of the decisions I made. Though independence is an integral part of the college experience, another important thing I've learned is working with other people. In my classes and extracurricular activities, I've met many people who have different views from me. It's important that I respect them and work well with them regardless of our differences. The same will hold true for any job or activity one does in life, so it's been valuable for me to gain more experience working with a diverse group of people in college.

After emigrating from war-torn Laos, my dad came to America and enrolled in college, but he also needed to work to finance his education. However, balancing both his studies and a 40-hour work schedule became a struggle. He chose to continue his job as a waiter in order to save up money for my and my brother’s college fund. My mom attended The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising; however, she had to withdraw because she could not afford the cost of tuition. From parent’s experiences, I learned to value the importance of my education because their sacrifices and hard work gave me the opportunity to attend college. In addition, attending college was extremely valuable to me because Thai individuals like me are historically underrepresented in higher education. My experiences at UCLA cemented my desire to receive a graduate degree in anthropology, enhanced my commitment to become an anthropological archaeologist, and helped me to understand the difficulties faced by those who lack the accessibility, affordability, and resources to higher education. Furthermore, I have come to embrace the unique facets of my Thai-Chinese American identity that I have long been disconnected from during my childhood years.

Coming out of high school, I thought of college as just another stepping stone in life. It was just more school, more classes, and more books. Little did I know, I would meet lifelong friends at UCLA, and I would develop a concrete idea of who I was and who I wanted to become. College is a microcosm of the real world. It taught me to juggle academics with a social life and work. It taught me time management skills that I otherwise lacked when I was in high school. Most importantly, I was away from my parents and my family, so I was forced to learn how to be independent, to become an adult. I feel that college was extremely valueable to attend because it was an important transition from teenager to adulthood. Furthermore, I was surrounded by others who were experiencing the same transition, and because of this shared experience, many of these people became friends that I know I can rely on for the rest of my life.

I learned that you can't just rely on your brain to get through college. You can survive college by hardwork alone --without the brains part. Everyone in college is smart, and there will always be one person smarter than you. The only way you can succeed beyond your competition is if you're more hard working than they are. You must have that drive and motivation to accomplish your goals. I have learned that college is about setting your own personal goals. I know that I've grown as an adult during my time in college. I've had to make a lot of sacrifices for my academic studies but it was well worth it. Studying in college has allowed me to be my own person and not depend on my anyone else to accomplish my goals. Every mistake, every success, and everything you do is on your own here at college. It's a valuable lesson in which students will learn how to stand on their own two feet. Sure, times may be discouraging but the accomplishments outweigh the bad times so much more.