University of Central Florida Top Questions

As a high school senior I didn?t think about the courses I took and assumed they wouldn?t matter after graduation. I took all honors courses but didn?t push myself to take AP courses simply because I didn?t want to stress myself. Instead, I spent my time earning credits in classes that had less to do with my future goal of becoming a civil engineer. Now, as an engineering student, I realize that I am behind in math. If I could go back, I would tell myself to take more math and AP courses so that I could be on track with my major. In my first semester at UCF I was placed in a low-level math course. Even though I already had an understanding of the material, I didn't work hard enough in high school to gain entry into an upper-level course. Now, in order to get on track, I have to take summer courses for the next two years. Factoring in the knowledge I have now, I would certainly go back and push myself to or above the standard of my engineering major.

Five months and a summer ago, I was stepping onto a stage receiving my high school diploma, eyes full of hope for the future--what is considered my "now." Little did I know how much could change, how much I would discover once I began my journey called "the college experience." Boys, boys, boys. Having lived the single life for a year now, college campus became the ultimate all-you-can-eat buffet--nothing like high school, full of immature and uncultured kids. I was stepping onto unknown territory and inevitably ran into Mr. Unknown. He was exactly how dark, tall, and handsome looks like, with a thick Brazilian accent and a body that made David Beckham look like a mere boy. Although his name is unpronounceable to the American tongue, the chemistry between us surpassed that minor detail. Five months later I am sitting here with red eyes, tears streaming, and a snot filled nose. He, however, is on his way home to Rio de Janeiro where he will return to his family and finish school. My words of wisdom to my former high school self? STAY AWAY from Mr. International and focus only on school like you should!

As soon as you enter college, the best way to network, become school-involved, and get the most of your experience is joining clubs. Whether or not you are an outgoing person, the more you get involved the more people you will meet. Yet, do not loose sight of your primary objective - learning. My parents have always said the whole reason you are in college is to learn. While I agree, I think it's more than just learning education and study materials. College helps you learn what you are NOT interested in. It helps you learn who you are, what your potential is to learn, learn time management, learn from experience and ultimately help you to use that knowledge of who you are, and apply it to what you can do to significantly benefit someone in someway. Making a difference and having a sense of accomplishment to help others, demonstrates that you have made a change (big or small) and is one of the greatest gifts of life.

There are many advices I wish I had known, but the most important one I wish I knew was to be responsible. Life in college is different from high school, there are many more things the student has resposible for. For instance, keeping up with the professors' syllabus, knowing when it is okay to go out, trying to get out of bed, and adjusting to the different time schedules everyday. If I had only known that college was going to be different from high school, I would have done better or attempted to be better in keeping up with things during my senior year in high school.

Assuming that I could go back in time and give myself advice as a high school junior/senior, I firstly would let myself know to start saving as much income as possible as early as possible so that I do not start stressing out as much about the costs of college life. I would tell myself to learn to become more thrifty and to prepare for the worst, and yet be optimistic. I would also advise myself to be more open minded going into college and really get into investigating all the available majors and programs open for me to take and not just rush into something to make others happy. I'd tell myself to take a load that I can handle and not overwhelm myself with various projects and ideas at the same time that seem appealing to me. Most importantly, I would advise myself to take things one step at a time, to enjoy the ride and the good times when they come, and to always keep my head up high and focus on succeeding to reach my goals.

If I had the chance to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would have to say focus a little more on school. When I was a senior in high school I was more focused on hanging out with my friends, instead of preparing for college and my future. I would tell myself to start preparing for the cost of school. I would have applied for scholarships, saved the money I made, and hadle my finances better. Now that I am focused and ready to start my career its hard because I am finding it more and more expensive. I would have also told myself to get more involved with school activites, and apply for the bright futures program that my state offers. Most of my advice would be geared toward how much money college is and to mess around academy. Please I hope you can consider me for this scholarship, the money would be greatly appreciated and would help me get to my goal of becoming a very succesfully Event planner. Thank you for your time.

The advice that I would give myself is to check everything and double check. To absolutely make sure that there are no pre-requisites that are needed that I might be unaware of. Another thing I would tell myself is to fill out as many scholarships to help with finances. Lastly and most important is to just have fun! College is a once in a lifetime opportunity and soak up every minute of it.

I would tell myself not to underestimate college. It is still school, and getting your degree is your first priority, not all the fun you could possibly have now that you are away from home. I came into college thinking that I was so smart that college would be a little challenging, but for the most part, it would be "a breeze." I had a couple of classes that seemed as though they contained the same information that I already learned in high school. When I realized this, I did not approach school with the vigor that I should have. In my mind, I guess I thought college was going to be somewhat like high school all over again, but that little theory was quickly proven to be untrue. I then found myself trying to catch up in class, and even though I ended the semester with good grades, it did not have to be as hard as I made it on myself. I would tell myself that I could avoid having to play "catch up" in school if I just stay focus from the start. College is nothing like high school and I need to work hard to graduate.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would explain to myself that I need to take the SAT and ACT seriously. When I was in high school I didn't do well on the SAT and ACT, which caused me to lose all eligibility for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship. My gpa was higher than what was required to receive a scholarship for 75{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of my tuition but I did not make a high enough score on the SAT to qualify and I missed the minimum qualification for the ACT score by one point. At the time, I wasn't thinking about how this would affect my future. I just thought that I could find another scholarship and didn't feel like paying money and "wasting another saturday" to take the tests again. I have been struggling trying to save money the last three years now to pay for school and I get extremely upset with myself just thinking about how close I was to receiving the scholarship.

The first thing i would do as a high school senior is set goals and priorities to get in to college, with that being said my list would be get a good gpa, enlist in extra curricular activities, voluntering and talk to my guidance counsoler about scholarship requirments. since i have had the oppurtunity to travel back in time making the transition the advice i would tell my self if is to stay focus stay humble and stay determined to achive by targeting excellence never get discouraged. a journey of a million starts with one step and my life journey starts with this step and thats a good college education. this education will allow many oppurtunitys to become avialiable . dont conform to how others want you to act and how they want you to look stand firmly in your own power and beauty and be the very best you can be. the next peace of advise i would tell my self if to read beacuse reading enhances your productivity and workload when it comes to exams and course work. this advice will help me as a high school senior to live my dreams threw the power of edcucation.

If I could go back in time and tolak to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to open my mind. I would tell myself to stop being scared of change and instead embrace the possibilities and potential I have by attending a university!

I would tell myself to not goof off and procrastinate as much as I have. To focus more on schoolwork in the beginning so that the end would be easier.

Do better in high school. It will financially benefit you in college to do well.

Advice I would give myself knowing what I do now about college life I would have better prepared myself for the transition. Which were to include all the responsibilities of a working adult plus more, I would learn how to cook, shop for myself on a budget, budget money, and learn all the things that my parents have basically been doing their whole lives. I would also better my time management skills especially since I never needed to mange my time back in high school but being that college is a whole different world you have to know when to say no to certain pressures and accept your academic responsibilities. But I find that learning everything "on the fly" is something that I embraced. I am a fast learner and feel that if I never learned it as I did in my first semester of college then I would not be as good at it as I have become.

The most important thing I would tell myself is to never get discouraged and to never give up. It will take me five years to graduate because of my change in degree. It would have been nice to know what I wanted to do when I started college. I would tell myself that I want to be an Elementary teacher and to start those classes. It has been hard to continue going semester after semester when graduating will take so long, but I know in the end it will be worth it.

College life is alot different from living at home. Responsibility and smart decision making will be key to success in both your academic and social life throughout your college career. It is possible to have a good time without being irresponsible and careless. Take things step by step and go slowly. Adapting to college life is a process that will not happen over night. Do not stress out when you find yourself wanting to call home every night for the first few weeks. It is also important to realize that although you are no longer under your parents' roof, it is still a good idea to follow their rules. In other words, 9 out of 10 times, if you are planning on doing something that your parents would not approve of, it is probably not a good idea. Have a good time but focus on your classes as well as it is very important to balance the two. Do not ever take for granted the oppotunity to recieve an education at instition of higher learning.

I would tell my past self to organize my time better. That college is all a balancing act between social life and academics. That it's okay to pass on events in order to finish your assignment, as long as you work hard so you may say yes next time. I would also tell my past self to step outside my comfort zone and get involved on campus. At the beginning of the semester everyone is new and looking for friends, so go to meetings and strike up conversations with strangers.

I would tell myself that there's alot to learn in life, and that one should try to enjoy every aspect of college life. I would encourage myself to get involved in school activities. I would give insight of how becoming involved can make college life a lot easier. By getting involed one can makes friends for life, will help you network for your career, and you gain life experience. I would also advise to take their college life serioiusly. So much can happen in life to make it easy to quit or get discouraged about one's education, but it's important not to lose sight at the winning prize. I have been out of school since I received my AA degree in 2003, and I know from experience how important a degree is nowadays in the working field.

First I will tell myself to take a break in high school from all the advance placement classes and take honors courses during my senior year to reduce the stress of exams, SAT's and college applications and actually enjoy my senior year in high school. Apply for more scholarships before entering college.Then I will start college during the summer to get ahead and graduate early. Also, take college classes step by step because they can get overwhelming and not take so many classes within a semester.

Stay focused. Listen and believe what you say.

I would not do too many things differently if I were given the opportunity to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior. One of the main points that I would try to get across to myself is how serious college is, and how fast paced it is for an incoming freshman. Another thing would be how helpful RateMyProfessors.com can be, because it gives advice on teachers - describing their teaching style, type of curriculum, and such information - which can save your GPA. Other than that, I would be pretty content with me coming in with all of my other thoughts because they were the reasons that I learned so many new lessons.

Live life to the fulliest, and have no regrets.

Assuming I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to follow your dreams and never doubt your feelings of what you truly want. Follow your own path and not let somebody else's path fuse with yours. Be strong and learn how to say no; that will help you grow emotionally. Also, do not let other people make decisions for you. You are the only person who truly knows what is best for you. I would tell myself to not worry about college life because if you just stay the way you are right now in high school, you will succeed in college. Finally, I would finish the conversation by telling myself the following: You are a good hearted person and a responsible student, and if you conserve these two qualities you will have the perfect transition to college.

The advice I would haven given to myself as a high school senior would be to stay focused on my grades and less social activities. I would have tried harder to succeed in honors classes and worked harder in my math courses. Knowing now how expensive it is to attend college and taking lower math courses which did not count towards my degree, I would have surely went farther in math than I originally did.

My first years in college I walked along a rode blind not knowing what exactly I was going to do, or where exactly I was going to end up. Finally, as a Junior I have been able to declare a major and have a path to follow. If I could go back in time to 2006 and talk to myself as a highschool student I would stress the fact of looking into all the different majors your schools of choice offer. It is much easier knowing what you want to do from the start of college rather than going through the stress and anxiety of trying to figure a major while in college. I would also stress to myself how important it is to have a good GPA in college just in case one decides to apply for Graduate School. Many people breeze through freshmen year thinking a "C" is fine because it is passing; just because a student already is enrolled in a University does not mean they shouldnt try to get the best grades possible. If two years down the road you decide on grad school the C's you once received could end up hurting you.

I can honestly look back at my life and say that I have had no regrets thus far. I have travelled and lived in several different countries. I have been given opportunities to meet new people and exceed challenges. Any time an obstacle has been placed in front of me, I have overcome it. As a student, I feel that my real world experience has helped me to achieve my goals. As a senior at the University of Central Florida, I am not only realizing my dreams, I?m living them! Being a non-traditional student who was born in another country has given me the opportunity to face challenges and look them dead in the eye. Perhaps the greatest obstacle was the sheer exasperation I encountered last semester with an overflowing event calendar. Besides attending college classes full-time where I maintain a 4.0 GPA and am on the President?s Honor Roll, I worked a full-time job and was a verifiable asset to both my wife and extended family. With that being said, If I go back in time to change something, It would be starting school sooner than I did.

Apply for as many scholarships as you can. Go directly to a University because it is a huge difference from a Community College. In addition, do not be anti-social!

Make sure to stay focused academically. What you do now will help you succeed in the years to come. Get involved on campus, make lots of friends but remember that you are here first to get an eductaion. The rest comes along with the package. Enjoy college life becuase you only get to do it once. These are the best times of your life.

Apon talking to the high school senior version of myself, the most important advice I would give me is to stay away from all the fatty foods that you are going to be tempted to eat, because the freshmen 15 is no joke. However, If I knew then in high school what i knew now junior year of college, I would mostly still come here to the University of Central Florida, even though it has been hard being away from my parents. I would tell my self to be more open and less shy my freshmen year of college. There's is really nothing I would want to change other than being more active on campus...oh and go to the gym...the FREE gym. College life here is really down to earth which fits my attitude completely. UCF has came apart of me and i'm glad that I choose to come here...too bad it broke my bank.

I would tell myself that living on campus for your first few years gives you the true college experience. Living in a dorm on campus is a great way to acclimate yourself to the university, meet new people, and save money. While living on campus you become in tune to the myriad of events and activities going on all over the campus. The people you meet in the dorms surprising become the type of life long friends that you want. And living on campus is a great way to save money. The cost of living in a dorm is much less than living in an apartment or house off campus. You also save money because you don?t have to drive to and from class; while living on campus, you can walk everywhere.

Don't wait and take years off between high school and college. Go to college while information is fresh in your head. Get it done and play later

Stephany: Although, you have heard several times before that college is a completely different ball game than high school, I must stress it once again. Teachers will only have a handful ammount of grades for you, and each assignment and test will count that much more. College is a test of morale and stamina. You have to put all your effort into it. It is the time to show the world than you can overcome all obstacles and follow your dreams. No one will be there to make sure you go to class or do your work. All the power is in your hands, and there will be no one to blame for your faults. It may become stressful at times, so make sure to give yourself time to breath and have fun too. The key is to have good time management skills. You have to have a balance in your life that will ensure you all around success. Remember, knowledge is the only thing that can never be taken away from you, so take advantage of your opportunity so you can become the best doctor you can be.

My advice to myself would be to stay at home with your parents and attend a 2 year community college before jumping into a 4 year university. If I had gone to the 2 year college and stayed at home I propbaly would have been finished by now. Instead, the cost and stress of trying sustain a roof over my head, food and basic needs has prolonged my journey to obtain my 4 year degree.

First and foremost I would tell myself that college is nothing like highschool. It is ten times harder. Studying is the only way to make it through. Sometimes you get invited to a party and it seemslike it would be a lot of fun, but that party could make the difference between an A or a B. Also, I would tell myself to get sleep. College students tend to spend many nights staying up until 3 a.m. This is a bad habit to get started on because staying up late can cause you to not want to go to class the next day and not going to class is horrible. Still, when all is said and done you still need to have fun and enjoy yourself. Go out to dinner with friends every once in a while and get involved in clubs. It is a good way to meet people and spend time. Staying healthy is also important. Working out and eating right is essential in staying fit in college. All in all, just live it up and study hard.

Learning your future beforehand might give you an advantage in life. However, as appealing as it sounds, I wouldn?t like for someone to spoil an excitement that comes from learning, even if that someone is me. I am an independent individual. I like challenges and figuring out things on my own. I can easily admit that the transition to college life has been tough but it only made me wiser and stronger. I have learned so much, from simple time management to complicated chemistry formulas. Knowing all that about myself, the only thing I would say to an excited senior is ?Good luck!? Besides, overcoming obstacles and learning from your own mistakes is a beauty of life. ?Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That?s why we call it the present.? ? Babatunde Olatunji

Work hard because college is not as easy as it was before in high school. Learn to focus and ignore all distractions of the college life., but be involved also. Join intramural sports, FSA, LEAD, and the premed club. Also, get involved in research early and become close friends with the teachers because they'll be the one that will provide recommendation letters in the future. Good Luck!

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to stop slacking off and get over my ego of being a "Senior." I would explain to myself how vital it is that I remain motivated, because once in college, no one will make exceptions for me if I do not do my own work, and every single grade makes or breaks your GPA. I would also advise my highschool-self not to get caught up in trying to have 'fun' every minute of my college life. If you focus on school, and take care of the important things first, fun will come on its own, in its own time.

College provides you a unique experience that you cant find anywhere else. You can never really be prepared for the challenges that come up during your college career. If I was a high school senior again I would tell my self to be more open minded towards college. I would tell my self to try and absorb as much knowledge as I can during the 4 years. And lastly I would tell my self to try my hardest and not regret any choices I make and have fun while doing it.

An important lesson I learned my first year of college was that it is extremely important to get involved on campus. During my senior year of high school, I felt just obtaining the degree was the most important part. As I began to research more into my particular major (Marketing) and potential job opportunities my second semester of college, I realized that gaining experience and working in a professional environment would be more beneficial than only reading a textbook. I set out to join clubs and organizations at UCF that would allow me the opportunity to use my knowledge and skills in an environment where I could learn the most. I believe my efforts to become more active on campus have allowed me to have been offered multiple internships. If I were able to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself that your college experience is what you make of it. And for me, getting involved on campus was one of the best decisions I have ever made for myself and for my career.

I would encourage myself to join more student clubs and participate in more extracurricular activities. College life is extremely time consuming and most people don't have the time to join in activities with other students. If I had known that I would start a family at a young age, I would have encouraged my younger self to take advantage of being able to have a social life. I also would have told myself to take more college credit classes in high school. I would have liked to have been dual enrolled in college so I could graduate sooner with less costs.

Work as hard as you can, and never let down. Laziness kills in college. And the method of studying is very different from highschool.

Be very open minded to other individuals. Never give up on your goals. Be responsive to your college of choice . Pursue your dreams and goals no matter what they are. Select a college that will challenge you both academically and emotionally and give you an opportunity to grow. Understand your needs and become part of the college experience, whether it be through sports and activities or community involvement or simply pursuing your career objectives.

Looking back at myself as a high school senior, the advice I would give myself would be to set goals and to never give up on them. Everyone that attends college all share a common goal, which is to graduate. Some students may decide to move on campus in order to have their college campus as their own backyard, where they have the opportunity to become immersed in involvement activities and can simply walk to class, the library, cafeteria, etc, the possibilites are endless. Others may choose to live at home as transient students, which is a great option for saving money and still being able to enjoy home cooked meals! I choose to attend UCF, which is four hours away from home. The transition was difficult at first, but I constantly reminded myself of my goals to achieve: maintain a high GPA, become very involved, and make more friends than I could imagine. I learned a lot my first semester just from the experience, lessons I could have never been taught in a classroom. There were many times when college seemed very stressful, but I knew that I had to perservere in order to have the ultimate college experience!

If I were given the opportunity to go back and do things over as a high school senior, I would tell myself to work twice as hard as I did, and that too much effort is never enough; afterall, suffering through sleepless nights and dreary days only makes you stronger in the end! I would tell myself to continue to place my best foot forward and perservere, and that I could do anything that I put my mind to. Additionally, I would tell myself that as cliche' as it may sound, the early bird does indeed get the worm, and thus I should not procrastinate in terms of taking standardized tests like the SAT's and applying for important things like scholarships; afterall, getting started early on assignments and papers is very impotant in college, especially if you trully want to do well and succeed and not just "get by". I would also tell myself not to get distracted by the "enticing" things around me, because there is plenty of time to celebrate once I graduate! More importantly, I would tell myself to always reach for the stars, and that no dream is ever too big or too small.

The key to success is ambition. College is strictly about the motivation you put forth to make yourself a better person and without internal inspiration, it truly is not possible. No one is going to give you the incentive to go to class, study, or gain the knowledge necessary to get a higher education. Honestly, in my life's experience, I have figured out that nothing comes without hard work, and only you can make yourself determined enough to take action. As a student, waking up and assimilating everyday to the fullest is more intrinsically rewarding than anything I have ever done. Ambition is the fuel, time management is the action, and pride is the compensation. Time management is the approach I employ everyday to organize myself and get tasks completed. Without either ambition or time management, the journey of college will seem infinitely more difficult and arduous than it needs to be.

Although the majority of college students change their major during the course of their college careers, many times more than once, this is not something I would let myself believe as a senior in high school. I felt that indecision in choosing a college major stemmed from a lack of focus. Since my college career began, I have learned that this is not true. I changed my major, not just within my department but to a separate college, after my first year. This ended up being one of the best decisions I could have made. The most important advice I could give myself as a high school senior would be not to worry about figuring out a definite life path for myself at that time. I would tell myself that college, rather than high school, is the time when I will be discovering a wealth of new things about myself - new interests, strengths, and weaknesses - which will shape the path I will follow later in life. The best thing I could do coming into college for the first time is to allow myself to experience all that I am able to and want to.

Dear past-self, I know you want to go to college more than anything else in the world and the fact that you are a French citizen prohibits you from even applying right now but be patient. Don?t stop studying in your free time, volunteer at the hospital, the library and continue doing theater. Don?t start out at a four year university, there is too much contrast in the transition and a community college will allow you to obtain an AA degree cheaper and will allow you time to discover your passion for education. Thank your single mother every day for her support and love; you could never make it without her. Have fun but don't indulge in the party scene, your 4.0 will pay off more than a six pack ever will. Get close to a couple of professors; letters of recommendation are worth gold and mentors are the anchors that steady your wild sea in college. Keep up your three languages and keep reading as many books in French, Spanish and English as you can. Wear sunscreen, because your future campus is large and it is very sunny here in Florida! Love yourself!

Dual enrollment would have been a great idea. I could have gotten ahead and gotten a feel for what college classes were like. I think I made the right decision to start out at a community college to ease into the transition and allow myself to have smaller class sizes.

Returning to school after 13 years. Im going to improve my life for my son. Im ready!!!

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would give some advice to myself to make the transition easier. First and foremost, I would tell myself to forget about majoring in engineering and to major in psychology instead of realizing it two years into college. This would allow myself to get a head start into my current degree and would prevent me from wasting time with introductory engineering courses. I would also tell myself to take courses over the summer as much as possible, regardless of whether I had the money or not. I would suggest paying for class on a credit card or a loan. Taking courses over the summer would have made my course load much easier now. My final suggestion for myself would be to always work hard and to keep my GPA up as much as possible. This is something that I have done since the beginning, but it is something I would stress because it is so important.