University of Missouri-Columbia Top Questions

What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about freshman year?

TaSheria

I wish I had known how much meal plans cost and I wish I had known that the place I am staying at now is expensive and the internet access is lousy.

Stephanie

Before coming to school, I wish I would not have had a preconvienced notion that everyone was going to have similiar opinions as I do, or that everyone would be from the same religious background. I have learned that listening to my peers, and understanding their opinions has allowed me to become a more well rounded human being.

Lance

more people

Miranda

I wish I had known how different it was going to be from high school.

Ben

How the fraternity process works and how demanding the courses were.

Elizabeth

Way differant then high school

Cassie

I wish I had known what my professors had expected from me and that even tough I did well in high school with out studying that college was going to be different. Studying is a necessary thing for every class even if you think you know it, you still need to study because everything you learn for the rest of your college carrer builds on the first few years.

Tevela

The only thing I wish I would have known beforehand is the population of the town. The town is pretty small compared to the city I?m from, but I?ve learned to love it.

Megan

How to get better financial aid.

Odion

i wish i knew what frats to join and which dorms to go to that would make me more friends.

Adam

I wish I would have known more about greek life. I also wish I had talked to my freshman advisor earlier, and had learned of the great services of the Student Success Center.

William

I wish i had known how to save money before coming to school.

Kathryn

How the Greek Life really was, all of the tutoring that is available, and now I believe I need to know what to do in order to get a B or an A in the classes. Also, I wish I would have picked a major and stuck with it, because now I might have to be in college for five years, instead of four.

Patrick

nothing

Lindsay

That it would not be that easy to get an on campus job. Also that I would not get as much financial aid as I needed.

Brandon

My first semester was dismal. I wish I would have known to brush up on my study skills and be prepared not to procrastinate when it comes to schoolwork. High school was unbelievably easy. I think I studied three times in four years. College, on the other hand, is a different story. Even a gifted student can fall behind in their studies and end up with a subpar academic showing.

Sarah

I didn't really receive any scholarships, and the couple I did were absolutely tiny, $750 one semester, $750 the next. So for every major expense (tuition, rent, textbooks, some bills) I took out what I could in federal loans, and the large remainder was purchased with high-interest alternative loans. Now I'm paying about $600/mo in loan repayment, and it's really tough to get on my feet!! I love Mizzou, though and will always bleed black and gold. It opened up my world, and I hope to give back to the j-school someday.

Pam

How difficult college classes are and that you have to get a good foundation early on

Colleen

College is difficult! Study!

Kelly

What I wish I would have known before coming to the University of Missouri- Columbia is how to manage my time better and also more ways to study. I had a hard time adjusting to the way exams were given becuase I was used to having a lot of points towards homework in high school and in college grades are mainly based on exams.

Shaina

Not that i would of liked to have known, but i wish i would of took more dual credit in high school.

Dan

What I wanted my majors to be, that way I could have put more focus on them my Freshman year. Also that I should have taken AP credit courses in High School.

Andrea

I wish that I had known to take harder courses like biology at a community college. I also wish that I had prepared myself more for the ACT because I was literally 5 points away from gaining the George C. Brooks scholarship which is a major scholarship which would have made paying for school easier.

Nichole

I wish I had known more about the availability of off-campus housing.

Cassandra

I was a little nervous coming here because I'm from such a small town, so I wish that I would have known that even though Mizzou is a decently big school, it isn't scary at all.

Megan

I wish I would have known that they had the Archtectural Studies program, so that I could have started with that major my freshman year.

Bobbie

I wish I had known the exact major I wanted to study. I came to UM-Columbia for Photojournalism but I didn't realize that the Journalism was so competitive so I have since changed my major four times, forcing me to push back my graduation date a full semester. I guess it's not that big of a deal... I really like it here. :)