University of Virginia-Main Campus Top Questions

I wish I had known that there are certain organizations that only allow you to join in your first year. There are also certain honors available only after completing certain academic requirements, like having more than 15 credits every semester grants eligibility to an honors program. I also wish I had pursued different career opportunties.

I wish I could have understood major requirements before deciding to transfer. Coming in as junior, I'm behind most of the class when it comes to how close they are to finishing their degree. Had I known what classes to take and the difficulty, I would have tried to take more of them before coming.

Pace yourself.

I wish I had known more about the deadlines for fall sports so i could have participated.

I wish I had known a little more about what kind of classes I wanted.

Get involved first semester to make new friends and explore your interests, but don't overload yourself. Your GPA first and second year builds the foundation for the rest of your college experience. It's so easy to get overwhelmed and want to join everything, but you need to pick 2 or 3 activities. The workload is heavy and can catch you off guard if you're doing a million other things.

Build up your GPA

I wish that someone had told me to pick a few extra cirricular activities that I really loved at that were important to UVA, and to stick with them. Initially, I joined a couple random philanthropic organizations and random clubs, but I didn't gain much from them and didn't enjoy being a part of them. It wasn't until later that I became a tour guide and even then I still wished that I had started out earlier so I could've been involved with other prestigous organizations on grounds such as the honor committee and student council.

I wish I had known that the University of Virginia, although very competitive, is also a very friendly environment. The stigma about all of us being stuck up and snotty is totally untrue. Yes, you will probably meet some people you do not like, but you would find that anywhere. The University is a great place to make friends as well as study, and often you will find people just like you (hard-working, competitive, with similar interests). I wish I had known what a wide variety of classes were offered before I signed up for classes too!

Prior to coming to UVA, I would have liked to have known how to manage my time better for it is paramount to success at this university. This is a school where students put in many hours of studying as well as many hours in other extracurricular activities Being able to not squander time is a huge advantage to succeeding at this university.

I wish I knew how intense the school really was. Everyone is very competitive in everything; academics, extra-curriculars, even community service. It was a huge change from high school and I wish I had known how hard I would really have to work. The adjustment was tough but it is worth it in the end.

I wish I had turly known how much work college entails! The majority of people, when you ask about how college is, answer that college is the best four years of your life. However, most fail to mention college is also probably the hardest four years of your life. Although I had a good idea of what college would be like, I was not fully prepared for the work load that came with it. Had I been sure of what I was getting myself into with the classes I'm taking, I would feel a lot more comfortable and relaxed!

I wish I had known what I wanted to do with my life before I came to the school. Since the University of Virginia has so many different schools within it, alot of students come in knowing that want to apply for the commerce school or the nursing school. I did not have a plan like that and so I am probably going to graduate with a liberal arts degree rather than one that sets me on a specific career path. I wish had had done more research before coming to college so I could take advantage of these.

When I came to college I was really, really nervous about my grades and my future and I didn’t take enough time to enjoy myself during my first year at UVa. Of course, I still had a blast, but I didn’t get the full college experience. Although, academics are important, so are all the other experiences college offers. I shouldn’t have been so afraid to go out with friends and experience college life and all that entails.

I wish I had known about organizations such as The Declaration and the Washington Literary Society and Debating Union. There's cool stuff like that at UVa, but that's not advertised on the U Guides tours, during which they basically talk about the lamest, dryest aspects of our school.

I wish I was more aware of the importance of Advanced Placement credit. I didn't realize that I would be saving college tuition by fulfilling college courses while in high school. I was forced to re-take many classes that I excelled in, but hadn't put much time into studying for the AP exam. I was told to take AP classes because they looked impressive and good colleges required them. I wasn't told that I could greatly decrease my course load by earning AP credits. Also, students with more AP credits always scheduled classes first.

The difficulty of having a longterm relationship. Being more conscious of my work and social habits and balancing them better.

I wish I had known how receptive the administration is to student ideas. Student self-governance really is not a key phrase that floats around at U.Va. Administrators constantly reach out to students to get their advice and feedback on certain programs, such as financial aid. Students can also initiate activities and promote change with the administration as well.

I wish I had known how important it is to get involved with school clubs/activities right off of the bat because that is the best way to meet people.

I wish I had known more about other universities.

There is a balance between your academic life and social life. Time management is the key. Start you problem sets and papers ASAP because you will have a problem and need help. Time management is the key that enables you to hang out with friend when you want to and not be ruled by your homework.

I wish I had known to get more involved and learn more about general subjects. The biggest problem I am facing is deciding what major to choose and I feel that it would be much easier if I knew more about some subjects.

I thought I had known everything there was to know about school and life. But i was indeed wrong in every aspect of the word. College is a new experience and is extremely different from high school. The major thing that really isn't discuss, and I wish I had known, was the students are in charge of their education. Whether it was homework, tests, or quizes, it is your responsisbilty to follow up on due dates and get things accomplished on time. And at my school they enforce that and it makes for a better learing environment.

All the while the UVA presents itself as a diverse University, it isn't a mecca of cross- cultural interactions. Although inside the classroom, those who are genuinely interested may chose to cross those lines through discussions, in the social world it is segregated as can be. As an American Studies major, I find myself keenly aware of situations as such, and even more so as a third-year transfer (Hispanic) student. I wish I would have known that the UVA balance leaned toward a more conservative and well-off population that over shadows the liberal and diverse population.

I wish I knew how difficult the classes really were and more about the student demographic.

The lack of restrictions on alcohol use.

I wish I had been able to get more involved with research, working with professors directly, and it took my entire first year to figure out how to go about doing that.

All the different study fields and which would interest me the most

I wish that I knew that it rains a lot in Charlottesville. One day, it is sunny outside and the next thing you know, it is raining and it can rain all week. If someone had told me this, I would bought myself some rain boots. When it rains, you see every girl wearing one. I definitely know that I will not make that same mistake when I go back.

I wish I had known that the food was bad. Although I wouldn't have changed my decision on attending the school, the food is still not good so I probably wouldn't have signed up for a meal plan.

That I didn't really want to be a business major, and then I wouldn't have wasted so much time on pre-req classes that brought down my gpa.

Everyone is so fit at this school.

I think I was well equiped when it came to knowing stuff about the school.

It's really much harder than you think.

I wish I had known more about the different majors and classes. I felt I was very uninformed about the different professors, shedules, and academic opportunities outside classes until past my 2nd year.

That i was not as easy as they said to study abroad. They seemed to encourage it but in reality the program is not very organized and it feels as if you're mostly on your own. Also off campus housing is very difficult. Leases are signed in early november leaving a lot of the success of your housing situation to luck.

Enough about myself to avoid this preppy, pretintious place.

How stressfuull it is

I wish I had known that it's impossible to participate in all of the social activities without it affecting your school work. You have to pick and choose in order to stay on top of classes.

There is a student network that recommends electives to help balance the rigorous courses. Take advantage of the advice.

It is not that I didn't know there was going to be less diversity but I wish I knew how segregated people were from each other. It could be seen as a comfort level type thing but it was very disillusioning to see the lack of "integration". Not that people don't get along, it's just different.

Just how prevalent underage drinking was.

I wish I had known what major I wanted to be before I came here so that I could have from the beginning taken the classes I needed to take.

I wish that I had known how to find a better work/play balance becoming to UVa. Because of the strength of the academics, it is necessary to find a good study schedule if one wishes to get involved in school clubs. At any given hour of the day, you will find students at the library and others hanging out at the fraternity houses. The key to getting the most of your experience at UVa is finding the correct balance between both.

Nothing

It would have been nice to have realized the wealth of books included in the libraries - as well as how to use the library systems.

How difficult it would be to get classes.