University of Maine Top Questions

College is a big word with big meaning and big possiblities. That does not mean, however, that the little child that lives within you is gone. Don't forget to laugh and live; college is a serious world, but sometimes the only way to survive is to put down the textbook and laugh. Make friends, create a new family and learn things from the wisdom of people and not just the textbooks. College is there to set up the next steps of your life, but life is not only reading textbooks and writing down answers. Life is about the experiences and the people you meet. Pay attention in class, do your homework and study; but most of all, enjoy these years and enjoy the people. College isn't meant to scare you, but let you live the life you've always wanted.

My number one piece of advice to you is to be open to talk to everyone, it will help you advance not only socially but academically. Go to your professor’s office hours as soon as possible, most of them are really helpful, but they can’t help if you don’t go to see them or if you wait too long to go see them. Also talk to your advisors, I've found mine to be my best tool. Try not to procrastinate and write your lab reports the night before they are due- well not all the time anyway, procrastinating with friends can actually be a pretty good bonding experience. Academics are the reason your in school, but don’t forget it’s a social experience too. Always take up an opportunity to go out with friends and to enjoy new experiences. Go on hikes and enjoy nature, go to parties, go Greek and enjoy culture and along the way make sure you’re never losing yourself, but always finding something new about yourself. So take a deep breathe and dig in, because this is where our adventure begins.

I would tell myself that it is easier to get into school right away and to focus on grades, for better oppurtunities.

I would tell my younger self to look at how well the classes will transfer from Eastern Maine Community College(EMCC) to the University of Maine(UMO) because they don't all transfer as credits in the civil engineering program. Even though not all of the classes transfer as well as you want them to, it is worth it to go to EMCC before UMO. You will meet some life long friends and learn a lot of good life lessons. One life lesson that you will learn if you don't listen to your family is that when you are in a relationship and there are red flags all over the place, you need to end the relationship. Also, just because you are going to college doesn't mean you are now mature and ready for a girlfriend. There are lots of people in college who are immature. I'd make a guess that 25-50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of college students are immature. Also, God will bring people into your life for you to show kindness to. Make sure you don't miss any of those opportunities.

Knowing what I know now I would tell my high school self a few things. Class is completely different when comparing college to high school, the classes are much larger and you really have to pay attention. I would tell myself that you have to block out more time for studying in college than you did in high school so be prepared and I'd also tell myself to be prepared for the high amounts of reading from a textbook. I would tell myself that the homesickness is not really that bad and it goes away after a few weeks so not to worry about that part of college. I would also remind myself that college is where you begin the journey to a career path so take it seriously and try your best because your future self depends on it. I would tell my high school self to not let college seem like such a daunting, big, scary thing because it really isn't and some would probably say it's less scary than high school and that the college experience can be whatever you make it out to be.

"Hey, asshole." (dont look at me like that, i was really dense at the time). "you shouldnt settle for the school you can afford, especially sense you dont even know what you want to do." My younger self looks at me with all the certainty of a teenager and says, "But Cody all my friends are there!" To which I would say "yeah well you have a falling out with them and the were does that leave you? Trust me, go work with the oldman for a two years. By then you will be able to afford your first choice. You will also have figured out what you want out of life."

If I could go back and tell myself one thing it would be to stop regretting being so shy. My last few months in High School I kept dewling on the fact that I didnt talk to so many people because I wasnt able to come out of my shell. Now that I look back, i dont think its that big of a deal. I mean yes, i probably missed a lot of relationship that I could have had but im happy with the ones that i do. Also, this regret i feel is why has helped be able to actually go up and talk to people in class that i sit next to even if its just for the 5 minutes before class starts. That is something in high school i would have never been able to do.

Some advice I would give myself is, don't get in the habit of procrastinating. You do not want to start college with the bad habits of waiting for the last minute to study or to get your homework done. You need to get your work done early and study ahead of time, don't wait for the last minute. Try reading the book ahead before class, that way coming in to class, you have an idea of what is being lectured about. This will help you understand the material and give you the chance to ask any questions you had about the reading. After school everyday go through your notes and study the material covered in class, this will help you remeber what you learned and make studying easier, once a test comes up. Study with a friend or form study groups with other members in the class. You can quiz each other using your notes, to be sure you actually know the material. Also, start any essays early, don't wait. Getting them done ahead leaves time for peer reviews. Creating great studying and working habits will make the transition to college a lot easier.

If I could go back to senior year in high school, the advice I would give myself is how important the SAT's are and how important applying for scholarships are. College is very expensive and I am starting to see that now as the bills are coming out. As you enter college you need to buy books, supplies for school and your dorm room, housing, meal plans, tution and much more. When I took the SAT's in high school, people told me about how important they were but I didn't listen. Now that I am looking at all the bills trying to figure out how to pay them, I realized how important my scores were in order to get a scholarship from the college I am going too. If I had gotten my scores up higher, I would of had a lot more help paying for school. Also another advice I would give myself is to take a lot of time and put a lot of effort into scholarships because once your awarded the money, it is a huge help to lowering your college bills.

High school is a time to get involved. Put yourself out there and just have fun. Do not be shy, or secluded. If you want to do something do it. Join as many clubs as you can, takes all the classes you want to. Be socially involved, make as many friends as you can. Be nice to everybody and invite people to go out. Go to the cute guys party, have as many outings with friends as you can, study and make the best grades. Make the four years of high school as great as you imagined they could be. Go to every football game and cheer every sport on. Make the most out of everything you do in these four years. Make as many memories as you can and cherish them. Most of all be yourself and don't hide your true self from the world. Stand up for what you believe in. And be the very best form of yourself you can be. Lastly, remember all of these memories you created to tell your future family. Inspire them the way you were inspired, inspiration is a great thing.