<p>I don’t think it’s possible never to regret. Not dwelling on regrets is probably more accurate.</p>
<p>I regret not being more sexually aggressive in high school. I would be a happier man today!</p>
<p>I don’t really regret anything, or say have big regrets like other posters. I just wished I would have sent my housing application in for The University of Iowa earlier than I did. I didn’t send my housing application in until April as oppose to December.</p>
<p>I regret not applying for more scholarships,because now i am stuck at a community college.</p>
<p>Making friends with high-drama-quotient people my freshman year. Second semester senior and I haven’t stopped regretting it.</p>
<p>I regret not working in high school.</p>
<p>As many have said about HS, I wish I had given a little more effort in my classes. Took challenging classes, but just sort of did enough, but never really gave much effort. Many people probably assumed I graduated easily in the top 10%, but I actually graduated in the top 11/12%, though from a competitive public HS. Can’t say I did badly in terms of where I went to college, but I’m sure I could have done better if I had tried more in HS.</p>
<p>In terms of college, I wish I had done more during my first semester in terms of finding ways to meet people. I didn’t really hang out with the guys on my floor until 2nd semester and relied on other friends introducing me to people in order to meet people. I did meet people, but it wasn’t until later where I started making close friendships and truly enjoying college.</p>
<p>Pushing myself too hard during my first semester in college. Part of me is happy I took over 20 credits of engineering classes (5 classes, avg. is 4ish) both semesters b/c it allowed me to take it easy this year (senior year) and study abroad, but it would have been better for me to ease into the college environment. My GPA first semester freshman year is by far my worst semester. I wish I worked harder in my classes, overall. </p>
<p>My one other regret was not being tapped for a secret society. It was a secret goal of mine that I obviously had little control over, but if I had taken on more prominent leadership roles on campus maybe it could have happened…</p>
<p>I find it funny that so many people wished they’d worked harder in high school… I wish I’d worked less harder and concentrated more on my social life. Hard to find that balance.</p>
<p>I too wish I had a better social life in HS… but it really wasn’t my fault… unless I was on the football/basketball/lacrosse team as a guy I would automatically be isolated (just how my HS was)</p>
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I completely agree. My recommendation to all HS students is take the easiest, most entertaining classes possible. Easy A’s trump difficult B’s/C’s by a loooooong shot. Never, ever take AP classes, under any circumstances. Have fun, be social, volunteer, waste time on games if you want (but don’t sacrifice your sex life).</p>
<p>Hm… I see a problem already, though. If a class is “easy,” that means you don’t have to learn anything to pass, even if the material is covered. In order to get good SAT/ACT scores, learning that material is kind of important. So I guess if you want to be competitive, it’s okay to take the easy classes, but make sure you do read the textbook and pay attention; don’t slack off completely just because you’re guaranteed an A.</p>
<p>1- Slacking off senior year of high school. Still currently slacking off
2- Should have applied to one Ivy League. Was lazy. Didn’t bother 
3- Research on American education system before getting there
4- be more productive during the summer
5- take the SATs much more seriously</p>
<p>:O No AP classes at all? =( Where’s the love?</p>
<p>Anyway, I was just going to say that the textbooks assigned for most easy/academic classes are usually not very good textbooks at all. Except for maybe the math classes, but that’s because all they are are math problems, very technical.</p>
<p>I regret not researching my colleges and applying to more challenging schools. My high school life has been ok but could of been better.</p>
<p>Regrets about College:
- Not having more relevant work experience. Oh god, what I wouldn’t give for a job… I want a job. I want a job so bad.
- I should have went out more and had a better social life. There were a few quarters in college where I went out less than 3 times a week (to school clubs/bars/other random activities).
- I wish I did more statistics/economics. There are certain classes in those fields which I would have really liked to take, given more time.
- I wish I would have known more about girls going in. Not that I’m disappointed right now, but I would have loved to have another relationship or two, gotten to know another girl really well, even if it’s probably some heartache in the end.
- I’ve only spent 3-4 times a year going out until 2-3 AM and just chilling and talking with people. Man, huge mistake. Relationships are the most important parts of life. Never forget that.</p>
<p>I regret not taking more math courses. I only did the bare minimum at my CC (intermediate algebra and stats) and never completed geometry, college algebra, trig or calculus which limited my school selection substantially. Things turned out well though, Berkeley is definately not bad. But a lot of schools I would have been interested in applying to required higher level math that I just wasn’t prepared for.</p>
<p>1) Not knowing about gaming the GPA system and cramming more easy AP classes into my schedule.</p>
<p>2) Taking stupid classes in middle school thinking they’d give me a head start (ended up dragging me down).</p>
<p>3) Wasting way too much time studying trying to catch up</p>
<p>4) Not knowing about prestigious national competitions until it was too late (Intel, Siemens, Olympiads, etc.)</p>
<p>5) Failing to find research opportunities nearby and during the summer.</p>
<p>6) Posting this on CC, thus reviving my frustration at my idiocy.</p>
<p>I regret not changing my major. I realized I was unhappy about halfway through, but stayed in it because it was what people seemed to expect of me and I would have suffered a lot credit-wise if I’d changed. If I’d just done what was right for me and let other people solve their own problems, I would have saved myself a lot of misery.</p>
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<p>And despite all that, you still got into Yale. </p>
<p>Don’t worry about the whole GPA thing. Your high school GPA is valueless once you get into a college. No one asks about it ever again.</p>
<p>Here’s a regret not mentioned often, yet it plays quite heavily in the application process: becoming a national merit finalist or semi-finalist. This may seem intuitive. Of course you would hope/acknowledge that being a NMSF is helpful, but more kids could earn this achievement if they knew how important those PSATs are. </p>
<p>Most times, kids don’t study for the PSATs. But if they did and were fully prepared, those scores could possibly move from Commended to NMSF. This achievement not only helps in the acceptance process but also automatically awards scholarship money at many colleges.</p>
<p>I only have a few. One is stupid, but I really wish I hadn’t listened to people when they told me that my schedule would be too hard. As a junior, I freaked out when other people told me that skipping Honors Bio for AP Bio would be suicide with my other AP courses, so I dropped down…and got stuck with a teacher who is literally psychotic. I took AP Biology this year, and it was EASIER than the honors bio course I took with Dr. Noyes. I took 3 other APs my junior year, and I had more homework in honors bio than in all 3 of those AP classes combined. Not fun. I’m pretty sure I could have handled it, and freed up space my senior year to take another class I had really wanted to take.</p>
<p>My only other regret is not applying to a few more super reach schools. I’m thrilled to be going to Carleton - it was always my #1 - but I had honestly convinced myself that I wouldn’t get into any Ivies, so I only applied to 2 that I didn’t think I had a shot at. After seeing many of my classmates get accepted into the less selective Ivies, I kind of wish I had applied instead of being scared, because I think that I was just as good of an applicant as the students who were admitted (and to be honest, probably a bit stronger than some of them).</p>
<p>Also, agreeing to go to junior prom with a friend who had an unreciprocated crush on me, because I was worried I wouldn’t have a date. Awwwwkward night. :D</p>
<p>Ah well. Other than that, I’m pretty happy with the way my life has turned out. I’m really excited to be going to Carleton and I think I found a pretty good balance between school and social life - essentially working my butt off during the weekdays and on weeknights, and then having a lot of fun on Friday/Saturday nights. Not that I’ll miss it much, but it was nice while it lasted.</p>