<p>If you could go back to your high school senior self, what advice would you give him/her?</p>
<p>I did my homework before going to college. I legitimately can’t think of any way I could have been significantly more prepared.
High school is a different story. I certainly do wish I’d been told to take things more seriously than I did. That’s why I went and found out just about everything I could before I went to college.</p>
<p>To get a 4.0 and be totally prepared. </p>
<p>Seriously, get a 4.0 my senior HS self. Life would be so much better. (Would have been admitted into a much more rewarding university as a result…)</p>
<p>WORK HARD! And in college, take careful notes and save them, especially in upper level courses. You never know when they will come in handy when you’re a new engineer trying to figure out what the heck you’re supposed to do.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that (in least in structural engineering) you really won’t know enough when you graduate. It takes a few years to feel like you know what you’re doing. Ask lots of questions and stay humble!</p>
<p>That summer before college take a course or two (maybe a calc course or physics) somehwere. Then you can allow your first term to be a little easier.</p>
<p>If I could talk to myself at the start of senior year of high school it would have been to tell him the following: (Please note that everything below is for the person I was, obviously your mileage may vary)</p>
<p>Knowledge imparted
-So here’s what engineering is about…
-So here’s generally what each discipline of engineering is about…
-So here’s what research is about…
-So here’s what a path not in research looks like…
-Here are your strengths
-Here are your weaknesses
-I’m going to tell you what you really want to do 11 years before you know it.
-Here is generally how you’re going to get there…</p>
<p>Advice for senior year
-Don’t slack off, AP courses require you to actually do homework to understand the material. Understanding IS actually required for success in college. Also, your GPA is the single most important thing in your life right now, nobody gives a damn about you as a person.
-Study for and retake the SAT’s, you know you didn’t take them seriously the first time around and just did what you always do - coasted after you did “well enough.” Also, this is the second most important thing in your life right now and be thankful they haven’t added the writing portion yet.
-Practice time management now, stop waiting until the last minute to get things done. Think of it like xbox/steam achievements. Also, this is what an xbox/steam application is…
-Apply to tippy top privates, don’t believe the hype that only perfect people get into them. Remember there is more chance of you getting in if you actually apply (duh).
-If you really don’t get into any of those privates (I can tell you where you got in before) go to that state school and crush it.
-Don’t let your athletic ability slip, even if you decide sticking with that varsity sport in college isn’t for you, you will be much happier remaining active and healthy.</p>
<p>Advice for the college years
-Here is how much time you need to spend between classes and homework each week…
-It really doesn’t matter how fast you finish as long as you finish - yes finishing will be a concern to you. You’re going to get discouraged if you start off taking heavy loads in huge lecture hall style classes. Give yourself time to develop discipline and really focus on learning the foundational course material. It is OK to take 5 years to finish and will actually make your college experience better, not worse. For your first year, take no more than 15 credits and no more than 3 engineering/math/science courses per semester. Trust me this will still push you.
-Stop comparing yourself to those people you perceive as smarter/better than you, here’s where they’re actually going to end up… and here’s how that doesn’t actually affect you…
-Consistency is your goal, treat school like a professional athlete treats their sport.
-College GPA, just like in high school, is the most important thing in your life. Don’t ever let it drop below 3.0. Bad grades, like a prison record, will stay with you forever and affect your employability and grad school prospects.
-Here’s what screwing up will get you… I know how prideful you are and how deserving you think you are, so this should speak to you.
-Internships, coops, and/or research opportunities are the second most important things in your life. Do whatever you have to do to obtain these, no matter how demeaning the actual work may be.</p>
<p>Post college
-Good GPA, internship experience? Yes? Ok here is how you’re actually going to get a good job…</p>
<p>Thanks to my parents, I felt adequately prepared for college during my senior year of HS… no real regrets. </p>
<p>I will say that the SAT’s should be taken very seriously though. Don’t underestimate the importance of these tests… they will literally set the path for the rest of your life.</p>
<p>As for college, make sure to save your text books! I don’t know what I was thinking at the time, but I kick myself for selling half of my books in order to make a little money. Ultimately, I ended up having to repurchase new copies of the books I sold a few months in to my first job since I realized I needed them. Expensive lesson learned!</p>
<p>I learned most of these the hard way.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Show up to every class; you will have all sorts of excuses to not go - hung over, hurt, need to study for a test, tired - but resist it and just go. Sit in front to cut down on distractions.</p></li>
<li><p>Work ahead; especially in engineering classes, lectures make a lot more sense if you have already read the chapter. It will take 2x to 3x the number of hours to try to catch up if you fall behind.</p></li>
<li><p>Stay healthy; adequate sleep is most important, then exercise and nutrition. The curriculum, at some point in each semester, becomes a test of your capacity for mental stamina. Those who can put in the 80-100 hours survive the test, those who can’t, don’t. If someone tells you “anything less that 3 hours of sleep will just make you feel worse,” do not listen to it. I found, eventually, that even a 5 minute nap was better than no sleep at all.</p></li>
<li><p>Learn to use and organize Cornell notes. 10 minutes each day is better than 2 hours once/week.</p></li>
<li><p>On a personal note, be more open to people you meet. Be friendlier and smile more. College is a time for relationship building. Trying to be the sarcastic, cool frat-boy picking on the social outcasts just make me a real d-bag. I didn’t find out until much later that the punk kids (don’t really know today’s equivalent) could be really fun. I left college with some embarassing stories of drunken debauchery, but no faculty recommendations.</p></li>
</ol>