So you have decided to attend UW Madison…now what?
Enjoy your time before university
College is an exciting new step into the adult world. If you have just chosen to attend UW Madison, chances are, you are a high school senior. The best advice I can give to you is to soak up everything you can before you come to campus. Enjoy extra time with your high school friends, hug your family a little extra, and don’t forget where you came from. You will be on campus before you know it, and you will most likely not be seeing your family and friends all that often once you start classes, so enjoy your time with them while you can!
Be open to changes
Maybe you have the exact degree and career path already chosen and you think NOTHING will ever change your mind. I personally never wanted to attend a 4 year university. I loved animals and wanted to become a vet tech at a 2 year university and be done with school. Spoiler: I changed my mind. While obtaining my associates degree, I quickly realized I needed more. I spent time working in the field, shadowing, and observing coworkers from afar. It didn’t take me very long to decide I needed a higher education and a new career path. And that’s OKAY! It’s alright to change you mind. Change your degree 3 or 4 times, who cares! There is no one way path for a college student.
Be yourself
This may seem simple, but just be yourself. I have personally lost a lot of friends in college because they changed SO much from high school, which is alright too. If you loose high school friends, you will make more friends in college. Just remember to be who you are and you will find yourself surrounded by friends with very similar interests to you.