A Conversation With My Grade 12 Self

When I was in high school, I had so many questions swirling around in my mind like “where am I going to go to school?”, “what program do I want to enrol in?” and most importantly “what is university even like?”.

I can tell you now, if I was able to go back and have a conversation with my grade 12 self to ease some of my own concerns, I would.

But seeing as I can’t do that, I thought the next best thing would be to answer my past questions for any of you prospective students who are wondering the same things.

1. “How early should I start to apply to programs?”

As it is with almost anything, the earlier you apply, the better chance you have at getting into the program you want.

I know I started my application process as early as November of my senior year, but if you’re still unsure of what you want to apply for, you can always take your time!

2. “When will I know if I got into the program I applied for?”

When you receive an acceptance email (or letter, if they’re still doing that) is going to be different for everyone. It usually depends on when you submit your application and it can also depend on your grades.

In my experience, because I applied so early, I received an offer in December of the same year I applied; only a month after I submitted the application. So if you’re stuck wondering why your friend was accepted and you haven’t been yet, don’t be afraid! Your acceptance confirmation shouldn’t take too long to get to you if you’ve followed all the instructions of applying!

3. “Should I apply for scholarships? If so, how many and when?”

I don’t know how to say this loudly here, so I’ll put it in bold letters; APPLY FOR AS MANY SCHOLARSHIPS AS YOU CAN. 

Even if you don’t think you’ll receive the scholarship, apply anyways. There are so many available to students, and sometimes there aren’t many students applying.

You never know how lucky you can get with scholarships, so definitely research the ones that may be available to you, and apply for lots of them!

4. “When should I accept a scholarship offer?”

If you know for sure that you want to attend the school that is offering the money to you, then in my opinion you should accept it as soon as you can!

However, if you have many institutions you are considering and they are sending you offers, you may have to contemplate the best decision for you with a pro and con list just in case. If it’s an independent scholarship, definitely accept it. At that point it’s free money for school!

5. “Is university scary?”

As it is with everything new, I won’t lie, you’ll feel a little scared at first.

Your anxiety might rise just a bit when trying to get to your classes on time and get into your groove but that will dissipate, I promise. It might take a while but it will.

6. “Will I get lost on campus?”

Probably at least once, maybe more than that.

Campus is a big place and it will be easy to get lost trying to find some of the rooms in the building, maybe even the buildings themselves.

One thing I would recommend to help with that is to take advantage of the campus tours UVic provides.

Also, don’t be afraid to use a map while navigating around campus if you need to find your way around!

7. “Am I going to graduate after four years?”

You might, but it’s okay if you don’t. Don’t overwork yourself just to be “normal.” That is completely overrated. You can graduate whenever you want to and honestly, I think doing 4 classes per term is way more manageable than 5.

8. “So… what do I do if I don’t get into university?”

You have a lot of options outside of going to university. You can take a gap year and travel the world, you can work and save money for schooling in the future, or just take a relaxing break from school in general for a while.

Or, if you’re keen on going to school, you can go to a college, like Camosun for example, and transfer to UVic the following year. Ultimately it isn’t over for you if you don’t get into university when you try for the first time.

I hope answering these questions helped to ease your concerns about university!