Dear Montecito: Annika Wagner

New schedule, new workload, new classes and more. Moving from the end of high school to the beginning of freshman year is one of the biggest transitions a student will experience, even when they are as college-ready as Annika Wagner. Last year Annika graduated from Dos Pueblos High School with a 4.85 GPA, 34 college credits, and 40 times the required community service hours. Getting an early start in the summer, she has now completed her first two quarters at UCLA and is ready to reflect on this important chapter. 

Q. How have your first two terms been? Does it feel completely different from high school?

A. It is quite different from high school in part because people are busy at different times of the day. I see some people going to class at 7 pm, which is really crazy to me. It is also a little odd being in a lecture hall with hundreds of people – it is really different from high school in that way. This year in my anthropology class, if I didn’t arrive early, I would have to sit on the floor in the back! The other main difference is that a lot of the material you have to teach yourself, and also in a short 10-week quarter you have a lot of deadlines to remember, which professors don’t remind you about. In college it becomes more important than ever to manage your time well, because it’s easy to procrastinate and become overwhelmed with deadlines for major papers and projects all at once.

So you are currently a psychology major with an interest to pursue cognitive sciences – how did you get interested in this area?

I have always just been interested in people; the way our brains work, why we do the things we do. In high school I took AP Psychology, and I loved that class. Just reading through the different cases and studies that lead to different breakthroughs was really interesting to me.

Was there anything in particular you learned while taking AP Psychology that really grabbed your interest and pulled you toward this major? 

Yes – I remember learning that playing Tetris and similar puzzle-like games can prevent PTSD after a traumatic event. It was really surprising to me that we can “hack” the brain.

In the two quarters you’ve been attending, which has been your favorite class?

Sociology, which is related to psychology in that it is the study of social and cultural groups of people. It was interesting to learn the background of societal patterns across time and culture. 

Reflecting back to high school, can you think of any habits or experiences that you think prepared you to be a college student?

Spending a lot of time talking to my teachers. I spent a lot of time doing that. I would talk to my teachers a lot in high school, always asking for clarification – probably too much! That made it easier to talk to professors, which is a pretty helpful thing to do. My involvement in NCL (National Charity League) developed my interest in volunteering throughout middle and high school. I am excited to continue to support various philanthropies as a member of my sorority and other campus organizations. 

Now that you’re halfway through your freshman year, can you tell me if there is any advice you have for high school students who are getting ready to go to college?

I would say when it comes to college, be open-minded. When I first started my applications, UCLA was not on my radar, which is really wild because I love it. I don’t know how I could have gone anywhere else. When you are touring campuses, try to focus not just on places you are super comfortable with but also places where you think you could experience a lot of growth and where you think the students are doing interesting things. You might surprise yourself when you discover how capable you are. It might be hard to imagine because you’re still in high school, but once you get there, things will fall into place. At least that has been my experience. Be open-minded. Do things you wouldn’t necessarily do. Some girls at UCLA rush even if they don’t think they want to join a sorority, and the same goes for clubs. Try things, in all areas of life, because you might end up somewhere you never imagined.