OT: Advice for college students

[Jude]

OT: Advice for college students

I noticed that many of you seem to be heading for the university for the first time. I thought that starting a thread where people could give helpful advice would be a good idea since it can be pretty tough and it's hard to bring your Grade Point Average up once you tank it!

1. If you are at a dormatory and have to share a room: remember that it is Your and Your Roommate's room and you should respect each other's privacy and need to sleep and study. Friends, lovers, etc., do not have any rights to disturb either of you there. If you have a problem that can't be resolved by talking it out with your roommate, go to the hall or dorm monitor and ask for help. If you happen to be in a dorm that is really noisy, try studying in the library or nearby park. Also, try to get enough to eat.

2. This is really important: Take written notes (the process of writing helps you remember), then read them over later and think about what they mean and how they apply to the subject. Read them again before tests.

3. This is also important, especially if your grades depend on assignments rather than tests, but also to make sure you get your reading done:
Do your homework as soon as possible after class. That way the subject is still fresh in your mind and you don't have to waste time get into it again. And you won't have to worry about running out of time to finish it! Also, don't wait until you have a huge block of time to do your readings or short homework: You can read on the bus, or while eating, and if you wait for a good time, you may find that you have run out of time!

4. Libraries are a wonderful place to find good info (the internet has the problem of having much "false" info since often no one fact checks anything--although the info, if true, is often more up-to-date). But don't plagerize, ever! Use the info, but think (and write) for yourself!

5. Get your books right away. If you wait, thinking that you won't need a certain book until later in the semester, you may find that the bookstore is out of them.

Jude

 

[FrostBurn]

All the things that I didn't do when I was at uni! :laughing:

I'm surprised I managed to get that scrap piece of bog toilet paper they call a degree.....:unimpressed:

 

[MedctnStn]

try and find others who have previously had your prefessors and find out what he/she is like, especially what kind of tests they give, etc.

i always find that after you finish taking ontes in a class, spend a few minutes after class to look at them. take a few minutes before class and review the notes you took last class. this will help is you wrote something and don't understand it

 

[Repusz1]

Well I attend my university in Hungary, but the advice I have to offer is universal (haha...): If living in a dormitary, set up any kind of rules immediately that you feel may have great impact on you and your roommate(s) life fin the future, that way you can avoid unneccessary conflicts that may arise due to the lack of order: rules regarding sex, music, drinking, studying etc. You may not know each other, and may think or feel really differently about certain topics, but if you want to have a happy living together you have to come to agreements the sooner the better.

 

[XDoomasX1]

I tend to leave all work/homework/projects for last days/nights And I have no will power to study after lectures....Im surprised how Im not bailing out.rop:

 

[Jude]

Another advantage to doing your homework right away, besides it being fresh in mind, is that if you finish it all early, you have the week-end free!

Jude

 

[Colony]

I tend to leave all work/homework/projects for last days/nights And I have no will power to study after lectures....Im surprised how Im not bailing out.rop:

Sounds familiar, you'd fit right in on my course:grin:

I'm saying the same things I told myself I'd do last year: Go to bed before 2, actually take notes in lectures instead of snoozing/talking, get to lectures in the first place, and do some bloody work. Didn't work last time, but maybe being a 3rd year will make me take it a bit more seriously.

Or maybe not.

Goodbye 2/1, hello 2/2

Edit:

5. Get your books right away. If you wait, thinking that you won't need a certain book until later in the semester, you may find that the bookstore is out of them.

Am I the only student in whole world who doesn't actually have to buy any textbooks? None of my modules have compulsory books, only recommended ones which don't really have anything useful in them anyway

 

[JihadJesus]

Chill.

Seriously. I know so many people who drove themselves utterly NUTS studying for dozens of hours a week, freaking out about the next big exam or paper, and were high-strung and miserable all the time simply because they thought they NEEDED a 4.0 instead of a 3.9. Unless you plan on applying to some uber-presitgious med school, just let it go. There are diminishing returns on schoolwork just like everything else, and only so much labor is really reasonable.

 

[Jude]

I have to agree with JihadJesus on this. You can't guarantee a 4.0 no matter what you do (unless your daddy practically owns the school), so just do the best you can. Sometimes, you will mess up, and sometimes someone will mess you up. I knew one prof who said right at the beginning that he never gave A's and the best anyone could expect in his class was an A-. Another prof dropped everyone's grade who didn't go to a party he held, and got away with it. So, accept that life is sometimes (often) unfair, and do the best you can and try to learn and think a lot!

Jude

 

[Zarfen]

I agree a bit with JJ, I tend to "overstudy" some times, I do too much reading and then I'm stuffed with it! When I try to open the books the evening before I just read the first lines and then I throw the book away in disguse..
Anyway, it pays off sometimes, or often. I always study hard and without bragging I think I have pretty good grades. Anyway, it's very individual, but I tend to save it a bit too late, try and start your studying in good time and study less every day, but study more days, that way you wont go crazy.

Oh, and I'm talking about tests here

edit: and also always check your answear before turning your test in, sometimes you dont have time, and I never have the strenght to do it after 2 hours writing but the few times I do I save some points from mistake-correcting

 

[Garance]

just to add a touch of variety, i'm gonna give some advice that has nothing to do with work. and having just finished my third and final year, i consider myself something of an authority in having nothing to do with work.

Just remember that univerity isn't just about the learning. there's also the social side of things, and ignoring all the usual stuff about going out and getting drunk, there really is never going to be another opportunity to enjoy a social life and meet people to the same degree that uni allows. don't waste it, coz while a degree is one of the most important qualifiacations you're going to get, it's it's not all there is to life. Meeting people and interacting is one of the things that helps you to develop as a person.

 

[Toppo1]

Drink booze and smoke pot. I heard they're good for your.

 

[water_moon]

Another big hint for university/college: Credit cards may be easy to get, and a very useful thing to have, but DON'T rack up debt buying things like new outfits, games, or stero equipment. It won't last all that long but the debt will. And avoid cash advances at all costs, they have horrible intrest rates! (some over 30% that's 1/3rd of the amount you orinally paid each year) and most cards have you pay off the highest intrest rates last.

 

[Oreius]

edit: and also always check your answear before turning your test in, sometimes you dont have time, and I never have the strenght to do it after 2 hours writing but the few times I do I save some points from mistake-correcting

This is good advice. Even if you only have 5 minutes left before the end of a test, you'd be amazed at how often you can correct careless mistakes by doing a quick read-through of your exam sheet before you turn it in. You may not have time to redo any larger problems, but speaking for myself, I also made plenty of stupid errors that had nothing to do with working out the problem. I can even remember one time that I got a Calculus exam back where I spent 15 minutes working out all the equations on a particular problem, only to copy down the wrong number into the answer box. The prof only gave me half credit, even though all my work shown was correct and I came up with the correct answer in my calcs. I learned a good lesson from that though, because in real life engineering, it's not gonna matter if you screw up the hardest part of a problem or the simplest part, it's still just as costly in the end.

I'll also add a few of my own tips on surviving college:

(1) Try to get to know as many different kinds of people as possible. You'll never have a better opportunity to do so, because once you graduate, it'll be a lot harder to meet new people other than coworkers. I always felt sad for the people who spent 4-5 years in college surrounded by thousands of other interesting people their own age, but refused to be involved in anything outside of their own narrow group of friends.

(2) Don't assume everyone is judging you at college. I know this may sound like a no-brainer, but the one thing that I really enjoyed about my university was how different it was from the high-school atmosphere. College students aren't anywhere near as judgmental about what "group" you hang out with or the clothes you wear. In high-school, the popular people can ride their reputation and keep themselves surrounded by their like-minded friends, but at college, especially one where most of the students are non-local, everyone has to go out and build new friendships. It kind of levels out the playing field.

(3) Try and get your roommates to agree to a cooking schedule. When I was sharing a place with 3 other guys, we each had one night a week where we were responsible for cooking dinner. Friday through Sunday we were on our own. Not only does this mean that you won't have to worry about dinner 3 nights a week, but you also get to learn how to cook for yourself if you've never done so before. Also, college guys are easy to cook for; they'll eat just about anything and rarely complain about a free meal no matter how bad it is. :grin:

 

[maewyn]

One added tip here:

For your more difficult classes, talk to some of the other students and form a study group. Even if you think you understand the material, it will become even clearer if you organize your thoughts to explain it to another. If you are struggling with the material, maybe all you need is somebody to explain it in a different way.

 

[shleefin]

don't go home on weekends...don't call your parents every day...get a job and buy your own stuff. just try to be as independent as possible. establish to your folks early on that you are going to be your own person now, otherwise you'll never get rid of them. this is what i did and i couldn't be happier with our relationship now.

contrary to what i've heard a lot of "experts" say, freshman year IS the easiest year. if you bomb freshman year, it's gonna be really tough to get that GPA back up (speaking from experience here...heh). i know it's tough but try to only get smashed 1-2 nights a week

 

[SiTro]

Am I the only student in whole world who doesn't actually have to buy any textbooks? None of my modules have compulsory books, only recommended ones which don't really have anything useful in them anyway

I got through last year (my first) without buying any textbooks. Of course, my course is largely based on maths, and all the lecture notes were put online. I quickly found that was enough for me to learn off. That doesn't mean I'll automatically do the same this year though, especially as now I know where my weak areas are.

I'd say that it's important to have clear and organised notes, if at all possible. I ended up wasting valuable time towards the end of the year sorting my notes into the right order, and trying to read my handwriting (which gets appalling if I'm writing when hurried). This year I'm hoping to be a bit more organised, and rewrite messy bits as they happen, rather than all at once.

Socially, get involved and don't have any issues about diving in. Unlike a lot of people I know, I was the only one from my school going to my particular uni, and after a few days or so it didn't make any difference. Everyone's in the same boat and it's worth meeting as many different people as you can. Equally, if there are a few people you know going to your university, it's well worth making the effort to branch out and get to know more people than just them.

 

[Black Rat]

Dont Skip class!...... this is a big one...... i dug my self in a hole that took me 5 years to get out of...... although i feel that im a permanent student (which is really fun) im not looking forward to paying off the loans at the end....... also, dont get so caught up you cant still get at least a few hours of D2 in every week.......

 

[Jude]

Another big hint for university/college: Credit cards may be easy to get, and a very useful thing to have, but DON'T rack up debt buying things like new outfits, games, or stero equipment. It won't last all that long but the debt will. And avoid cash advances at all costs, they have horrible intrest rates! (some over 30% that's 1/3rd of the amount you orinally paid each year) and most cards have you pay off the highest intrest rates last.

And you'll have all those student loan debts to pay off for years, already!

@Oreius: cooking? :shocked: ROFL! I was lucky to be able to fit in time to eat at all, and I surely wasn't going to eat some kid's cooking when there were perfectly good fast food places (and occasionally restaurants, when I had some money and free time) all over the place! (or peanut butter and crackers, when you really have no time!). Besides, from my experience, roommates are rarely on the same schedule, for eating, sleeping, or anything else!

Jude

 

[grossesexy]

Enjoy the opposite sex as much as possible in college. You will look back on the years you spent much more fondly if you spent a good part of them...enjoying....someone's company on most nights.