Hey guys i finally got my courses for my Freshman year! any advice?? INTRO TO INFO TECH........Tues......2:00pm-3:50pm EXPOSITORY WRITING .....Mon,Wed,Fri....12:00pm-12:50pm INTRO TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE...Mon,Wed.....8:30am-9:45am COLLEGE ALGEBRA...Mon,Tues,Wed,Thurs...10:00am-10:50am INTRO TO SOCIOLOGY....Mon,Wed............2:30pm-3:45pm
Yes. Focus. These are the years that will effect the rest of your life, even more so than the ones past. Stay focused on a goal. Oh, and save your corn money for those books btw, I just had three ears for supper...mmmmmmmm
700$ worth of corn money... i did get a KABAR Dozier and a Shemagh with it as well so a little bit of instant gratification.
Sounds like most of your classes are of the large lecture hall type. Try to sit in the front - it will force you to avoid snoozing off or being distracted.
Treat college like you have a full time 8 to 5 job, that's 45 hours a week. If you are taking 15 semester hours, then that means spending 2 hours on the coursework for every hour you spend in class. So for a typical 3 hour per week class, spend 6 hours on homework, reading the assigned material, and reviewing notes from class.
Huh, I always thought you were old... Pay attention in your writing class. You'll be writing ALOT in college for just about every class you take. Also, have fun! Take a weird class once in a while and enjoy the craziness.
Take advantage of the campus! When you need help, most campuses have free tutors, study rooms, media out the wazoo, research librarians to find stuff FOR YOU, etc. Also, they have a lot of stuff to do on campus. Movie nights, events, parties, groups, etc. GET INVOLVED! You will not regret it and all the folks you meet are potential life lines, help, and will grow your network enormously! Many of us here, (myself included) are EDC minded and thus tend to be self sufficient. It's too easy to be a campus loaner or find a small comfortable group of friends and stick solely to that. Don't fall into that trap. Don't be the jock party animal who fails every class... but dont be the guy who goes to class and then goes home and repeats. This is what I wish someone woulda told me so I hope it helps
My experience at college is that you learn and use something from all the courses you take sometime in the future. The best advice I could offer in this regard is do your very best in everything you do...it will serve you well.
Good advice that will serve you well after college. If you have a job that requires writing skills — correspondence, proposals, reports, emails — you need to be up to the task. It's likely that some who read what you write will influence your job progression. And if you've never met them in person, they'll judge you by what you've written. You could be the smartest, best-educated person in the organization — but if your writing doesn't reflect this, well ....
i know nothing about your previous academic career, work history, relationship status, or attitude. these are just good, general, college freshman tips. reread the post i quoted. reread it again. go to school for a week, then read it again. it's really difficult to take expository writing and college algebra this seriously, but if you get in the habit of studying now, you'll be 100x better off than the shmucks that blow off these early classes and say "i'll study when i get to the REAL classes!" time management can make or break your college career. if you are on a full ride scholarship, take out a small student loan to cover living expenses if they aren't covered in your scholarship. don't even think about working more than 20 hours per week if you're on a full scholarship. it's not worth the pocket change you're going to make at a minimum wage job or waiting tables to lose that scholarship. do whatever it takes to keep the scholarship! know the hours, grades, and other requirements to keep it! if you're paying for it yourself, i suggest working 20 hours per week if you can during the school year, maybe taking out a loan if you have to, and working two or three jobs during the summer to make up for the rest. do not be lazy and rack up $40k of student loans for an english, history, art, or journalism degree. don't do it. you can easily make enough during the summer to pay for your classes if you are willing to do the work. consider working extra hours during the thanksgiving/ christmas holidays. most colleges give almost a month off for christmas, and almost everywhere hires extra people for the holidays. apply early if you want these jobs. i'm talking about before halloween if you want a christmas job. if you're paying for it yourself, consider taking general education requirement courses at a local community college and living at home (if your parents are cool with that) for a year or two and working. make sure the courses will transfer to the college of your choice before you decide on this. when you get to your college of choice, don't forget that most transfer credits only transfer hours, and not grades, so your GPA will be completely fresh. DO NOT slack off these first few "easy" semesters and get B's in classes you should get an A in. your GPA will thank you during your junior year. i hate to say it, but don't do anything extreme for a romantic interest. don't change majors, transfer out of state, or move in together within the first year (at least!) of dating. until you're married, don't make major life choices for a romantic interest. long distance relationships can (and do) work, but more often than not, they fail miserably (especially for 18 year old students right out of high school). i'm not saying don't date or don't have a romantic interest; but don't fall head over butt and do stupid things. edit: general life advice: stay away from anyone that wants to get you drunk, has to be drunk to have a good time, or wants you to do anything illegal (including underage drinking). it's never worth it the times you don't get caught when you finally do get caught.
If you'll be working, find a job on campus. Many campus jobs understand that they'll have to work around your class schedule. In addition, you'll get to know the university's system better, and you'll make friends with staff and faculty who can help you with red tape, bureaucracy, paperwork, financial aid, and getting into classes. I was always a smart kid. Smart enough that I never had to work hard or study hard. I got by with pretty good grades, until the really hard classes. Then I didn't know how to really work hard in a class, since it had never happened. I would have done better and learned more if I assumed it would be hard and studied accordingly, instead of assuming it would be easy and studying accordingly. Add condoms to you EDC, and never find yourself without one. You don't want to have to make that last minute decision to do it or not when you don't have any around. Read up on your university's knife rules, and don't get caught breaking them. Even if a knife is allowed, you might be best off keeping it concealed. College women are eager to meet college men. Don't deprive them of your presence. If you have some free electives and you don't know what to take, wander through the book store to find teachers teaching books that you like or want to read. The one women's studies class I took had 12 women to every man. (I was there to study women) I really enjoyed the college theatre plays they put on. Cheap entertainment, and very good.
I agree with Rockwell about the Sociology. Most useless class I ever took. Unless you're taking it further than intro, then it will obviously be worth it. The hard sciences (chem, physics, math) are way more useful in the long term. However, they'll also be way more difficult at the time, requiring a huge amount of time and effort. As for advice: join a club. I barely remember the majority of classes I took, but I definitely remember the times with people in the campus bar. Best way to meet friends you'll have the rest of your life is to join as many things as you are able without wrecking your GPA.
Both the Intros are required for my major. (Homeland security and emergency managment). And ive recently been stocking up with smaller or friendly looking knifes orange dozier yellow dragonfly, swisss army knives, ETC... thanks guys i really appreciate the input!
Good advice here. From my college experience I advise: Treat your courses as a fulltime job. I skimmed by the 'fluff' sociology courses my first year but it hurt my grade averages overall. I just missed out on being on the Dean's honour list and as a result some bursaries from the college. The extra effort would have paid for itself. Literally. When a trip, excursion or club activity presents itself take the opportunity. Good friendships and good memories will be made. Volunteer in the community or on campus. Anytime you can donate, even a few hours a month will reward you in surprising ways. Be respectful of everyone on campus. Don't be shy. Talk to strangers. I enjoyed my 3 college years and the only regret is that I didn't work harder to ace the courses I did not like.
I'm beginning my fourth year of studying physics and mathematics at a tech university here in Finland and I don't really know how much of my experience can be applied to you, but one thing I have found is that you don't have to study alone. Many things are easier to understand when you study with a group of friends and discuss the subject. At least I find that I learn things much better when I find myself having to explain them to other people. That way it's not just something like "yeah, I kinda know how that sort of goes" but that I actually have to think much more about the hows and whys. After all, it should be about understanding things rather than blindly remembering. This, a hundred times this.
Advice - I got some great advice for you: STUDY! WORK HARD! STAY FOCUSED! had exp writing - fun class if you can write had algebra - not a math guy (history major), but its not too hard had intro to soc - really a fun class! our semester starts back monday and im stoked!
reading through the above posts now (posted before reading other replies): -as the one guy said about taking advantage of your school - YES! Schools offer so much included with your tuition like computer help and gym and free events - DO IT! -condoms are good and can be had for free at the health center on your campus (you going to university or comm college or what?) I know at my comm college i went to we didnt have a health center, but the university im at now does and they have fish bowls full in several locations in the waiting room) -more about taking advantage of the school and the health center - at least at my school - the center is almost free. so if youre ill - go get checked out, doesnt cost hardly anything at all and they'll fix you up quick (i paid 20 bucks to get a flu test and some medicine and was better by next day) -the part about sitting up front - do it! not only does it help you stay focused and not distracted, your professors will notice you and notice you working hard - they WILL help you if needed if they see that youre trying to help yourself! -seriously, work hard! deans list and chancellors list looks good on resumes and getting into various programs on campus. plus it feels really good to be recognized for your hard work and dedication. -the rule above about 2 hours of homework per 1 credit hour - hes not joking. school really can be a fulltime job. -and last thing based on what was written above my first post (dont know if other posts have been made since writing this) - be sociable. You really dont know who you might meet. Someone who is now a pretty close friend of mine was met last semester in class. He was in two of my classes, and we just started chatting one day about Big Lebowski. Rad dude and he's been a great study partner, buddy, and even set me up on dates before. Plus the people youre going to school with now might be the CEOs etc later - connections are good!
I'm walking into my junior year. So far, I have had straight semesters of classes, including summer. Just gotta say, use your resources. If ya need help, use those professor office hours. Working in groups is good. Of course study, but have fun once in a while. Going crazy is the worst thing you can do in college.
