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Bree, you make me smile
(last edited Mar 14, 2009 03:52PM)
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Mar 11, 2009 02:11PM
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ME, HAILEY, AND WOLFF HAVE THE ANTIVIRUS!!!!!
Yeah, we do, my arm still smells like vanilla.
I'm in my first senior year at college (thanks to the fact that less than 1/4 of my credits from the fist two years converted), next year will hopefully be the last year as an undergraduate. I'm currently at Dordt College in NW Iowa.One of the things that I dislike about college is that incoming freshmen like to think that college is like what they see on TV- all drinking and partying. I also dislike the fact that our school, despite being in the middle of a massive building project, decided to start a football program simply because someone gave them most (all but 1 million) of the money to start it.
Ah the freshmen. I can't stand them! I think it is a shame that they don't show up to class because they're to preoccupied with their newfound freedom... disgusting.What is your major?
Ha my arm still smells like vamilla also AND I have another one (4th) thats smaller and looks slightly like the anticvirus.
well i did it with a pen and had to press rly hard or it would only stay for a second and i wouldnt be able to trace it then.
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Should is the key word there. College should be cheaper.
Be is the operative word there. College should be cheaper.
Well, I'm currently a sophomore majoring in music education. I just finished my freshman year at UNC Chapel Hill and I really enjoyed it. I mean, the classes were ok and the campus is beautiful, but I secretly think that the reason I loved it so much was because I made some really good friends. I know that sounds stupid, but honestly, no-one really wants to be completely alone, and during those bad weeks with lots of tests and homework having lunch with my friends is really what pulled me through. The great thing about Chapel Hill as a school was the campus. It's the biggest/best/oldest campus in the state, and the first ever public university, so the campus is gorgeous and huge and the classes are well funded. Franklin Street borders the north side of campus and has lots of restaurants and shops, which makes it a great place to meet up for dinner or coffee with some friends. If you don't have any money, the dining halls are actually good there, which is definitely a plus. I'd say they have the best dining hall food in the state (Never go to Salem College. Their food is terrible!) The weather is ok and the sports are nationally ranked (basketball won the national championship this year) except for the football team, which isn't too hot.
All in all, it was a great school, and I'm sad to be leaving it and my friends.
I am transferring to UNC Greensboro this year because, while UNC has excellent programs in almost everything, their education program isn't all that great and when I decided that education is definitely what I wanted instead of performance, I knew I had to transfer. UNC-G has one of the best music ed programs in the state and is a nationally ranked music school. The music building is very nice and the oboe professor is great. Their jazz program is insane. Their campus is also nice and it's right in the middle of Greesboro and within easy driving distance from a couple of shopping centers. So, while it isn't as splendid as Chapel Hill (or as hard to get into, or as expensive) it's still quite nice. And the 100% job placement for music educators isn't bad either. ;)
For you TLDR people, the summary is that Chapel Hill is great, and Greensboro is great for music people.
I'm going to be starting my first year of college this fall. Does anyone have any suggestions of how I can make sure it's a good year?
Chels:Make friends. I am the most socially awkward person on the planet, and even I made few, so I promise it's possible. If you haven't gone to orientation yet, meet people there. When you get to college, don't spend all your free time in your dorm. Hang out with people. Start conversations. Join a club if you think you'll have time. College is very lonely when you're on your own, trust me.
On a related note, try extra hard to get along with your room mate. Going a week without talking to someone who shares the same room as you is awkward as hell, trust me. Always talk things out right away, and just generally be nice. Remember, you only have to live with them for a year, so try to make it work. And don't feel obligated to have the same room mate every year. Most people change, especially after their first year.
Go to class. I cannot stress this enough. Even if it is at 8:00 on Monday morning, go, and pay attention while you're there. I promise this will make your entire life easier. I'm not a morning person, so I learned that one that hard way. Class attendance is the number one key to success in college. So if that means cutting down on the partying on Sunday night, I promise it's worth it.
On a related note, do your homework. Really. And do it on time. I learned that one the hard way too. I procrastinate like no-one's business, and it sucks. But I eventually learned that, while I can write a paper the night before, I cannot do an entire semester's worth of homework in one week.
Also, don't be afraid to go to your professor's or TA's office hours if you need help. That's what they are there for, and most professors are really happy when people make the effort to do well.
If you are living on campus, I would suggest getting a meal plan of some sort. Dining halls are an easy place to get food when you're busy or if you don't have any cash. And if you want to meet up with friends for lunch the dining hall is a great place to do it, because even if you don't all have money, everyone has meals. Meal plans totally saved my life, and I promise they don't make you any less cool.
Go to events on your campus. Some of my best memories are of going to my friend's plays. There is always something going on somewhere on campus, so take advantage of it. If you like music, there are concerts by the music department or a capella groups. If you like lectures there are often guest speakers. If you like movies I know that a lot of colleges do screenings of movies in their student union or similar buildings. If none of that is going on, go to the nearest grassy area with your friends and start a big game of frisbee, and invite random people to join. You could meet some cool people like that.
Take time to study. I forgot to do that a little too often. So, when a teacher gives out a study guide or tells you to read a certain chapter, make sure you know the material. There aren't many assignments in college classes, so the ones you have count for a large portion of your grade. Make sure you're prepared for tests and quizzes, and have someone read over your papers.
That said, take time to relax. Class takes up a lot of your day, but you do need you time. Don't stress out too much. Just do your best, and then relax and let whatever happens happen. I know some people who spend way too much time studying and freaking out and end up making matters worse. Take things one step at a time, and it will all work out in the end, I promise.
Plan cool things with your friends on the weekends. Movie nights in someone's dorm room are always fun, and you can go to dinner together first and make a night out of it. Parties are cool if you're that type of person. Remember, never ever go to a party alone, especially if there will be alcohol. You want to have someone there to take care of you or to have your back if you need it. Besides, things are always more fun if you have someone to hang out with.
Take enough classes so that you stay on course, but don't overload yourself, especially not your first semester. You're going to be adjusting anyway, and you don't need the added pressure of 18 hours of class to make it worse. Try to average around 15 or 16 hours a semester and you should be right on track. Just make sure that you take classes that fulfill requirements and you'll be fine. If you need any help, the advisers are usually pretty good at telling you what you need.
Call your parents. I know that sounds cheesy, but they worry about you, and it's nice to let them know what you're up to. I called my mom about once a week, and it worked out nicely.
And most importantly, have fun. College is cool. It's a lot like high school, but with more interesting people and more challenging classes. So enjoy yourself. You only get to do it once.
Chels wrote: "I'm going to be starting my first year of college this fall. Does anyone have any suggestions of how I can make sure it's a good year?"Read the syllabus. Pay attention at orientation. Learn how your campus works. And if you screw up and fail a class, please don't have your parents call on your behalf to try and get your grade changed. You're a grown up now, and it really doesn't make a good impression on faculty and staff when you still have your parents doing everything for you.
We're here to help you. We're here to make sure you get an education. And if you're courteous and friendly we will bend over backwards to help you out. Your teachers don't want to fail you. Believe me. They want to see their students succeed. The staff is at your disposal to help you. And we want to help you. It's our job and we also want to see you succeed. Get to know us. We're nice people. And please, talk to your adviser on a regular basis. The better your adviser knows you, the better they can help you. Even if it's just to stop in and say hi and tell them how you're progressing.
Sincerely,
A staff member at a university
P.S., everything Emily said was right on the money too. College can be a whole lot of fun when you get the work out of the way. Get out there and meet people. Don't let your grades suffer, but make time for socializing when you can. I went to college in the same town my parents lived in. My family home was in walking distance of campus. But I chose to live in the dorms. It was the best decision I ever made. I had a fantastic time.
Just wear flip flops or some form of water shoe in the shower. And invest in some anti-bacterial soaps and moist toweletts with which to wipe stuff down once in a while. Especially during flu season.
Thanks for the tips. Going to college is scary stuff. I'm pretty much terrified out of my mind. Emily, I have a question for you. You said calling your mom once a week worked out for you. But what if I have one of those pretty crazy moms who absolutely love you but have to know what you're doing every moment of every day? I love my mother, but I want to have my own experience at college. My sister is going to college right now and it's working out well for her, but she calls my mom almost daily. How can I tactfully not do the same?
Jill: do the bathrooms really get THAT bad?
Don't be scared. It really isn't that scary. Like I said, it's a lot like a slightly tougher high school, or at least it was for me. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than high school, and I am as socially awkward as an elephant with a nosebleed. I promise, if you can speak something resembling English and you don't pick your nose in public, you will do just fine. ;)As for your mom, that's an excellent question. I would give her a chance at first, and if she starts calling too much just start ignoring some of her calls, and be sure to call at least once a week and let her know enough about your life that she won't worry too much. Answer her every now and then so that she doesn't freak out or think you're hiding anything. And if she gets too pesky, tell her. I mean, let her know that she's smothering you and that you need your space she might relent, at least a little. Other than that, I would just ignore her calls if you need to, and call her when you can.
You can also try writing e-mails between calls. That worked for me. It gives her some info and makes it less likely that she'll call, and it's quick and easy and you only have to say what you want, no questions to answer.
Either way, good luck. And from my experience, the bathrooms aren't terrible. Suite bathrooms are usually better from what I understand, but either way you won't die or anything like that.
Emily wrote: "The great thing about Chapel Hill as a school was the campus. It's the biggest/best/oldest campus in the state, and the first ever public university, so the campus is gorgeous and huge and the classes are well funded."Um, that would be second best campus in the state...;-)
(Most of the rest of your post I agree with, Chapel Hill is lovely (I live about five miles straight down Erwin Road from it:-) and UNC-CH is an excellent school, one of the best in the country and second best in the state.)
rgb
(Double alumnus and faculty at DUKE, which is the best University in NC, and one of the best -- top 10 or so -- in the world...;-)
(Sorry, but it is a standard rule of existence down here in Nawth Carolina that no good Duke or UNC student or alumnus misses and opportunity to give the other a hard time.)
Chels wrote: "I'm going to be starting my first year of college this fall. Does anyone have any suggestions of how I can make sure it's a good year?"Sure. Here is some of my standard advice for freshmen entering Duke (where I'm a premajor advisor and instructor of several predominant freshman classes in physics).
* Your school will have some sort of academic skill resource for students who enter who have problems balancing study and fun, for students whose study skills aren't adequate for the level of the material, and so on. Find out where it is, and keep it in mind as you start out. Go there as soon as problems surface in any of your classes -- it's usually possible to "fix" certain classic problems with studying if you hit them early in time to rescue a semester, but just "trying harder" is often a ticket to failure when the real problem is how you study, not how hard you study.
* Don't overextend yourself your first semester in college. Sure, you may have been the best of the best in high school, but (depending on where you go to college) you could be surrounded by nothing but students who were as good or better, and your college classes may be more challenging in direct proportion. Study skills that were adequate in high school can easily be inadequate in college. Also, as a number of people above have observed, there are many, many distractions you didn't have in high school. Nobody to make you study. Lots of beer, many parties, pot, cocaine. Sports. Roommates from hell or otherwise (even a good roommate is a distraction). You need a bit of slack so you CAN experiment with things, have (safe) fun, and still cope with an increased study burden and do well.
* To study maximally effectively, remember "the method of three passes". The normal study pattern of the college student is: Wait until the night before homework is due. Do it all at once in a four hour study marathon. Hand it in. Forget it and go back to having fun until the last possible minute on the next assignment.
This method sucks. If you went out of your way to find a way of learning that wasted most of your brain's capacity for learning effortlessly, this is it. Instead, give the following a try. Three nights before a homework assignment is due, do "one pass" through the material. This means rereading the chapter, reviewing your notes, skim-reading any assigned books, followed by or accompanied by a quick pass through any actual homework problems. The idea isn't to actually solve all of them but to start all of them, work for a few minutes on each, then quit. For difficult problems, you may spend all of the time just looking at it and trying to understand what they are asking. Time it -- no more than maybe 5 minutes per problem and then move on -- spending anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour on this first pass.
Go to bed (ideally right after the pass) and go to sleep. Sleep "fixes" long term memory painlessly; studies show that the last thing you study before bed is the thing you are most likely to remember the next day, that what you learn in the morning is least likely to be remembered, and if your sleep is interrupted (or altered by drugs, too much alcohol, too much noise) you can actually not remember anything that you covered the previous day -- you can actually induce a short term amnesia that is not conducive to learning.
In the evening of day two, come back to your homework and do a second pass. Start (again) by reviewing lecture notes, the text, re-skimming any auxiliary reading. Dig into the problems, spending a bit longer on them. What you should find is that a few of the problems you didn't "get" the night before should "suddenly" make sense. You will begin to experience the process of "insight" -- the direct apprehension of new material that comes from stretching out your learning.
Insight is very interesting. Your brain is an awesome pattern matching system, but most of its operation is beyond your conscious control. Your internal monologue can help you figure out simple linear problems using logic and reason, but it isn't very useful at learning the patterns that govern the logical process in the first place. Your left brain does this linear verbal reasoning, but your right brain is the "creative" part that does the heavy lifting as far as global patterns and memory formation are concerned. Your right brain is non-verbal -- it cannot be "controlled" by mere intention -- but it is more important to the learning process than the left brain, once you learn how to use it (which is what I'm trying to teach you right now).
Go to bed, sleep. Don't stay up late trying to get it all done at once. Your brain will work while you sleep if you give it a chance to do so.
On the third day (the day before it is due, sure, why not) repeat for a third pass through the material. The rules for the third pass are a bit different. Review notes, book, auxiliary stuff one more time, but very quickly, just to make sure that you recognize and remember everything by now. Review your solutions to the problems you've already gotten in every pass. Then, working with other students in your class (if the professor permits group work -- they should actively encourage it but may not) -- do your final pass through the problems, discussing the hardest ones and working this last pass until everything is finished.
Again you should note that you have sudden insight into problems that baffled you in the second pass. In fact, by the end of the third pass everything should "suddenly" make a lot of sense and seem easy. Go to bed and sleep, etc.
The point of group learning is that numerous studies have shown that students who work on difficult problems in a group context, taking turns teaching one another and discussing the puzzles associated with the problem, learning is signficantly increased. Most well-informed modern instructors (should) know this by now, but feel free to bring it to the attention of any that don't.
If your class has a recitation that goes over the homework for a fourth pass, with mentoring of the instructor or a TA, that's ideal. If you go over the homework when it is finally handed back, that's a fifth pass.
When quiz and hour exam and final exams roll around, you will experience (possibly for the first time in your life) what it is like to review stuff you really totally know, instead of realizing that you retain almost nothing from that one frantic pass that was your habit before. And you will discover that you learn with less total effort, because the learning process if much more efficient.
Exactly how long each pass should be timewise, how to organize your courses so that the hardest one is the last one you study before bed, and so on you have to experiment to work out; everybody's a little bit different (and so are all the courses). But the general method usually will raise your final grade a full letter, sometimes two.
* Two other things to think about to raise your performance. Learning something (anything) requires two things to be true to have any great possibility of success. The first of these is that for one brief, shining moment you have to completely understand the thing you want to learn. It has to make sense. The purpose of lecture and textbook is generally to convey this momentary satori, this feeling of sense.
The other thing that is needed is that you have to give a damn. The thing you are learning has to be "important" to you. You have to care.
If you care but don't understand or understand but don't give a rodent's furry behind, learning is unlikely. If you don't understand and don't care, learning will not happen. But if you understand, and care, it is rather likely.
Good luck.
rgb
Chels wrote: I'm going to be starting my first year of college this fall. Does anyone have any suggestions of how I can make sure it's a good year?If I can throw in my suggestions as a professional college student:
-rgb's right, don't overload on classes your first semester. Having said that, do overload your second semester and sophomore year (summers too, if you can). Get all of the stupid, pointless university requirements out of the way so you're not a senior taking intro to music/gov't/biology/etc. This will also help you find out what you want to do, as a handful of these classes are actually useful and will engage you to the point where you'll want to know more about the material.
-find the good professors and take everything you can from them, even if it's not a topic you want for a major. There are so few really good professors that it's a shame not to take all you can from the few actually there.
-and speaking of good professors, talk to students who've been there and find out which profs are worthwhile and which aren't. There are few good professors, and a lot of mediocre ones, but there are also a few who really have no business teaching. It will save you a lot of time and headache if you find out who they are and avoid them if possible.
-this can vary from school to school, but one of the best things I did as an undergrad was work as an RA. It has flexible hours, can be a lot or a little work (depending on how much you want to put into it- I was a "little work" RA :), and there's a great social aspect to it. Plus it usually pays well (at least providing a free room, usually more).
-have fun! Yes, college is all about getting a well-rounded liberal education, but it's also the only time in your life you'll ever be surrounded by thousands of people your own age with a broad array of backgrounds and interests. Don't be shy about enjoying your time in school.
-get involved in some kind of social society. Fraternities/sororities are the most common way, but sports, drama, religious organizations, or one of the various clubs work too.
-most schools sponsor social and cultural events (usually Friday/Saturday nights, but watch for them anytime). You should do at least some of these, if for no other reason than you already paid for them :)
Anyway, those are some random musings from four years as an undergrad at a major state school, and four years (so far) as a grad student at a second-or-third-tier private school. Hope it's helpful!
Wow, rgb. If I ever go back to college, I'm remembering that 3 pass thing.
Jill wrote: "Wow, rgb. If I ever go back to college, I'm remembering that 3 pass thing."It works for anything you want to learn, and you don't have to be in college to use it. In fact, it describes the general way I learn things fast now. Skim the entire subject (or book) like lightning. Skim a second time, more slowly, getting a feel for what looks interesting, what I already know (that forms the backbone on which new knowledge attaches). This usually hooks me on something that looks cool and I actually read it for a while. Sleep, repeat. Sleep, repeat. Not just three passes, of course -- that's a beginner's prescription. Sometimes only two, sometimes I iterate for weeks, for months, with days in between passes. Don't let yourself work to the point of boredom, but do let yourself get sucked in whenever it looks really cool. Do the thing you are trying to learn (when possible). Teach others what you are learning at every opportunity.
You can learn what used to take you a semester of hard work to learn in three or four weeks, for a lot of subjects, and because you are building up a fabric of knowledge, the more you learn the faster you learn, the easier it is for new facts to find parking places. And nowadays, since the computer is the missing part of your brain (the one with all the memory, the one with the near-perfect memory of all sorts of things you never actually learned, instantly searchable and crosslinked in a very "neural" fashion) you've never needed to focus on accumulating facts less!
Ideas. Let the facts take care of themselves, gradually coalescing as a usable matrix of knowledge that is backed by remembered facts not because you memorized them, but because you seem to have somehow learned them without really trying to when simply being interested in the subject to which they attach.
Get good at it, you could easily knock down a 3.5+ or even a 4.0. It gets easier the more you do it.
And a warning to all future freshmen. Back when I went to college (at the very end of the Viet Nam war) beer flowed in rivers and pot was openly smoked on many campuses with the campus police doing nothing or even joining in.
This is not true any longer. Alcohol in general is fairly tightly regulated (compared to keg parties on the main quad with fifty open kegs, at any rate:-) and I have direct, somewhat bitter experience that pot smoking is pretty heavily busted on most campuses these days, very definitely not a wink wink nod nod thing.
As I noted above, excessive consumption of drugs and alcohol will very definitely screw up your learning and lower your grades on a GOOD day, which is by definition one that you don't get caught. Be aware that a bad day is the one where you come back to your dorm room and find a polite note left by the police, letting you know that they got a search warrant, searched your room, found your stash, and you might consider turning yourself in so they can begin to grind your ass and your life academic and otherwise into hamburger before your very eyes.
And they will. I've seen it done firsthand way more times than I want to talk about. I promise. I personally don't think either one in moderation is a serious issue with life or learning "intrinsically" (although either or both are well-known to really mess you up in excess, and just what excess is can be different for every person and you can find out the hard way when you're past yours really easily). But there is nothing like the agony you will experience when you have to call your parents for help keeping your ass out of jail the first time you are busted, or the pain you will see in their eyes when they are first hit with the news.
For that reason alone, I would strongly urge all future students to leave drugs -- even relatively harmless old pot -- alone in college. I'd also strongly recommend that you not get shitfaced drunk on even an occasional basis. My suggestion won't stop you (from either one) of course, but maybe, just maybe, it will help you to moderate things and stay out of trouble academically and legally until you grow up or until you manage to get the laws changed, because jail is really, really not a joke, and even getting busted and ending up innocent or having your charges reduced to a civil infraction will cost you or your parents thousands of dollars and endless humiliation as you literally beg some old fart for mercy.
Drugs may or may not be bad for you. I'm an old hippie, and I've seen it both ways. But going to jail is really, really bad for you without any doubt. Same sex rape is standard order of business there, beatings and killings abound. You do not want to go there, and you need to keep that in mind no matter what you decide to do otherwise.
rgb
rgb, thanks for the advice. Your three pass deal is going to save my butt in college, I can promise you that. I'm normally the person who saves everything for the night before it's due. I have done a small bit of a two pass thing when I was in a calculus class during high school, but yours sounds much more refined and productive.And, if it makes you any happier, you just helped me re-resolve to not touch drugs and alcohol.
Thanks also Emily for letting me know. That's one bit of advice I know I'll be using.
Coyle, if it worked for you, I'll make it work for me. Thanks.
Chels wrote: "rgb, thanks for the advice. Your three pass deal is going to save my butt in college, I can promise you that. I'm normally the person who saves everything for the night before it's due. I have done..."My pleasure, and good luck. I doubt you'll succeed in not "touching" alcohol, but if you can least keep it in moderate bounds you'll be fine (he writes sipping a small glass of wine:-).
I found that a good rule to self-enforce is work comes before partying. Having fun and relaxing with friends on a non-key weekend when your work is all up to date and you're feeling pretty good about your class performance is fine. Getting blind drunk on Friday and Saturday night when you've got two midterms on Monday is not so fine (getting pray-to-the-porcelain-goddess drunk ANYTIME is not so good, really). And bear in mind what I said -- we live in relatively fascist times, at least compared to the late 60's and early 70's. There's some slack -- sometimes -- in the system after you've been arrested, but it is expensive slack and there is no tolerance at all on the decision to search and arrest on the merest sniff of evidence, and pot smoke is instantly familiar to any RA, any police officer, anyone who went to school back in the 60's and 70's (and 80's and 90's, I'm sure).
rgb
rgb
