Starting College

[Sapphire225]

Hello everyone! I've moved into my college dorm room an met my roommate for the first time 3 days ago and will start class tomorrow, Wednesday Sept. 1. I'm excited and and have all but one book.I have a scholarship of $12,000 from here as long as I manage a 3.0 or higher gpa and thanks to my mom's job at John's Hopkins, half my tuition is paid.Ionly need to worry on my school work and my dorm cost, so I need to get a job after I experience how the workload will be. In anycase, I'm just wondering what to expect of my college life and things. Will I have tons of classwork and homework? What's it like to manage a sport or a job while in college? How hard is it to maintain a 3.0 in college? Fill me in on all the outside college details!

[LadyRushia]

It depends on the school and what classes you're taking. Schedules can either be really awesome or really tight. You'll probably only have two or three classes a day and tons of "free time." I put that in quotes because you'll probably be doing more work outside of class than in class. Unlike high school, homework assignments in college actually have a point and aren't just busy work.

As for grades and stuff, I've gotten higher grades in college than I ever did in high school. I got straight A's three semesters in a row, so for me college is much easier and more interesting than high school.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I take it you're going to JHU?

If so, then good luck. XD

[Atria35]

What Rushia said about the class schedules. I have a lot more free time, but a lot is spent doing homework and assignments, so overall I don't have more free time than I had in HS. That can depend on the classes and teachers, but usually not.

I do find that, with a more flexible schedule, it's easier to get into clubs and activities. I can visit other area of the college in my off hours, grab a bite from wherever and meet different people. There's also lots of resources availble pretty much 24/7, so I can do homework in the library at 2 AM if I want to! Weekends also tend to be fairly free- most clubs meet during the week, and extra activities happen during the weekend (sometimes). But this does depend on the club! Sports are definitely more hard-core than HS.

[Sapphire225]

I take it you're going to JHU?

If so, then good luck. XD

Not actually, I'm going to College of Notre Dame. Still, I'm thinking about taking some classes at Johns Hopkins when I can. I'll wait and see if it falls along with my career goals.

[Kaori]

Will I have tons of classwork and homework?

That depends on your course load. If you take 12 credit hours per semester, you will have a much more relaxed schedule, with more free time, than if you take 18 credit hours. It also depends quite a bit on the individual professors.

How hard is it to maintain a 3.0 in college?

Colleges tend to collect together students who are all at roughly the same ability level]What's it like to manage a sport or a job while in college?[/quote]
I can’t tell you what it is like to participate in sports, but I had a very positive experience working during college. There is a certain point at which working too many hours will hinder your education, but if you get a job that doesn’t require too much time (5-10 hours per week is good), then it can actually be very helpful for learning time management skills. I worked at my college’s writing center, which not only was helpful for my major (English) but also was valuable in terms of career because I gained a variety of transferrable skills. The skills that I learned or practiced while working at the writing center—like giving constructive feedback without being intimidating and refining my knowledge of grammar—are things that I still use in my job today (I’m a high school English/humanities teacher).

If you want to get a job during college, here are some things I would recommend keeping in mind:

- Look for a job that will teach you real-world skills that can be applied to a future career, rather than washing dishes in the school cafeteria or something. Any job is somewhat helpful as work experience and gives you something to put on a CV or resume, but it will be more helpful and will look much better if your job is something pertinent to your career of choice. If your major has internships available, those are a great choice.

- Keep your work hours to a minimum so that you can concentrate on your studies.

- If possible, try to keep the same job for a few years, especially if it’s something that is relevant to your field of study or desired career. This shows consistency and allows you to build a relationship with your employer or supervisor (someone who can be used as a reference when you apply for a job, and who might at some time write letters of recommendation for you). Also, some jobs have opportunities for advancement if you stay around for a few years; taking a leadership position is a good experience and looks great on a CV. Actually, this advice holds true for activities in general. Even in clubs, if you stick with one thing for a few years and take on a leadership position when you become an upperclassman, that’s something that will help you grow as a person and can be used on your CV.

Anyways, I wish you the best of luck. It’s often said that college is one of the best times of your life; that was true for me, and I hope that you will also find it so.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Not actually, I'm going to College of Notre Dame. Still, I'm thinking about taking some classes at Johns Hopkins when I can. I'll wait and see if it falls along with my career goals.

Ah! Very nice! By the way the full acronym of Notre Dame makes me laugh.

For me, the first few semesters of college were an absolute breeze. Papers were easy. Didn't have to study much. Etc. But now my course work is ridiculous... >_> And my studies are very challenging right now. But I'm taking three philosophy courses at once, so I kind of expected it.

Unless you're stocked on AP credits, you shouldn't have too much of a difficulty. Freshmen classes tend to be pretty easy. If they do present a challenge to you, then expect you to be challenged all throughout your college career (unless you have some crazy smartness jump or something).

And maintaining a 3.0 is really easy. Basically that means you have a B in everything. So work your A's, and that way any potential C's you may get are padded by your A's. That's what happened to me. Most of my grades now are A's, but I have a few B's and two C's floating around, so my current GPA is around 3.65.

What do you plan on majoring in?

[ScalpelFactory]

I'd say don't drop your basic study skills! Those are really important. Set deadlines for yourself outside of class deadlines [e.g., paper is due on this date, set rough draft dates for yourself, and get it proofread and checked for clarity by a friend a week before that]. Also, be sure to review your notes every day after you've taken them, that'll help seal that lecture material in your mind. Take advantage of smartclassroom technology, some profs put their lectures on podcasts or whatever, so listen to those when you have spare time. Be sure to memorize stuff ASAP so you won't have to cram later.

This is all stuff you know from high school, but it's just as important in college, when there's nobody to watch you and schedule/structure your time for you!

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Take care of yourself. This might come more naturally or be a little different for girls than it is for guys, but, now that I look back on my college days, it is shocking how much stuff I neglected and bad habits I got into once I was away from the parents. It can be pretty easy to eat poorly, neglect sleep, get little to no exercise, and just let things become cluttered/dirty. If you push yourself to live fairly healthily (take vitamins!) and take regular time to make sure you live and study in a clean environment, you will lower your stress level and have the requisite energy/feel-goodness to tackle the ups and downs of college life.

Classes are a cinch by the inch but hard by the yard. Working on homework or class projects a little each day can save you a lot of grief. Don't have any work? Study those French vocabulary words one more time, reread or read ahead, proof that final draft again or get a friend to. In short, maintaining a daily study regimen will keep your blood pressure low...also yu can laugh at your procrastinating classmates.

So, the above points really boil down to self-discipline. Master this art, and your college experience will be 37.8% better than most, guaranteed. Having said all that, here is my final word...

Embrace the fun when it comes. Taking care of yourself and maintaining self-discipline require you to be self-aware. And, when you're self-aware you will know when it is time to work and time to play. Don't overload yourself with obligations such that you won't be able to go out for pancakes at midnight on the spur of the moment, or get decked out in school colors and go scream your head off at the away game, and of course you want an open block in your schedule just in case you happen to come across Mista Righto. College will present all kinds of spontaneous and unique opportunities to have fun and make great memories. Embrace those opportunities because, most likely, the (close) friends you make in college tend to remain friends with you on some level after college.

[Okami]

Make sure to schedule daily Bible reading time, and stick to it. I was terrible in my first year of school, being a Theology major, only opened my Bible to find what I needed for class to write papers and whatever. But that didn't help me make it applicable...and I basically refused to read it, not wanting to change my ways. My roommate became my accountability partner over the summer and I learned that as I read the Bible, not for class, just for myself, I actually enjoyed getting into it and learning...Now being back in school, I get to balance Old Testament class with Acts class with the other classes that have spuradic Bible readings with my personal study and growth time. And this year it has all come together to help me grow as I grow in knowledge of the Bible. This is so key to maintaining a healthy relationship with the Lord - I wish I'd have learned sooner!

[Sapphire225]

What do you plan on majoring in?

I major in Biology, although I'm a little indecisive. I wanted to actually dual major with Biology and English, but I decided to not try to overload myself while I'm just a freshman. Still, should Biology not be for me, I'll take the English major and probably go with my second career dream as a writer.

[Atria35]

I major in Biology, although I'm a little indecisive. I wanted to actually dual major with Biology and English, but I decided to not try to overload myself while I'm just a freshman. Still, should Biology not be for me, I'll take the English major and probably go with my second career dream as a writer.

.... As someone with the exact same thing here (my first love is Bio, but I'm minoring in English), I will say- the course load can be hard, but it's very, very rewarding.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I'm biased against hard sciences. Go for English! Science is a joke anyway... thinking that they have knowledge. Bah! Scientists, trying to "prove" stuff. What foolishness! XD

[Furen]

Classes are a cinch by the inch but hard by the yard

You should add Vile by the Mile

I'm not there yet but I don't doubt that the longer you wait the harder it gets and the less enjoyable it is.

[Warrior4Christ]

I'm biased against hard sciences. Go for English! Science is a joke anyway... thinking that they have knowledge. Bah! Scientists, trying to "prove" stuff. What foolishness! XD

Don't make me pull out xkcd again...



Science is a fine and necessary part of society.

[blkmage]

wtb more math majors

[Sapphire225]

I'm biased against hard sciences. Go for English! Science is a joke anyway... thinking that they have knowledge. Bah! Scientists, trying to "prove" stuff. What foolishness! XD

Science, English, Science, English, Scenglish, Englience, Sci-Eng-en-lish! Gah! E=mc2 The cow went over the moon...OVERLOAD! *explodes* lol!

Actually, I'm just taking the science class since its required for medical fields. I want to become a veterinarian. My school even has a pre-veterinary program I plan to go into for my sophmore year. It's competitive and I'm having second thoughts, but whatever God plans for me, I'll go along with it.

[Atria35]

:dizzy: Science, English, Science, English, Scenglish, Englience, Sci-Eng-en-lish! Gah! E=mc2 The cow went over the moon...OVERLOAD! *explodes* lol!

Actually, I'm just taking the science class since its required for medical fields. I want to become a veterinarian. My school even has a pre-veterinary program I plan to go into for my sophmore year. It's competitive and I'm having second thoughts, but whatever God plans for me, I'll go along with it.

The key is knowing the difference between not doing it because it's hard and not doing it because it's God's will. It's incredibly hard to know the difference, since you can become discouraged and block what God is saying. And not getting in the program might not mean that He doesn't mean for you to become one- it may mean that he wants you to try harder.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Don't make me pull out xkcd again...



Science is a fine and necessary part of society.

Blah blah blah argument as to why empiricism is no basis of knowledge blah blah blah. =p