Monday, 01 August 2011
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5 Things College Freshmen Need To Know
During the first few weeks leading up to my first day of college, I researched everything I could about how to prepare. I read up on the usual things about how incoming freshmen don't get to have their cars on campus, how it is common to gain 15 pounds, the usual. I thought I was prepared but after almost four years of college courses, I have come to find there are some things that nobody talks about. Here are five things about college that I think any incoming freshman should know.1. It is impossible to get all of the classes you want. I had this thought when I was first entering college that I would be able to pick and chose what classes I wanted to take at the times I wanted. This doesn't always happen. After you've been in school for awhile, your selection starts to dwindle down. That is when four hours breaks between classes start to come into the picture. This wouldn't be so bad if I was not a commuter. Also keep in the mind that the smaller the school you go to, the less class options you will have to pick from.
2. Some of your professors will be lame. While most professors are brilliant and teach you wonderful things, some are for lack of a better word, dumb. They could be acting this way simply because they have lost their lackluster for teaching, but it can make for a depressing classroom environment. Make sure to research your professors before class starts to find out what past students think of them. If they have a bad review, you might want to consider switching.3. You don't have 100% of your independence if you stay in a dorm. Most dorms are watched over like hawks. I've had multiple people complain to me about getting boyfriends kicked out of their dorms early in the night. Safety is important, but this kind of defeats the purpose of living on your own if you ask me. Keep in mind, just because you're dorming that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. If you want more independence, consider getting an apartment with some friends off campus.
4. Most of the college courses you take have no point to them whatsoever. Many of your college courses will help you learn more about your major. However, there are a few courses here and there that every college student has to take that really don't make any sense. In order to graduate, I had to take one music history course. I was stuck taking the history of John Lennon. I am a journalism major so I should have been required to take another news writing course but no. Instead, I was stuck dissecting the meanings of Lennon's lyrics. Enough said.
5. Online classes are hard. Online classes are awesome, I'm not going to deny that. Being able to roll out of bed and "go to class" is a great perk. However, most of them are much harder than regular in school courses. You have to be self-motivated, plan your time wisely and never miss a scheduled quiz in order to pass. If you're not the self-motivated type, then I wouldn't sign for an an online class.Tell me, Lovelies: Was there anything about college that surprised you? What do you think incoming freshman should know?
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About the Author
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- From: Rebecka
- About Me: My name is Rebecka Schumann and I am a senior in college majoring in Mass Communication with a concentration in journalism. I currently write for a local news website. I also maintain my own movie news blog. Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/closedsetmovies.
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Comments (26)
I don't know if this site is as popular on other campuses as it is on mine....but myedu.com is great for professor or class reviews (and also grade trends!). Granted, they don't have reviews for every class, but the main/undergraduate/intro courses should be covered on that site.
@andysigdelt@xanga - Sweet, thanks for the website!
I locked horns with my economics teacher in college. I was so excited to take econ because my econ teacher in high school was so chill, but this time around SUCKED. He basically called students liars when we told him the online quizzes weren't showing up, talked to us like we were morons, insulted us... so, I dropped it. Shouldn't have, looking back, but I just didn't want to deal with his stupid ass.
I feel odd because I'll be a junior next year, but I'm transferring, so it's my first time at a university. I feel like a freshman. But I saved a lot of money, so that helps haha
blog.ratemyprofessor.com is really good and they have all schools, states and teachers on that site.
#1 - after battling with the online enrollment system I had to take East Asian History and German instead of philosophy and Russian which I really wanted, due to conflict.
I also have an hour break b/w most classes....those are the worst, not enough time to actually hit the books but add it all together, a lot of wasted time
@ohforrealson@xanga - Hm, even though I'm entering college next year, I'm still wondering if the college I chose was the right one for me. How was your transfer process like? I'm curious to know, if you don't mind me asking. I've taken serious consideration into transferring.
the only way to get the classes i need to graduate on time this quarter was to take 3 back to back lab classes on mondays and wednesdays, 12 hour days with not even 10 min between each class... and no class the rest of the days. no one could have prepped me for fuckery like this, lol.
the first tip would've been helpful if i had really known 2 months ago when i went to orientation... the group advisor kept telling me that i need to pick out more classes but i thought, no way why would i need to pick out 10 when i'm only signing up for 3 and why would i not get them. boy was i in for a ride. when we started signing up at exactly 3:00 or something like that classes filled up within the first seconds.....
i hate broke big universities. no money at a school with 20,000 people = not enough classes.@aWishfulCynic@xanga - I don't mind a bit :) transferring simply depends on a few factors. You want to ensure that your school is accredited, and see what the transfer rates are like. You'll want to check out how it works with the two colleges you have in mind (in the future, if you do decide to switch). I went from a community college to the university in the same town, so a lot of students have taken my path, and the colleges coordinate well. One thing I was skeptical about was if most of my classes would transfer, because I didn't want to take the same class twice if I could help it (to save time and money). On the transfer form I looked at, some classes said "direct transfer" and some had this big paragraph about "this course is up to the dean of admissions in the specific department and transferring of said course is up to that person only" and some shit like that, and what it really meant was, it wasn't gonna transfer. But the second college might try to stiff you to get more money out of you, so you have to be careful and read the fine print, always. After some time you come to find that many members of the college administration don't really care about you, they care about the money you're giving them, and they'll push you around if you don't stand your ground. Having a parent with you helps because of the sheer fact that they're older, and you're "just a kid" in their eyes. At least, that's how my experiences were. Hopefully yours will be more positive!
Sorry about the novel btw :] just trying to answer fully and clearly. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to message me! I like helping with this kinda thing.
I'd revise #4. MOST of the college classes you take mean something. A FEW might not, to you. ALL of them are good for the experience... knowing more is never bad.
if you have webadvisor at your school, you can usually "save" the schedule you want for the time for registration. I make my schedule ahead of time, wait for 12 pm to hit (or whatever time registration opens) and I click the button to register the second it changes to that time. Then I double check to make sure I'm registered, and I'm usually set on getting the classes I want. Always have an alternative plan, just in case.
Um other advices for freshman...
-definitely do not be afraid of changing plans. whether it be changing majors or changing schools, it's your life so you should lead it as you like. however, always consider and research all options before making the change.
-Think thoroughly about finances. You don't want to be in so much debt after school.
-know yourself. Don't get easily swayed by what other people do or say. You should take their opinions and learn from what other people do or have done, but you should know yourself enough to know what you want and need and make the decision by yourself at the end.
-don't be afraid to get help. student service, academic adviser, counselors, financial aid office, teachers-they're all there to help you. you just have to know how to ask the right questions.
-don't put anything off for later, do what you can do now.
That's all that I can think of for now.
It's amazing what you can learn in a year, I was only a freshman in college last year and it's just mind blowing how much you grow in a short amount of time.
@writemyheartt@xanga - That was my exact dilemma when I started college. Every single class I tried to sign up for was full. And then when I went to get my schedule printed they had the audacity to say that taking the classes I was as a freshman was not a good idea. Yeah, like I had a choice.
yea gen ed's suck. I suggest going to a community college to get those done.
Rate my professor has saved my ass so many times. There are a few instances when I do get stuck with a horrible teacher because they are the only one teaching the class but most of my teachers for my classes dealing with my majors haven't been that bad. It's another story for my general requirements.
general classes are really good. i'm english, and the way degrees work over here meant that i didnt have any spare credis to take anything else. my degree was across three subjects, and i really wish i could have taken some more general classes too.
My bit of advice would be invest in a really awesome alarm clock and put it in a location where you can't turn it off in your sleep. I've been nearly late to finals more times than I can count. Once I woke up 10 minutes before the final started and sprinted all the way there. Just this morning I sprinted to class in my pajamas and TOMs and glasses because I woke up 2 minutes late.
YOU'D THINK A RISING SENIOR WOULD LEARN.
My school (JMU) is a pain in the ass with classes because they NEVER have enough space in their classes , they don't even offer half of the classes that you need for your major except every 3rd year or something, they don't have enough teachers for the number of classes required each semester, and 3/4 of the 100 level classes that you need to fill your time with to be considered full time are only offered to certain majors or with instructor permission. As other students say... maybe if they focused on the students instead of building a 32 million dollar football stadium for our loser team that nobody likes....
So true! After my first year, it was so difficult to get classes I needed because every class isn't offered every quarter.
You're seriously complaining that you took a class called the history of John Lennon? THAT SOUNDS LIKE AN AWESOME CLASS I WOULD NEVER MISS!
i would have no issue dissecting lennon's lyrics. pft, i'd ace that shit.
@ohforrealson@xanga - Don't worry, that was very clear. (: Thank you soo much! I'll be sure to message you I think of any other questions.
Yeah, I agree with 1 and 4. But the others I'm not sure about.
I actually went to college expecting to hate all my professors. But it ended up that I got lucky a lot of the time with who I got. I've always been a bit of a teacher's pet anyway. I have personal conversations with most of them, and I work harder than most of the other students in my classes. Teachers tend to like me, even if I really despise them. It works in my favor.
I never wanted to stay in a dorm, because it's not far from my house to my school. I take a train for 40-45 minutes and walk for another 3. It's easy as can be, and I don't have to live in the disgusting-ness that is NYC. And I knew that dorming would mean having a roommate, which I just could not handle unless they were just as neat as I am. (AND I hate change more than anything, so moving out of my house/not having everything I own with me would absolutely kill me from the inside out.)
I've never taken an online class, but everyone I've spoken to tells me that it's easy. All the people in my classes so far have told me I should do Art History/Sociology/English classes online. I just don't think I could do that, since I'm so used to the classroom setting. Even though Art History is possibly the most torturous subject that exists, I sat through 3 hours of it Monday mornings, and then 3 hours of it Friday nights for two seperate semesters and survived. After that, I'm pretty sure I can handle anything thrown at me.
The thing that surprised me about college was how anti-climatic it was. I expected it to be SO different from high school but it was actually more similar than different. The only things that were different were the semester schedules instead of the year-round ones, having 2, 3, 4,6, and 8 hour classes once a week instead of 45 minutes of each a day, being more independent as far as getting things done (not having a teacher's help available), and commuting. Other than that, it wasn't that drastic of a change. I'm glad I adjusted so well, too. Normally I suck as coping with change, new environments, and new people. But this was about a week of freaking out, and then it became normal, just like high school was.
xX Ame ~*~ Hana Xx
you are an adult now and don't put up with professors treating you like your not....
3 really depends on the school. My dorms really aren't strict at all and the only school that my friends went to that is strict is only strict on safety so they have safety checks at random. That's it. The only thing my school cares about it keeping the bathrooms according to their assigned gender and that's it; I've even known people who've openly broken the co-habitation rule (no more than 3 consecutive days visit for the opposite sex) without anyone caring. I've never heard of anyone getting in trouble for having the opposite sex over (however I do know a girl who had her girlfriend kicked out for no reason) so I doubt this is really common. It is good to know your dorm rules though.
With 4 the point is getting a well-rounded education. I'm a music major but I have to take a couple math, science, and history classes so I know about more than just my major. Many schools are pretty nice on the gen ed classes though and they don't get too hard or too specific, or at least that's what I've noticed. That's odd you had to take such a specific class like music history. I've only heard of schools requiring a fine arts credit like music appreciation or theatre appreciation. At least it sounds like you were able to choose what the majority of the content would be though; my school's fine art classes for gen eds are simply survey courses (so instead you would have been learning about an overview of all of music history).
Freshmen should also know to pay attention to the attendance policies of the school and teachers. One of my friends lost out on a class because the teacher only allowed 2 missed days and she couldn't get the paperwork to change classes until after missing 2 classes. I've had some teachers who didn't care if you showed up but for the most part my teachers have cared. I know people who lost entire letter grades because they simply decided not to show up for more than 3 or so classes. Many teachers will also be willing to work with you if you have real reasons to miss class. In the semester of my speech class I was assigned a field experience in a school but my available time and my teacher's available time didn't line up and I had to stay at the school during the time of my speech class a few days to meet my requirements. My teacher who was strict on attendance was more than happy to accommodate me since I asked her as soon as I knew the issue. A lot of people I've talked to don't realize that many of their teachers may be understanding when they have issues and they simply skip without talking to the teacher. Don't give up your free skips (if you get any) for nothing.
Oh and try to make an x year plan if you can. It helps to have your classes lined up, especially if your school or department only offers certain classes that you need every few years. I know people who were delayed a year because they didn't realize one of their technique classes was only offered every 2 years. It also helps you to see if you can move around any classes to summer semesters to knock of time. Moving 2 classes to the summer helped me knock of an entire semester. An extra $700 total at my local community college has helped save $30,000. It really can help to plan things out.
@aWishfulCynic@xanga - You're welcome :)
You... Are complaining about something involving John Lennon?! What the hell. I'd be happy as a pig in shit if MY teacher gave me that assignment. You're crazy, haha. John Lennon is amazing xx
Thanks for this post! For my first semester I am in all online classes because I won't be moved down to where I'm going until a few weeks after the semester starts. What is really strange is the fact that I procrastinated so much doing regular school but when it came to online classes or independent study, I aced it.