I Start College Today

"AJ Feldman (alecmets2011)" (alecmets2011)
08/24/2015 at 08:41 • Filed to: None

Questions. I will have lots

DISCUSSION (26)

Captain of the Enterprise > AJ Feldman (alecmets2011)
08/24/2015 at 08:45

Cool

Party-vi > AJ Feldman (alecmets2011)
08/24/2015 at 08:54

Pro-Tip: If it feels like more than two fingers, it’s probably a dick.

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > AJ Feldman (alecmets2011)
08/24/2015 at 08:56

Good luck!

You’ll get into the swing of things faster than you think.

blacktruck18 > AJ Feldman (alecmets2011)
08/24/2015 at 08:58

I start today too, have fun.

TheRealBicycleBuck > AJ Feldman (alecmets2011)
08/24/2015 at 09:25

Pro-Tips (these are the things I wish someone had told me):

Don’t borrow more than you can earn when you get your degree.

Watch out for prerequisite courses. Plan out what courses you need in what semesters and stick with it . Most degree programs already have this for you. Screw this up and you can add years to your college education (along with the all of the associated costs).

Party some, but remember why you are there. Screw up your grades your first semester and say goodbye to your GPA and any scholarships that depend on it. This will make finishing college even more difficult.

Take some classes just for the hell of it. You might find something you really enjoy.

Pay attention to what other people are saying about your professors. Avoid bad ones if at all possible.

Ignore what people are saying about your professors. Before you take a course, go meet the professor in person during office hours . Ask for advice in preparing for his/her course. Pay attention to the answer. Develop your own opinion.

Get involved. Find a club (SCCA chapter?). Do something fun.

Remember that you are paying to be there. Depending on tuition, every class costs somewhere around $10. Don’t go to class and you just threw away $10. Get your money’s worth.

The quality of the school really does make a difference, both in the difficulty and the quality of your education. If you are going to the community college, make the effort to move up to a university. (My cousin didn’t believe me on this one until he experienced it himself - starting with a community college, moving up to the local university, then eventually graduating from a state university.)

Last thing - a 12 hour course load is considered full time because for every hour you spend in class, you are expected to spend two to three hours studying, working on projects, etc. That makes for a 40-hour schoolwork week - 12 in class, 28 studying. Set a schedule for getting things done and stick to it. It’s worth it in the end.

Good luck!

wiffleballtony > TheRealBicycleBuck
08/24/2015 at 09:57

That second one is for sure. Don’t wind up like me and end up in freshman physics lab as a senior.

ChooChooMotherFudger > TheRealBicycleBuck
08/24/2015 at 10:07

12 hours is considered full time? I have 35 a week. Not trying to one up, just don’t about know about too many other programs course loads.

Rico > AJ Feldman (alecmets2011)
08/24/2015 at 10:09

Get cool with everybody. Be smooth, be social and be on point. Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life.

MRtwo > wiffleballtony
08/24/2015 at 10:13

I did that with chemistry lab. By way of a transfer credit, the freshman year chem lab was not a prereq for anything so I waited until my last year to take it. Might have been a bad move because I had no motivation to study for it.

MRtwo > AJ Feldman (alecmets2011)
08/24/2015 at 10:17

Your GPA is pretty siginificant when securing a job after graduation. Don’t neglect it. For example, a university email that I just got mentioned that Boeing was on campus and doing on site interviews for entry-level jobs and had a minimum GPA req of 3.2 with 3.5 preferred.

Also, with everyone getting at least a 4yr degree these days, having extra curriculars that still pretain to your field of study helps a lot. So join a design team like FSAE/OffRoad, robotics, design build fly, technical society student competitions, etc. Those look realll good along with a solid GPA.

ceanderson920 > AJ Feldman (alecmets2011)
08/24/2015 at 10:20

Don’t schedule a class before 10 AM, those 8 or 9 AM classes will suck, plus you will be more awake for class so you can pay attention better. On the party side pre game before you go out, you will save money in booze and its actually alot of fun.

wiffleballtony > MRtwo
08/24/2015 at 10:44

In my case the problem was that the lab required calculus which I hadn’t done any of in two years. How I passed I will never know.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ChooChooMotherFudger
08/24/2015 at 10:45

Twelve course hours = full time. You know, English 101 is a three-hour class, Physics 204 is a four hour class since it has a lab, etc.

Tech schools and schools on a quarter system record hours a bit differently.

TheRealBicycleBuck > MRtwo
08/24/2015 at 10:48

I’d add summer internships to that list. Sometimes the company providing the internship will give you a job upon graduation. Even if they don’t, real-world experience in your field of study looks good on a resume.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ceanderson920
08/24/2015 at 10:49

I always preferred morning classes. It may have been hard wake up early, but it leaves the afternoons free to get stuff done.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > AJ Feldman (alecmets2011)
08/24/2015 at 10:50

Pro-tips/Things I’d Change If I Could Go Back: (Many of these will echo other responses already)

- Get involved. Join clubs, make sure some actually can provide benefit for the future. Depending on your major these can be anything form Formula SAE to Speech and Debate to student government. Also, find ones that are just plain fun. I was on the ASU bass fishing team in college. I made some great friends and had a lot of fun.

-Do well in class. GPA matters when looking for the best jobs after graduation and for grad schools if that’s your next step.

-If you’re unsure about what you want to do, speak with as many people as possible. Academic advisers, other students, teachers, department heads, professionals in various fields, etc. I think one of the biggest problems people discover after graduating college is that there was something they could have done that would have really interested them, but they weren’t aware it existed during college. Expose yourself to as many possibilities as you can.

-Do a study abroad program. (This is probably my biggest regret from college)

-Don’t make any babies.

Ask away if you wanna know more!

ChooChooMotherFudger > TheRealBicycleBuck
08/24/2015 at 10:54

Ahhhh... We don’t get to choose our courses too much. So I never heard them talked about like that, and our labs don’t count so didn’t think of that. 6 courses for 18 credit hours total.

ceanderson920 > TheRealBicycleBuck
08/24/2015 at 10:56

I always scheduled them between 10 and 2, so I was usually out of class by 3-330.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ceanderson920
08/24/2015 at 10:59

A lot of the flexibility depends on the degree program. I always preferred morning and Tuesday/Thursday classes. The worst were the friday afternoon labs. My mind was never in the classroom on a friday afternoon.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
08/24/2015 at 11:36

-Don’t make any babies.

+1,000

I got married and we had two kids while I was in grad school. There’s nothing worse than having your father-in-law ask you when you are going to graduate and get a job to support your family.

Babies outside of wedlock? If you have a shred of personal responsibility, this is the fastest way to derail your college career.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > TheRealBicycleBuck
08/24/2015 at 11:39

Yeah, I would not want to be answering that question to anyone; especially a father-in-law.

Luckily my girlfriend is 5 years younger than me and starting med school next year. No babies in my foreseeable future... thank God!

TheRealBicycleBuck > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
08/24/2015 at 11:42

I have two children that are proof that no form of birth control is 100% effective.

Just saying....

ceanderson920 > TheRealBicycleBuck
08/24/2015 at 11:44

Me either, I always took my lab classes on tuesday or thursday. My buddy had a lab from 3-6ish on friday and their is no way I could handle that becasue at about 3 on friday I am ready for the weekend.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > TheRealBicycleBuck
08/24/2015 at 11:51

Thanks for scaring me!

It’s one of those things you know in the back of your mind that you never want to admit. I’ve heard you can get a vasectomy reversed... I may need to look into that as a temporary fix. lol

AJ Feldman (alecmets2011) > AJ Feldman (alecmets2011)
08/24/2015 at 12:02

Thanks all. I unfortunately have a 9am everyday except for Friday.

But I start Friday at 11 and end at 2. Whoot!!

TheRealBicycleBuck > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
08/24/2015 at 12:16

That is considered a permanent , non-reversible procedure despite some claims otherwise. It also isn’t without its own set of risks .....

I never would have guessed I would be discussing this topic in this place on this morning!