2009-08-26, 20:08 | Link #41 |
Le fou, c'est moi
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Age: 34
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I'm taking it easy so far, with results ranging from "someone up there really likes me" to predictably catastrophic...but the semester ahead is going to be busy. Hm. At least I can't say I dislike any of my classes this semester, so it's good. I kind of regret not getting more involved with campus life though, I'm just too lazy that way.
This is probably pretty late but, congrats. |
2009-08-26, 20:15 | Link #42 |
Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
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Going into my second year. Probably major in Psychology (we can't choose till 2nd semester sophomore year).
I had a terrible freshman roommate but i'm rooming with a chill friend this year so that will be better. Still living in dorms. Will have my car this time which will help out since there is nothing near campus (we have a mall 5 mins away by car but you have to cross a highway to get there if you walk so we never went). My class schedule isn't that much harder than my last semester, finishing up some requirements and sort of starting my major. I hate living in dorms, you get no privacy. Even if you really like your roommate, it still gets to you and the room is so small. I'm used to this size room for just myself. Oh well, nothing I can do about that. |
2009-08-26, 20:19 | Link #43 | |
Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
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Sounds like your friends went to the wrong parties. |
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2009-08-26, 22:40 | Link #44 |
stuck in a harem genre
Artist
Join Date: Feb 2008
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First year in UBC, University of British Columbia...
So much to do now... Getting ready that is... I'm a little worried about this ENGL course I have to take in first year. I have to have at least six credits, but I would only get three because the other courses were full... Does anyone know what happens if I can't get the six credits by first year? |
2009-08-27, 02:43 | Link #45 | ||
A Priori Impossibility
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: California
Age: 33
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Basically, you have to try and make the best of it. People will say wait until college, but high school has its benefits too. See what your school can do for you and be active about it. Don't just let the mundane, boring lectures drive you into apathy towards your own education. I've found that most of my college courses are incredibly boring. The material is very interesting, but listening to a guy drone on and on in a 200 person lecture is just... bleh. After my first year, the only classes that I never skipped were my Japanese courses, and that was only because attendance was part of the grade. When my grade was safe enough, I even skipped my Japanese class. :P Four out of the 23 classes I've taken in college so far (including this summer quarter), I only went on exam days because they posted lecture notes online. Didn't have to listen to a boring teacher ramble on and on. There hasn't been a single class where I didn't skip. The main thing about high school is that, since you're forced to sit there, you can try and find a way to make it worthwhile, in my opinion. Granted, my high school paid its teachers well and we were lucky to have very capable teachers, but I do think there are a fair share of students that simply didn't take the time to really be proactive in changing their own environments - and that's something that's completely within our grasp. |
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2009-08-27, 03:01 | Link #46 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: 28° 37', North ; 77° 13', East
Age: 33
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As far as studies were concerned, if you wanted to do well in the most efficient manner, you quietly studied and did as you were told. That's not to say you couldn't do things outside of school - you could. There were plenty of brilliant debators, athletes, musicians, etc. But in school, we were all together in the same grind. College isn't like that - you gotta do your own research, figure things out for your own, and apply them. Luckily the biggest class I've had in college only had 30 students, so I can't really comment on the 200 students a course situation. |
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2009-08-27, 03:08 | Link #47 | |
Le fou, c'est moi
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Age: 34
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And, well, if there's a course anyone is supposed to enjoy in college, it's the foreign language ones, since the students need to interact with the instructor and each other, so it must have been pretty bad in your case... I'm lucky though, the Japanese program here is really rigorous, and all taught by native speakers. It means a lot of homework () but also quality of instruction and a lot of fun. Interestingly, my instructor is actually a real life really cute Japanese woman. She looks like she could have been mistaken a student. o_O |
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2009-08-27, 03:17 | Link #48 | |
yare yare..
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Earth (:
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Perhaps I pity the lecturer. But whoa.. if you could skip technically all of your classes.. does that mean your lecturer doesn't require attendance in the syllabus? My evil ones always state it clearly in the course outline.. Attendance and Participation 5-10%, and something along the lines of, if you don't achieve at least half of this, you're not allowed to sit for the finals Then again, there are much cruel ones, who give surprise quizes that accumulate even more percentage. It's like if you don't come, you wouldn't know there's a quiz and well, you can lose the marks. An immediate text message wouldn't work either.. because the quiz technically only lasts 2-3 minutes. Bleh.
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2009-08-27, 03:19 | Link #49 | ||
Senior Guest
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Athens (GMT+2)
Age: 35
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The only drink these so-called parties got is cheap beer (which I hate, oddly enough) because they're organized by political parties in the college, trying to gain supporters...so partying isn't an option, at least not college partying. Quote:
On the other hand, some courses were very enjoyable, I found out that my english course had a summary of all my other courses as its subject, so it helped me understand basic engineering and machines to a higher degree, and my programming courses just flew, I didn't even have to study for the exams. |
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2009-08-27, 03:29 | Link #50 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Austin, TX
Age: 35
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Entering my Junior year studying Mechanical Engineering. I'm currently trying to decide whether or not I want to continue my summer job in Modular Robotics as an independent study next semester. I love my school and while the engineering department is not as large as many others and as a result I can't specialize as much as most engineering students can I'm actually glad I'm not as specialized because being more general give me more options for jobs. I actually feel like I will be graduating at the perfect time for job hunting because the economy should be rebounding at that point and companies will have been starving themselves of new hires for so long that there should be a lot of hiring going on. Throw in the general shortage of engineers in this country and I should be fine. I'm much more worried that I'm going to hate being an engineer, so we'll just have to wait and see.
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2009-08-27, 06:59 | Link #51 | |
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: istanbul
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2009-08-27, 07:39 | Link #52 | |
yare yare..
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Earth (:
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But I don't think I've taken a subject that needs 70% attendance yet.
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2009-08-27, 12:15 | Link #55 |
Senior Guest
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Athens (GMT+2)
Age: 35
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Almost the same here, but SOME professors enjoy taking attendance during their theory courses that are suppooooosed to help your grades go up in case you slip somewhere...but it's pretty much the opposite, if you have them you still fail with 4.0~4.9(!!!) and if you don't, your 9 becomes a nice 7.
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2009-08-28, 02:46 | Link #57 |
Senior Guest
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Athens (GMT+2)
Age: 35
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Grades go from 0 to 10, so base is 5. However, there's a plethora of 4's and SOME teachers find it hilarious to give you a "second chance" by explaining what you did here and there and why you did it that way, and accept to mark your test again...one would expect a 5, but those 4.X just keep coming:P
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2009-08-28, 09:33 | Link #58 |
OK.
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: The Fields of High Attus
Age: 34
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Just started a couple of months ago myself (Japanese Studies and maybe Environmental Science or some sort of biology, because I get to skip too much of JS and have to make up for the credits)
And honestly I still wish I didn't have to go to university but since I'm lucky enough to have the opportunity and probably can't support a flexible lifestyle easily without a degree, here I am doing one super late. And not any smarter/wiser to make up for it, but there's a lot of mature-aged students here who are much older than me so I feel quite okay. At what I think most people might consider a less-than-ideal university because I don't ever think about choices with regard to my future Well, almost. It's most convenient and cheap for me here (relatives!) so that's why I'm here rather than say, Monash with its more challenging and tailored Japanese programme... Being long burned out on academia and having never been a social type in the least bit, I'm fairly indifferent for now. I ought to be afraid of turning into a drone, really! Middle and high school were much more intellectually stimulating and exciting, but I had the incredible luck of going to good schools with relatively mature students. And a good attitude. 2011, I get to do a year in Japan, and if I'm lucky perhaps I might get the challenge of actually studying in Japanese with Japanese students. I dunno. I'm fine either way at this point. Personally I'd rather be working and doing some interesting classes part-time or just watching free lectures online (or most importantly, having enlightened conversations with people who aren't out to prove themselves), nowadays structured learning kills my motivation more often than it doesn't.
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2009-08-28, 14:06 | Link #59 |
Senior Guest
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Athens (GMT+2)
Age: 35
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^ Don't worry about your age, my college mates are older than my father...some are older than our teachers too, it all depends on deciding to do it at some point in your life! Plus, some of my old classmates from highschool are still struggling with entry exams, so I'd say it's all good as long as you seriously want to do it (i.e. not bail on 5th semester and start at a 2-year private college or something).
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2009-08-28, 14:33 | Link #60 |
Knowledge is the solution
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: St. Louis, MO
Age: 39
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I just finished my masters degree last semester with flying colors. I entered a research internship at U. of Wisconsin for a semester.. I guess I'll be starting my PhD during the next term. I plan to stay in the academia as a research professor back in Mexico, the real world is too scary for me.
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