College Crud Nervus

[stoogefreaky]

Yay! Thanks Zeo! And, Astro Forever, you made me laugh! Yeah, my friend tells me people in college are more mature. I'm less afraid now. I just hope I won't loose this strength by wednesday.

[Astro Forever]

I'll keep you in my thoughts on Wednesday, but I'm confident.

You know, coming out of high school and starting studying at a new level (it's called "cégep" here, between high school and college, as I said earlier), I did not expect anything good at all. By that time, I was convinced that for some odd reason, I did not get along well with most of my peers and I couldn't see the day it would be different.

It turned out to be the complete opposite: I made great friends and had a lot of fun. We were studying a lot and I remember feeling almost always tired (it was worse than college turned out to be, believe it or not!), but when I think of that time of my life, I mainly think of the fun we had. I remember the stupid assignments that didn't make much sense, and then I also remember how much we laughed while doing them or while comparing what we had done. I left cégep with a lot more self-confidence than I had when I came in, especially on the social aspect, and that was weird, because I did not feel that I had really changed, but rather that the environment and the people around had. It made all the difference in the world. In other words, I found out that I was a lot more "normal" than I thought, after all!

So, who knows, maybe you are just about to start a great chapter of your life too?

[CommanderEVE]

I need to go college soon, in about 2 years, but still i need to go to get those's A's.

[stoogefreaky]

I hope this will start a great chapter of my life too. People I know tell me college is better than High school. Well, orientation is tomorrow and I know I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight.

To Sparx: You know in high school, the only classes I had A's were my art classes. I would have a B in math and C's in the history classes. Oh wait, English was a A.

[jeffbert]

I hope this will start a great chapter of my life too. People I know tell me college is better than High school. Well, orientation is tomorrow and I know I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight.

To Sparx: You know in high school, the only classes I had A's were my art classes. I would have a B in math and C's in the history classes. Oh wait, English was a A.

Sorry this is so late, but let me tell you about my own experiences:

I tried to avoid college by going to tech school, because I saw no need or use for the English classes, & also thought myself incapable of success in those classes. This was a big mistake because although tech scholl teaches the skills needed in certian fields, college graduates seem favored by employers. Moreover, it took that much longer to complete because of this. I realize you are not contemplating tech school, but I think this is appropriate in this discussion.

When I did finally enter college, I had no clear ideas of what I wanted to study. I flopped around from one area to another, trying to find what I liked. I finally began pursuing a general studies AA degree. This was a good idea since I was undecided. I was exposed to variety of classes in history, political science, psychology, etc, & developed a better idea of what I wanted to pursue. However, as I had already more than a few credits in computer classes, there were only a few credits needed for the AA.

When I transferred to a 4 year college, I had by then "learned how to learn."
That is, I had honed my study skills to the point where I could easily earn a respectible GPA. This brings up: you need to make college your highest priority. Yes, you still ought to have a social life, but keep the things in perspective, do not allow other activities to suck down your performance to an unacceptable level.

1. read the course catalogue, & not just the classes that now interest you.
   
2. About English language courses: many students try to avoid theese because they feel lost. Grammar is important, if you have good grammar, you inspire confidence. You write & speak well. You care about making you essays the best they can be, & you read, reread, correct, & even refine them.
   
3. Take at least 1 English Literature class. If your school offers a critical approaches to literature course, take it. This should give you an appreciation for different viewpoints held by various cultures. It will therefore help you understand why people hold such varying opinions. It should therefore help you to write better papers because you can understand these things.
   
4. Critical thinking: take either a class in logic or critical thinking. You will learn to avoid falicies in your writing, and just as importantly, see falicies in other's arguments.
   
   One thing my critical thinking (English) class taught me was to anticipate my opponents' objections to my statement, & find the holes in their arguments. Thus, my papers not only stated my position, but defended it proactively by undermining the opposing arguments.
   
   I advise taking this class in your first year, as you will benefit in the 2nd year, etc. You will need this skill for these:
   
5. Scrutinize the instructors' teaching. Unfortunately, you need to know what they are teaching you before they teach you. Before your 1st class, you should spend time reading books on the subject, not just the text books, but borrow some from the library at least a few weeks before class starts. Just reading a few pages in each chapter can help you.
   
6. Ask questions. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Most recent HS graduates with whom I attended classes were very quiet during class. Classroom participation is usually about 10 to 15% of the grade. But I & the other middle-aged students were the only ones who routinely asked questions, because we wanted to learn, while the others were just going to get the credits. You will be better prepaed to ask the questions if you have read & learned to scrutinize first.

[Astro Forever]

Wow, jeffbert, you'd be such a fan of our cegeps. They covered your points #3 and 4. #2 was supposed to have been taken care of in high school, which wasn't the case for everybody, unfortunately, but yes, understanding the subject is one thing, being able to convey one's thoughts efficiently on paper is another... but if people haven't cared about learning grammar in high school, I'm afraid they won't bother in college either.

I agree with you on #6. People in general are way too shy.

I do remember once asking a question and, since I didn't understand the answer right away and the teacher had to explain a little more, some people started sighing heavily in the background. Well, guess what? I got a high mark in that class, while the average was not good at all. This happened only once though, out of many many years of study. People tend to be really happy when others ask questions because 99% of the time, they wonder the same things but are too shy to ask.

As for #5, I never felt the need to do this. I really needed a break in between sessions. It even happened quite a few times that I finished my last exam on a Sunday and the next session would start the next Monday morning.

Stoogefreaky, I'll hope everything went well and that you'll get a good night of sleep tonight!

[stoogefreaky]

I only plan to get my Associate degree in radio/television/film. After that, I'm thinking about doing film-connections. The only reason I'm going to college is to get out of my shell and to know people and know what to expect in the film industry. I kinda believe I don't need a four year degree just to be a movie director. What I need is confedence. I know this is who I want to be but the only thing stopping me is my self-esteem.

I'm alittle tired to talk about how my orientation went but it went okay. OMGosh, I actually feel like I can make it through college now. I'm going to be able to sleep good tonight.

[Astro Forever]

I'm alittle tired to talk about how my orientation went but it went okay. OMGosh, I actually feel like I can make it through college now. I'm going to be able to sleep good tonight.

Hahaha, I'm glad to read that! Good night!

[stoogefreaky]

School starts tomorrow and it might be cancled becuase of the weather.

[Astro Forever]

It would have been better if it had happened later in the semester... There is nothing like an unexpected holiday when you have assignments and exams coming!