My university has a first year program that is designed to help freshmen become accustomed to the college experience. We have a triad of classes that are intertwined. There’s a large political science or psychology class, a smaller composition class and a small seminar class. The science/psych class is a normal large lecture, with about 150+ students, but the others have 25. The coursework is similar and the seminar class is designed to help students with any questions they have and to help prepare for a successful academic career.
My school believes their award-winning first year program helps students and it’s been in use for almost ten years. Texas State University, Ohio State University and the University of Georgia are among schools that have similar programs. While I haven’t researched in great detail the programs of other colleges, I can give you first hand knowledge of the one at my school (name protected for my privacy).
It is designed for students who will not otherwise succeed in college
All classes and instructors in the first year program do not grade or teach on a college level. The classes are on an upper (think Advanced Placement) high school level. For students that do not need to be babied, this program is a waste of time and money. Yes, it’s nice to get easy A’s (assuming you do the work), but it gets you used to easy coursework. Upper classes in college are not easy. Sometimes you will find easier, smaller classes, but for the most part, once you get into your major, you will have to work much harder.
It decreases freshmen dropout rates…
But it increases sophomore dropout rates. These programs get freshmen think college is easy and they can skate by without doing any real work like in high school. Students that otherwise would have dropped out to find a job will stay longer and spend more money only to find out they were misinformed and end up leaving the next semester, when classes get tougher.
These programs do not prepare students for the real world
When you get a job, unless you are the luckiest person alive, your boss is not going to give you a grace period to mess up. He’ll give you the real work on day one. You’re lucky if you get an hour to figure out your way around the office.
High school was the transition into college
Junior and senior year of high school are supposed to get students prepared to enter the workplace or attend a university. Students take advanced placement and honors courses to get used to the type of classes they will encounter in college. AP classes at most public schools are not hard enough, but they’re much better than regular curriculum. Why have another year of that? And why pay an incredible amount of money for it?
Currently, my university does not allow freshmen to opt-out of the first year program, but I wish they did. If you have to participate in the first year program at your university, enjoy the easy work while you can because you’re in for an awakening your sophomore year.
I’m getting pressure on all sides to join a student organization. Why? Because it opens up doors. Most scholarships are for well-rounded students. Most employers want a well-rounded student. I was pressured to join clubs in high school and I thought that would stop once I got to college. I was wrong. Jon Morrow recently wrote a guest post, Why I regret getting straight A’s in college and Cal from Study Hacks wrote a rebuttal post, Why I Don’t Regret Getting Straight A’s in College. There’s an equal number of reasons for both sides of the argument, but my two cents is that well-rounded with good grades wins it all.
How do you get straight A’s and still be a campus butterfly? It’s hard work and impossible for some students. If studying is difficult for you, put more emphasis on school work. Some people can pull it off and those are the kids everyone loves to hate. But is it worth it? If you feel like you’re always preparing for the next step in your life, you’re actually hurting yourself. If you never have time to stop and enjoy yourself, you’re the busy squirrel always storing acorns, but never getting a chance to eat them, then you definitely should stop worrying so much and take a breather. Look at your life and see if that is really what you want.
Which student are you?
A’s without breaking a sweat
If you’re able to make A’s with little to no studying, try for a few student organizations that do community service and volunteer work. The extra activities will help fill up time and fill out your resume. Potential employers DO care about things other than your GPA. Your 4.0 may get you an interview, but if that’s all that sets you apart, you may not get the job.
B’s are no problem
This is the middle ground. If you’re the student who can walk in on test day and walk out with a B, not having studied the night before, then you definitely need some extra curriculars. Try joining a club that has a moderate level of outside work. A few hours a week to buff up your resume is worth it.
C’s are a struggle
Students that need to study all the time, just to ensure a B or a C need to find a group that will help them academically as well as round them out. Try the science, math or biology club. Academically-based organizations are often filled with top students who can help you out with tutoring, notes and studying.
All around tips
- Instead of joining the largest club, try for a smaller one that you can potentially become an officer in down the road
- Join an academic organization that will benefit your grades
- Try for a club that does community service, kill two birds with one stone
- Don’t join a club you’re going to hate – you can spend time with friends while filling up your resume
- Become an officer – especially if you don’t have that much extra to do
- Can’t find a club for you? Start your own. Seriously, it’s a win-win.
The English language is very complicated and there are many sets of similar words that people have trouble with. Are you one of the many that confuse these words?
accept – to receive: “She would not accept my proposal.”
except – all but: “Everyone went except John.”
access – admittance, a way of approach: “No one had access to the room.”
excess – amount larger than needed: “He had an excess of paper.”
accent – particular way of speaking: “She had a New York accent.”
ascent – upward climb: “The mountain has a long ascent.”
assent – to agree: “The teacher assented to accepting a late assignment.”
advice – recommendation: “His advice was to study.”
advise – to make recommendations: “He advised me to study.”
affect (verb) – to influence: “Her actions will affect the rest of us.”
affect (noun) – an emotional response: “Even when his dog died, he showed little affect.”
effect – result: The effect of his good grades helped him get a scholarship.”
alter – to change: “She had to alter her plans.”
altar – platform in a church: “The priest stands at the altar.”
capital – 1) city/town that holds government seat: “Austin is the capital of Texas.”
2) supply of wealth: “You need capital to start a business.”
capitol – 1) U.S. Congress building in Washington D.C.: “You can tour the capitol.”
2) a building where a legislature meets: “You can go to Austin to see the capitol.”
conscience – sense of right or wrong: “Some people seem to have no conscience.”
conscious – aware of: “He made a conscious decision to help us.”
eminent – well known: “He is eminent in the field of psychology.”
imminent – about to happen: “The storm was imminent.”
stationary – unable to move: “I rode the stationary bike.”
stationery – paper for letter writing: “I bought new stationery.”
A lot of college students work in the food industry I’ve just discovered a service called ScheduleFly that uses employee scheduling. It allows for the restaurant manager to do online scheduling so employees actually know what shifts they’re going to work in a decent amount of time. The manager posts employee schedules online and an email is sent letting you know when you work. Theoretically, this sounds like a good service.
An automated employee scheduling website that would make your life easier…unfortunately, I don’t know how well this would be implemented. Your restaurant would have to actually sign up for the service, which isn’t free. There is a 30 day free trial for restaurants, so you could try talking your manage into it. I like the idea, but unless it’s a widely-used service, it’s not a very helpful.
It is easier to forget something than to remember so to help yourself remember something, apply as many of the following techniques as possible.
1. Be flexible. Experiment with what helps you remember, whether it’s a mnemonic or simply adding color.
2. Overlearn. Practice and reorganize what you intend to remember in as many ways as possible. Use it while speaking and writing, even act it out. The more time you spend, the more it’s ingrained.
3. Imitate. Schedule study time to reflect the time of day when you’ll be using the material (make study time the same as test time). Create a similar environment. Study without music if the room will be quiet. Study at a desk instead of on your bed.
4. Rephrase and explain. Try role-playing. Take the view of the teacher and explain the material to someone else, your dog, or a stuffed animal. You definitely understand the material when you can teach someone else.
5. Eliminate accidental and unrelated associations. A study situation where a phone rings constantly produces breaks in the association process. If you’re singing along to Eric Clapton throughout your study session, you will relate the material to Eric Clapton. This is only helpful if your topic is indeed Eric Clapton.
6. Eliminate previous mistakes. Take note of any previous mistakes you’ve made while studying and don’t do them anymore. If music distracts you, don’t play music during your next study session.
7. Decide on order of importance. Some things are more important than others. In a particular chapter or topic, decide what’s the big picture and organize everything else around that.
8. Become emotionally involved. This doesn’t always work with schoolwork, especially if you don’t care about a particular subject. But notice how you remember things you care about. If you can somehow relate the topic to something you care about, you’ll remember it better.
