Advice to pnms beginning their College/University experience…

[sunnyhibiscus]

Soliloquy, I agree with you on the ratemyprofessor.com deal. I took a math teacher that have received negative reviews. I was scared because I was terrible in math. However, she was a good professor, and I gave her high marks there. You just have to not fall behind and do your homework.

And some of the negative reviews on the site come from people who don't study or don't give an effort.

[flirt5721]

Originally Posted by sunnyhibiscus

Soliloquy, I agree with you on the ratemyprofessor.com deal. I took a math teacher that have received negative reviews. I was scared because i was terrible in math. However, she was a good professor, and I gave her high marks there. You just have to not fall behind and do your homework.

And some of the negative reviews on the site come from people who don't study or don't give an effort.

I agree with you too. However sometimes a professor can be a really bad lecture teacher but be a better one on one teacher. Don't just judge the professor in the classes room. A lot of the bad review might come from students that did not bother to go to the office hours or make and appointment with the professor. Go to their office hours and they can help out so much more (most of the time).

[sunnyhibiscus]

Originally Posted by flirt5721

I agree with you too. However sometimes a professor can be a really bad lecture teacher but be a better one on one teacher. Don't just judge the professor in the classes room. A lot of the bad review might come from students that did not bother to go to the office hours or make and appointment with the professor. Go to their office hours and they can help out so much more (most of the time).

I forgot one thing. Some of these people who write negative reviews don't show up in class except on exam days.

[AChiOhSnap]

Originally Posted by flirt5721

I agree with you too. However sometimes a professor can be a really bad lecture teacher but be a better one on one teacher.

The reverse can be true as well!

I'd advise any new college grad to quickly look into research opportunities, especially if they think they might want to attend grad school or do internships/study abroad. The earlier started with research the better it will look on grad school apps. That said, don't single a prof out for mentorship or research advisory based on whether or not people like him/her in class.

A well-liked, funny, personable prof can end up being a disorganized mess one-on-one, or a control freak, or a total space cadet. Or it may simply be a personality clash. Make sure you really get to know a professor's personal style before signing on to endless hours in the lab one-on-one with him. Spend some time chatting with him after class and in the office hours before you commit yourself to assisting with his huge publication.

[KSUViolet06]

I'll bump this up for this fall:

*Don't freak out if you and your roomie/hallmates/whatever aren't BFFs.

*Don't schedule morning classes if you know you aren't a morning person. Same with night classes if you like to go to bed early.

*Ladies I know it's college and you're excited to be there, but you will soon learn that you don't need to get totally dressed up every single day (stillettos and all) for class.

*Try to work out. It'll keep you from packing on the "freshman 15."

*Some people say that college is the place to meet your husband, and yeah, some people do meet the man they're going to marry there. But don't let that be your only reason for going to college and don't freak out if you aren't engaged by graduation. I knew people who were pretty upset that they didn't get their "Mrs." degree in college, so just be aware that not everyone meets their future hubby there and that college is for getting an education.

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

*Ladies I know it's college and you're excited to be there, but you will soon learn that you don't need to get totally dressed up every single day (stillettos and all) for class.

You can totally tell who the freshmen are with this.

Ladies, dress appropriately for the weather. Remember that college is not a fashion show.

...Because if you're that freshman girl who decides to wears heels on a rainy day, and you fall and eat shit on your way up to the Business Administration building because the ground's uneven, people like me WILL LAUGH AND POINT at you.

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

*Try to work out. It'll keep you from packing on the "freshman 15."

And walking to and from class is NOT enough of a work out to prevent the freshman 15!

[LucyKKG]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

And walking to and from class is NOT enough of a work out to prevent the freshman 15!

Lol I totally learned that! I was thinking, "Oh, but we have brutal hills here!" Yeah, it's still not enough.

[sunnyhibiscus]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

*Some people say that college is the place to meet your husband, and yeah, some people do meet the man they're going to marry there. But don't let that be your only reason for going to college and don't freak out if you aren't engaged by graduation. I knew people who were pretty upset that they didn't get their "Mrs." degree in college, so just be aware that not everyone meets their future hubby there and that college is for getting an education.

I agree with this statement. There are plenty of other men outside of school, like your church, at the workplace, or even the mall. Be patient. There are many people that wait until their 30s, even their 40s before they walk down the aisle. This is 2008, not 1958. And remember, you need to say I AM before you say I DO.

-Never use Wikipedia as one of your sources for your paper. Furthermore, don't use a lot of websites for your sources, unless they are from strong sources (i.e. newspaper). Wikipedia is the worst kind of source, because some of the stuff is not accurate. Use books, articles from good sources, and periodical journals as your source. If your school offers a tour of the library, take advantage of it. You will need to go to library.

-Arrive on time for classes and stay for the entire class (unless there is an emergency). There are some professors that dock you for being late, leaving early, heck even going to the bathroom during class. Make arriving on time a habit, because you need to do that when you head out in the real world.

-Keep track of your absences and your tardies. There are some professors that track absences and tardies. If you are absent or tardy for the maximum allowed, then you will be penalized (i.e. lose a letter grade or worse, getting an F).

-If your school does buyback when the semester ends, be aware that they may not buy back your book. Also, you may get significantly less for your book. For instance, you may pay $90 for your math book, but may get $10 or even less. One of the reason may be that they are using a new book.

-Try to get assignments done by at least two to three days before the deadline, because you never know what might happen. There might be a power outage the day before the deadline. If that happens, and if you are not finished, well you can figure out what will happen.