Questions about College...

[ORION]

Don't forget to pleadge Lambda Lambda Lambda

[exstatic]

Things you can learn in college:

how to budget your time.
how to think critically.
how to deal with people.

The biggest difference between HS and college to me is that college removes the safety net. You're much more left to your own devices. One of the freedoms that you have is to fail and flunk out. They won't bug you about missed assignments or bad test grades, and notes don't get sent home to mom and dad. They just give you an F.

I would recommend an employable major (sounds like you have one), but take the time to slot in some philsophy and psychology classes to find out how things and people work. That can be an invaluable skill when you get into the workforce.

[baseline bum]

THANKS guys!!! After reading some of the answers, I thought up some more questions. For your information to help answer my questions, i'm going to be a biology major, but this semester I have Physics 212, Honors Spanish 217, Honors English 118, Bowling, and some freshman introductory class (haha, i'm taking it very easy, especially having 35 hours of credit from AP classes).

-How do much professors assign homework and give tests and quizzes? In high school, homework is assigned to be done the next day, and tests and quizzes are givin every week. How are college different? And what are the tests and quizzes like?

-Is cheating or "extra help" occur very often in college? I remember in my high school, students who have the morning class tell the test questions to the students in the afternoon class of the same course, so those who don't ask, have a huge their peers about the test have a disadvantage.

-Is having a roommate very trouble some? because i'm sure we all have differnt sleep schedules and spend different amounts of time on HW. If so, how did you handle the problems?

Be prepared to bust your ass in the Physics class. Intro physics classes usually move very fast, and are often sort of weed-outs. Absolutely spend time to learn how to derive things, because it's impossible to remember a semester's worth of formulas.

Expect to do a lot of reading in the English class. You won't get homework - just a few papers.

Cheating is always rampant at a university. I used to have tons of people pay me to write their term projects in their C++, Java, Programming Lanuages, Networking, etc. classes. In my mathematical analysis class people would leave their proofs in the bathroom and take turns going to the bathroom to check them during the Final (I should have gone and posted confusing solutions ). I had an honors abstract algebra class where the prof would give horrible take-home finals. The first quarter I did it all myself, turned in 25 pages of original solutions, got an A, and then found out everyone else got As too because they just shared their solutions. Needless to say I was pissed, because I deserved an A+ and because I was one of two people in the class who actually did it on his own (and I had the top grades on all midterms and quizzes). happens when you just show up to take the exams and turn in work, and therefore don't talk to classmates much. it: in the second quarter of the class I just collaborated with a bunch of my classmates, with each of us doing one problem on the final, and got an A again for doing nothing this time.

[ashbeeigh]

THANKS guys!!! After reading some of the answers, I thought up some more questions. For your information to help answer my questions, i'm going to be a biology major, but this semester I have Physics 212, Honors Spanish 217, Honors English 118, Bowling, and some freshman introductory class (haha, i'm taking it very easy, especially having 35 hours of credit from AP classes).

-How do much professors assign homework and give tests and quizzes?

-Is cheating or "extra help" occur very often in college?

-Is having a roommate very trouble some?

Like JT said, it depends on your class. I remember my freshman english classes had lots of papers. Then there were other classes that I had the same year, like my upper division Spanish classes, where we only have two tests (the mid term and the final). Testing and homework all depends on the professor. I ran into one professor that enjoyed having 5 tests a semester (so things would balance out, and there would be less material to cover, but in more detail). Most of the time, if you do have homework, it is optional and for you benefit. There's probably not going to be someone to turn it in to and get a grade back on it the next day (some professors are nutorious about never getting papers and tests back). And, like some have mentioned before you'll be lucky at such a big school to actualy have a professor teaching a lower division class. I don't want to scare you with a biology major, but you will live and breathe lab. You'll get the lab manual and have lab for four hours a week along with lecture for about 3 hours a week and be running in and out trying to clone rats and mate fruit flies and find a cure for cancer all at once. Not just for ginology, but in general, you'll get a list of things due at a certain time and be expected to have them then. That's when procrationation can kill you. Be on top of things. Good luck with Physics!

The "getting answers" in between class times probably isn't too uncommon. It's not very well tolerated though. It's whether or not you get caught. Going to such a big school, i wouldn't doubt people do it constantly. At my school, if you get caught, you get kicked out.

Roommates can be amazing friends and assets and also amazing enemies. As a freshman the UT Residence Life staff should have asked you some basic questions about your routines (when you go bed, how messy you are, whether you like the Spurs or the Mavs, etc) to match you with someone you'll click with. Spend some time at the first part of the semester exploring with your roommate if you can so you get a feel for their personality. And if things don't work out well talk to your RA. They always say they're there to help, whether it be to talk things out or to get one of the two of you out of the situation. And next year, if you find some friends and you think yuo would be good roommates, don't do it. It'll ruin your friendship. Or so they say. That happened to me my sop re year and this past fall. First time I lived with someone who decided to it up and then this past fall I lived with someone who freaked out because of a health condition. Be up front and honest too. If you go to bed early, say so. If you snore, say so. If you listen to Enya, say so. If you're 1Billups1, say so. That's the best thing to do.

[J.T.]

I will also say reading and going to class is extremely important. It sounds like a no brainer but you'll find out that your brain will come up with all kinds of rationalizations about skipping class. It's not so bad if you have friends in the class you can bum notes from, but I remember my very first semester as a freshman, I didn't know anyone in any of my classes and I skipped US Government like three times during one testing period because the prof filmed his lectures and put them on the student server. I figured I'd watch them before the test and I just blew it off. Ended up getting an F on the test, even though I read the book. So going to class counts.

As for reading, you're going to find out by the first test in each of your classes how important reading is. In some classes you live or die by the textbook. Others, it's about 50/50, and in others you can probably not even buy the book and make an A. In that Government class I talked about earlier, his lectures were never about book related material, but the info was still covered on the exams. In US History part 1 it was all lecture material, and the book was like $80 and I never used it once, got an A in the class. US History part 2, I never read the book and got a B...and that was with some extra credit too.

Most professors don't offer extra credit so if you get one that does, take advantage of it. Some professors, especially for freshman level courses, may drop your lowest test or something like that...but it doesn't happen a lot and usually in the lower courses. Don't expect to see it much as a sop re.

Just some other advice, don't sleep in class because I honestly had a professor who walked up to someone who did fall asleep and tell them to leave and drop the class and not come back. Just because they were asleep. Try not to be late to class either, because you will look like an idiot, and everyone will look at you. Dunno about others but I feel really embarrassed when I oversleep and come in late. Don't leave early because the professors that do like to give pop quizzes usually give them at the end so the people who take off early get zeroes.

@ashbeeigh

funny you should bring up that Spurs or Mavs thing with room mates...I've seen like three or four different girls walking around on my floor wearing Mavs shirts. I'll have to invite them to my room for a game sometime...and convert them.