<p>Hey all,</p>
<p>I don't post here very much but I'm hoping someone (anyone) can help me. I'm a high schooler taking a college course on MacroEconomics (EC201 to be exact) this spring semester at MSU. I have almost no idea how a college class works other than it's a lot of independence and a LOT more work. I've found myself with a lot of questions as the starting date gets closer. </p>
<p>How early do you show up for class?
Where do you sit (600 person lecture hall)?</p>
<p>There are 2 quizzes and one final for the entire semester, how hard can I expect these to be (compared to AP level)?</p>
<p>As an AP student I take lots of notes and do a majority of learning on my own; how much of this work will actually help me (e.g. do I take notes on the book and lecture, etc.)?</p>
<p>Thanks guys, I'll probably think of more in the coming days.</p>
<p>Show up for class 10-0 minutes prior. Sit anywhere.</p>
<p>The quizzes and final probably won’t be very hard, because it’s a lower level macroeconomics class. </p>
<p>Reading the book will strengthen your knowledge of the material.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply akhman. </p>
<p>I guess I didn’t mean how hard they’d be compared to other college classes, but rather high school tests/finals and AP exams?</p>
<p>At this point, for APs, I am required to read chapters and take notes on them. I don’t expect this kind of babying in college, but does the professor at least tell you what chapters to read?</p>
<p>I don’t know how hard AP classes are, because my high school did IB, but I found my lower level college classes to in general be easier than my junior/senior year high school courses. I took a combined Micro/Macro class, and had no problem in the class, getting an A my first semester, but I did find the Macro portion of the class much more difficult than the Micro portion of the class, but it was mostly the other way around for most people, fwiw.</p>
<p>You should be given a syllabus on the first day of class (or directed to it on blackboard/ whatever the school uses).</p>
<p>In this syllabus it will either let you know about what chapters to read for each lecture for the entire semester, or the prof may just give you that info during class.</p>
<p>Don’t stress so much! There’s a lot of independence, but that concerns actually <em>doing</em> the work - not knowing what work you should actually be doing. In a 600 person class, no one will check that you’ve read the two chapters assigned (unless the prof gives pop quizzes, but that doesn’t sound like it if there’s only 3 grades going in to your final grade).</p>
<p>I don’t think any of us can predict the difficulty of the quizzes and final, since none of us has taken that specific class. However, college assessments are, in general, more cumulative than high school tests. In high school, you usually have multiple exams in one term, usually one at the end of each chapter or unit. But in college, there are nowhere near as many exams (as you now know), so there is more material on each one. You might have to study a little differently and start studying further in advance. </p>
<p>But I think your professor will provide more information about the difficulty of exams. I don’t think it’s very helpful to draw a comparison between AP exams and college exams, since they tend to be very different. You’ll probably have problem sets for homework, which will help you gauge your level of understanding (and in every class where I’ve had problem sets, the professor has always told us whether we can expect the exams to look like the homework or to be more/less difficult). You might also get a practice final to help you prepare for the real thing. </p>
<p>In other words, don’t start worrying too much about this class yet. You should definitely study hard and take it seriously, but don’t overthink it. </p>
<p>And it’s totally up to you how early you want to get to the lecture and where you want to sit. You should go with what you’re used to and what works for you. No one will object if you sit in the front row (IME, if that’s where you like to sit, you should try to get to class early). Just use common sense. If you have to leave class early, sit near an exit so that you can leave quietly. Etc.</p>