Hi so i am going to attend UCSD fall 2017 & i do not know anyone who is going there and so i just want some advice. From when is the best time to meet people. General advice with classes. Time management. Volunteer/ research opportunities. ANYTHING you don’t have to go to UCSD to answer just wanted some background info. THANKS!
Btw how do you get a job on campus!??!
Congrats on UCSD!! The current freshman I know there (from 3000 miles away) was very very anxious about settling in last August (genuinely did not know a single person there) now says he can’t wait to go ‘home’ to UCSD after vacations!
The first thing is to remember that UCSD is used to helping new students find their feet, so there will be lots of ways to get help and advice. The second thing is to remember to USE that help and advice!! Seriously, ask and keep asking for advice as you go along.
Orientation: You will be invited to orientation, where a lot of information will be given. Keep every scrap of info (whether paper or digital) that they give you- you will be told so much that you won’t be able to remember it all!
Meeting people: Online groups have already started, but you meet actual people at orientation, and again at move-in. There will be a lot of organized activities right at the start- b/c everybody else is trying to find friends also! Think of the first people you meet as fellow travelers -what you have in common is that you are new and on the same journey. Over time some of you might become real friends- and some (many) might not, which is just fine and natural.
On Campus job: not an expert on UCSD specfically, but in general if you have a work-study arrangement, the school will contact you about that as part of setting up your financial package. If that hasn’t happened by orientation ask then.
Course advising: The UCSD people on CC will answer this more specifically, but you will have an advisor who is meant to help you navigate this (esp first year) and there is a process for choosing and registering for classes. Pay attention to the details, and ask older students for advice.
Time management. Ah- that one is hard, b/c it depends so much on you and your temperament and how you work! Just remember that college moves faster than high school, and in most cases they don’t check up on you as much, so you can go from just a little behind to too far behind to catch up really, really fast. It sounds obvious, but at least until you have a full term successfully completed, don’t skip any classes, do all of the assigned work on time or early, and at the very very very first sign of trouble- a quiz that you thought you were ready for doesn’t go well, a homework you just don’t get- use the support resources available. Go to the writing center with a first draft of an essay. Go to office hours about a lecture you didn’t really understand. There are a ton of ways to get help, and there is no shame in using it. It is the single biggest mistake that new college students make- not using the help that is there and then getting in over their heads.
Good luck & have fun (the hardest part now is waiting for August…)
@collegemom3717 thank you so much!!! That was a lot of information and it will help me trendendously! I appreciate it(:
I would tell you that it is very easy to get into a routine of class, homework, class, homework…make sure to try something new in a club or attend an event on campus that might be new for you.
Also use these tips to do well:
0) GO TO CLASS, BUY THE BOOK, READ THE CHAPTERS, AND DO THE HOMEWORK!
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Go to Professor’s office hours early in the semester and Ask this question: “I know this is a really difficult class-- what are some of the common mistakes students make and how can I avoid them?”
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If you have problems with the homework, go to Prof’s office hours. If they have any “help sessions” or “study sessions” or “recitations” or any thing extra, go to them.
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Form a study group with other kids in your dorm/class.
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Don’t do the minimum…for STEM classes do extra problems. You can buy books that just have problems for calculus or physics or whatever. Watch videos on line about the topic you are studying.
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Go to the writing center if you need help with papers/math center for math problems (if they have them)
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If things still are not going well, get a tutor.
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Read this book: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport. It helps you with things like time management and how to figure out what to write about for a paper, etc.
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If you feel you need to withdraw from a class, talk to your advisor as to which one might be the best …you may do better when you have less classes to focus on. But some classes may be pre-reqs and will mess your sequence of classes up.
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For tests that you didn’t do well on, can you evaluate what went wrong? Did you never read that topic? Did you not do the homework for it? Do you kind of remember it but forgot what to do? Then next time change the way you study…there may be a study skill center at your college.
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How much time outside of class do you spend studying/doing homework? It is generally expected that for each hour in class, you spend 2-3 outside doing homework. Treat this like a full time job.
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At first, don’t spend too much time other things rather than school work. (sports, partying, rushing fraternities/sororities, video gaming etc etc)
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If you run into any social/health/family troubles (you are sick, your parents are sick, someone died, broke up with boy/girlfriend, suddenly depressed/anxiety etcetc) then immediately go to the counseling center and talk to them. Talk to the dean of students about coordinating your classes…e.g. sometimes you can take a medical withdrawal. Or you could withdraw from a particular class to free up tim for the others. Sometimes you can take an incomplete if you are doing well and mostly finished the semester and suddenly get pneumonia/in a car accident (happened to me)…you can heal and take the final first thing the next semester. But talk to your adviser about that too.
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At the beginning of the semester, read the syllabus for each class. It tells you what you will be doing and when tests/HW/papers are due. Put all of that in your calendar. The professor may remind you of things, but it is all there for you to see so take initiative and look at it.
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Make sure you understand how to use your online class system…Login to it, read what there is for your classes, know how to upload assignments (if that is what the prof wants).
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If you get an assignment…make sure to read the instructions and do all the tasks on the assignment. Look at the rubric and make sure you have covered everything.
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If you are not sure what to do, go EARLY to the professors office hours…not the day before the assignment is due.
@bopper thank you!!! Do you happen to know if amazon isthe best place to buy textbooks
Oh boy well…
- Do your homework. Don't skip lecture. Read the syllabus. Study. Study. STUDY. College is a different ballgame from HS.
- You will fail or get bad grades. Its okay. We aren't perfect. Go to tutoring and learn from your mistake.
- Have fun and be social! Don't study 24/7. Allow some time to let loose.
- Use a planner! A physical one and your laptop or phone. Put down every due date and obligation you have.
- Wear shower shoes.
The college bookstore system will have a bunch of choices as well (buy new, buy used, rent), and there will be informal student-run networks as well. We have found that you do best by doing some price comparisons and thinking through how you are likely to actually use the book- a mix & match approach.
Of course the book companies hate this, so they do things to try and fox you by having online one-time use codes, or updating the book infinitesimally so that the 10th edition is just enough different than the 9th that you might miss something important (though you may not…). So, some creativity is required!
Also, our collegekids have sometimes simply not bought the book, b/c they found it elsewhere (public library, on Google books, used book stores) or b/c the prof or older students told them that owning the book wasn’t necessary- sharing, or getting copies of specific chapters was fine. It’s a pain, but one our lot of gone through every term of college- and between them have saved genuinely thousands of dollars.
(sadly for some STEM subjects, with $100+ books, sometimes there is just no getting around it)
Not at UCSD but several professors were quite helpful in emailing my D before freshman year about the textbooks they required. And for sophomore year she waited until the first class to see what was really required.
Amazon Student Prime is great, free 2 day shipping. Membership is free for first 6 months I think.
My D rented her bio book and chem book, she was able to rent it for both semesters and only had to buy access code for some of the professors.
I would look at your college book store for option on New, Used and Rentals. Also check out Amazon for the same thing and compare. Make sure you get the correct edition.
Don’t be afraid to ask upperclassmen who are the best professors to take for certain classes. They are the BEST source of information for this. Wait until the first day of class to get textbook info, sometimes you may HAVE to buy them through the bookstore. When you can rent books from Amazon or Chegg, but don’t get the older editions, the order of chapters and homework problems can change.