<p>I heard some BAD things about Engineering. Is it really an Academic Cooker?</p>
<p>I haven't studied once in high school but I managed pretty well. But I feel like I did not learn how to take proper notes. I'm afraid that I might not do well in college.</p>
<p>[] Are their classes to help me with my poor note taking skills?
[] What's the average GPA for Freshmen year?
[] Any tips for an upcoming freshmen?
[] How should I start my freshmen classes? Introductory courses?</p>
<p>I'm just overall worried that I might flunk out because I don't absorb information well enough or because I am not responsible enough to study each night.</p>
<p>I heard of people studying 8 hours a day. How the hell? I can't study for even 2 hours. I have to get used to it eventually. But what I'm worried the most is actually not understanding the stuff. Sometimes when I read, I understand at the moment I'm reading but the stuff just doesn't stick in my head. I'll have trouble remember details and stuff. I'm so worried.</p>
<p>There are no classes to help you take notes, this isn’t middle school lol. Just write down what the professor says or type it. Most lectures are posted online after lectures.</p>
<p>The average GPA for freshmen is usually pretty low because about half slack off and get somewhere in the 2 range. Take advantage of this.</p>
<p>Just study a lot but make time for fun. There’s no point in burning out during freshman year, it isn’t even that hard of a course load lol.</p>
<p>I almost advise against taking AP credit for intro classes you’d take here except for humanities. Personally a cushion coming into college and taking a few classes you’ve already taken in high school is nice and a little relaxing. You’re going to learn more here than you did in the high school classes so it shouldn’t be too boring. Plus you will hopefully get a higher GPA than others.</p>
<p>About the details part, RPI isn’t a history class. You don’t need exact details and dates and remembering old names. That isn’t what’s important here. For MechE you’ll be memorizing a lot of simple equations or just having them in your calculator and plug-n-chugging a lot. Later classes will be applying knowledge. Almost none of this has to do with remembering small details.</p>
<p>Fall in LOVE with learning…literally. You more than likely have a strong left-brain/logical approach to your studies. Now develop the right-brain/‘artistic’ part…the passion for understanding the ‘how, why and what if’ of education.</p>
<p>I would recommend you spend a good amount of time during the summer viewing as many [TED[/url</a>] videos as possible to get you psyched-up for the ‘journey’ and the rest will take care of itself.</p>
<p>Finally, consider the following metaphor. In your studies you’re building a pyramid with the following layers (bottom to top): facts, knowledge, wisdom.</p>
<p>Don’t spend one minute of your time studying in the summer. Your first two years are going to be intro classes, as long as you’ve taken calc and physics in high school you are fine. Don’t read a book about how to put effort into your studies.</p>
<p>Try hard when you get to RPI and you’ll do okay, there’s no secret formula to it as the above poster seems to suggest.</p>
<p>For anyone to assert that there’s no psychological component to academically excelling suggests a fundamental flaw in an individual’s logic processing. Let’s detail it out so that even an engineer in training can understand it:
<p>I think JoshuaGuilt is a bit out of line about StitchInTime’s suggestions. LoneWolfStorm obviously recognizes s/he has issue from high school that have to be corrected to succeed in college and in a career. Kudos for that. </p>
<p>The recommendations to watch engineering/science/technology oriented TED videos is excellent to develop intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm. When you understand the goal of an engineering education, late night problem sets don’t seem so bad.</p>
<p>Understanding the learning process and motivations is also a good idea so you can kick yourself in the pants when needed. I am not familiar with that book but doubt one or two days spent reading would ruin a summer.</p>
<p>It is not a secret formula, it is recognizing you need to grow up and taking steps to do so.</p>
<p>OK I’m a mom, an engineer, and RPI parent, so my perspective is warped into that there’s room for most college students to improve themselves (true for any person in general). </p>
<p>Don’t take the lazy way out, life has too much to offer to be lazy.</p>
<p>SandPit. I’m agree that I can’t be lazy. I’m just living up to expectations, not only to my parents but to most importantly myself. I’m not so sure if I’m capable of studying properly. I have never studied diligently for my entire education career. I feel like this change is too drastic. Thats why I want to prevent things from happening. I don’t know what to expect.</p>
<p>LoneWolfStorm - they do have lots of help on campus. That’s true for most colleges I believe. In the dorm, you have a Learning Assistant as well as Resident Assistant (LA vs RA). Classes have TAs, professors have office hours. One of the most important lessons is to seek out help, ask questions, and learn what is important. But each professor is different. One class you may be able to ace by studying all the old exams, others go off class notes, others are text book based. You have to adapt as you go along (true for life in general!). The main thing is to reach out for help if needed. Help is there.</p>
<p>One important lesson is that the “slow” kids caught up with the “fast” kids once they over came a particular stumbling block and raced ahead. Another great thing about this approach is that there’s no “holes” in education, i.e. if you got a B or C you may have a hole in comprehension. If you complete the Kahn Academy approach, you know you got it before you move on.</p>
<p>Yes, RPI has plenty of help available. There are several programs in place to reach out to students who are facing academic challenges:</p>
<p>Electronic Warning System (EWS)</p>
<p>Through its Electronic Warning System, the Advising & Learning Assistance Center receives names of students who are having difficulty in their classes during the fall and spring semesters. The students are then contacted and given suggestions for help or referrals for specific assistance.
Faculty Intervention Program (FIP)</p>
<p>This program is offered in the spring semester to first year students who experienced academic difficulty during the fall semester. Each student is provided a personal faculty mentor with whom they meet weekly. This successful program has helped students overcome problems that have affected their academics during the fall semester.</p>
<p>In addition, traditional tutoring is readily available:</p>
<p>Tutoring</p>
<p>Tutoring is an interactive method of helping students improve their efficiency and effectiveness in learning in a specific course, it is available to all registered undergraduate students at Rensselaer. Our service provides assistance to nearly 1,500 students each year.</p>
<p>The Advising and Learning Assistance Center’s tutors are matriculated undergraduate students who have successfully completed the course they are tutoring. In addition, all tutors complete a training program before they are assigned a tutee.</p>
<p>What’s equally interesting and mind blowing (pun intended) is that this approach (using a software program for psychological behavior modification) is also being utilized in trials for Cognitive-bias modification:</p>