Hi I’ve been thinking a lot about having more balance in college than in high school, where I pushed everything to the last minute which stressed me out greatly.
My classes (mostly talking about HW and studying since I can’t do anything to my class schedule):
Bio 172
Chem 130
First year writing seminar
Arabic 101
Total credits: 16
I’m in UROP, which doubles as my work-study, which also adds a credit bringing me up to 17 credits.
I am a religious person, but that won’t really affect me greatly besides needing to pray throughout the day but that takes no more than 5-7 minutes.
I also want to join a club or two.
I guess my question isn’t necessarily how I specifically can balance my schedule as I know I’ll need to figure that out, but I’m looking for tips that are universal or specific. Thanks!
@vkugal Its all a part of being a college student! You’ll figure it out on your own, as harsh as that may sound. Everyone has different ideas of what a “heavy” and what a "light schedule entails and what is a “hard” and what is an “easy” course.
I remember my freshman year when everyone told me that Organic Chemistry and Calculus were horrible classes and that is was rare for freshmen to get A’s in those classes. My advisor encouraged me to take them anyways first semester, and in the end my lowest grade that semester ended up being my First Year Writing class. Similarly, last semester I took Biochemistry and Physical Chemistry at the same time, but my lowest grade ended up being in a humanities seminar that was considered “easy” by a lot of students. Moral of the story is that you’ll figure out what works best for you in the end! I figured out that for me, I can handle a lot of science classes a lot better than having a humanities based class in my schedule.
Listen to the advice of others for classes and scheduling, but take it with a grain of salt and keep in mind where your comfort zone is.
@yikesyikesyikes I am a native speaker of the Lebanese dialect and I can kind of read (meaning it takes me 15 minutes to read simple paragraph with many, many mistakes, and I don’t understand what I’m reading completely). Arabic 101 will teach me Classical Arabic which is used in reading and writing, and between Arabs from different regions.
To sum up, yes and no. I won’t struggle with the sounds, letters, and some of the conjugations, but I certainly don’t qualify as a speaker of Classical Arabic.
I think you’ll be fine with that under your belt. Those classes are designed to challenge people who have zero experience in a language. This is really all about where your strengths are. What are your experiences like with biology, especially cell biology? I took 172 and hated it and barely passed. I had very little experience in biology and frankly, I’m happy I just got the credit for it. But if you have a comfortable biology background, or really like the subject, that’s not going to be a tough class for you. Chem 130 is a fairly easy class for most people, and most everyone I know gets an A or B in a first year seminar. Those just require some extra thinking and a little effort in and out of class.
All in all, I think you’ll be fine, especially if you are comfortable in bio. I’m not saying it’s impossible if you don’t have a lot of experience in biology (trust me, there was a LOT I could’ve done to do far better in that class) but it will take a lot of time and effort.
This is college, and you’ll be fine with what you’ve got. Take advantages of those breaks in between classes - review notes, finish up some homework, pray, whatever you can think of that’s productive - and just try to have a good time. It’s so stressful and so challenging, but sometimes you just have to take a step back and enjoy where you’re at and what you’re doing. Don’t be afraid to go out and do something fun on the weekends, or even on a weeknight sometimes. Don’t try to get enough sleep - you never will. Just get the sleep you need to function properly the next day. Caffeine is your friend no matter what any one says.
My best advice for you is this: eat well and exercise. I know, crazy. It has nothing to do with the freshman 15. I never ever got enough sleep and I always had like two cups of coffee in the morning, but I felt energized and well throughout the day and was happy and healthy because I ate well and went to the CCRB two or three times a week when I could squeeze it in. You’ll feel so much better when you’re eating a balanced meal for every meal instead of cereal for breakfast and a hamburger for lunch and pizza for dinner. You’ll naturally have a lot more energy, even if you aren’t getting the sleep we need. Get excercise whenever you have the chance - whether it’s lifting weights or running a couple miles, even just going for a walk (walking to class doesn’t count, I’m talking about the type of walk where you just walk and don’t think about anything school-related), or playing basketball is going to be a great stress reliever and good for your overall health if you’re not getting enough sleep. I’d also suggest taking a multivitamin supplement, as I started doing that second semester (19 and still taking Flinstone’s gummies, that’s me) and I managed to stay away from colds and coughs and runny noses and even the dreaded norovirus all winter. I didn’t pull that off first semester, and I really think that could’ve been part of the reason why.
Sorry for the essay! Didn’t realize how long this was until I finished typing it.
@agriffith Thank you so much for your advice! I took 3 years of bio in high school, two of those years being in higher level IB (basically AP but with more writing and labs). Bio is a potential major. I’d say I’m comfortable, but I know that in college what we covered in a week will be covered in a lecture or two with more detail, so I’m ready to study hard and often. I looked at 171, but I really hated the evolution and the environment in high school, but absolutely loved microbiology.
You’ll be fine in 172 then! I knew like the very very basics of cell biology going into that class (not even that much, sometimes), and I came out alive, just barely. It’ll still take some extra effort and they do move quickly but if you’re really into it it can be a really enjoyable class!