DMU First Year

[MarquetteGuy]

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Hi,
Could any DMU students take me through a day in the life of a first year student? I will be attending DMU this coming fall, and I'm curious as to how many hours you're in class, how much you study, and how much free time you get everyday? I'm just trying to get a feel for what to expect. Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

This is tough b/c it depends on how you study. Not get discouraged if you don't have a ton of success right away. You need to find you knack.

Personally, my first year was:

8-12 class
12-4 study
4 go home

Others need more time to study. My advice is: be nice to the 2nd/3rd years and get advice from everyone. Sometimes the best advice comes from the people who aren't at the top of there class. Those at the top of the class probably don't know why they are there. Those who struggled have a better idea of what went wrong. When you get here next year, I'll be happy to help where I can. I am a tutor for the 1st years this year, so I might be able to help.

I'll be eager to see how some of my colleagues respond.

 

[MarquetteGuy]

This is tough b/c it depends on how you study. Not get discouraged if you don't have a ton of success right away. You need to find you knack.

Personally, my first year was:

8-12 class
12-4 study
4 go home

Others need more time to study. My advice is: be nice to the 2nd/3rd years and get advice from everyone. Sometimes the best advice comes from the people who aren't at the top of there class. Those at the top of the class probably don't know why they are there. Those who struggled have a better idea of what went wrong. When you get here next year, I'll be happy to help where I can. I am a tutor for the 1st years this year, so I might be able to help.

I'll be eager to see how some of my colleagues respond.

Thank you very much for your reply. That information/advice helps out greatly in getting some type of an idea as for what to expect next year, thanks. (I look forward to hearing your colleagues' responses too).

 

[jonwill]

I don't really remember my first year. A few years later, it is now just a blur of bubble sheets and little sleep Feelgood is right, for every person it is different. Monday through Friday I would work out at 6am, class was usually always from 8-12 and sometimes we had classes/labs in the afternoon. Regardless, I stayed until 5-6pm or so and then went home to eat with my family. Sometimes, I'd go back and study for a few more hours depending on what was going on. I studied all day saturdays and took sundays off. I will say that, for most people, it is an awful lot of work. The first years' now are looking pretty beat down and they still have 3 months to go! It's not so much the difficulty of the material but the VOLUME. The simple answer is that you just have to be willing to do whatever it takes (which will be a lot).

 

[gustydoc]

I think that the biggest mistake first year students make at DMU is assuming they will be able to succeed with the same study habits they had in undergrad. For me, success in undergrad didn't require a great deal of effort, but the amount of info your are expected to retain at DMU can be a bit staggering. Sometimes you can get by with an 8-5 day, but it I think the majority of first year students put in a lot more time than that. I'm sure you'll do great and if you ever start to feel overwhelmed the upperclassmen are usually happy to help out or offer advice. The students who have already been through it are your best resource. Good luck.

 

[IlizaRob]

To tell you the truth, I never took anatomy, phys, micro, biochem, etc. in undergrad so the first year was pretty tough for me. I went to school at 6am, worked out, classes from 8-12, lab from 1-3 (not everyday) and study till 6. I would go home for an hour or two and then come back until about 10-11 depending on the workload. The first year was tough for me but with a lot of studying, I got through it. Others would study half as much and do better so it all depends on how well you can retain info. I never studied in undergrad and did fine. There is no way I could pull that off here at DMU. Just be prepared to work. Good luck.

 

[discusdan]

I usually get to the school at 6am to workout. Classes usually from 8-12 and sometimes labs in the afternoon. Study until 6-7 pm and then I go home to spend time with my wife and child. The two nights before tests I usually stay until 10pm. It is a lot of work. I put in 12-16 hour days at school. I usually study on Saturdays and I take Sunday off.

 

[whiskers]

"Personally, my first year was:

8-12 class
12-4 study
4 go home"

No wonder!!!!!!! Those kids are so smart! They're given Time to study! Lol!

Check out those 1st and 2nd year schedules applicants!!!!!!

LET THIS BE approximately YOUR STANDARD FOR THE SCHEDULE!!!!!

Consider the risks to your time of study by being in class until after 5pm!

It's your education and in my opinion, you should EXPECT that the school would respect YOU and your NEED to learn this stuff well.

Plus, how do you think you are going to compete in knowledge against students who had from noon on to....

STUDY and more importantly.....LEARN!?

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

"Personally, my first year was:

8-12 class
12-4 study
4 go home"

No wonder!!!!!!! Those kids are so smart! They're given Time to study! Lol!

Check out those 1st and 2nd year schedules applicants!!!!!!

LET THIS BE approximately YOUR STANDARD FOR THE SCHEDULE!!!!!

Consider the risks to your time of study by being in class until after 5pm!

It's your education and in my opinion, you should EXPECT that the school would respect YOU and your NEED to learn this stuff well.

Plus, how do you think you are going to compete in knowledge against students who had from noon on to....

STUDY and more importantly.....LEARN!?

Whiskers, from my understanding, you are a first year and I would be eager to compare your grades to mine. As for the duration of study/class time we go through at CPMS in the first year, my comments reflect my ability to grasp the material. If it takes you all night to understand your basic sciences, that is your business.

Either A) your mad b/c you are an average student who spends all day studying but falls short of others who spend less time studying, or B) you just don't get it. How could our school’s board scores be a reflection of our classroom time? If you are in class until 5 and then you study the night away, your school should be at the top not CPMS.

 

[N4658H]

This is tough b/c it depends on how you study. Not get discouraged if you don't have a ton of success right away. You need to find you knack.

Personally, my first year was:

8-12 class
12-4 study
4 go home

Others need more time to study. My advice is: be nice to the 2nd/3rd years and get advice from everyone. Sometimes the best advice comes from the people who aren't at the top of there class. Those at the top of the class probably don't know why they are there. Those who struggled have a better idea of what went wrong. When you get here next year, I'll be happy to help where I can. I am a tutor for the 1st years this year, so I might be able to help.

I have a question about tutoring and old exams. What is the best way to get connected with a tutor before classes start and is there a fee? Are old exams available in the bookstore or are they obtained from old students? I think the bookstore was mentioned during my interview.
Thanks a lot

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

Tutors are available through student services. I'm a tutor in every class except Microbiology but I still help out in that. Tutoring service is free to all students.

As for the old tests, people get those from other students or notepool. I personally have never used them. I'm not a big fan. Some professors you need them b/c they ask ?s that they never addressed but the rest of the time it is better to study hard. If that is something you'd like to have though you can ask a 2nd year next year during your orientation.