- Joined
- Apr 12, 2005
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Did you guys enjoy your time as an undergrad?
I'm finishing up my 3rd year, and I must say that I enjoyed my time here. I've been able to keep my grades up (3.69 gpa), full-time work (~ 30-35 hrs a week), be in a fraternity (leadership position), and party. ( I could graduate this year, but I am going to stay 4 years to space out my classes as I have a lot of responsibilities )
here's some advice for the younger crowd from my personal experience :
- you don't ALWAYS have to be studying, but ATTEND LECTURE. take some time to relax. make use of your school's tutoring programs for classes like bio, ochem, etc. to keep on top of your work
- you DON'T HAVE TO BE A BIO MAJOR, CHOOSE A MAJOR YOU ENJOY. I'm a psychology major, and I must say I am so glad I changed my major out of bio as soon as I started undergrad. I only have to take the pre-med requirements rather than taking a whole bunch of bio classes.
- if you're in a quarter system, take classes OUT OF SEQUENCE. I found this out accidentally my freshman year when I didn't take chemistry in the fall. I ended up starting chemistry in the winter (and finishing up the sequence in the summer). why? the professors are usually way more chill. the curve is awesome
as you're competing against the people who are behind or have failed before
- BALANCE your work and play. If you told yourself you would study for 3 hours today and didn't, punish yourself by not going to that party. DON'T BURN yourself out.
- make use of www.ratemyprofessors.com < I used this site before enrolling in any class (when I could)\
- make a STUDY PLAN and STICK to it. for me, I used a "4 day plan" for organic chemistry (after guaging the difficulty of the class/how much I've learned so far), where I did pretty much all my studying 4 days before the exam. I followed my plan religiously and did well in the class.
- sometimes you will need to DROP THAT CLASS you're doing poorly in (make sure it won't show on your transcript - there are deadlines). I've dropped numerous classes throughout undergrad when I did poorly on the first exam / quizzes.
- MOTIVATE YOURSELF. Imagine yourself a few years down the line when all this studying will payoff.
I could see how people my think my lifestyle as a pre-med undergrad is pretty "liberal." But honestly, the way I see it, you're in college only ONCE, make the most of it WHILE handling your work.
Some of these are obvious, but I put them up anyways.
I'm finishing up my 3rd year, and I must say that I enjoyed my time here. I've been able to keep my grades up (3.69 gpa), full-time work (~ 30-35 hrs a week), be in a fraternity (leadership position), and party. ( I could graduate this year, but I am going to stay 4 years to space out my classes as I have a lot of responsibilities )
here's some advice for the younger crowd from my personal experience :
- you don't ALWAYS have to be studying, but ATTEND LECTURE. take some time to relax. make use of your school's tutoring programs for classes like bio, ochem, etc. to keep on top of your work
- you DON'T HAVE TO BE A BIO MAJOR, CHOOSE A MAJOR YOU ENJOY. I'm a psychology major, and I must say I am so glad I changed my major out of bio as soon as I started undergrad. I only have to take the pre-med requirements rather than taking a whole bunch of bio classes.
- if you're in a quarter system, take classes OUT OF SEQUENCE. I found this out accidentally my freshman year when I didn't take chemistry in the fall. I ended up starting chemistry in the winter (and finishing up the sequence in the summer). why? the professors are usually way more chill. the curve is awesome
as you're competing against the people who are behind or have failed before- BALANCE your work and play. If you told yourself you would study for 3 hours today and didn't, punish yourself by not going to that party. DON'T BURN yourself out.
- make use of www.ratemyprofessors.com < I used this site before enrolling in any class (when I could)\
- make a STUDY PLAN and STICK to it. for me, I used a "4 day plan" for organic chemistry (after guaging the difficulty of the class/how much I've learned so far), where I did pretty much all my studying 4 days before the exam. I followed my plan religiously and did well in the class.
- sometimes you will need to DROP THAT CLASS you're doing poorly in (make sure it won't show on your transcript - there are deadlines). I've dropped numerous classes throughout undergrad when I did poorly on the first exam / quizzes.
- MOTIVATE YOURSELF. Imagine yourself a few years down the line when all this studying will payoff.
I could see how people my think my lifestyle as a pre-med undergrad is pretty "liberal." But honestly, the way I see it, you're in college only ONCE, make the most of it WHILE handling your work.
Some of these are obvious, but I put them up anyways.
