Guest Ska Band Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 Hey everyone, I'm starting my undergrad at UBC this sept and I'm gonna take 1st year Bio, Chem, Phys, Math, and English. With all the talk about how tough university is, what is the real trick to doing well in undergrad courses? What kind of skills do I have to develop from High School to get REALLY GOOD grades during my undergrad? Can anyone give me some of their experiences when entering undergrad from high school, and what you would fix\or not fix if you had the chance to do your undergrad again. Thanks a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clinicalchief Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 If I was to do first year again, I would not take b,c,p,m and english! Four labs a week plus everything else was just too much. My grades did suffer, not because I wasn't capable, but because the work load was so much that I wouldn't have had any life outside of school. The chem, phys and math I did were the advanced-type courses though, I'm not sure if your situation is the same... I would suggest taking one or two easy electives or liberal arts courses. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest me Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 My advice is that attitude is everything. Go into your courses with the attitude that you're going to get 90's in everything, at all costs, and you will. In many first year courses, they do try to give you quizzes and things at the beginning that are worth less of your final mark. If you do badly on those, make sure you assess why you're doing badly, and make the changes you need to make. If that means hiring a tutor, do it. If that means dropping courses, do it. Don't get discouraged because people seem smarter, don't get discouraged by a few bad grades, just keep your attitude up and you'll do great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Fox Rox Posted June 3, 2002 Report Share Posted June 3, 2002 Hey Ska Band, Well the trick is very simple - do courses that you like, courses that you are interested in, courses that you want to do. Dont spend too much time worrying about what other peoples opinions are about how difficult the course is, or how bad the professors are. If you like the course you will do well. I myself was doing 6 courses a semester during most of my undergrad, often 5 of which were science courses most of which had labs. In the last year (my third year), one of my courses was my honors thesis, of which I put about 30 hours a week in the lab. I managed, cause I liked what I was doing, and so will you. Despite all this, my social life did not suffer too much. That is the other trick. Dont obsess over your studies, and about getting into medical school, it really is not worth it, and it could infact hurt your chances of getting in. Obsessig often makes people pretend to be someone they are not, and the adcom ca often notice this. So do what you are interested in and have fun. Dont take courses just cause they will help you get a higher GPA. 4 years of your life is a long time to waste. You will regret it if you do. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest prodsteter Posted June 5, 2002 Report Share Posted June 5, 2002 Hey, The best trick is to never procastinate. keep reminding yourself not to and you will be amazed how easy college is. Studying 20 min a day for 2 weeks for an exam will make you so much more comfortable in the class than 2 days etc... you get the idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest candybits Posted June 5, 2002 Report Share Posted June 5, 2002 I absolutely agree with prodsteter... I was indeed the queen of procrastination until I smartened up and decided to study ahead, whether it'd be a small quiz or a final exam. Studying is just like physically training for a marathon, for example. You need to be in good condition for the big event, and this can only come from training on a regular basis. So don't let yourself fall behind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Fox Rox Posted June 5, 2002 Report Share Posted June 5, 2002 I suppose never procrastinate is good advice, but it really depends on the person. I got through my whole undergrad by doing nothing but procrastination. I work well under pressure. Infact I cant remember studying earlier than the night or two before any of my exams. I think I did fine, finished my undergrad in 3 years and got into medical school. Many of my friends also did really well, although they are procrastinators. I realize this might not work for everyone, but it does work for some people. I used to berate myself for my 'poor study' habits, but now I have just come to accept 'my way' of studying. So to each unto their own ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Liana Posted June 8, 2002 Report Share Posted June 8, 2002 Whether or not you bow to procrastination is a personal decision. For me, I try to do my best to avoid it, since it's my major barrier to ultimate academic success and happiness. I've found that, if I try to play first, then work later, the whole time I'm trying to enjoy myself on the computer, with friends, or wherever, I'm feeling guilty about not doing work. When I actually sit down to do the work, I feel resentful to myself for being in a bad mood after supposedly enjoying myself and having made no progress for it. On the other hand, if I make some progress first, and then enjoy myself, I'm much more willing to relax, and get more happiness out of the activity as a result. Some tools that may or may not work for you: establish a defined study area (eg, a table with no computer on it, facing a blank wall) and try to free yourself of diversions. "Multi-tasking" by doing your homework while checking your email extends the amount of time it takes you to check your mail without actually increasing the amount of time you spend doing work. Some people benefit from setting specific times in which they will study, not necessarily by writing up a pre-defined schedule (which usually fails within the first week), but by trying to work on labs in the afternoon and making notes in the morning before class, or making sure to have dinner at a regular hour to maintain some sort of momentum. The other tip I would recommend is to make sure you take at least one class that you think you will be personally interested in each semester. Try to mix up classes with different teaching/learning styles (eg, courses that are purely memorization with more theoretical courses) together in a semester, if possible. The other important tool is to use the people resources available to you. Find a group of people who are in your class; talk to your TA and your prof regularly. If you don't understand a concept when it is taught in class, don't wait until exam time to figure it out - ask the prof right after class. If you make contact with your profs early in the semester, not only will you be less reluctant to visit them to ask questions (whether regarding your understanding of the material or questions that go beyond the scope of the course), but you may even develop relationships that will help you find letters of reference when it comes time to apply to med school or for summer jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest yo20 Posted June 11, 2002 Report Share Posted June 11, 2002 what exactly is so hard about university anyways? is it the tough tests? is it the aptmosphere? is it the competition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ExDent Posted June 11, 2002 Report Share Posted June 11, 2002 It is the volume of information. In lower years, it's simple. You can cram. But try cramming for a fourth year biochemistry exam. You will not do well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest therealcrackers Posted June 12, 2002 Report Share Posted June 12, 2002 "Treat studying like a part time job". It was a line in the presentation we gave to high school students during Rural Week after the first year of Western Meds, and it makes a heck of a lot of sense. If you're seeing material for the first time just before an exam, you might have a lot more difficulty recognizing any kind of application of that material when it counts for marks. If you've seen it even one extra time, you might twig to some related material you've seen somewhere else that would make it a) easier to remember easier to apply! And part is very important for upper-year classes. I wholeheartedly agree with the other post'ers here---pick something you like, and then the "job" becomes more interesting and more fun. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Liana Posted June 14, 2002 Report Share Posted June 14, 2002 Yeah, it's totally the amount of stuff you need to learn that makes a university course harder. In high school, we had regular homework assignments, projects, and monthly tests, with final exams worth maybe 30-50%. Theoretically, you should have a good understanding of the course for the test (which can be reasonably gained the night or two nights before the test). In university, it's most common to have one midterm and a final, and maybe a portion of your mark comes from lab work or assignments that emphasize more your understanding of relevant applications and research activities rather than focusing on the actual course material you'll be tested on. Midterms and finals are usually worth 30-70%, sometimes more. Except, you don't have the small tests and quizzes along the way to help you understand what you're learning. A full course load consists of 5 courses a semester, unlike 4 which are generally taken in high school. You spend less time in class (usually 3 hours of lecture a week per class in university; whereas in a semestered high school you spend 6.25 hours), and professors often don't teach you everything you need to know - they expect you to read up on things and teach yourself things that haven't even been mentioned in class. Plus, the semester is much shorter than in high school -most university classes run for 12 or 13 weeks, whereas the high school semester is about 16-17 weeks. Also, the nature of the material you learn is more heavily theoretical. For example, high school math classes generally involve learning a particular model of solving a problem, and then applying that to different situations. On the other hand, university math courses require independent thought and a compilation of all of your prior math knowledge to solve every individual question. In a way, if you consider the difference in the level of complexity between your OAC/grade 12 courses and grade 9 courses, you sort of get the picture. Grade nine was a lot more axiomatic than the senior level courses, which were a lot more theoretical. University courses are by no means unmanageable; most students make mistakes by not realizing soon enough how much independence is involved (ie, no one will ask you if you've kept up with the readings, or understand the concepts until midterms roll around in October), or by not making use of the valuable resources offered by professors, TAs and tutors. Asking questions is your best tool for success, and you may even develop some connections (which help to find lab jobs and get references) by doing so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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