I are a collage gradge-yooate

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Flatlander
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I are a collage gradge-yooate

Post by Flatlander »

I turned in my final CAD project today. Pending receipt of my final grades and diploma, I'm done with my AS in Drafting and Design! :D
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Post by DCrazy »

How many gigs? I want one... :P
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Post by Scorch »

nerd :wink: I was supposed to graduate in May but I need 10 more credits so I'm back to be a super senior for a semester! Congrats!
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Post by CDN_Merlin »

Congrats. I know how it feels.
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Post by Flatlander »

Thanks guys! :)
si vis pacem, para bellum
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Post by Battlebot »

heh, just starting college....any tips?
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Post by Flatlander »

Battlebot wrote:heh, just starting college....any tips?
Well, other than the obvious (study, don't procrastinate, do your homework, ask questions, etc.), the only think I can think of is make sure you get any paperwork (registering, etc.) done ASAP - and (other than registering for classes) try to not do it at the beginning of a semester when things are busy.
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Post by Burlyman »

Flatlander wrote:
Battlebot wrote:heh, just starting college....any tips?
Well, other than the obvious (study, don't procrastinate, do your homework, ask questions, etc.), the only think I can think of is make sure you get any paperwork (registering, etc.) done ASAP - and (other than registering for classes) try to not do it at the beginning of a semester when things are busy.
Yeah, that's basically what I was going to say. Study means read all of the material you have. Read all the material that exists, i.e., the books you don't have. Read every page of your textbooks. Be proactive. Read books that aren't your class textbooks. If your teacher sucks, learn the material for yourself. It's the only way you're going to squeeze an A out of him.

Do your homework means finish all of it before doing anything else. Make sacrifices...if you can't play video games because you have to study, then don't play video games. Besides...you can always play after you finish, right? Sometimes you will have to study literally all day and then go to bed and get up and repeat. If that's what it takes, then do it. "Whatever it takes" ...just like the Lone Gunmen said. So make sure you like what you're doing. Be on time for class and attend every lecture.

If you're taking a course that you don't like, the teacher will ask you for BS. If that's what he wants, then give him BS. Use your skillz to do all of his assignments the way he taught you to, even if they're boring. I hope that helps. :)

Oh, I almost forgot. Make sure you think about what you want to do in life and what you want to study. Ask yourself, "what is my destiny?" And obviously you want to choose something that will let you get a job when you get out. lol
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Post by Topher »

- Don't buy text books until you're sure you're going to need them. Some professors just assign reading but never test on it. The Internet is your friend.
- If you're in class with people you know, share buying the books if you need them. And always get them used, they'll be pretty much useless after the class, no matter how much you think \"I'll read this later in life, it'll be a good resource!\". Check Amazon.com and eBay and other places (just be wary of delivery times).
- Don't read every single page of reading. Professors will sometimes assign ungodly amounts of reading, unless your a student of law, you're not going to be tested one every single bit. They'll talk about what's important the next day in class. Then you can ask questions about what they just talked about to sounds like you did do the reading.
- Find out which professors give reading quizzes and avoid classes with them. Find the \"good\" (read easy) professors and take them instead.
- Under no circumstances should you raise your hand.
- If you have to leave, get up in the middle of class and leave.
- It's not a crime to skip class, in highschool you get detention and no girls will ever date you if do it. But in college it's the opposite, you're paying for class so you can decide when you want to go.
- Never settle for a teachers grading if you think it's BS. Always always always argue your points. Again, you're paying them.
- If the class is big enough and easy enough the professor won't have time to pay attention to everyone so do homework for later classes then.
- Avoid classes on Saturday and those that start before 10 AM (or ideally noon) like the plague.
- Don't EVER take a class that isn't necessary towards your degree. If you have no room for any other needed class then just don't take one, your other classes will suffer because of it.
- Conversly, don't take \"easy\" semesters of less than 16 credits, you do want to graduate at some point.
- Don't be that guy who asks questions just to sound smart.
- Don't brag about your awesome grade even though you never went to class or bought the book. In college everyone else around you is failing, if you're the one smart guy everyone will loathe you.
- Get a meal plan the corresponds to the amount of money you put into it. As a freshman you'll probably be stuck with the \"20 meals at one diner\" plan, but usually there are better plans like \"1200 college monies to spend anywhere\".
- Shower. Always.
- Relax.
- Exercise, chicks don't dig the \"freshman\" 15 folks.
- Party! You spend more time outside of class than in it in college, spend every other moment having fun (you're doing homework in class remember?).
- Don't fail. Graduating college is the all important end goal, when it comes to choosing between women, booze or graduating, graduate (then you get women and booze, guarenteed).
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Post by Scorch »

I definitely second the \"Don't buy textbooks unless you know you absolutely need them.\" I took me 4 semester ad about 1600 bucks before I realized that. I used one textbook extensively in my entire college career, and that was for a silly Spanish class that I took for fun.

I was never much of a scholar, so I'll just say don't be shy, talk to a lot of people, don't be afraid to try new things, and have fun!
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Post by Foil »

Burlyman wrote:...
Read every page of your textbooks.
...
Topher wrote:...
- Don't read every single page of reading.
...
:lol:

It depends on the class, the instructor, and your grasp of the material. In some classes, skimming and memorizing the "testable" stuff was enough for me, but in other classes I had to really delve into the text.

Seriously, though, the stuff those two guys said is right on the money. College is completely different from high school in that your motivation is entirely up to you; there's generally no one pushing you to get to class, study, and maintain that healthy work/fun balance.
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Post by Immortal Lobster »

you guys missed a very important point

Always, always, ALWAYS agree with the prof. I recently broke this cardinal rule, I wrote a paper, and i wrote what I thought the book meant, nooo, this isnt what my prof thought the book meant, gramatically the paper was one of the best ive written, just one typo, which I blatently missed, (damn j00 spell checker!!!) and thats a feat for an engineering student, I got a C, becuase he didnt agree with my conclusion.

If your teacher is liberal, you voice liberal views, conservative, then conservative views. you may be paying him, but hes giving you your grade, and it comes down to his woord against yours.

Check this important note, depending on your major, make sure before you graduate, that you dont qualify for any minors, many engineers here at AU graduate, and dont realize theyre only one math class away from getting a minor in math, and like 3 classes from a minor in science, when i graduate in 3 years, I plan to exploit both of those minors.

and hers another point missed, dont be afraid to be a super senior, Im starting my second senior year, and as I mentioned, I still have a minimum of three years in the road before me, and thats if I plow through 18hours a semester

but, the best point, have fun!
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Post by roid »

Topher wrote:- Don't EVER take a class that isn't necessary towards your degree. If you have no room for any other needed class then just don't take one, your other classes will suffer because of it.
i disagree. Tons of people change to more enjoyable (ie: more personally suitable) degrees while in UNI. So it's a good thing to increase awareness of what you're missing out on - you may just find your um... 'destiny'. (cheesy i know)
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Post by Lothar »

What do you want to get out of college?

If your goal is to get a degree, then do what Topher suggested -- take only the classes you need, take the \"easy\" classes when you can, and do the minimum amount of work required to get whatever minimum grade you need in order for the class to count toward your degree.

If your goal is to learn stuff, then take classes about stuff you want to learn, and read as much as you can about those topics. Get into a degree program that you want to really understand, and then delve into whatever you can to understand it -- even if it's not going to be on the test. (IMO, the most important thing to end college with is enough competence in your field that you can learn whatever else you need to know from reading. Getting practice by reading through textbooks while you're learning the core material will set you up well.)

Some things that haven't been brought up:

- many universities, frats, etc. have tutoring resources. Find them and use them. If someone is willing to give up their time to teach you FOR FREE, then take their time.

- find people to study with. Try to find a group where people have different strengths and weaknesses -- so that sometimes they can fill you in on things you don't get, and sometimes you can fill them in. One way to learn is by teaching, and if you're teaching someone else and having to think about their questions, you're likely to learn the topic better. (This is one of the main reasons I debate here -- if I have to think about a topic and answer people's questions, I'm going to learn it better than if I'm just reading about it.)

- figure out living arrangements, finances, and paperwork early. You don't want to be busy filling stuff out or trying to get moved in on the first day of class.
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Post by Top Wop »

Congrats man!

I will be transfering to the university this fall.
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Post by Dedman »

Burlyman wrote:Study means read all of the material you have. Read all the material that exists, i.e., the books you don't have. Read every page of your textbooks.
I disagree. If you are going into engineering I think it is a bad idea to read your textbooks. Treat them as reference material. There is way too much information to absorb. Pay attention in class, take good notes, ask a BOATLOAD of questions and find someone you trust to study with. And by that I mean study, don’t talk about the latest box scores.

Other than that, I agree with everything that Burlyman said.
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Post by aldel »

Dedman wrote:
Burlyman wrote:Study means read all of the material you have. Read all the material that exists, i.e., the books you don't have. Read every page of your textbooks.
I disagree. If you are going into engineering I think it is a bad idea to read your textbooks. Treat them as reference material. There is way too much information to absorb. Pay attention in class, take good notes, ask a BOATLOAD of questions and find someone you trust to study with. And by that I mean study, don’t talk about the latest box scores.
I would never have had time to read every word of my textbooks, but textbooks were my main way of learning. I'm just better at learning from books than from lectures. You have to do what works for you.

My main advice is: be healthy. If possible, do your own cooking, or take turns with friends. If you have a choice of dorms, choose the one with the best kitchens. Get enough sleep and as much exercise as possible.
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Post by snoopy »

I think basically that studying takes different forms for different types of studies. Anything technical/mathematical in nature I would recommend doing lots of problem, and using your book as a reference to figure out how to do them. Anything literary/historical in nature I'd recommend doing as much reading as possible to absorb the information. Either way, keep things balanced- too often people focus on just one thing, and leave the rest behind. Try to achieve a balance.
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Post by Battlebot »

yeah im really glad i know excatly what i wanna do....so im majoring in mechanical engineering.

thanks for the advice
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