Leaving for College!

Zer0 · 09-13-2012, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

I have no idea how anyone else is doing, or how they can possibly manage the work load. I don't really have anybody to ask about it, and my professors seem to have no sympathy.

I'm not retarded; I read and comprehend at better than average speeds, but I can't seem to get on top of the avalanche of reading they ask us to do.

If everyone else in the class is having the same difficulty as you, and more than likely they are, then it's really a case of getting together as a group and telling the lecturers. They're bound to listen more. Also if your class has a class rep he/she should try and do something about it too. It's all about standing your ground a little bit.

Engine · 09-13-2012, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

There just isn't time. We're expected to read a textbook chapter every week (3/5 have multiple texts from which to read chapters), which takes about 3 or 4 hours per book, then I need to do the notes on it, then answer the text questions, and on top of that there's a heap of internet-work they want us to do and the odd assignment.

I'm quickly becoming very bitter about my education, because so far it seems I'm paying thousands of dollars to learn everything on my own time; the lectures have provided me nothing in terms of knowledge that I didn't learn at home sitting with the text.

Here is where you're going wrong. Don't read everything they tell you. First, figure out what you don't need to read (you'll have to sit through the lectures anyway, right?) and ignore that. What you do need to read, just skim. Perfect the art of reading beginnings and endings of paragraphs, or even beginnings and endings of entire chapters. Learn to rely on indexes to find important information. Bam.. You have just cut out 9-12 hours of work per week.

This is unfortunately how higher education works. Also, unless you plan to do graduate or post-grad school, then don't even worry about your grades. Just get the degree move on to a better job. Or quit school and do menial work forever (which is not necessarily a bad choice, it's your preference).

PS - You definitely are paying to learn on your own time. And it will only get worse, but easier. If you enjoy learning, I suggest you stay with it. If you're bored then quit.

anticipation · 09-13-2012, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Engine

Here is where you're going wrong. Don't read everything they tell you. First, figure out what you don't need to read (you'll have to sit through the lectures anyway, right?) and ignore that. What you do need to read, just skim. Perfect the art of reading beginnings and endings of paragraphs, or even beginnings and endings of entire chapters. Learn to rely on indexes to find important information. Bam.. You have just cut out 9-12 hours of work per week.

This is unfortunately how higher education works. Also, unless you plan to do graduate or post-grad school, then don't even worry about your grades. Just get the degree move on to a better job. Or quit school and do menial work forever (which is not necessarily a bad choice, it's your preference).

This.

Basically, either learn to read critically or find people who have more time to do the work and then borrow their notes come test time. I can't envision a worse schedule than what I and one of my roommates worked through for 2+ years of college. 18 credits and a 65 hour work week, with 6AM classes 4 days out of the week and a third shift that frequently got off at 3AM. And the classes were 2 day drops, meaning if you missed 2 days you were dropped from the class and had to retake it on your own dime, usually on Saturdays for 12 hours (6AM-6PM). It can be done, so just do it.

Burning Down · 09-13-2012, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Engine

Here is where you're going wrong. Don't read everything they tell you. First, figure out what you don't need to read (you'll have to sit through the lectures anyway, right?) and ignore that. What you do need to read, just skim. Perfect the art of reading beginnings and endings of paragraphs, or even beginnings and endings of entire chapters. Learn to rely on indexes to find important information. Bam.. You have just cut out 9-12 hours of work per week.

YES! Reading every last thing is a waste of time because they will talk about it in the lecture, generally. Speed reading is one of the most valuable skills I have learned and put to use in university, as well as thinking critically about what I just read. And if you really need to answer the questions printed in the textbook because you're getting marked for doing so, then do them (obviously!) But if questions from the text are not assigned or only "recommended", then don't waste your time on them during the semester. I only refer to those questions around exam time, generally, as a study aid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Engine

This is unfortunately how higher education works. Also, unless you plan to do graduate or post-grad school, then don't even worry about your grades. Just get the degree move on to a better job. Or quit school and do menial work forever (which is not necessarily a bad choice, it's your preference).

Yeah, grades are no big deal in the big picture to be honest. My uncle is a successful stockbroker in Toronto, who had C's and D's for most of his undergrad years. But he got his degree, then a Masters, and his employers really cared about was the degree... not that he might have had to take Calculus twice, lol.

YorkeDaddy · 09-14-2012, 05:17 AM

Well, grades can KIND OF matter. I mean, if two people are interviewing for the same position and are both equally likable and have the same degree, but one graduated Magna C*m Laude (it's hilarious that the middle word is censored) and the other didn't...it's not hard to tell who's going to get the job.

Burning Down · 09-14-2012, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YorkeDaddy

Well, grades can KIND OF matter. I mean, if two people are interviewing for the same position and are both equally likable and have the same degree, but one graduated Magna C*m Laude (it's hilarious that the middle word is censored) and the other didn't...it's not hard to tell who's going to get the job.

Oh I think it's different here, we don't have any of those Latin distinctions. There's basically just "graduated with honours" (which usually just means the degree that you got was an honours Bachelor's degree) or just "graduated" (with a regular old degree). Some programs don't even have honours degrees! But of course, the person with the better degree might get hired first, only because they have the better degree. Getting the honours degree doesn't mean you got better grades than the person with the regular degree - it just means you passed all the courses you needed to pass, and employers honestly aren't going to be completely nit-picky over the fact that you may have gotten a D in History (for example). If they are, then it's probably not a good place to work.

I'm not saying that grades don't matter AT ALL - of course they do - but in the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal. So freaking out just because you didn't get straight A's is a waste of time and mental energy.

Paedantic Basterd · 09-14-2012, 08:57 AM

I guess I'll know better what I can get away with after the first round of tests. If it's literally just lecture content, then I can probably lay off.

Honestly, I love the subject matter, and I want to know it, and if there were 30 hours in a day I would sit and read it all without complaint. The time constraints are just rough. I'd be interested to know my peers' habits. I'm under the impression that they are not doing near the amount of work.

Engine · 09-14-2012, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YorkeDaddy

Well, grades can KIND OF matter. I mean, if two people are interviewing for the same position and are both equally likable and have the same degree, but one graduated Magna C*m Laude (it's hilarious that the middle word is censored) and the other didn't...it's not hard to tell who's going to get the job.

Hm.. I think it's still hard to tell even under those circumstances. Having a good enough resume to get the interview in the first place is the hurdle. And it's unlikely that 2 people who are EXACTLY the same in every way except for grades will land interviews for the same job. One is going to be more likable, have better interviewing skills, know somebody, have a more relevant skill set, or just seem like a better fit for the position. Grades may never even be considered by whomever makes the final hiring decision. That said, of course good grades make a better resume.

Freebase Dali · 09-14-2012, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Engine

Hm.. I think it's still hard to tell even under those circumstances. Having a good enough resume to get the interview in the first place is the hurdle. And it's unlikely that 2 people who are EXACTLY the same in every way except for grades will land interviews for the same job. One is going to be more likable, have better interviewing skills, know somebody, have a more relevant skill set, or just seem like a better fit for the position. Grades may never even be considered by whomever makes the final hiring decision. That said, of course good grades make a better resume.

This.
In most fields, employers are looking for experience, which trumps pretty much anything else, assuming the basic educational requirements are met (which are also often replaceable with experience).
But, in an entry-level, fresh out of college job, where two resume's are pitted against each other, the GPA part might play a part, along with personality and communication skills.

I put my GPA on my resume' just in case, along with honor society memberships, even though I know it doesn't matter in the face of my experience, but I don't think a 3.98 looks bad on any resume'. (It's funny, because I thought my GPA was 3.75 until recently when I looked at my official transcript including both my technical courses and general education courses, and no matter how much I didn't think it was relevant, I still changed my resume' to reflect it. Can't hurt!)

In any regard, I'd say that anything that can help is worth putting on a resume'. But refrain from putting irrelevant sh*t on there, like your first job cutting grass or something like that. Unless, of course, you're trying to get a grass-cutting gig...

YorkeDaddy · 07-12-2013, 10:11 PM

Pretty much an update for this thread:

first year of college went smooth. didn't make a ton of friends because i'm a loner, but i did fine. partied, got decent enough grades, etc.

I'm still with the same girl that I mentioned in the first post. Going on 3 years. We'll be living together next year.

My only real worry at this point in my life is about money (my job pays absolutely nothing, rent is about $600 a month...I don't really know how we'll do it). But anyway, we'll figure it out.

So there's that.

09-14-2012, 05:17 AM	#55 (permalink)
YorkeDaddy silky smooth Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Pangaea Posts: 4,079	Well, grades can KIND OF matter. I mean, if two people are interviewing for the same position and are both equally likable and have the same degree, but one graduated Magna C*m Laude (it's hilarious that the middle word is censored) and the other didn't...it's not hard to tell who's going to get the job.

09-14-2012, 08:57 AM	#57 (permalink)
Paedantic Basterd Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 5,184	I guess I'll know better what I can get away with after the first round of tests. If it's literally just lecture content, then I can probably lay off. Honestly, I love the subject matter, and I want to know it, and if there were 30 hours in a day I would sit and read it all without complaint. The time constraints are just rough. I'd be interested to know my peers' habits. I'm under the impression that they are not doing near the amount of work.