As my freshman year concludes, I look back at the courses that have surprised me the most. For starters, the AP classes I took were way different than the actual college level course. For example, I took a government class this Spring and the format of the class was a lot different. I expected the class to be pretty exam heavy, but only a midterm and final as the only exams surprised me the most. Of course there were other parts of the class that made up the grade, but I was surprised at how my professor emphasized the exams. The biggest change was there was barely any homework, but I guess that is to be expected, as most college courses do not require the traditional homework that one would do in high school. Most of the courses I took were found by searching up the equivalent course on testudo, or just by searching through the department on testudo. Due to covid, I could not really develop a strong relationship with most faculty, as most of the time I was one of hundreds of students in a zoom call with the professor. The closest thing would have to be asking questions during class or office hours. For the classes I did have a smaller class size, my oral communication and engineering class, I was able to ask better questions and develop a further relationship with my professor by talking to them after class. I recommend if you are truly interested in a class, whether it be for a major or other reason, try to talk to your professor after class and poke his brain a little. I did this with my engineering professor and I truly began to enjoy the class and him more because he was willing to give detailed explanations about the different disciplines of engineering. He also gave me guidance on what major to choose, and I believe I might have chosen the wrong major had I not asked. Building relationships with your peers is crucial and helps you adjust much easier, as everyone is also trying to adjust. The greatest obstacle might just be your willingness to meet new people, as if you are that introvert type, it will be hard to make new friends and adjust. Next year’s freshman might want to make the most out of the first week or so when they arrive on campus, because that is the best opportunity to create the relationships that will last a while. As time progresses, friend groups form and it becomes harder to create those long lasting friendships. To be completely honest, I was the least prepared to have to walk everywhere. I definitely knew I had to, it never really became a main issue until I actually had to walk everywhere. Not being the most in shape person, I often was sweating or out of breath walking to the diner or across campus. It is definitely a good way to get daily exercise in, but to those who can and want to, purchasing a bike is probably a worth investment if you do not enjoy walking everywhere. My freshman year was full of surprises as I began a new chapter of my life.
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