Courses in college actually feel easier than courses I took in high school. In high school, I was an absolute nerd, so I took so many difficult classes and had my course load maxed out. However, coming into college, I feel like the classes are quite easier with generally less content in each class. This might be due to the fact that most homeworks are optional, so I had less exposure to concepts that I understood right off the back, but it still feels like less work to do.
What I’ve noticed about college is the amount of free time you have to do stuff outside of classes. I was expecting a very busy daily schedule this semester, but my screen time ended up skyrocketing since I had so much time. I’m hoping I can get a job and start participating in more major-related clubs in this free time to give me an advantage when I graduate.
A big shock for me is the weight of quizzes and tests in many classes, often amounting up ton 80% of the class grade. Sure, the lowest grade is often dropped in every class, but I feel bad for the people who are able to understand concepts fine but have trouble with taking tests themselves.
CPSG100 was quite a curveball for me. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect coming into this course, so seeing stuff like HTML completely took me off guard. I knew this course was gonna talk about climate change in a way (it’s literally in the name), which did happen and in the way I was expecting. I also knew this course was gonna talk about science and how science works, but I wasn’t expecting to spend so much into this topic. I was expecting a quick overview of ideas like falsifiable hypotheses, but concepts like logical fallacies were unexpected from me. HTML was also something I was completely not expecting. In a world where there are at least a thousand ways to make a website NOT from scratch, I was not expecting to have to code one from scratch. As for work, it was about what I was expecting. Since this is a 1 credit class, I wasn’t expecting that much work to come out. Instead, I was expecting a few chapters here and there and a discussion here and there. Although there was definitely more reading/ discussions than I was expecting, the work I was expecting and the work we had to do lined up quite well.
One thing that is different, though, is my sleep schedule. Since the gym is always packed until 10-11 pm, I've been working out late and coming home late. Since all my classes start late, it kinda works out for me, but I would never expect to see myself going to sleep after midnight like every day. I wish there was a place I could go that wasn’t as crowded so I could go earlier, sleep earlier, and enjoy the mornings more. I’m hoping next school year I could find an apartment with a gym so I don’t have to fight over the chest press machine every single time I try to use it.
If I had any advice to new SGC students, it’s to be the opposite of nonchalant. So many people come into college expecting social life to be like in high school where clout and fame were all the craze; in college, nobody actually cares. Go on those side quests, try out for those stupid clubs, do what you think you’ll enjoy. You don’t have to keep up with trends, you don’t have to look cool. College is the time to grow, to find new hobbies, to expand your career trajectory, to enjoy yourself. Don’t let others dictate who you are since at the end of the day, you’re the only one who actually cares. Just make wise choices, don’t get drunk, don’t get into more debt, stay out of trouble. Everything else should be considered as “free game.”