The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about how my expectations compared with the reality of my first semester of college, is how much more independent I feel than I did in highschool. I figured college would be like highschool but slightly harder. While this has been true in a broad sense, it does not fully convey the differences. One of the main things that I have noticed is that it is 100 percent up to me to show up to class, learn the material and get the work done. I feel as though I could have gone the whole semester without attending class or doing work and might not get noticed until grades came out. I sense that this might be exaggerated during Covid-19, but I expect it will remain mostly true even as we return to in person classes.
Another difference that I have noticed between my classes this semester and my classes in highschool is that in college, my classes are more about making me think and teaching me skills than they are about memorizing facts and spitting them back. While this may be specific to the classes that I am taking this semester, I think and hope it will continue to be that way throughout my college experience. One example is math class. In highschool, we had to learn how to solve specific equations under specific conditions and be able to repeat that for homeworks and exams. This semester however, I feel as though there is more of a focus on math theory rather than just calculations. It is not a complete surprise to encounter a question on an exam that I have not seen before and be expected to apply what I have learned and solve it the best I can. This holds true for most of my classes from English 101 to computer science.
My expectations for the content of CPSG101 were similar to what we covered in class. I expected to learn about climate change and have enjoyed doing that throughout the course. I did not expect to learn about logical fallacies. This does however, further the point that in college we are taught not only information but also how to think and apply that information. I also did not expect to learn as much as we did with html and css. It is cool that I created my own website and feel as though I could do it on my own if I ever wanted to do it again.
One thing that I expected to learn more about in this class is the science of climate change. While we covered it on a broad scale, I might have liked to dive deeper into the science. I am generally fascinated by science and the way the world works so there is never enough science in my opinion. I was also slightly disappointed with the out of class activities. I believe this is due to the fact that they were all virtual. The in-person activities all sound very excited so it is too bad that I did not get to participate in those.
In general, I did not know what my daily college routine would look like. One of the things that I have learned is that the most important skill in college is time management. Since most of the day is spent outside of class, it becomes a big challenge to get all of my work done without wasting the day with friends or getting distracted by Netflix. Another thing that was unexpected, was how much free time I have. I expected to be quite busy with classes and try to get my work done outside of class time, but instead I find myself busy with homework, trying to make it to class.
Based on my experience this semester, I think I have a better understanding of what is helpful to know before coming to college. Like I said above, I think one of the most important things to keep in mind is how to manage and structure each day. It is easy to fall behind on work and it can pile up quickly. The best thing to do is stay on top of work as it is assigned. I have found it very helpful to make todo lists to keep me on track and help me remember what I have to get done. Another piece of advice is to stay motivated. It is easy to get behind on work, forget to submit things, or not put great effort into assignments. It is often tempting to slack off in favor of hanging out with friends. So my advice would be to do what you can to stay motivated and on top of things or you will likely regret it later. At the same time however, sometimes you need a break in order to be most productive. So the trick is knowing when to take a break so that you can balance productive work time with more time with friends and having fun.