Fall 2024 - Spring 2025 Semesters at UMD
2024-2025
Coming to the University of Maryland from high school was a pretty big change. I knew that college would be more difficult than high school of course but did not know to what extent. Not all classes are the same, some are harder than others just like any school. For me, I struggled in Chem and Calc II my first semester. In Chem, the way the professor taught was hard for me because I pretty much had to learn by myself all the time. In Calc, I was used to smaller math classes where I could talk with the teacher, but in college you are in a big lecture hall with hundreds of people and don’t have that one on one time. Some of the ways I got through this challenge was by expanding my studying habits, watching videos online, and asking questions in my discussion classes.
In my experience I haven’t made many faculty relationships. During my fall semester I did work with the balloon payload program where I met one of the engineering professors and worked with her. In my communications class, it was smaller so I was able to get to know the teacher more and talk with her. The big challenge in developing relationships is the big classes. Since University of Maryland is a giant school, classes aren’t small which makes it harder to get to know professors and make connections. Some ways to get around this are to attend office hours with your professor or to join clubs that a professor might be in charge of so you can get to know them outside of class. Since I am from Maryland, I knew a good amount of people from my high school and in the area that were coming to the University. This helped me adjust a lot to college and made it easier for me to cope. I know many people don’t have this option which is why I would say to really get out there in your first week at college. This is something I regret not doing, but I would say go talk to people on your floor, get to know them, go to the big hangout spots like La Plata beach and meet people, and join clubs. After the first couple weeks, I would say a lot of people make their friend groups and stick to them which makes it harder to meet new people later on. Academic life in college is definitely different from high school. For one I would say classes especially for an engineering major are going to be a lot harder which means you are always gonna get an A in every class. Some people think it's the end of the world but they need to just remember that everyone has a hard time in those classes and it is not the end of the world if you don’t have an A. Another part I would say was that you aren’t always going to be the smartest person in the room. Some people like being one of the smartest people in the room, but in college it's not always the case. To address this issue, I would recommend just working hard in your classes but also focus on creating a well-rounded resume with academic clubs and other aspects that make a good candidate.