Due Date: December 9, 2024
The structure of my classes I generally expected from university courses coming into Maryland. Although I knew there would be more flexibility, they are a lot more independent than I imagined. There are various study groups and support systems but you have to be responsible for tackling your tasks and keeping up with your coursework. There's also less graded assignments in order to help boost your grades. Most major classes consist of big exams or essays that create a lot more pressure to do well and thus creates a more demanding environment. The delivery is also very fast paced and since there is so much content on each exam, its immensely important to stay caught up. Its also expected to be reviewing content on our own as we are learning it, and to even learn some additional content on our own. It can be difficult to multitask various homework assignments, studying, and doing activities outside of the classroom. However, it is manageable and it gets easier throughout the semester. Overall, the classes and the environment match what I thought college would be like, but the level of independence and self-management is definitely tougher than I expected. When it came down to selecting a scholars program, I was intrigued with CPSG100 because learning about climate change and the changes our environment goes through fascinates me immensely. Although the majority of the program we learned about climate change, we also covered a lot of material that I didn't expect, such as scientific thinking, how to create webpages and learn a bit about coding, and analyzing uncertainty. I was also surprised by the amount of field trips we were offered and how much hands-on learning we received. I enjoyed attending various different museums and learning more broader types of science compared to just learning selectively biology or chemistry, and being able to do hikes in the trails and appreciate the beauty in our world. Doing tasks like this allowed me to learn more about different ways science is infused in our world, and got me more engaged and excited compared to doing labs or assignments in class(which of course we do as well). Overall it made the class feel more meaningful and exciting compared to just a regular, boring lecture course. As an out of state student, University is definitely a big adjustment and different compared to what I previously envisioned before coming here. I expected to have more free time, and wouldn't feel as stressed about work due to switching from 8 hour school days to different lengths of class time a day. Although with the rigorous coursework there's not much free time during the week and a majority of time spent during the week is on studying or working out in order to stay sane. Only on the weekends there is free time to relax and hang out with friends, but even then you have to spend a lot of time working and keeping up with the coursework. Although, this is different for everyone and depends on the classes people take and their major coming in. It is different in the sense that you are able to manage your own schedule and you can decide what outside clubs you want to participate in and how to structure your time. Despite the never-ending work, there is always time to socialize, whether it's getting dinner with friends, forming study groups, or simply just hanging out with friends. There are also plenty of fun events on campus and many opportunities to meet new people. I like feeling more like an adult in college and being able to balance an academic and social lifestyle. The best advice I could give to future SGC students is to stay organized right from the beginning and to not fall behind on any tasks but rather to always be ahead of your tasks. It's very easy to fall behind because there's always something to do or because it's hard to balance so much work at once. But it's crucial to stay on top of everything in order to not struggle and be stressed out later on. I would also recommend funding a mentor and to attend guided study sessions, office hours, or even ask your TAs or teachers for help whenever you need it. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and levels of experience, so don't feel as if you are behind in any way because at the end of the day you all ended up at the same place! I would also recommend getting involved in things that you are passionate about in order to meet new people and also just to help you destress when you need to. But don't overwhelm yourself with everything because you are human too and having good mental health is important in order to succeed and keep moving forward. Everyone adjusts differently, so while it might be hard, try not to compare yourself to others.