The Nature of My Classes:
This semester I am taking The Aerospace Engineering Profession, Mechanics 1, Calculus II, General Chemistry for Engineers, and Academic Writing. Before coming to college I thought since the University of Maryland is a large school, my classes would only consist of crowded lectures and I would not receive that much individual attention. This could not be farther from the truth. The discussion section in The Aerospace Engineering Profession, Mechanics 1, Calculus II, General Chemistry for Engineers are similar to the size of my high school classes and in this time I can ask questions and receive feedback on my work. My only class that does not have a discussion is Academic Writing, but the class size is around 20 people, so I get a lot of individual attention. The grading structure is somewhat similar to what I had in mind. I thought the exams would be the majority of my grades and this has been true so far. Although, I expected professors to curve most of the exams, but as of now nothing has been curved. In addition, I definitely underestimated the importance of a good professor. When I registered for classes during orientation I felt rushed and did not take the time to look at professors. A couple weeks before school started, I heard about PlanetTerp and found out my chemistry and math professor did not have the greatest reviews. My discussions were very helpful for math but not chemistry. Since I had only taken an accelerated version of chemistry my sophomore year of high school during covid, I basically went in with no experience. It was too late to change it because other classes had filled up, so I figured I would be able to study the content on my own. Since it is a really accelerated course which involved a lot of complex thinking, it was very difficult. The professor said topics I had never heard of should be reviewed and never fully explained anything.
CPSG 100:
In Science and Global Change, I was surprised by some of the topics we covered. This includes scientific thinking, pseudoscience, scientific reports, and fallacies. At first I was confused, since I thought the colloquium would only be discussing climate change, but after completing them I saw why they were included. Knowing how science operates allows me to discern information that is not factual from those that are. Learning about fallacies allows me to engage in a productive argument about issues. Understanding a scientific paper, allows me to correctly research information. Now that a base was established, we were able to correctly understand the evidence presented in favor of climate change. Aside from the colloquium, I thoroughly enjoyed the excursions. Even though service day was challenging, it was rewarding to see the impact we made on the gardens. I had never been on the metro before and think it is beneficial that I learned how it works. I went on the American Museum of Natural History trip and found it really interesting. I never understood how dinosaurs fit into the evolution of life, and enjoyed learning about them.
Life as a University Student:
This year I am living in Centerville Hall. When I was in high school I based my idea of college off of movies. They always depicted dorms with doors open and everyone on the floor hanging out with each other. At least for me this was not the case. Although everyone is very friendly, the people on my floor keep to themselves more. Since I am someone who needs time to themselves to recharge, this worked out perfectly for me. Also, I was told I would have ample free time to do work and things I enjoy since classes were not as long as they were in high school. I started the semester going to soccer and football games with friends, but after a couple weeks my free time almost disappeared. I would spend entire days just working to complete a single assignment, which would leave little time for me to study for exams let alone go to events. I am hoping is it just the courses I had to take this semester, but it could also just be my major.
Advice for Future SGC Students:
Some advice I would give to future SGC students to ease them into college life, is to create relationships early. Make sure you go out of your way to talk to those around you even if you do not see them becoming a close friend. You never know when you’ll be in a situation where you need a partner in a class where you do not know anyone or need some help on homeworks. Service day is a great time to get to know everyone around you. The work is a way to break the ice over something other than small talk. I would also tell them to organize their time. If you have assignments due in a week, start it then and do not procrastinate. If you do, you might find yourself racing to understand something at 11:50 when the assignment is due at 12:00. Most importantly, recognize your human and make mistakes. College can be stressful and it is important to not get caught up in failures. Take a second to learn from it and keep moving.