My first semester at UMD was somewhat different from what I expected. One of the main differences between high school and college is that college gives students greater autonomy. A benefit of college is the ability to choose what classes to take and what time to take them. This allows you to have more flexibility in your schedule, which I definitely appreciated. Also, the number of lectures/meetings per course was fewer than in high school. This can be a benefit in some ways, but it meant that I had to study more course material on my own in order to stay on track. The class sizes also varied a lot. Some classes had a relatively small number of students, similar to high school. Other courses had many more students, such as one to two hundred in a lecture section. Courses with many students generally have multiple smaller discussion sections, which were led by a TA, allowed for more personalized instruction, and provided time to ask for help.
I expected that courses I would be taking would be challenging, and they definitely were. As a mathematics major, I decided to take MATH340, which focused on proofs and covered a large amount of content(Linear Algebra and Calculus III) in a relatively short amount of time. My computer science class consisted of coding projects and exams that were more difficult than I had anticipated. Oftentimes homework assignment problems from these two classes would take a long time to resolve. My English class was similar to what I expected, with many writing assignments, including a large research project toward the end. I did not expect to enjoy taking English, although I do believe that it teaches students important skills. As my final course, I decided to take philosophy because I thought it would be interesting, and I had no idea what to expect. The class involved many readings from various historical philosophers. I was satisfied with the class overall, as I was able to learn about various philosophical problems and the arguments relating to them.
As for Science and Global Change, there were many topics covered. Some of the topics covered were ones I expected, such as the principles of science, scientific methods, logical fallacies, and the effects of climate change. There were other topics covered that I did not predict, however, such as pseudoscience, which was a very interesting topic that is important in order to understand how to properly think like a scientist. Other topics include geology and the history of climate change, and it is now clear that they are relevant to the class. By studying the history of the Earth and past human societies, we can better understand the importance of climate. We also learned about using HTML to make our own websites, which may be a useful skill in the future. In later classes, I expect to learn more about the possible solutions to climate change. There were also activities outside of class, such as Service Day at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, which was very tedious, but we did get a lot of work done. The trip to DC was a fun one, as I was able to visit and explore the museums there.
College life was more or less the same as what I had expected. There are many things to do in college that keep your schedule occupied, such as attending class, studying, working, eating, and participating in other activities(e.g. clubs). Managing time well is important to being a successful student. Staying motivated is probably the biggest challenge that I had to face, due to the difficulty of my courses. However, there are many improvements in college when compared to high school. The food in the dining halls is also much better than that of high school cafeterias. There are a countless number of clubs at UMD and I have joined a few. The number of different clubs practically guarantees that there is a club that you are interested in. Clubs allow you to meet new people, relax, and have fun once in a while.
Some advice I would give to future students would be to stay organized and be proactive in your classes. If possible, study and do assignments for class earlier. This will give you a sense of control and prevent you from feeling overloaded. You should also keep your sleep schedule consistent in order to have the energy to perform well on your assignments. Managing your time well will ensure that you will have a good college life.