Excluding CPSG100, all of my classes were expected of University courses. In all of my classes, there were very little "free points" that we would receive in high school. Instead the majority of the grading consisted of big essays, exams, and projects. Homework was not that common and only counted for a very small proportion of my grade. Disregarding the fact that classes were online, the lecture format was also as I expected with professors talking for long periods of time during class. However, regarding asynchronous lectures, I had mixed feelings. On one hand, we were able to speed up, slow down, and rewatch the lectures. However, on the other hand there was very little interaction between the professor and I. If I wanted to ask a quesiton, I had to make a Piazza post or email my professors. Knowing that classes were most likely going to be virtual and not in person, the overall class experience was expected. That being said, I would prefer if classes were in person. In person classes would lead to more interaction between studenst as well as professors. Additionally, it would be a lot easier to meet new people.
In CPSG100, the biggest thing I did not expect was talking about science so much. Even though the scholars program is titled 'Science and Global Change', I thought that we would cover topics relating the two topics and how science causes global change. That being said, I think that it is important to learn about science as a whole. One thing that we haven't really discussed in CPSG100 yet is how we on an individual basis can help improve the environment. The outside-of-classroom activities that we were supposed to do ended up being very underwhelming. Since everything was done virtually, attending different events such as presentations and volunteering activities were not as expected. Instead of listening to a presentation or a speech in person, the experience was very different virtually.
Since I did not live on campus this semester, my expectation of University life was very different from what I perceived it to be. In fact, my first semester 'University' life was very similar to my virtual learning in the last half of high school. Since I perceived college to be a very independent experience, my first semester was definately not how I thought it was going to be living under my parent's roof. Additionally, I had very little interaction with my peers and instructors. Overall, this first semester just did not feel like the college experience everyone talks about.
An advice I would give to future SGC students would be to not procrastinate. I know this is very cliche but it is still very true. If you just finish your work early, it relieves a big portion of stress. Additionally, with all of your assignments out of the way, you can focus on doing things that you would rather do. Especially if University is in person next year, it would be more beneficial to get all of your school work out of the way and then do the things you would like to do. Additionally, I think students should try to take advantage of office hours more. Going to office hours builds a better connection with your professors and allows you to clarify/learn more about the topics you are learning. Finally, I think it is important to have a balanced schedule. This can mean not taking too many difficult classes in one semester. Additionally, the time of classes is very important as well. If you are not a morning person, try to avoid early classes.