As I finish my first semester at UMD, I have noticed many different ways that college life has been both different and similar to what I expected upon arriving roughly 3 months ago. One of the first things I noticed specifically was the nature of my classes. I knew that leaving high school and coming into college would be a large change and that I would have to manage my time while taking advantage of my new found independence. However, I did not anticipate just how much free time I would have and how easy it would be to lose track of my time and mismanage my schedule. I found it very difficult to manage my studying, homework, and freetime in the first few weeks at school. I also had to approach my classes in an entirely new way compared to high school. Instructors that teach hundreds of students simply don't have the time to cater to each individual student's every need, and I eventually realized that it was up to me to advocate for myself and control the way I learned and studied material in and outside of class. Something I did expect was the amount of work I would be expected to do outside of the class including homeworks and post-labs.
Regarding CPSG there were many things in class that I did not expect, especially what to expect of a scholars program class. I was surprised that it felt very similar to my other classes in that there were a series of lectures delivered and work assigned each week. I also didn't expect the variety of the material we covered in class. Not only did we talk about the changing climate past and present and how this affects humans and the natural world, but we also covered climate history and even some social inequality. This was very interesting and surprising and I am glad that we had time to explore some of the more nuanced information regarding global climate change and science. I was also pleasantly surprised by the excursion trips offered to us. I was glad to have an excuse to travel into D.C. and explore the natural history museum and the other cultural museums on the National Mall. I think what has surprised me most about this class is actually affecting me at this very moment. I did not expect, in any way, this class's emphasis on an online portfolio, based on html, created by each student. Before this class I had no experience and had never touched any code at all so the learning exprience has been unexpected with some ups and downs. However, looking back on the semester and forward to the next, I am glad that I was exposed to the skill in at least some small degree. I am looking forward to developing the skill further.
So far, life as a university student has been very similar to what I imagined it would be like in high school. I have been getting used to the amount of free time and freedom I have, and that has been both a good and bad thing. Managing my time effectively has been harder than I imagined and I have to change some of my habits regarding school work before the start of the second semester. I think in high school I thought that college would be relatively more isolating than it actually is. I believed that I would be totally cut off from help and that I would have to figure everything out myself, but the opposite is actually true. I have found that I am actually relying on others to help me through this process and the fact that I can get help when I need it is reassuring. Looking back on the first semester, it was an overall good first experience of college.
The advice I would give a future SGC student to ease them into college life would be that they have the most control over their own education and that it is up to them to advocate for themself. This looks like going to all their classes, sitting up front or at least asking questions and engaging with their professors. If they need help going to office hours or tutoring sessions. One of the main problems I had was managing my time so that I could do stuff outside of class with my friends while maintaining my grades. Setting up a planner that keeps track of your assignments is a good way to combat this problem. Building good studying and note taking habits is another good way to ensure that they are getting the most out of their lectures. This might be going over the notes after class, or what I sometimes did was watch the lecture recording after the class was over to get all the information I may have missed. Something that helped me outside of class was taking time to relax and be with friends. I think taking time away from classes often actually keeps you fresh and stops burnout. Just because you are living on the campus doesn't mean you are going to school 24/7 which is something I had to get used to in the first couple of weeks. Overall, as long as new students make use of the support structures built into the university the process of easing into college life should be exciting and rewarding.