Going into college, I expected things to be fairly difficult. I was preparing myself for difficult courses and the inevitable probability of failing exams and spending hours studying material I barely understood. What I didn’t expect was how much support I would have. I’ve found that there are many ways to get help with the more difficult courses, such as calculus. I utilized many of these resources and enlisted the help of many of my math-minded friends to teach me concepts that didn’t quite click during class. I also found that while some classes may have incredibly difficult content, others are significantly easier. Not all classes require papers or exams, and most professors are incredibly understanding when a lot is going on within the community.
I was worried it would be difficult for me to find a successful routine when it came to studying and I wasn’t entirely sure how I would fair on exams. In high school, the term “exam” typically referred to state testing or AP tests, exams took several hours and were incredibly difficult. The midterms I took throughout my first semester weren’t that bad. I felt that I understood a lot of the material and I found efficient ways to study for different types of classes. I also discovered that one bad exam grade isn’t the end of the world since a lot of professors have weighting systems that can accommodate the fact that students aren’t perfect all of the time. Similarly, I was shocked by how few essays or papers I had to write. Of course, this is something that varies from class to class and can depend on the content. I didn’t take any English or History courses this semester, which likely explains this. However, the things I did need to write: lab reports and research papers, weren’t as time-consuming or soul-crushing as I expected them to be.
On the complete other end of the spectrum, I had two courses that contained a major group work component. I discovered how frustrating it is to be part of a group where my teammates don’t pull their weight and produce mediocre work. However, I also discovered how enjoyable group assignments or presentations can be when everyone is equally invested and excited about the content. I had an extremely positive experience with one of my groups where we produced a research paper discussing vegetative barriers and buffer zones. It was refreshing to work as an effective team. Ultimately, I had a much more positive experience in my courses than I initially expected.
However, in CPSG100, I didn’t expect to learn about the five great extinctions and climate change as it occurred before human beings. It was incredibly interesting to learn about since that was certainly never something taught in basic-level science classes throughout high school. I’ve learned to value the importance of those aspects of history to have a better understanding of what climate change looks like now. I’ve only ever learned about it in the context of carbon emissions and anthropogenic actions leading to greenhouse gases. I’m grateful to be able to put our modern-day climate into perspective with the greater history of our planet. Similarly, I found it very valuable to use the excursions as a deeper learning experience. I really appreciated learning more about the evolution of animals and how they interacted with the climate they experienced at the time. It made the topics even easier to understand and conceptualize. I expected to learn more about climate change as we know it in the now, which I presume is something we’ll discuss in the future. For now, it’s really cool to have a background on the subject and a foundation to go off of.
I didn't come into college with many expectations regarding University Life. I think I expected to bond with the people on my floor a little bit more than I have. The first week I met many of my friends and these are the people have I come to know and spend most of my time with. I’m living in Centreville this first year, so I do frequently see and interact with people in Science and Global Change. However, there are very few people on my floor in SGC (only about 3 of us), so it hasn’t been the experience I expected regarding meeting people in my scholars program. Despite that, I have still connected with a lot of people in SGC and I’ve begun to make some good friendships. I have found that meeting new people is a really easy thing to do and I’m very grateful to be surrounded by so many open minded people.
My advice for future SGC students is to take advantage of excursions as opportunities to make friends and learn more from Holtz and Merck. In regards to classes, it’s very valuable to develop time management skills. I have found keeping an agenda an effective way for me to keep track of the things I need to do. It’s also okay to take time off from doing school work and to enjoy life. There are so many opportunities on campus and a lot of really great people to meet. Yes, coursework is important and when you have a final you absolutely should spend time studying for it. However, it’s also important to make the most of your college experience and to develop friendships and support systems on campus. If you’re a STEM major, it’s particularly helpful to befriend someone who’s good at calculus and chemistry.