A little back ground information of my personal experience: I have just graduated and have been reflecting over the last five and a half years of my time at college. I started my undergraduate in Architecture. The summer before my second year I changed my major to Landscape Architecture (L.A.). During the first two summers I was in college I went to a community college to get direction and to transfer classes/credits over to make my semesters less intense. I got my bachelors in L.A. in spring of 2012 and then in the fall continued with my masters.
Here are a few key things that I wish I would have known earlier.
1) I’ve t.a.ed a few classes, so these are some things I had to deal with weekly and things that all students should do or at least be aware of. (yes this is my PSA) :
-Put your NAME and the CLASS NAME and NUMBER and THE ASSIGNMENT NAME on your item that you’re turning in. If you’re electronically turning it in, use those for the title of the documents you’re submitting. Trust me, when the teacher has 50+ students and only 12 did this, you can bet they will be in a bad mood viewing, downloading, grading and keeping track of everything. This is also extremely helpful to keep your personal copies organized.
-Be respectful of your professor and / or t.a.’s. They grade your work. No it’s not ethical to grade a student down because they bad mouthed you or what have you. But don’t you think if you were in a bad mood that you would grade in a harsher manner?
-Grading papers and assignments takes time. Most professors have 2-3 classes sometimes more. If we’re going conservatively here, let’s say there’s 20 people in each class. That’s 40-60 papers/assignments to grade, catalog and return. For larger classes, you can do the math.
2) Don't believe everything your teacher says. You should approach every class with curiosity but not a blind eye. Don’t take everything for face value either. The teacher or book may be wrong or not up to date. They may be trying to convince you to see things their way, they may not. (Your personal ethics and morals may tie into this.) Most of my teachers didn’t push their own private beliefs or wants for your project or life but some do. In some design or creativity centered classes teachers do this to push your creativity and sometimes teachers are just set in their ways. Just be wary and don't take information at face value. (I learned this through two philosophy classes, one I hated and one I loved.)
3) Don’t take it personally if a teacher doesn’t like you. Even if it is for a personal reason. It’s alright to not agree, it’s not alright to belittle people. This should work both ways, but sadly sometimes it’s a one way street. I’ve had a few teachers that filled this niche. (I’ve also come to know that this can happen anywhere.) What I learned to do and how I dealt with it:
-Smile and smile often.
-Be polite regardless
-Ask short to the point questions
-When answering do the same. Explain/reply fully and concisely.
-Understand their reasoning of why they don’t like you / pick on you and understand that some people just may not like you and that’s ok.
4) Figure out your own schedule or flow for getting work done. Everyone is different and it may take you some time to figure out works best for you. I’ve worked in my room, at studio, at the library and friends’ houses. Depending on the project, for me at least, location seemed to dictate my ability to focus and work properly. I almost always prefer a silent room. If that cannot be obtained, headphones are my new best friend and I listen to music that has a good tempo that isn’t too distracting. Taking breaks from working is highly helpful. Just walking around the building or around a few buildings will clear your head a little and allow you to focus more when you return. Having downtime away from your work will make your ending products better. My various downtime actives have been; youtube, netflix, painting, embroidery, walking, taking pictures, working out, yoga, cooking and reading to name a few.
5) Try to eat healthy or at least try to balance. Add healthy foods to meals or as snacks. Junk food is fast and cheap, maybe. But so are carrots, cheese and crackers. Numerous vegetables and healthier foods are just as cheap. Buy them in smaller quantities so you will eat or use them before they expire. I usually have some kind of nut or nut mix in my desk and have at least carrots and pretzels. Mix fruit juices were a life saver for me as well. Vitamin C is extremely helpful in crowded class rooms during flu season. I also recommend to limit your caffeine intake. I used to drink blue mountain dew and eat skittles all night long to finish architecture projects. And yes, my projects would get done, but my body took the beating for it. Try alternating between a glass of soda or tea or coffee and water, back and forth. It will help keep you hydrated and cut down on spending.
6) It’s ok to change your major and your mind. College is an education place. If you learn that you don’t like something, figure out how to address it calmly and rationally and then proceed forward. I changed from Architecture to Landscape Architecture (L.A.) after my first year. It just wasn’t working for me. I’m very grateful I figured out what I didn’t like about it and what I did and it lead me to L.A.
7) Remember the reason why you’re at college. It’s ok to feel down and exhausted, that will happen. Try to keep the end goal, whatever yours is, in sight. It is worth it, whatever it is. And you’ll probably find that you’re stronger than you thought you were. Just keep trying.
8) You can change your adviser. They are assigned to you when you at random when you start but you can change them. This is set up so that your adviser (or major professor) can be someone that you get along with or that they share an interest in the degree in which you want to take your degree, time there and your life.
9) Presenting is nerve racking. And can be even with practice. But it is made much easier with lots of practice. If you can practice, even by yourself, it will help with flow, sentence structure, word choice and range of items that you are presenting when the time actually comes. One thing that I still do before presenting is that I take a few slow deep breaths before I start. It calms down the nerves and clears and focuses the brain a bit. But the most important thing I can say about presenting is this: Always introduce yourself and your presentation. Even if they all know who you are, it’s an excellent professional habit to form.
There’s many more things, but these are things I wish someone who had been in college recently or was in college would have told me when I started. I hope this helps or at least gets your thoughts going.
Also;
Jenn Im’s video from clothes encounters video is a great summary of useful insight to college found here.
P.S. I feel like this is turning into a college blog.. I swear it won’t be.
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