So, I was reading a few newspapers (that’s nothing new, I read about 5 a day)- and over the course of a day or two, the same article appeared in a few of them. I tried looking up the person who provided the advice, and was stymied in my quest to reach her. Nevertheless, her advice to kids about to enter college needs to be repeated far and wide. I’m guessing you didn’t read it- or didn’t get one of the papers where it was published, so I’m sharing her words of wisdom here.
- “Avoid drinking and video games. Those two habits combined with being away from home can be very distracting.” Hmm. Back in my day, it would have been card playing. Not that I paid attention to this rule, because there were many a day when I would have been engaged playing pinochle or bridge for five or six hours. Drinking was a far less frequent dalliance- except for our fraternity’s monthly parties. But, I can guarantee you that I would have benefited from avoiding the card table- or, in today’s parlance, video game terminals.
- “Don’t underestimate the time it takes to do well in math. There is a lot of self-teaching. The professor goes over the concept and presents a simple example, but the real learning comes when the student has to figure out the homework. . . . Do the problem again and again until it is really understood so when the test comes and there is a variation in the problem, it is immediately recognized.” Now, I never really had an issue with math. Oh, sure, I engaged a tutor when the university decided that I should take some pretty advanced classes, for which I lacked the prerequisites. And, I still get ticked off when a math textbook says “solution left as an exercise for the reader”. [Yes, they really do say that!} I also recall many of my fellow students failed to see that it was not just math- but our Chem E classes, our engineering introductions (we took at least two courses in every engineering curriculum)- where the professors provided complete instruction for a single class of problems and expected us to discern how to extend that class to the full gamut of situations in the chapter. Those that didn’t, either dropped out of Chem E (about 2/3 of those initial matriculating) or switched majors to a less intense program. (Chem E was- and is- among the most difficult of the engineering disciplines.)
- “Do EVERY homework problem, even the ungraded ones.” This is about the very best advice that someone ever gave me. I’ll be darned to recall who. But, having attempted each problem- those assigned, those not assigned but in the texts- and compared my results to the solutions in my fraternity’s library [or, failing that, what the professor would provide when asked]- made the difference in my learning experiences.
- “Realize that many exams are too long to complete in the time given. Get stuck on a question and you’re sunk. Practice doing the easy ones first, then going back to the harder ones.” This is a rule I learned before I even entered junior high school. But, I generally was quick enough to be able to go back and complete the program. Except for those first take home exams at MIT, where it seemed that I was the only one limiting myself to the one hour limit- and could not finish all the questions. Thankfully, we had an in-class exam- and only one person finished that one- me.
- “Go to office hours for every professor, early on, whether you need help or not. When you DO need help, it’s not the first time going. . . . It’s a great way to develop relationships, so when an internship requires a recommendation, you have someone to ask.” This is a great idea that I used only for the professors that I thought had something to offer me. I probably should have included a few others in my routine, but I didn’t. And, that recommendation thing- it really does work. Moreover, “experiential learning”- that extra stuff one can do [research projects, internships, and the like] helps amplify the ability to master the subject matter.
- “Don’t be so fast to drop a class at the first bombed exam. Students panic. Go to office hours and understand why the grade was low. . . . One bad test doesn’t mean you will not pass the class.” I won’t respond to this until we get to Ms. Rosenthal’s next recommendation.
- “Don’t miss the withdrawal date if there really is a disaster.” It is really hard to know when is the right time to switch or to drop. I agree that one exam isn’t the right criteria. But, knowing when to throw in the towel- to switch majors, to drop a course, to realize that this new venture is not going to make it (at least not this time)… that involves both experience and a little luck. But, dropping a course for which your best hope is to earn a D is the smart move- BEFORE the drop dead date.
- “Don’t buy into ‘Cs get degrees.’ They do NOT get internships. Some Cs are fine, but aim higher.” I go beyond this recommendation. C’s don’t really get degrees. Many curricula (like Chem E) don’t let you earn a C and get to the next level. A C+ is the bottom rung of that ladder. So, at least to me, aiming for a B- is the lowest aspiration. But, truthfully, why not the A?
- “Remember that the semester is finite. Sometimes you have to skip something to focus on studies.” Ah, this realization is what happened around UN Day for most of my first term classes. Or, the ides of March for the second term. This is when even the occasional card game, the movie during the week became off-limits. Because projects have long time antecedents and they just can’t be crunched in at the last minute.
- “Be prepared for week 4 of school. Professors tend to give their first exams at the same time.” Often, I might add, without warning.
- “Eat well, sleep, wash hands, wipe down doorknobs. Dorms are a germ factory.” Oh- and the cafeterias are worse!
I hope y’all share these tidbits from Andrea Rosenthal of Fairfax, Virginia. (I’d love to thank her in person, but have no clue how to do so.) And, we should all share these with our young’uns going off to college. You can bet that the 2 million+ matriculating this fall can benefit from these tips.
These tips could be the difference between continuing one’s education or dropping out by year two. About 500K kids will drop out- but that dropout rate is due to both finances AND academics; these tips won’t help amplify anyone’s bank account.
And, make sure your kids know I don’t think Andrea is telling them to avoid campus life. The networks they develop by participating will be crucial in college- and in life- plus it should preclude “homesickness”. (I admit that I failed to network appropriately in grad school, being that “man on a mission”, and lost out on a bunch of potential great contacts that were there for the taking in Cambridge and Boston. I made sure my kids didn’t make that mistake.)
The other thing- college students should seek out mentors. They don’t have to be their professors, although that could work out fine. Sometimes, it could be the TA (teaching assistant). Some universities have a mentor service that should be examined. (MIT, for example, has a venture mentoring service– open to students AND alumni, professors, and staff. But, it also has the conventional mentoring service open to all students.) Especially if one has designs for a specialized portion of one’s major- finding one who is knowledgeable can truly make the difference between an easy or hard success.
The lesson I learned is that you lived a very pink life.
By the way, number 13…the tunnels are the worst!
No wonder I was called a pinko, David!
Those tunnels did have some of the funniest graffiti, though. I agree, a lot of good advice. I did switch majors. I was also fortunate (in a way) in attending a commuter college, because I missed a lot of the “distractions”.
Not all community colleges lacked those ‘distractions’, Alana. Glad you found your way to success!