Tips for first year

I dunno .. post some little things that they don't tell you at orientation or don't tell you enough :P


GO TO YOUR F-IN CLASSES !
I'm not even joking at how much it helps. Even if you're "not learning anything", your getting a kickstart on how to approach difficult topics. In Calculus, I found myself always lost in the material. I'm not slow or anything, I just learn math like most people, with pencil and paper (and of course your trusty calculator but you don't really need it for when u get to integrals). And don't try to tell yourself or let anyone else tell you that you can "learn it from the book". You certainly can but it's a pain to find motivation to start studying on a dime when you get back to your house/room/rez.

Get a bank account from PC Financial
This probably isn't mentioned too often or even at all. I go to Mac and the only bank machines at Mac (except for the general ATMs and this other McMaster Credit Union bank) are all CIBC. Particularly helpful esp if you need some money for clubbing, laundry and small cash purchases (at Mac anyways). Even if your university has all the other bank machines, get it anyways. There is no interac fees for interac direct purchases. So it's totally perfect for small purchases with interac. This comes with their no-fees bank account (no monthly fees and etc.). Plus you get a free $10 to Loblaws (sort of .... there's the fact that it's in PC points and you need to obtain another 10,000 points (worth $10) to redeem your initial 10,000 points ...5 points for every dollar at a Loblaws store ... includes No Frills, Fortinos and etc.) till you can spend the total min. of $20).

Working during the school year
This is sorta a personal opinion but it's sorta hard to work 1st year. You have to balance out your work, social and school life. It's much easier to balance it out if you have only social and school to deal with. Get used to university first before you start working. The money helps alot tho.

Books
Almost all books I would recommend you get them used. It's hellava lot cheaper and you honestly shouldn't spend too much. I spent $800 on text books (rounded down) and they were all brand new, only for 1st semester ! I spent another $400 on 2nd semester courses. Solution Manuals are a good source of help ... if you actually use them. I found it useful for Economics, Calculus and Algebra. My physics one was useless for me since all the questions on the test were similar to the ones found in the book. Check them out first.

I'm going into first year University this coming fall so I really appreciate your tips . I certainly have an idea of what you meant when other students advise you "oh, you can get it all from the text" or what not. Rarely is that ever exceptional advice. I'm planning on staying as late as I have to at the University for homework/studying (home is very distracting, hi RFD forums!).

As for working, I'd really like some counsel on that. My supervisor and acting manager are trying to throw a few hours of work at me during the school year (as opposed to full time during the summer). They're being very supportive of my upcoming schooling. Under the assumption they actually manage to give me some work, what do you think is a reasonable amount of hours per week (closed during weekends)? This is keeping in mind I'm working under a full course load.

~IG

yeah, don't act or look like a freakin noob while you're there.

Under the assumption they actually manage to give me some work, what do you think is a reasonable amount of hours per week (closed during weekends)? This is keeping in mind I'm working under a full course load.

I found that if I worked during school days, I became really fatigued easily. Weekends are not too bad but you lose out a little on social life . I would say anywhere from 15-25 hrs is a decent amount. It really depends on what you mean by full course load. For Engineers that means 7 or 6 courses a semester. For pretty much everyone else that's 5 courses. Just try it out at first. If you think you can do it, then kudos, you're gonna master time management . If not, concentrate on education first and then learn the ropes.

I personally recommend summer jobs tho. If you want a pretty well paying job, check out CollegePro or similar Student painting places. Apparent with all the hours you work, you end up making pretty much a full year's worth of tuition, board and food. The bad point is that it's not exactly the greatest in terms of experience and pretty tiring and fatiguing work. Look for work early and by early I mean like Feb./March.

Oh yea housing was a pain too.

I wanted to wait b/c I felt that the landlords that were offerring their homes for rent were creating a false shortage of places to rent to students. In fact, they pretty much were. Get a good bunch of friends together for a house by Latest Feb. Most people have already signed for places by March. I waited till April-ish to sign with my house and I got a pretty good deal. Unfortunately i only know like 3 as friends and the rest are random students. It's slightly more difficult to live with people you don't know but mostly people are nice and you can get used to living with each other.

Originally Posted by me!

yeah, don't act or look like a freakin noob while you're there.

haha that's the complete opposite of the other thread for meetingnew people

half of those in there were like:

ask someone else if this is the correct room, etc etc lol

Originally Posted by InsiderGamer

As for working, I'd really like some counsel on that. My supervisor and acting manager are trying to throw a few hours of work at me during the school year (as opposed to full time during the summer). They're being very supportive of my upcoming schooling. Under the assumption they actually manage to give me some work, what do you think is a reasonable amount of hours per week (closed during weekends)? This is keeping in mind I'm working under a full course load.

Depends what you are taking, scheduling etc. I volunteered 30 hours a week my first year in radio while taking a full course load. (Bachelor of Business Administration) I found that in courses NOT geared towards my major and electives it really didnt slow me down, and I was still successful in them. but in harder classes like Economics, and Calculus I had more trouble than I would have. (I was never cut out for business, but too stubborn to change programs to something I was better suited for) I made it every class too.(even the 8:30AM ones) If I could suggest anything to you, hold off on the work for the first month... so you can get better acquainted with your schedule, and figure out how much time/effort/energy you'll have to spend with your easy or hard classes. Then pick a work schedule that is considerate of those constraints. (depending on your social skills, you might want to alot some time for partying... but I guess if work is closed on weekends, you're good to go) - just a suggestion though

Good tip talk to everyone you meet, your life will be a lot easier if you know people. Remember that every other person in the room also has no idea who anyone else is. Great time to meet girls

Don't go asking ppl you don't know for smoke. (Hate it when that happens, get your own damn smoke)

for the first year students.. remember may the beer be with you..

Read your text/notes before lecture!!!
Read your text/notes before lecture!!!
Read your text/notes before lecture!!!
Read your text/notes before lecture!!!


I swear, it is SOOO much easier to sit through a lecture, when you already have a mild understanding of the material! If you haven't read the relevant sections, you'll be totally lost and will fall asleep... and yes, I have personal experience !

Originally Posted by NiMSo

Read your text/notes before lecture!!!
Read your text/notes before lecture!!!
Read your text/notes before lecture!!!
Read your text/notes before lecture!!!


I swear, it is SOOO much easier to sit through a lecture, when you already have a mild understanding of the material! If you haven't read the relevant sections, you'll be totally lost and will fall asleep... and yes, I have personal experience !

True, but that is almost impossible to do unless you find the course interesting.

A few tips that come to mind...

- ALWAYS come prepared to tutorials, unless you enjoy looking like a complete idiot in front of your peers

- When scheduling your classes, try to leave as a few and as small (timewise) gaps between them. Nothing is more obnoxious than having to kill 1-2 hours between classes. Unless the distance between classes is immense, 10 minutes is almost always enough time to make it from one class in one building to another class in another building.

- For your first class bring only a clipboard, a couple sheets of paper and a pen. Your prof will only cover the syllabus, what books to buy and other general boring crap, so you won't need your books/napsack, etc... and you'll look like you're a laid back/relaxed kind of guy and that you know what you're doing... not a bad first impression to make.

- DON'T BUY ANY BOOKS BEFORE THEY ARE NEEDED. You could change courses, the syllabus can change, and you could later learn that that $100 reference source you bought was only a "nice thing to have" and not a necessity.

- If you're going to be more than 8 minutes late for a class, forget about it (unless it's a lecture/tutorial that penalizes for absence)... any later than that is just disrespectful to the prof and other students, and will reflect more poorly on you than an absence.

- Know exactly where your classes are before they start. Most university buildings (Western especially) have wildly illogical room layouts... merely knowing which building the class is in is usually not enough to save a dozen minutes of aimless wandering.

- If you have a laptop, be sure to load it up with a bunch of emulators and play old-school games during boring parts of a lecture... it should put a smile on the faces of a dozen or more people in the rows behind you and could help you meet people

That's enough for now I think.

Originally Posted by soulflare

A few tips that come to mind...

- If you have a laptop, be sure to load it up with a bunch of emulators and play old-school games during boring parts of a lecture... it should put a smile on the faces of a dozen or more people in the rows behind you and could help you meet people

LOL!
The classic is watching someone play Mario 3 on a NES emulator

Originally Posted by longo

LOL!
The classic is watching someone play Mario 3 on a NES emulator

I preloaded my old school prince of persia.

this is my tip... CHEAT on EVERYTHING.