Category: Academics

End of the Semester-Brittney Keophoxay #5

I’m glad the semester is coming to and end and I learned a lot over the span of the first semester. Not only did I learn the subjects I was taking but I also learned some life lessons.  I learned to manage my time better, to say no to friends, utilize sources around campus and more.  I feel as I am prepared to take on the next semester from what I did and didn’t do this semester.

The break coming up will also give me some time to think of what I want to do in the next couple of months.  Maybe I’d like to apply for an internship over the Summer, or apply for a Summer Institute in Wisconsin, take Summer classes, etc?  Education is great and it opens so many doors to meeting new people and advancing yourself in the world.

College means we have to learn how to prioritize what we want to do in life, how we are going to get there, and what is the first step to do so.

I have to say, I am pretty proud of most of the things I’ve done so far.  I hope to keep learning and pushing myself during my time in college.

Don’t Worry – Myths About College Majors

* College major defines your career and is irreversible – the major you choose may provide a direction for the start of a career or you may decide to go another route.  And as your career evolves, there will be opportunities to shift gears, change direction, or grow professionally in your field.

* Changing your major will require additional semesters in school – generally, if you have committed to a major by no later than the end of your sophomore year, you should be able to graduate in the traditional four year time frame.  For students shifting into professional studies from a liberal arts background (i.e., Sociology major decided to pursue accounting), additional time (including summer classes) may be required.  Ultimately, if it’s the right move for you, an extra semester in school is a wise choice.

* There is only one right major for you – there are probably a number of majors that could be a good fit and they tend to have similar attributes (i.e., psychology and sociology, computer science and engineering, government and history, accounting and finance, etc.).   Another option to consider is choosing a major and a minor that complements your primary area of study (i.e. Communication major,marketing minor; Sociology major, Spanish minor)

* Your major determines what you can study in graduate school – most graduate school programs look more at your experience, undergraduate GPA, and scores on the standardized graduate admissions tests (i.e., GRE, LSAT, GMAT) than your specific major.  For example, plenty of liberal arts majors pursue MBA degrees.

Study Skills

After today’s class, I will add more to this post, but this should be a place to ask questions and talk about what you are doing to succeed in your courses.  Please post these as comments here, and we should all try to respond, Alethea and I will be in there, but if you have suggestions, you should too.  Don’t forget there is credit for your posts and comments on the blog.

Organization
– writing things down
– organized study space
– planner
– 3 whiteboards (month) (week) (day to do)

Participation

Listening
– sit in front row
– counter arguments
– speaking up
– Note taking
Motivation
– pressure
– money
– parents expectations
– food

–