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Rank: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 7/22/2008
Posts: 113
Location: Ontario
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In September I begin first year at Western. Iam taking Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Philiosophy and Earth Sciences. Can any of you give me tips for time managment, reading assignments, writing essays and saving time? Is it difficult to adapt to University style learning from highschool learning? Thanks
UWO 12' Political Science and Psychology ~Socrates~
~"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance"
~"The unexamined life is not worth living"~
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Rank: Student Body President
Groups: Member
Joined: 6/5/2008
Posts: 1,758
Location: Edmonton, AB
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Time management: Write things down! Write down all due dates, test dates, etc. I would also recommend making a schedule for recommended readings (what readings need to be done by what date). Spend a couple hours every day working on school work, try not to lump it all on one day because that day will suck.
Reading assignments: Keep up with these, it's a pain to read the whole textbook the week before an exam. A schedule is recommended usually by the professor, follow it.
Writing essays: I'm in engineering so I don't really have to do this, but my boyfriend just finished his 3rd year of an English major. Do lots of research, be clear and concise, and get help if necessary is all the advise I can give.
I took IB in high school and I didn't find it that difficult to adapt to university style learning, but that's just me.
University of Alberta - Mechanical Engineering '11
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Rank: Student Council
Groups: Member
Joined: 4/4/2008
Posts: 464
Location: Whitby
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Time Management: If possible, get Microsoft Outlook, or a calendar of some sort, and plan your week out every Sunday. Instead of making to-do lists, put down chunks of time in your calendar to work on assignments/homework, and stick to it. Reading Assignments: Stay on top of them at all times. You can't retain information by cramming the textbook one week before the exam. Calculate how much time you spend a week reading, then spread the time out over each day. That way your mind can fully understand what it's looking at and retain it, instead of trying to memorize whole chapters. Most of your retention and neurological organization occurs during sleep, so get some. Essays: Start as soon as possible, even if mean half an hour of research. Once you get started, you'll be more inclined to follow up on it. Make a plan, and allot time for each aspect of essay-writing (research, drafts, editing, etc.). General Tips: Stick to your schedule, if something comes up, then make sure you complete the task at another time. Work had and play harder. After following your schedule/going to classes/studying diligently, reward yourself. Go out for dinner, get drunk, do whatever makes you happy. And exercise. Just like your mind, your body needs practice as well. The time you spend going for a run or lifting weights will make your other hours much more effective. Cya at Western.
UWO 2012 - Biological & Medical Science  UWO > Every other school
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Rank: Frosh
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/23/2008
Posts: 39
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I wouldn't worry so much about changing your studying habits all of a sudden because you're in university instead of high school. Keep doing what you've been doing, and you'll be fine. Stick to whatever it is that works for you, and enjoy the ride.
Don't be so freaked out about how hard university is that you miss out on the university life. It's going to be a fun 4 years, and you should enjoy the process.
The only thing I'd say is, choose the right crowd. Who you surround yourself is very important and will play a big role towards your success throughout university. Have a variety of friends - some that studies, some that party so you get the best of both worlds. If you feel uncomfortable with what you're doing (i.e partying too much) then listen to yourself and don't get sucked into peer pressure.
Enjoy the ride!
Queen's Commerce 2011
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Rank: Senior Student
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Joined: 6/13/2008
Posts: 56
Location: Markham
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Reading Assignments: Try to complete the readings b4 the lecture. The lectures will make a lot sense that way b/c many progessors discuss topics brought up in readings. Essays: Do what the professor asks. if they want referencing, reference everything. If they just want your opinion, complete an opinion piece. if you dont stick to what the professor wants, you may lose marks for it. I've seen many people do poorly on assignments because they didn't pay attention to the instructions - get involved in campus activites
UTSC '11 Specialist: Psychology Changing it up this year  Logistics Leader=D FroshYou2012ers
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Rank: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 7/16/2008
Posts: 257
Location: Hamilton
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Gibran wrote:In September I begin first year at Western. Iam taking Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Philiosophy and Earth Sciences. Can any of you give me tips for time managment, reading assignments, writing essays and saving time? Is it difficult to adapt to University style learning from highschool learning?
Thanks The huge difference between university learning and highschool learning is the maturity expected. In highschool (depending on your teacher), you get babied in some ways. Some teachers will let you hand in assignments late without taking off big penalty marks. Some teachers do homework checks to make sure you've been keeping up. If you fail a test, the some teachers will give you a lecture and tell you to study harder. Your highschool teachers are a lot more approachable, and with such small classes it's easy to get extra help. If you're failing the class most teachers will give you a couple of 'extra chances' to help you PASS (not get a great mark, but pass), because most teachers don't enjoy failing their students. Your attendance is taken and (at least until you're 18), you get in trouble for not showing up without a note. Miss enough classes and your parents are notified. In university (generally speaking) you're on your own. The profs couldn't care less if you skip every class. If you don't hand an assignment in on time, you're either losing major late marks, or (depending on your prof), the assignment might not even be accepted. You'll have larger classes (much larger in most cases!) which makes it tough in a lot of situations to get your questions answered in a lecture-so it will be important to keep track of what concepts you need clarified so that you can ask after lectures, or ask your TAs. Nobody cares if you dont show up, which can make it tempted (especially for that 8:30 class on monday mornings) to skip a few here and there-which can really hurt you. It will be important for you to keep track of how you're doing, and to stay on top of the readings, assignments, etc. If you get a bad test mark back, you need to get on it right away-set up an appointment with a TA or your prof to figure out where you went wrong and modify your studying accordingly. One bad test can quickly turn into two bad tests, and so on. And the best piece of advice-don't procrastinate. Before you know it, you're twenty chapters behind, and you have five essays to have done in a few days, plus cramming for that midterm...it quickly spirals out of control when you put things off in university, which can be really tempting. If you plan to study for say, two hours on Thursday, and you set up what you're going to accomplish in those two hours, don't let yourself down by saying "Oh Ill make up those two hours tomorrow because there's that party I really want to go to...". Obviously sometimes you will have to modify your study plans, but try to be realistic and assume the worst. Before you abandon your study plans realistically ask yourself if you can afford to-assume that you will never be able to make up those lost hours.
4th Year Mac Science Student. Mac Psych Society Executive Member 2008/2009 Mac Community Standards Assistant 2008/2009 Vote for me: http://www.cbc.ca/nextprimeminister/candidates/shilodavis.html
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Rank: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 6/13/2008
Posts: 56
Location: Markham
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General: If you like to study on campus, get there early because study spaces fill up very quickly. take plenty of breaks (i have seen many people...myself included... sit at a desk for 5 hours straight trying to memorize everything = confusion, more stress and fatigue) and organization is key (it reduces the stress).
UTSC '11 Specialist: Psychology Changing it up this year Logistics Leader=D FroshYou2012ers
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Rank: Senior Student
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/4/2008
Posts: 298
Location: Ottawa, ON
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These are all really good tips. I'm a horrid procrstinator, so I really have to try and fix that.
desiderantes meliorem patriam
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Rank: Frosh
Groups: Member
Joined: 8/17/2008
Posts: 6
Location: Toronto
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well uni for one is a BIG change from high-sch..yes u have to reaaaallly wise up and be commited to your goal..
needless to say theres is very little room for procrastination..but just a little is needed...
for time management: make a weekly schedule and STICK to it. most people ive noticed make lots of schedules but never stick to them..its common so make it uncommon.
a big tip is to never skip a single lecture no matter how useless u think it is...do your homework (atleast 40-60% of it) b4 u show up for a tutorial..that way u wont be wasting time with the TA ...and u get a crappy TA find another tutorial to go to..that brings me to my next big point for frosh...build a strong network...i was lucky enuf to have many of my high-sch friends with me in ffirst year so i wasnt starting from sccratch..but high-sch friends aside...get to know as many people as u can...its easy be friendly..saying hello goess a lonnnng way...ur network will help u through ur yr and the next few yrs. it will give u access to other classes , homework help, job opening...etc
thats abt all there is to it ...do all the above and ull be pulling honors and be having fun through your first year..im in ECE at UofT ..and thats whatt i did..
in my opinion first year shd only be 60% about studying ..the rest u shd be enjoying yourself
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