How Difficult is College?

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: Martin

Originally posted by: OVERKILL
I'm looking to go to college and was wondering how tough it was.
Are the term papers the most difficult thing?
Is just showing up the toughest?
Is homework and studying the hardest part?
All information appreciated.

If you go to engineering or some of the more serious science majors, yeah, its tough. But you kinda get used to it. The other stuff is a joke.

the hardest part is showing up and paying attention. Been in university for 3 years now and I still can't get make it to more than 8-10hrs/week (I usually have about 25 scheduled). When I do make it, I usually don't pay attention. Most days are spent playing foosball and hanging out, perhaps roaming downtown...

And despite what others may tell you, three weeks of studying hard CAN make up for 3 months of missed classes. I know, I've done it enough times

25 hours??

 

[eLiu]

uhm eh it depends...

so far real analysis made my first semester hard...really hard. The other classes I took were easy for me.

Other than that, the humanities requirement is PITA b/c we have to take 8 classes and I godamn HATE essays.

Uh...sometimes the work can be annoying when you have a "crunch" week--everything from all your classes magically coincides in one week wherein you have psets due, projects, essays, tests...the works. Those weeks are pain.

But if you keep your wits about you, college should be fun. Don't put sh!t off till the last minute. You don't have to do it right away, but breaking an assignment up & doing a little bit every day can make psets a lot less painful. (Oh and unless you're a genius, do the hw...it'll make tests easier as a lot of the material will be retained in memory.) If you don't put stuff off, you won't be crunched as badly & you'll still have plenty of time to go out and do crap w/your buddies.

Though uh...hardest thing: getting up for that first class everyday. Takes some serious willpower sometimes.

 

[Landroval]

Depends on where you go and what you study.

 

[PowerMacG5]

Originally posted by: Kipper

Originally posted by: Safeway
It's easier than high school.

Depends where you go, your department, the intensity of classes you take, etc.

I am a dual major EE/CSE at RPI, and I find college to be easier than high school.

Originally posted by: Martin

Originally posted by: OVERKILL
I'm looking to go to college and was wondering how tough it was.
Are the term papers the most difficult thing?
Is just showing up the toughest?
Is homework and studying the hardest part?
All information appreciated.

If you go to engineering or some of the more serious science majors, yeah, its tough. But you kinda get used to it. The other stuff is a joke.

the hardest part is showing up and paying attention. Been in university for 3 years now and I still can't get make it to more than 8-10hrs/week (I usually have about 25 scheduled). When I do make it, I usually don't pay attention. Most days are spent playing foosball and hanging out, perhaps roaming downtown...

And despite what others may tell you, three weeks of studying hard CAN make up for 3 months of missed classes. I know, I've done it enough times

Heh, I've done that too. Miss about 2 months of Diff Eq, read the book two nights before the exam, get a 110 out of 100. Booyah. I went to Diff Eq three times during the semester, all three times were for Exams, and I ended up with a higher than 100% average. I also did this in numerous other classes too.

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe

Originally posted by: Martin

Originally posted by: OVERKILL
I'm looking to go to college and was wondering how tough it was.
Are the term papers the most difficult thing?
Is just showing up the toughest?
Is homework and studying the hardest part?
All information appreciated.

If you go to engineering or some of the more serious science majors, yeah, its tough. But you kinda get used to it. The other stuff is a joke.

the hardest part is showing up and paying attention. Been in university for 3 years now and I still can't get make it to more than 8-10hrs/week (I usually have about 25 scheduled). When I do make it, I usually don't pay attention. Most days are spent playing foosball and hanging out, perhaps roaming downtown...

And despite what others may tell you, three weeks of studying hard CAN make up for 3 months of missed classes. I know, I've done it enough times

25 hours??

25 hours sounds about right for me, and I have 16 credits scheduled for next semester (I think I have actual 28 hours a week in class).


The only reason I think I am able to do what I have done is because I have good time management skills. I go out and party hard when I can, but when crunch time comes, I study. Don't follow by my example, but if you can handle your time properly, and understand what priorities are, you will do well. I know what my priorities are, and while going out on a Friday/Saturday night and getting hammered might be fun, if I have an exam the next week, I find it a lot more beneficial to just stay in.

 

[magomago]

go to class!!!!!! If i attend 90%+ of my lectures, I'll get an A. Its amazing how just sitting there paying attention makes a difference. If i don't attend that many lectures...I get Bs. If I BARELY go to lectures I get Cs....

so to me grades are directly proportional to class attendence, so i'm always on myself to go to class

 

[iotone]

motivating yourself to do you work

 

[clickynext]

Geez, why is Engineering so hard? I see arts students who are able to have 2 days of classes per week.

 

[esun]

Showing up to class can be tough. Homework isn't too bad. Projects are terrible for procrastinators. Finals are death, especially if you have more than one in a day. Pretty simple, otherwise.

College can be really easy depending on how you budget your time. Join lots activities and you'll have a harder time with classes, and vice versa. It's always a tradeoff.

 

[cressida]

Originally posted by: scott
Learning to keep a positive attitude when life gets hard.

This sums it all up

 

[alphatarget1]

depends on your major.

my old roommate is a business major and he sleeps and watches TV all day and still passed his classes, go figure.

 

[klah]

simple unless you are lazy

 

[OffTopic1]

Get to class on time, have a good night sleep before class & exam, and turn in home work.

It is a guarantee pass if you attend every class and do you homework right after class (most people that does this get at least a B).

My GF failed 2 primary nursing courses in 4 semesters (didn?t have a job and was living off her savings & her parents), but he got straight A for the last 4 semesters while living with me and hold down a 20 hours a week job. She did exactly what I mentioned above to achieve her goal.

<-- Ex TA.

 

[DaFinn]

What Parts about College are the Most Demanding?

Girls...

 

[Medea]

Agree with everything said - plus - dealing with a teacher who's a complete A$$HOLE.

I had to take a stupid geography class. The guy would give a boring lecture using slides - and you could tell that they were slides that he took when he went to different countries and got a tax deduction for them!

Anway, as soon as he turned off those lights and after the first two slides, I was out 'til he finished. The A.H. took it personally that I fell asleep and gave me a really low grade.

So, another pointer is to ask around about teachers before you sign up for their classes.

 

[jds2006]

Choose your professors wisely.

www.ratemyprofessors.com

 

[13rian]

I'm a Graphics Design major taking only prelim design classes and it's basically ALL "homework." For me, time management is critical and if I don't spend most of my time in my room on design work, my projects suffers in the end. A decent amount of sleep is important, but basically impossible for me.

My writing skills are terrible, so term papers eat up a lot of time as well, but choosing general education (GE) courses that are mainly activity-based, rather than lecture-based, minimizes the amount assigned.

 

[So]

if you take liberal arts, the partying is the hardest part.

If you take hard science, keeping your sanity is.

 

[Acanthus]

Resisting the women is tough if youre not single (im not joking, thats the hardest part of college for me, and im no player).

 

[SilentZero]

The hardest part of college in my opinion was time management. I was working, taking two majors, and balanced it all with a wife, and still had no trouble. If I can do it anyone can. Just budget your time and you will be fine. And the same applies for grad school once you are ready for that. Just make sure you have enough time to study and do the work required, and it should be a easy ride. Good luck.

Edit: Oh and it also depends on your degree program. I majored in both CS and Applied Math, so it wasn't too bad (math was never my strong suit so had to really study for that *shakes at the thought of linear algebra*). If your major is CS I would rank it about a 3/10 on the difficultly scale. If your doing something insane like a dual major in EE and Applied Math, then it would rate much higher on the difficulty scale. So choose wisely!

 

[Apathetic]

Time management. In college, nobody is going to make sure you get up and go to class, nobody will give you grief about not doing your homework, etc. It's all up to you.

Dave

 

[edmundoab]

it really depends on what course you are taking

if its a fairly straight forward course,
you will enjoy it alot

get something like engineering,
and no matter how u like it or how smart you are,
you will be occupied...
well , the fun will always be there in anycase. =)

deadlines for assignments and homework,
preparing you for real working life scenarios

 

[Martin]

Originally posted by: PowerMacG5

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe

Originally posted by: Martin

Originally posted by: OVERKILL
I'm looking to go to college and was wondering how tough it was.
Are the term papers the most difficult thing?
Is just showing up the toughest?
Is homework and studying the hardest part?
All information appreciated.

If you go to engineering or some of the more serious science majors, yeah, its tough. But you kinda get used to it. The other stuff is a joke.

the hardest part is showing up and paying attention. Been in university for 3 years now and I still can't get make it to more than 8-10hrs/week (I usually have about 25 scheduled). When I do make it, I usually don't pay attention. Most days are spent playing foosball and hanging out, perhaps roaming downtown...

And despite what others may tell you, three weeks of studying hard CAN make up for 3 months of missed classes. I know, I've done it enough times

25 hours??

25 hours sounds about right for me, and I have 16 credits scheduled for next semester (I think I have actual 28 hours a week in class).


The only reason I think I am able to do what I have done is because I have good time management skills. I go out and party hard when I can, but when crunch time comes, I study. Don't follow by my example, but if you can handle your time properly, and understand what priorities are, you will do well. I know what my priorities are, and while going out on a Friday/Saturday night and getting hammered might be fun, if I have an exam the next week, I find it a lot more beneficial to just stay in.

now try that wothout the time managment skills and you'll have my academic career What usually happens is I do badly (to the point where I am failing sometimes) during the term, then I cram for finals and get great marks (80s and 90s), and end up with an average mark.

 

[apologetic]

The walk of shame

 

[necine]

just going to class.

 

[eigen]

I am a math/physics major.So I mainly get high alot and lift weights.