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Learning to be a college student
| Learning to be a college student |
Being a college student is different than being a high school student. First of all, you're on your own. Your parents aren't going to make sure that you eat a healthy dinner, or that you get a good night's sleep. But your mom is right...all those things are important. It's just that you'll have to take care of them yourself. Your professors aren't going to call you if you sleep through your class. Your roommates aren't going to make sure you turn off the music and the tv and do some studying--in fact they might encourage you in the opposite direction! This is your life now, and you have to take responsibility for your own actions. We understand that it isn't always easy to be a first year student. The good news is that you wouldn't have been accepted if we didn't believe you can be a successful college student. And everyone at USD is totally committed to helping you learn the skills you need to succeed. One of the best things you can do is to check out the First Year Experience Workshops on everything from time management to dealing with stress to body image issues. Following are some links to advice from faculty and administrators about how to make it through the first year. Dr. Nelson's One Stop site for First Year students Tips for Test Taking: Multiple Choice and Short Answer Exams Tips for Test Taking: Essay and Short Answer Exams Tips for Test Taking: Science classes Quick Start guide to Academic Success Other good advice from Dr. Dickson
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| Take advantage of what the campus has to offer! |
The University of San Diego really cares about making your transition from high school to college as smooth as it can possibly be. We really want you to succeed! There are lots of resources here to help you learn to be a great college student, and a sane person at the same time.
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| Planning for your academic career |
As soon as you can, start thinking about your four-year plan. You don't have to choose a major right away, but you should think about how you're going to fulfill all of your requirements. At USD, you're lucky to have faculty advisors to guide you through your academic career. Your preceptorial advisor and your major advisor will help make sure you check all the right boxes. But they are only human, they won't always know how to help you, and they can't tell you what you're interested in. You need to take responsibility for your own education. Start now by thinking about when and how you will take care of your Core Curriculum requirements. Remember that you will forget math and language skills over time, so try to fulfill those requirements early! USD has just adopted a great online academic progress program, "DARS". As you take and plan courses, get used to using DARS so that you can always have a sense of how you're doing on your progress to graduation. The better you are at working with DARS, the easier your program planning will be. Your adviser will use DARS to plan with you, but some faculty are still more comfortable with paper and pen, so you might know more about DARS than they will! Always check if you think that DARS may have listed some of your courses or transfer credits wrong--it's a new system and there might be some bugs. It's never too early to start thinking about a major. Here are some links to advice about choosing a major at USD. Career Counselor Emily Baxt's Tips for Choosing a Major Attend a First Year Experience workshop on "Playing the Majors Game"
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