How to Be Well-Liked in Your Classes

Image via Wikipedia

While in college, one of the most important things you will do is study. If you are smart, your biggest goal will not be to become the best liked person on campus. If the latter just comes naturally, of course, than more power to you. That being said, my title seems pointless. The goal of this post is not so much so that you will be popular among your classmates so much as it is to give you tips so that you do not make their college career more difficult.

1. Before you ask a question, decide whether it benefits anyone in the class other than you. If it is something that the teacher has gone over more than twice, or about a situation that applies only to you, wait until class is over to talk to the professor one-on-one or go see him or her during office hours. On that note, keep the "What if" scenarios to a minimum and keep them reasonable.


2. College is a great place for debate, and everyone has their own opinion. However, the middle of class is not the time or place to get aggressive. If you and another student or the professor disagree, handle it like the adults you are and discuss things calmly. If necessary, agree to disagree.


3. Before you go on any kind of tangent or attempt to steer the professor down another track, decide whether or not what you have to say is relevant, at least in part, to the class. For example, your feelings about the nation's exercise habits may be a very good thing to share during health class, but not in the middle of marketing class.

4. Respect your fellow students and the professor. There will be annoying classmates no matter what your major is but resist the urge to roll your eyes every time they open their mouths, or talk about them behind their backs. This goes for your professor as well. Don't interrupt anyone while they are talking, have patience, give everyone a chance, they might surprise you.

Readers, is there any advice that you would add to the list?

The Military

Image via Wikipedia

Joining the military while in college or immediately before or after has a lot of benefits, most of which involve money or careers. You may be guarnteed a job and experience to put on your resume, and you will not have to rely on loans or your parents to pay for school. People have other reasons for wanting to sign up too. Some come from military families, or want to go career, or want to serve their country, or have the opportunity to travel.

The military can also take up a lot of time. Things like basic training can take you away from school and your friends and family. While there you cannot communicate with them by electronic methods and must rely on handwritten letters. Other drawbacks to joining the military include how the people around you feel about it, and what your feelings about the military are. My advice to students who are signing up just for the money is to find another way to pay. The Military requires a lot of sacrifice and should only be considered if you are fully aware of the consequences and you are proud to join.

Are you in the military or ROTC? What branch, and why did you sign up? How has it affected your college experience? Do you have friends or loved ones in the military? How do you feel it affects you? Woud you ever consider signing up? Post your responses in the comment section, some may be used in a future post. I am also considering a series of posts about the military and college, so if you are interested, e-mail me at triciahein@ymail.com.

Housing Problems

For the last couple of years (fall of 2008 was the beginning of this trend) colleges and universities across the country have been experiencing record enrollment numbers, and fall of 2010 isn't supposed to be all that different. The biggest problem with having this number of students is what to do with them. Many new students are traditional students expecting to live on campus. Unfortunately, between the sudden influx of students and continuing budget cuts, expanding student living is not always an option, especially for the short term.

A major problem that this leads to is students come to campus for orientation and have no idea where they are going to live for the next few months. Some students end up in triples when the room is meant for only two students, other times up to ten students are living together in a lounge.

Traditionally, colleges accept more students than they can house because they know some students will not show up and the rooming assignments will even out. Unfortunately, with even greater numbers of students applying, there are still too many students without rooms.

Several solutions are possible, and are done. One is to allow more students to live off campus. This works in some towns, but other times there is not enough off campus housing within a short distance. If money for students is an issue, schools may choose to allow financial and scholarships to cover off-living expenses. Another thing some colleges do is to focus on recruiting more non-traditional students. They will still bring money into the school, but the college does not have to worry about housing them. Schools will also turn spaces that are not normally used for living spaces into rooms. This is probably the least advisable option. Finally, schools can simply choose to turn away more students by raising their admissions standards.

Have you ever been caught in the middle of housing overfill? How did it affect the first few days of school? How does your school deal with it? What do you think is the best short-term fix? Reply in the comments section.

http://readme.readmedia.com/On-Campus-Housing-Full-at-SUNY-Canton/1604028
http://www.4029tv.com/news/24263125/detail.html

AP Classes

Because of lower revenues, high schools in Fort Wayne are being told that they must increase the number of students passing AP Exams (Advanced Placement). The state wants a minimum of 25% passing, and only one area school is meeting this goal. Not only do they want more students passing, they want more students taking the classes, which is certainly a good thing. Although if students are not ready for an AP class, they shouldn't be taking the class, which could hinder things. An issue like this represents why "No Child Left Behind" hurts students, even at higher levels when schools no longer have to follow the restrictions. Schools are more concerned with reaching benchmarks and not looking bad that they forget the real purpose is to help the students.

One argument is that success in AP courses is a good indicator of how a student will do in college. There is only one problem; it sounds like rather than helping the students do better in the class, they are just making it easier to pass, which certainly won't help their success in college. See the article here: http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100719/NEWS/7190326

I am a huge supporter of AP classes and took two high school. Unfortunately, neither one helped me all that much because I wasn't clear on what classes they replaced, so I ended up taking most of those anyways. To top it off, the college version was a lot more useful. However, if the classes are done right, they can be a huge help to students, but not if we're letting them take the easy way out. I know students who took AP instead of Honors because AP is easier.

Did anyone here take AP classes or is planning to take them? Were they useful? Leave your response in the comment section.

How to know what AP scores mean
Do College Prep classes really prepare students?

Mary J. Blige is Going to College

According to CNN Mary J. Blige, who was just awarded her honorary high school diploma, has decided to take the next logical step in her education: she is going to college at the age of 39. She says she has been accepted at Howard University, but officials there say nothing is set in stone, although they are willing to help her with the process.

I think this is great, and that she is unlikely to have trouble getting into any school she applies at, especially in the music department. Howard University probably doesn't want to seem like she gets special consideration so she has to go through the entire application process.

She is demonstrating the value of education, even past the age of traditional students. Many celebrities forgo higher education to continue or begin their careers, and while they have done well, (Oprah and Bill Gates for example) I would prefer celebrities stress the importance of college. Both Gates and Winnfrey have done just that. Gates with his philanthropy and Winnfrey by going back to get her degree.

Here is the article for further information.