How many of you are planning to whip out those books next Monday and start reading – 1,000, 100, 50, 5, none? Many students, including myself, have luckily finished exams and at least most of their essays just in time for reading week. It is quite hard to say that many of us will actually utilize this time off well. Is it necessarily a bad thing?
Reading week is important for two reasons. Firstly, if you use your time wisely, this week is very valuable. It enables students to get a head start on assignments, or catch up on readings and material. It also allows for organization of notes in preparations for finals (or maybe that’s just me). Secondly, if you’ve just finished exams, then good on you for getting them done and here’s the perfect time to recuperate and work at your own pace. If you haven’t had your exams yet, lucky you! You have a whole week to study.
I have not yet experienced a university Reading Week, but I don’t think it differs much to high school March Break. You have one week off, you either use it or abuse it. I plan to catch up on my Film readings since those have been piling up quite a bit. I also have two essays due after the break which I would rather work on at my leisure during the break rather than cramming them into all-nighters on the first Monday back.
This is also a lovely opportunity to go home and spend some time with my family back in Toronto. It is hard living away from home and having so very little opportunity to spend a comfortable amount of time at home without being pried from my queen size bed two days later.
My advice to you out there is use this time wisely. Your school year is coming to an end. Before you know it you will be back at home, so use this week to get what you need to get done. This way you have the opportunity to divide your time between school and friends without feeling the pressure of last-minute studying and assignments over your head.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
ARE YOU APPLYING TO UNIVERSITY? READ!
If only there was an article like the one that was printed in Monday's Globe and Mail I would have stressed less about my applications.
Grade 12 graduating high school students are applying to university and have no idea what to expect. Everyone goes through this process for the "first" time. January 13th is the last day to make the decisions on where to go for post-secondary education. It's a hard process no doubt - it's your future! What's even scarier is ranking your top choices. I remember having the fear of thinking what if I don't get accepted to the second choice university because they see I've ranked them as 2nd. Then I wondered if they even saw what I ranked them. There's questions upon questions that usually get left unanswered because no "one" person has all the answers and sometimes questions like these are impossible to link to someone who might be able to give the answer.
Well, this is a lucky day for some of those students who might have questions that they haven't had answered yet. The big one I remember was. "IS IT ALL BASED ON MY MARKS!" George Granger, director of the Ontario Universities Application Center answers your question!
"There are some high demand or limited enrollment programs that require students to make other submissions such as personal essays. If you are going to be a music major, you have to prove ability. Fine ar programs want portfolios. Whether the number of programs asking for more information is rising, I can't say."
What could help you further is knowing that a new addition has been added to Carleton in particular (it could possibly be for other schools as well). This addition is called the co-curricular record. It is used as a way to display to employers or graduate schools extra-curricular activities. This means that what you do outside of school is just as important as what marks you are getting. This displays as a transcript similar to the one that holds all your university credits. So, keep this in mind at all times! Though Granger can't say whether programs are asking for more, I can say that they're definitely not asking for less so always try to make yourself stand out!
Another question I thought was important to future students and also parents was the fretting over application processes - meeting deadlines, know-hows and so on. In an effort to find out how to minimize the stress over applications Granger suggests:
"Get it done. At this stage, that is the best advice. Send the applications. You can always make adjustments later. For many students exams are coming and the results will have a bearing on if they get to go where they want. The need to keep focused on whats in front of them."
Granger makes a very important point! Don't stress over what you can't control, focus on what is right in front of you and the only thing you can control! If you're nervous or confused ask your parents for advice on what to do and how to do it!
For more Q and A's go to :http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/george-granger/article1426448/
Hope this helps! Good Luck with the applications! Don't fret either!
Grade 12 graduating high school students are applying to university and have no idea what to expect. Everyone goes through this process for the "first" time. January 13th is the last day to make the decisions on where to go for post-secondary education. It's a hard process no doubt - it's your future! What's even scarier is ranking your top choices. I remember having the fear of thinking what if I don't get accepted to the second choice university because they see I've ranked them as 2nd. Then I wondered if they even saw what I ranked them. There's questions upon questions that usually get left unanswered because no "one" person has all the answers and sometimes questions like these are impossible to link to someone who might be able to give the answer.
Well, this is a lucky day for some of those students who might have questions that they haven't had answered yet. The big one I remember was. "IS IT ALL BASED ON MY MARKS!" George Granger, director of the Ontario Universities Application Center answers your question!
"There are some high demand or limited enrollment programs that require students to make other submissions such as personal essays. If you are going to be a music major, you have to prove ability. Fine ar programs want portfolios. Whether the number of programs asking for more information is rising, I can't say."
What could help you further is knowing that a new addition has been added to Carleton in particular (it could possibly be for other schools as well). This addition is called the co-curricular record. It is used as a way to display to employers or graduate schools extra-curricular activities. This means that what you do outside of school is just as important as what marks you are getting. This displays as a transcript similar to the one that holds all your university credits. So, keep this in mind at all times! Though Granger can't say whether programs are asking for more, I can say that they're definitely not asking for less so always try to make yourself stand out!
Another question I thought was important to future students and also parents was the fretting over application processes - meeting deadlines, know-hows and so on. In an effort to find out how to minimize the stress over applications Granger suggests:
"Get it done. At this stage, that is the best advice. Send the applications. You can always make adjustments later. For many students exams are coming and the results will have a bearing on if they get to go where they want. The need to keep focused on whats in front of them."
Granger makes a very important point! Don't stress over what you can't control, focus on what is right in front of you and the only thing you can control! If you're nervous or confused ask your parents for advice on what to do and how to do it!
For more Q and A's go to :http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/george-granger/article1426448/
Hope this helps! Good Luck with the applications! Don't fret either!
Monday, January 4, 2010
FIRST WEEK 911
Run here, run there run EVERYWHERE. Yes that is right. First week back and you think you have it hands down, well not quite. I didn't exactly realize until the last minute that my classrooms had changed which caused a lot of running around today. Last semester I had quite a bit of time to get to my classes. However, this semester I over-booked two courses overlapping 20 minutes of each other. I had to inform my professor immediately (as it was a FYSM where attendance matters). Rule number one folks. If you find yourself in a similar situations instead of freaking out see if you can work something out with your professors or classmates. It does become an issue because the system will actually let you register for two courses at the same time and leave a little notice at the bottom saying time conflict (which you totally can't see). So even if you're 100% sure your schedule works, check again and even one more time just to be sure.
Another important note is BUY YOUR BOOKS NOW! First off, it's a pain to wait in line for hours just to find out your book is sold out (hasn't happened to me, yet). Also, don't be lazy scope out to see if people are selling your books! Treck to Haven's books and search for deals! Also, don't forget about your old books! Why not make some extra cash! Give your books to Carleton's Bookstore and they'll resell them for you. If you get lucky someone might buy it and any extra cash for a student is a good thing!
Don't party too hard and try to go to class the first week. I honestly was shocked to walk into my first Art History lecture and instead of getting the usual course overview I got a whopping two hour lecture. We jumped right into the material and yet throughout the whole class I noticed that half the students were absent. Don't just expect your first week to be all fun and games!
Lastly, print out your schedule and keep it on hand - enter in your profs name along with the T.A. Introduce yourself if they're new and make sure that they know you, and you're not just a number. It's also just easy for you to approach them if you have questions the first day.
For your benefit I will provide a link to re-create your schedule. This schedule was created by Carleton's Engineers, but it's for everyone. I remember hearing about it at Carleton's summer orientation and it was very useful and also very neat!
http://xperts.sce.carleton.ca/engsched/
They should make a "How to" University 101 class where all the answers to our questions rest and where we know what to all the time or even better a "how to" live easy. Wouldn't that be nice!
Another important note is BUY YOUR BOOKS NOW! First off, it's a pain to wait in line for hours just to find out your book is sold out (hasn't happened to me, yet). Also, don't be lazy scope out to see if people are selling your books! Treck to Haven's books and search for deals! Also, don't forget about your old books! Why not make some extra cash! Give your books to Carleton's Bookstore and they'll resell them for you. If you get lucky someone might buy it and any extra cash for a student is a good thing!
Don't party too hard and try to go to class the first week. I honestly was shocked to walk into my first Art History lecture and instead of getting the usual course overview I got a whopping two hour lecture. We jumped right into the material and yet throughout the whole class I noticed that half the students were absent. Don't just expect your first week to be all fun and games!
Lastly, print out your schedule and keep it on hand - enter in your profs name along with the T.A. Introduce yourself if they're new and make sure that they know you, and you're not just a number. It's also just easy for you to approach them if you have questions the first day.
For your benefit I will provide a link to re-create your schedule. This schedule was created by Carleton's Engineers, but it's for everyone. I remember hearing about it at Carleton's summer orientation and it was very useful and also very neat!
http://xperts.sce.carleton.ca/engsched/
They should make a "How to" University 101 class where all the answers to our questions rest and where we know what to all the time or even better a "how to" live easy. Wouldn't that be nice!
Back to Reality
After a nice long enjoyable three week vacation I have finally made it back to Ottawa relaxed rejuvenated and ready to jump back into things.
I must admit it wasn't easy shaking off the exam stress. It took a good two weeks to really realize I was on vacation. I think I could do with another week... or two. Like most students at this point, exam results were either a wake up call or a gift of achievement and hard work. Many are looking to hit there second semester with their best shot - this is a good idea.
What was your new years resolution? Keep it in mind. It will help you to achieve greater things this semester. You might even resolve things you never knew needed resolving. I for one, have made several new years resolutions that,like each year prior, will be left unfulfilled. In turn, however, I hope it will lead the to other achieved resolutions.
Moving back into Ottawa was actually a much easier feeling than the first move-in date in September. Everyone is cheerful to be at their what could now be called there "second home." I really never thought I could call it my second home because it was hard for me to get used to the fact that I was now living in Ottawa. It was really nice to see school friends, head down to the Byward market and have tea at the tea store, grab dinner at the cafeteria(which surprisingly I missed), and head to the floor lounge for a movie.
I realized, after months of stressing about school that my "reality" isn't so stressful after all. For those of you out there who devote your life to school - NO WONDER YOU'RE ALWAYS STRESSED. It's not the work that's stressful, it's the no-life policy that you're living by. You make it much harder for yourself when you focus solely on school and miss out on all the extras. My number one resolution is how to balance every aspect of my life... it's the key to a happy and healthy life.
I must admit it wasn't easy shaking off the exam stress. It took a good two weeks to really realize I was on vacation. I think I could do with another week... or two. Like most students at this point, exam results were either a wake up call or a gift of achievement and hard work. Many are looking to hit there second semester with their best shot - this is a good idea.
What was your new years resolution? Keep it in mind. It will help you to achieve greater things this semester. You might even resolve things you never knew needed resolving. I for one, have made several new years resolutions that,like each year prior, will be left unfulfilled. In turn, however, I hope it will lead the to other achieved resolutions.
Moving back into Ottawa was actually a much easier feeling than the first move-in date in September. Everyone is cheerful to be at their what could now be called there "second home." I really never thought I could call it my second home because it was hard for me to get used to the fact that I was now living in Ottawa. It was really nice to see school friends, head down to the Byward market and have tea at the tea store, grab dinner at the cafeteria(which surprisingly I missed), and head to the floor lounge for a movie.
I realized, after months of stressing about school that my "reality" isn't so stressful after all. For those of you out there who devote your life to school - NO WONDER YOU'RE ALWAYS STRESSED. It's not the work that's stressful, it's the no-life policy that you're living by. You make it much harder for yourself when you focus solely on school and miss out on all the extras. My number one resolution is how to balance every aspect of my life... it's the key to a happy and healthy life.
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