| <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in | | | | outgoing/article_exit_link');" href=" term papers.</a> |
| } --> | | | | You can do these people a favor by setting their |
| There are many different kinds of classes which you | | | | minds at ease with a good question or two that gets |
| the student can enroll in at your college, and they all | | | | them talking on familiar ground. |
| have their good and bad points. What you have to ask | | | | Of course, a college career cannot just be composed |
| at the outset is, 'what benefit will this class have to me | | | | of the easy classes; a moderately challenging course |
| or my academic career?' A class can benefit a | | | | can be of benefit by increasing your capacity for |
| student simply because it fulfills a requirement for a | | | | study and concentration. Moreover, a class that |
| major or minor, or because it satisfies the university's | | | | expands your horizons can look good on a transcript |
| demand that you take this or that elective. Apart from | | | | or even be a talking point in a job interview, when your |
| this consideration, however, a class can be also be a | | | | prospective employers asks you a hard question such |
| benefit by being really easy, or by being somewhat | | | | as: ‘What have you done in life that you weren't |
| challenging. A class that assigns a lot of <a | | | | exactly the best at? How did you acquit yourself?' |
| rel="nofollow" | | | | It is best to strike a balance between easy and hard |
| onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(' | | | | classes in college, and not to do too many of the latter |
| outgoing/article_exit_link');" href="</span> | | | | in one semester. Especially if your discipline falls in the |
| style="font-style: normal;">">custom term | | | | math or sciences field, you will want to carefully mix |
| papers</a> and group projects is probably | | | | easy electives in with demanding chemistry, biology or |
| challenging, whereas a class that has a single big | | | | engineering courses. This will both serve to keep up |
| textbook and uses weekly quizzes and a midterm and | | | | your GPA, and it will also be a signal to employers that |
| a final might be much easier. | | | | you can successfully manage yourself without |
| A really easy class can be good because it lets you | | | | overextending your resources. If you have a couple of |
| bring up your GPA without, in many instances, having | | | | classes that assign long, involved custom term papers, |
| to even attend the lecture all that often. | | | | you could take classes that use larger groups or other |
| Introductory classes in every discipline are often | | | | activities to prevent yourself from getting burned out |
| conducted from a commanding lecture podium with | | | | on writing. |
| overhead projector in a very large, stadium shaped | | | | What you want to particularly guard against is taking |
| room. In these cases, if you are fairly intelligent, you | | | | more than one class per semester that is in an entirely |
| can coast off the book and just show up for the | | | | new discipline, or more than one class that takes a |
| midterm and final. If you use this strategy, however, I | | | | significant amount of basic legwork to even begin to |
| advise that you attend at least some of the TA | | | | become proficient at it. A good example of this would |
| (Teacher's Assistant) sessions, where much of the | | | | be a new foreign language. It is stressful to learn a |
| nuts and bolts work of comprehending the course | | | | new language. The concepts and grammar are |
| material takes place. You may not even need a | | | | sometimes radically different, and lots of repetitive |
| supplement to the course text to know what's going | | | | practice and work will go into mastering the basics. |
| on, but TA sessions are also often where they hand | | | | You have to carefully consider if you have the time |
| out the assignments. If your knowledge of the | | | | and energy for this, and you must take into account |
| subject has any weak areas, be sure to ask your TA | | | | what a C or worse will do to your GPA. While you the |
| for help as he/she will appreciate explaining something | | | | student attend college to acquire a classical education, |
| that is probably elementary knowledge for them. | | | | write <a rel="nofollow" |
| TA's can also be nervous in front of these classes, as | | | | onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(' |
| many of them are beginning graduate students who | | | | outgoing/article_exit_link');" href=" term paper</a> |
| have not yet been exposed to much of the public | | | | and expand your mind, you must not lose sight of your |
| 'performance' aspect of teaching a class. They are | | | | primary goal, which for most is to get enough training |
| more accustomed to doing research and writing their | | | | and background in a certain field to have an |
| own <a rel="nofollow" | | | | opportunity for employment in that field upon |
| onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(' | | | | graduation. |