“To be prepared is half the victory” - Miguel de Cervantes
In the end, being successful in college will come down to being involved, seeking out good opportunities, studying well, creating friendships, and a myriad of other factors. However, having a few preparations under your belt before you head to campus couldn’t hurt, right? For me, the past two weeks have been particularly busy in the preparation department. Perhaps this is because move-in day is now less than one month away, or because my orientation dates finally arrived, or because dorm catalogs are showing up in my mailbox on a weekly basis… but college feels more and more real every day.
Let me take a step back.
On July 9 and 10, I headed to campus for orientation. Events started early in the morning, with an opening speech. Parents and student separated, and we were off! Overall, I was most looking forward to registering for my classes, which occurs on the second day, but I had fun meeting fellow students. There seems to be a basic set of questions that have to be covered when you first meet someone new: “Where are you from? Where are you living? What are you majoring in?”
Memorable programming includes an informal Q&A about the Kittredge Honors Program, which I am participating in; a session about the technology and IT services available to students; information about campus discipline and the honor code; an outrageous interactive skit; and a great barbeque out on the engineering quad. By the end of the first day, I was exhausted and a little bit nervous about the next day. Choosing classes felt like a very a big deal: it is a decision that will define my semester. I had a lot of thoughts floating around in my head as I faced my second day: overarching plans, classes I wanted to take, hopes, and fears.
Over the past few months, I’ve continued to think through the goals I have for my time at CU. Currently, I am planning to just do one major: Film Studies, and I hope to move into the BFA narrative film production track. I am interested in study abroad and am thinking about doing this in the UK, so I may couple it with an English/Irish studies certificate. I am already participating in the Honors program through KHP and am honored to be a part of the Norlin Scholars, so I will be doing an honors thesis in my senior year. One of my main goals, however, that is not reflected in this list, is just to take a lot of really interesting classes. I know this sounds rather obvious, but what I’m very excited about is the opportunity to learn about Greek Mythology, photography, ancient Rome, guitar, etymology… anything and everything that I can get my hands on.
For me, the days of “world history in two semesters” are long gone. I am ready to take specific and intriguing classes with focuses that draw me in. Along these lines, I was very pleased to find out that I brought about 18 credit hours with me from AP and IB classes. As I was found out during my advising meeting, I only have a few dozen general distribution credits left to fulfill. Learning this was freeing.
The second day of orientation involves a group meeting with your academic advisor - for film, this group was rather small - and then a private meeting to discuss your courses. Finally, you head to the computer lab to learn the ropes of registering, and are done. In my meeting, we went through the courses I was already registered for - four, in all - and the options for my remaining space. I walked out of there with five options to fill that last space, all classes that interested me and that I was eager to take. Unfortunately, none of these classes were available to me. I suppose this is simply how it is when you are a freshman, but I was rather disappointed. I ended up choosing a class I am now pleased with, but hadn’t planned on. In case you’re curious, the courses I ended up with are:
- Intro to Film Studies,
- Advanced 1st Year Writing
- Constructions of Knowledge
- Women in Film (Honors)
- Light and Color for Nonscientists
In the end, I managed to group my classes almost entirely into Tuesday and Thursday. I know this is going to make these days exhausting - I have classes from roughly 8-9, 9-10, 11-12, 4-5, and 7-10. Yes, that does sound like quite a lot. But, I am pleased to say that I have Monday off completely, one two-hour class on Wednesday, and a 50-minute recitation on Friday. I figured that having days that were devoted to classes and days when I could study and relax would work well for me. I’ll see in a few weeks if this was a smart choice, but it’s comforting to know that this schedule is only for one semester.
So that was orientation. I must admit, I came away a bit nervous about school. That was still the beginning of July, and I started to panic when I realized summer was coming to a close. But I’m doing my best to enjoy the last few weeks of summer, and to be ready for school when the time comes.
I’d love to know what you think of all of this - leave me comments below! If you’re past freshman year or college altogether, what do you remember about preparing to start? If you’re an incoming CU freshman, are you preparing yourself for college, or are you just planning head out here when the time comes? Have you done orientation and registration? How do you like your selected classes? What do you think makes a “good” schedule?
I’ll be back soon with a few more thoughts on preparations, but that’s it for now. Cheers! :)
This blog sponsored by the CU Book Store. www.cubookstore.com
3 comments:
I loved my Women in Film class. One of my favorite classes I ever took. I still have notes (somewhere) almost 10yrs later, lol.
I just remember getting supplies, being very nervous, because I'm shy anyways and this was the first time I was on my own. You'll do great! It's so much fun!
I like how you planned out your days. I did the same thing somewhat. I love a long day, lol.
Sounds like you've got preparing down to a science :-)
The most important part that my friends and I found was getting a schedule you could deal with, with classes that will let you graduate. I prefer to have my classes in the morning (8am!) all 5 days, and then take the afternoons (starting around 1) off to play and study as needed. Each person has a different sort of schedule that will work for them, (and mine would NOT work for many).
Another great way to prepare is to learn the city or town. Of course, you grew up in Boulder and so know pretty much all there is to know, but for those who are moving here, I suggest learning as much as you can about where is good to eat, hang out, study, etc. One of the best resources here is people who have lived in Boulder for a while, so meeting new people usually helps a great deal.
My final recommendations involve moving in: bring LESS than you think you'll need. Dorm rooms are absolutely TINY and if you and your roommate both bring a bunch of crap you don't need, you'll both be cramped and unhappy (and you can always have Mommy and Daddy ship things from home, or grab them at winter break). On that note, make sure you talk with your roommate about what kinds of things he or she can contribute to the room. The 2 most important items are a TV and a microwave, but knowing things like what sort of DVD and music (and video game) collection your roomie has can make your decision-making process easier as well!
(You can never go wrong with MarioKart for N64.)
I also recommend buying a Nerf gun or two. They are great for when your roomie is pissing you off or for when you just need to shoot something.
Friday's off is the KEY to any schedule. I was lucky to do it three times. Those were the days.
I loved my orientation. I met some of my best college friends there, and also found two people to be my freshman roomates. I still talk to one of them often. I didnt' sleep my entire orientation. We just stayed up and hung out the entire time, getting to know different people. It was a great time.
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