Now that you’ve had the chance to get to know each of us a bit more and have had your fill of introductions we can move on to the good stuff. I thought since we haven’t even finished the first month of school yet it was the perfect time to write a combination “college survival guide” and “what I know now I wish I’d know then” type of post for the incoming freshman, transfers, and any USM student that just isn’t in the know (don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone who you are). This is the kind of information I wish I’d known two or three years ago and I’m offering it up to you with no strings attached, free of charge. I know, you can thank me later.
What I Know Now I Wish I’d Known Then:
1. Get Involved
I know, I know, every USM faculty and staff members pushes this point until you want to scream and you even spent over half an hour talking about this same subject during student orientation. Trust me, when I went to my orientation I felt exactly the same way. I was so worried that even if I did nothing other than go to class and homework it was a real possibility I might fail all of my classes. With this type of thinking it was impossible for me to even contemplate getting involved in extracurricular activities. Those were valuable study hours I would be losing!
I know that college course work is a step up from high school work and I also know that we all have families, friends, jobs, and of course homework which take up a lot of our time outside of classes. Even if you are busy and involved outside of USM I still really encourage you to get involved in something within the USM community. Getting involved within USM leads to connections with other students (i.e. more friends with similar interests) and faculty and staff members (i.e. references and letters of recommendation). It’s also something to add to (or help fill up) a resume. Plus, a lot of the clubs, organizations, and intramural sports groups are not as big of a time commitment as you might think; some meet only a couple hours a week. Click here for a list of USM’s student clubs and organizations and contact information for each and here for information about intramural sports.
I can honestly say that getting involved at USM was one of the best decisions I ever made during my time in college. During my freshman year I didn’t take this advice and because of that I limited my opportunities and my circle of friends. I had a few close friends my freshman year and knew some people at USM but that’s nothing compared to what I have now. I met some of my closest friends through my various job at USM and these people have even helped me network in order to find other jobs and opportunities. Learn from my mistakes and get involved early! I guarantee that opening yourself up to one club, job, or organization will springboard you to more opportunities than you can imagine.
2. Seek Help From Your Professors
A lot of new students, and even some upperclassmen, are afraid to approach their professors and introduce themselves, ask questions, and ask for additional help. I don’t know about the professors at other colleges because USM is the only school I’ve ever attended but the professors here truly want to get to know you and want to help you. All professors are required to hold four office hours per week and also be available to meet by appointment. Don’t hesitate to drop by your professor’s office during these times to ask about a grade you received, ask for additional help if you’re struggling, or just simply introduce yourself. I’m sure grading papers all afternoon is boring so he or she will most likely welcome the distraction.
3. Be Engaged in Class
There enough students at USM that when they manage to make it to class just sit in the back of the room and stare off into space for the hour and fifteen minute class period. Don’t be one of them! Sit near the front of the room, actually take notes, and ask questions when something doesn’t make sense. Not only will this help you do better in the class, it will show the professor that you are interested and engaged and professors are more likely to remember these kinds of students. Professors that know you and know that you are invested in the class will be more likely to write you letters of recommendation and even recommend you for opportunities such as teacher’s assistant jobs or internships.
4. College is NOT like High School
Okay, so this one seems a bit obvious on the surface but it’s an important point and thus, in my opinion at least, worth discussing. One of the most important ways that college differs from high school is that learning in college in student directed while learning in high school is teacher directed. What this means is that while in high school your teacher would check-up with you about missing assignments or absences you may have had, in college this won’t happen. Turning in assignments, figuring out what you missed during an absence, and asking for help if you’re struggling is now solely your responsibility, which is why seeking help from your professors is key. They do want to help you but they won’t know that you’re struggling (or that you care that you’re doing poorly in the class) unless you tell them.
5. Use the Resources on Campus
I didn’t even realize the amount of resources for students we actually have on campus until well into my sophomore year. No matter how much you plan and how hard you work you are bound to hit a speed bump once and a while. Maybe your roommate keeps eating all of your food or you just don’t understand organic chemistry no matter how much you study. There are departments and resources on campus that can help you navigate through these problems and many more. Do not hesitate to seek support from these resources—that’s what they’re there for!
Here’s a brief list (there is no way I could possibly list all of them) of resources for students on campus with links to each department's website:
In closing, I’ll provide you with another link (I know, this entire post has been littered with links, but I promise I saved the best for last) to an article in last week’s Portland Phoenix. This article is titled “Portland Student Survival Guide” and since I wanted to include something like this in my next post anyway, I figured this was perfect. It’s essentially a collection of lists naming things such as "five places to go for food at midnight" and "five amazing films from the 'incredibly strange' section at Videoport". I couldn’t have done any better myself so instead of trying to create a b-list version of this article I thought I’d just include the link to the real thing.
Hope to see you guys at some of these places : )
Alesia
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