My name is Alex Phaneuf, I’m a first-year student in Life Sciences at Queen’s and a First-Year Intern with WiSE. I remember what it’s like in the spring semester, once you start getting accepted to University programs, and you think to yourself, how am I supposed to know what to choose? Don’t worry, because I’ve compiled a few things that I wish someone would’ve told me a year ago:
1. First-year science programs are pretty much all the same. You read that right, no matter which school you go to, or the fancy name they give the program, with a few exceptions, anyone in science (not engineering though) will take the same general chemistry, biology, calculus (usually), and physics or psychology (sometimes) courses. They do this to get students from everywhere on the same page so that everyone has the same knowledge base to take into their specific programs in second year. I think that knowing this would’ve helped me a year ago, because I know I was stressing about what niche program I wanted to do. Instead of worrying about the nitty-gritty details, I’d pick the program with the most options in second year and onward that interest you. Unless you’ve only ever been interested in one thing your entire life, I would also choose a general program over a more specific one, to give you the chance to explore more options.
2. Your first-year university experience will be very similar, no matter what school you go to. Keeping in mind what I said about the programs in point #1, the frosh experience is pretty similar at most schools in Canada, because most people are in residence. Everyone starts the year off in a similar environment, so I wouldn’t worry too much about the school’s reputation from a social perspective, because most people are doing the same sort of thing no matter if you’re at Queen’s or Waterloo. You will find your people. I’d also add that the first few weeks will be very overwhelming with work, but it will get easier. I wish I’d had someone tell me not to stay in, working on a lab report that wasn’t due for a week, on a Friday night just because I was stressed out about school. A great solution to being stressed out about school is to take a break. Go out, meet new people, they want to meet you too. No matter what school you’re at :).
3. Annotate. The. Slides. Okay, seriously, this is my BIGGEST tip on how to succeed in class. If you listen to one thing I’m saying, please listen to this. You do not have time to take pretty notes on every little thing your prof is saying while in lectures. The same thing goes for recorded lectures and textbook readings (which you will have to do, but 'read' really means skim, unless you’re confused on the subject). A lot of people will get iPads to be able to write notes directly on PDFs that the profs post, and I think that’s a great strategy. However, if that’s not possible for you, totally fine. I have friends who keep a running Google or Word document (or even a notebook) where they write down the things profs say that AREN’T written on the slides so they can access them later. Science has proven that notetaking isn’t an effective way to study, so your notes are better used as a reference for other studying later (think practice questions, flashcards, and BRIEF summary sheets or concept maps).
4. There is nothing wrong with going home to visit your parents. I know at first, I was so determined to be an independent person at university and not need my parents that I didn’t call much or come home until the fall reading week. However, since then, life has gotten more complicated, and I’ve been back and forth more than I would’ve thought, and that’s okay. You might be thinking, but Alex, what if I miss something on the weekend? You might, but there will always be another weekend. Now, I’m including this, mainly because the distance from your school to your home is a factor that determines how feasible it is to go home for a weekend. I would seriously consider if that’s something that would likely benefit you (WITHOUT considering if you think that’s lame or embarrassing, trust me, nobody worthwhile is judging you for it). I know that I’m thankful that I go to school out of town, but that I’m only a short drive or train ride away from home if I need it.
5. Nobody else knows what they’re doing. I know that I’ve had some major impostor syndrome over the past year because it felt like I was the only person who was doing X, or not doing X, and that’s perfectly normal. Whether it’s during the decision process in high school that you feel lost, or maybe, you’re like me, and you get to university and it seems like everyone around you is doing about ten more extracurriculars than you are, you’re going to be okay. Even the person who seems to have everything together is probably freaking out on the inside. If I could go back in time, I would tell my past self to breathe, and only take on things that I actually want to do, not just things I feel like I should. With that said, I strongly recommend trying one extracurricular activity, if that’s something you have the capacity for. The bottom line is that since everyone is just as lost as you are, you’re never wasting your time if you’re doing something you enjoy.