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College Tribune | September 16 2008
Fresher’s Guide News
Let’s Get the Serious Stuff Out of the Way Learning to cope with the pressures of UCD academic life On your arrival to UCD as a fresher, many things are immediately hurled your way with the expectation that you can manage it all, such as a completely new social scene and different academic focuses. For many students, they are beginning to study a subject they have never done before at all, which can be quite a daunting prospect. Thankfully first year doesn’t count towards your degree anyway, because otherwise getting into the swing of things would be an altogether different, and definitely more painful, experience. The best thing to do, having been tried and tested by all UCD students, is to relax and enjoy the course you picked. If you are enjoying it (the actual course that is, not just the socialising), then you can’t go too far wrong.
Learn from experience 2nd year Arts student: What were the greatest academic challenges you came up against in first year? It was definitely hard trying to keep the pattern of getting up early for nine o’clock lectures and getting in on time for tutorials because no one else is really there to make you like they did in school. If you don’t turn up they probably won’t even notice, although they’ll never get to know you in tutorials then which can be awkward if you decide to start attending them. It sounds great that nobody corrects you but trust me, it means you do have to really push yourself if you want to get through the course, unless you want to be known as “that dosser there”.
first year Arts students? I’d say the best advice I can give is to just pace yourself. I know if I read that at the beginning of last year, it would have gone in one ear and out the other but it becomes crystal clear come the exam period. Do you have any advice specifically for first year students? Well everyone should remember that first year is more of a test run so don’t get overly stressed. I would advise all students to stick to normal enough working hours outside of their lectures and tutorials. Just because you may have only have a few hours doesn’t mean you should hang around all day and then stay up ‘till some ungodly hour fretting over your work for the next day that you were too busy drinking your fourth cup of coffee to do. What has been the best thing so far about UCD academic life? You are doing something you chose to specialise in instead of covering some horrible course work you never plan on looking at again. How did you survive come essay/test time? On cola and other caffeinated beverages, but don’t do that. 2nd year Law student: What were the greatest academic challenges you came up against in first year? Motivating myself to do something and anything in the way of work, especially if you just did the Leaving Cert. I felt that I deserved a break but it doesn’t really work that way unless you actually take the year out.
Did anything surprise you about college academic life? The short hours really threw me for a while. I’m doing Arts so I only had around twelve hours or so per week. There’s so much more freedom as a result. You can choose when to do your tutorial work and readings. You also manage to fit in a few three-hour breaks here and there.
Did anything surprise you about college academic life? Everything is self-orientated. You are taught but not in the same manner that you were beforehand. There is a certain level they expect you to be at and from there they will give you the information you need to get on with it.
What advice would you give to all
What advice would you give to all
first year students? Get into it early and don’t let the work build up. Then you will have no troubles.
something you are supposed to be gradually gaining fluency in. Commerce is fine once you manage your workload evenly as well. How not to write an essay
Do you have any advice specifically for first year law students? For law, the readings given each week are really tested so do bother to read them from the beginning. What has been the best thing so far about UCD academic life? I suppose, you know where the future lies from here on in. How did you survive come essay/test time? Cramming was involved to be honest but that could’ve been avoided. However, most first years end up doing it to an extent as they get caught up in the new social scene and the novelty of it all. Commerce and Language student: Do you have anything to add that’s specific to your course that will help first year commerce and language students? Remember with a language that you need to practice more than a lot of other subjects- it’s harder to cram for
• Don’t begin by refreshing with a million cups of coffee. You will be so hyped up that whatever you write will either be uninhibited genius or the rubbish spoutings of an idiot. Do you really want to take the chance? Think of your embarrassment re-reading it after you’ve handed it in. • Never do it the night before. Don’t even try to convince yourself that you’re something of an owl and actually prefer to work late. No, you’re a procrastinator. Once again, think of the future embarrassment you’ve set aside for yourself. •Even worse than the night before is doing it on the day itself. You will set your alarm for half six, but you won’t get up until seven forty-five, at which point everything has to go spectacularly well in order for you to get it in on time. It won’t, you don’t have the typing skills of a robot and your busman hates you so good luck. There’s a good chance that you will also realise
Your potential isn’t always obvious. But we see it. Lucy, future solicitor.
your printer is out of ink this morning. •If everything is running like a well-oiled machine and you’ve managed a first draft, back it up onto a floppy disc in case your computer decides to freeze. •If you’ve run out of things to say, just look over your work and think for a while. Don’t just mindlessly stick in large quotes and then paraphrase what it says. To give them credit, the person correcting this will know what you’re doing and won’t appreciate you treating them like an idiot. •Don’t overuse your thesaurus. It will either come across as unnatural or hilarious depending on how badly you overuse it. •Lastly, when researching or looking for the finishing touches for your essay, don’t solely stick to the internet. Unless you have a specific article or piece of information in mind, half your lecture hall has probably found that finishing touch you stumble across. Go to the library and use some of their stuff too- it’s the big spacey area with loads of books hanging around at the end of the corridor.
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12/09/2008 17:29:25