CalTech Acceptance and college life question!

[Silvanos]

I'll add a few more, these are from my wife, who is a tenured Prof.

It is not that Prof's don't care. It is that if they do not see you putting forth the effort, they see no reason to put forth the effort on you...

Be honest, and realize that every professor has heard every possiable excuse there is... If you screw up, just say I screwed up. Make deadlines. And avoid asking for extensions.

The best way to get to know a Prof, is to go to their office hours and ask for help on an assignment. This lets them get your face memorized, and shows that you are invested.

Do not show up to a Prof's office hours everyday. They tend to have a bunch of things to do in the few hours they are in their office... And while most are willing to HELP, they are not willing to do your assignment for you.

KEEP YOUR SYLLABUS! It is the contract between yourself, and your professor. If you have a question about an assignment, gradeing, or course policy... It will likely be there! Prof's tend to get very annoyed when you ask them a question about something that is ON page one.

While good Prof's care about their GOOD students, they are not your parents, and will as likely be willing to watch you fail, as they are to watch you succeed. Because GOOD Prof's know that if you Fail, it is not their failure but yours. Plus, they likely have Tenure! (I added that)

Get involved in something on campus that does NOT involve alot of drinking.
Get involved in something on campus that DOES involve alot of drinking, but only on weekends.

Know that Spring Break starts on a Monday, not the Wed. Thurs. or Friday before. Many Prof's will give quizes on the Friday before just for this reason...

Be on time. People that show up late piss me off.


Well there you have it. And let me tell you, she can be MEAN.

 

[Agback]

G'day

1. Pay attention in class. You will have plenty of time to goof off with your friends out of class.

2. Check out the material in the textbook before class. If the textbook is any good, don't bother too much about making notes: they won't have an index.

3. Learn during semester: do not rely on a last minute cram before exams.

4. If other students go to ask questions after lectures, go to listen. Answer the questions in your own mind. Listen to the lecturer's answers. Compare.

5. You are never going to have as much free time again as you will have in college. You will never again mingle with so many young, good-looking, intelligent people. Make the most of it. Make friends: some will last all your life. Fall in love at least once.

6. On the other hand, you will have plenty of opportunities to pickle your brain throughout the rest of your life. Go easy on the sauce. As for 'experimenting', you will get the same results that everyone else does.

7. Think!

Regards,


Agback

 

[Bibliophile]

Well, I'm planning on joining their Track team (ran hurdles for two years in high school), and i'm thinking of trying fencing or something else. As far as anything else goes, yeah, I'm a guy, and I'm really looking to double major in Astronomy and Physics (so I may just abide by that sleep schedule Dr. Harry).

Anyway, the advice sounds good, keep it coming

 

[Angcuru]

NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER procrastinate when you have an essay or big assignment to do. Unless you have the ability to whip out a genius 7-10 page essay in an hour (which I am capable of and have had to do on occasion), do whatever assignments you have as soon as you can. That way, you have free time afterwards wherein you don't have to worry about it. Also, ALWAYS make a backup (two is better, three is gold) of any paper you are writing on your PC. They have a tendency to become lost, deleted, etc, so it is MUCH better to be safe than to be VERY sorry. Just this morning I went to print an essay that was due in my english class today before leaving the house, and found that it no longer existed on my hard drive. I spent my showering, eating, and grooming time re-writing this paper like a speed demon before leaping into my car and driving as quickly as possible (within reason) to campus, and almost diving into the classroom in hopes that I would make it on time....only have the professor walk in 5 minutes later. It just isn't worth the time, risk, or trouble. Also, if you find 4 courses a semester to be too easy, DO take more, if financially possible. It's better to get more done with moderate effort than to get less done in the same amount of time with little effort.

And always hold on to your syllabus. That too. Pay attention in class. If you pay rapt attention to what your Professor is saying, rather than lying back and looking disinterested, you will get far more out of the class than you otherwise would, and the Professor will probably be more likely to cut you some slack if you get into a bind.

 

[Iron Sheep]

As a Math Prof, I'd agree with a lot of what people said above. And I'll add in a few more:

Don't pull all-night cram sessions before exams, particularly exams where you need to think (like math). When you're dead tired you make lots of mistakes; when you're well rested you may be able to work out an answer even if you've forgotten the method.

If you need help, ask someone, whether a friend, a tutor, a classmate, or the prof. And ask sooner rather than later.

Take notes in class, even if you have a really good text: it keeps you focused on what the prof is saying, it gives you a second reference source, and a good prof will probably give a different take on the material than the text anyway.

In math, science, engineering, and other "problem-based" courses, do lots of problems and examples. The way you learn calculus, for example, is by doing it. This probably applies to a lot more subjects, too.

You're an adult now. Act like one (not that I'm saying you don't already, but many students don't). That means (amongst other things) taking responsibility for your own education.

Don't cheat or plagiarize. It's usually transparently obvious if you do, and the consequences are severe.

If you have a *#&$!@ mobile phone, turn it off when in class! In general, be courteous and considerate towards your fellow students.

The best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else.

University should take the same amount of your time as a full-time job: about 40 hours/week. Obviously some weeks will be busier than others, but this is a good benchmark for how much time you should be putting in.

Make sure you do stuff other than classes and study.

LA is big and scary, but you get used to it, and eventually will probably like it (I did my PhD at UCLA). You'll probably need to get a car if you don't live in a dorm. If you don't live in a dorm, then live fairly close to campus: Pasadena is nice and commuting in LA truly sucks.

The LA Philharmonic has insanely good student season tickets, and if you turn up just before an opera performance, you can get really good seats for $10-$15 as a student (at least you could 10 years ago: it might be more expensive now). Get a bunch of friends together and just go: if you don't like it, it's cheap enough that you can eat the cost; if you do like it, well you've got a new thing to do.

There's probably lots more advice I could give, but I can't think of anything in particular.

Corran

 

[jerichothebard]

1) Pay attention to _HOW_ you learn. There is much more opportunity to explore your own learning process in college than ever before.

For example, I learned about myself that if I go to all my classes and pay attention, I don't need to take very many notes, and they won't help me study. I had friends who did just as well as I did, but were the exact opposite. Couldn't tell you what the prof. said without looking at their notes. Different people, different process. My wife, who's a middle school teacher, says I am a kinesthetic learner, someone who learns by association with the physical. In this case, by association with the professor and the lecture hall.



2) Also - not to rain on the parade, but I will say this. You got into CalTech, which means you were at the top of your class in HS.


So was everyone else you are now going to school with. Welcome to the big time.





IIRC, Caltech makes you live in the dorms and doesn't let you have a car in your freshman year, which negate my next two points:

3) Live in the dorms. Instant friends everywhere you look.
4) By hook or by crook, get a car. NOTHING will make you friends faster, PARTICULARLY in LA. Realize that you will be used for your car by your poor friends, and make them pay for gas.




5) When you get to the point you are living in an apartment, find the friend in your social group with the best hanging-out pad (it may be you) and host a big "all-your-friends and that cute girl downstairs" dinner there every friday night. Make people chip in for food and take turns cooking. We did this every friday for an entire year, and it was the greatest year of my college career. Average cost was around $4-5 per person, and the food was often great.

6) If you wake up to the sounds of your dorm-mate and his new girlfriend doing the dirty in the same room, throw the h* out and never let her come back. (No, I'm not bitter...)...

7) When your girlfriend comes over, and you have lit the candles and put on the Barry White CD, make sure you have locked your bedroom door. Then, for the love of Pete, double-check that it's actually LATCHED CLOSED.


8 ) Last but not least, a bit of advice you won't need until 2008 or 2009. When you graduate, expect some post-graduation depression. It happens to most of us and no one ever warns you. It gets better.

 

[Tewligan]

Also, while your in college, you'll see streaking,

Who's your R.A., Ray Stevens?

 

[MW Turnage]

Run out ASAP and get find a copy of Pepper White's The Idea Factory: Learning to Think at MIT. It's White's memoirs as a grad student at MIT from '81 to '84. While it's about MIT rather than CalTech, you'll find a lot of similarities. Going into an environment where everyone was the top of their class. Living in a social situation where there's constant pressure, both external and internal. Dealing with the tensions between the academic world and the business world, and the directly opposing priorities each has. Having to face the fact that there may be limits you never knew you had, and might not want to admit.

It's a book I really, really wish someone had given me to read before I started college. Would've changed the way I approached a number of things.

(EDIT: Congratulations, BTW! Getting in is an incredible achievement, and you should rightly be proud of it)

 

[Macbeth]

Who's your R.A., Ray Stevens?

Naw, i just play rugby.
After your first try (same as a touchdown in American football) you do the "Zulu Warrior," which is basically streaking. Fun times.... It's not really streaking, since you usually only do it in front of the team, but still....

Also, good advice on learning HOW you learn, I almost never need notes from class (only really important stuff gets on my paper), but my girlfriend is the polar opposite, she has pages upon pages of notes.

cooking is a good idea. Somce dorms have communal kitchens you can use, take advantage of them. Girls love guys that can cook

 

[juxtaposicion]

I got accepted too...

Are you going there for prefrosh weekend (April 22-25)? I am... I' just might cya if you go to the prefrosh weekend, and chances are we'll see each other anyway if ya don't.
-Chris