I wish I knew that talking to academic advisor actually poses more options in your university life! They're actually a big help for me!

DC++ and the machub is the greatest thing you will ever have on residence. As soon as you move in, set it up as soon as possible.

Originally Posted by achhin

DC++ and the machub is the greatest thing you will ever have on residence. As soon as you move in, set it up as soon as possible.

For the access to all the wonderful study material that some students offer... right?

RIGHT?!

RIGGGGGGGGGGGHTTT?!

I wish I knew what happened to the OP....

I think someone here said they wish they knew how fun rock climbing was.

I went rock climbing at the pulse for the first time in years yesterday as part of my usual workout. I have to say, it was an incredible experience. I forgot how fun it really was. Climbing to the top is very fun and rewarding, and last time I had gone rock climbing back in junior days of high school I had never made it that far, so this was an achievement. I'm glad I became aware of how fun this is now, so I can continue doing it for the years to come.

If you haven't gone yet, definitely do so! Don't make it something you wish you knew, do it!

If you want to take money out on campus (ATM), buy an envelope from the bookstore and ask for cash back. Wish I knew that earlier.

make sure to buy ur textbooks b4 skool starts

Pizza Pizza takes meal plan.

The school/CA's/RM's may say you can't change rooms in res, but if you really do have a serious problem with a roommate, they will do it.

You can sleep in MUSC!

Go to the gym and participate in the group classes!

Bring an extension cord if you live in rez!

If ur going into chembio second year.... LOL its harder, like wayyyy harder than first year.

ummm
REVIEW TEH NOTES GODAMMIT. I wish I organized and didnt have notes from every lecture to review, if it was a quick summary note it would be lots more efficient, in the end what you learn from ever lecture kinda shrinks down, eventually to maybe a sentence worth.

Have a calendar, and write down everything on it before anything happens, midterms, labs, etc. Make sure to review a long time before the exams happen, life sci exams tend to be crammed and you dont want to be cramming for five days straight.

When you study bio there is a nice little room where alistar tracey sets his office in, you can always go there to study, and if you have questions there are plenty of bio help.

Skipping lectures if they are boring is kinda okay, but always be aware of what happened in what you skipped and make up for it right after, or if you know what is going to happen study it yourself at the same time as the lecture.

Tutorials help, if its courses like physics, psych, and bio 1m, they dont have tutorials as a place where you ask questions but psych u can stop ur ta after tutorial and ask questions, physics theres help in thode, bio 1m go to the prof during office hours or take my advice above. Math tutorials are absolutely beautiful, but I ignored them anyway because it was not a hard course, if you need more help, basement of hamilton hall.

Check ur mac email regularly, dont miss out on important stuff because you didnt check it for a month, now that its on gmail i set aside my firefox just for checking it and my other mailboxes. (it does interfere with youtube and other google services as it is only an email account that doesnt even work with the app on iphone)

Capitalize on everything the university offers. This includes the health care facilites (physical, sexual, mental/emotional); whatever you can use for free at DBAc as a student. and various opportunities that come exclusively to university students as a whole. The list goes on.

Always check in with academic advising and make sure you're going down the right path. Even if you feel like you're doing something right, it's better to have it double checked than assume you're good to go only to find out when it's much too late that you're missing something crucial. They'll help you with everything from course selection to career guidance (although you should go to the Student Success Centre for specifics). The best part of being on good terms with academic advisors is that they'll get to know you and thus are more willing to help you out. It's not so much favouritism as it is a thorough understanding of your situation. You can only truly receive the best help you can get if someone knows exactly what you need/what you're going through.

The Student Success Centre is invaluable. Literally anything you need to know regarding careers (how to write a CV, where to apply to teacher's colleges, what it takes to qualify for certain programs), they'll have it. They have a whole team organized to help you out with your personal specifics. From what I know, they help you look for jobs as well as internships.

Always read the bulletin boards in every building! These tend to get overlooked, but sometimes you'll find the greatest things there. Everything from postings about sublets/rooms/apartments, to notifications about symposiums or visits from guest lecturers. The best thing to do is always check the bulletin boards in the building designated for your department, where you'll find opportunities catered to your academic pursuits.

Build a relationship (to whatever degree you feel comfortable with) with your professors and/or TAs. You don't have to be best friends, but you have to establish the kind of intimacy that allows both of you to speak freely with each other at a whim. You shouldn't be the sort of student that only ever goes to their academic superiors because they need something. Think of them more as your co-workers and establish a respect between you that breaks down the power dynamics as much as possible. Granted, at the end of the day they're still ultimately responsible for how you do and you shouldn't treat them like frat buddies, but being friendly is not difficult.

This is more for first years I guess, but don't feel the need to do what everyone else is doing. You'll make yourself miserable because then you're just compromising your personal beliefs/lifestyle for a group of people who wouldn't care for you otherwise. Not saying they're bad people, but they definitely aren't getting to know the real you so they technically don't appreciate the real you. It might take some time, but carve out your own niche. Spend time with yourself above anyone else. There's a huge scramble to socialize in university, and it's not wrong: establishing some base level of connection with other people as fast as possible has its merits. But in the midst of all that people forget to find out what THEY like for themselves. You're given a buss pass, explore the city. Downtown Toronto is a bus ride away. Talk to Hamilton natives about city events.


There's more, but that's all I'll put down for now. Sorry for, you know, the essay. :s

Originally Posted by carolynchong

You can sleep in MUSC!

during exam time, this comes in handy!