Hello, everyone! Of course, I have to post an entry on 09/09/09... and I want to give everyone an update on my classes.
I graduated from the one of tiniest high schools (think: 55 people in graduating class) in New Jersey, so before I started Rutgers I feared I would morph into a faceless, nine-digit Rutgers ID number. And of course, freshmen take general introductory courses so I'm placed into giant lecture halls akin to a movie theater.
Two things definitely surprised me:
- I've adjusted to this new lecture hall dynamic already.
- I enjoy it!
I have animated and interesting professors, so I look forward grabbing a front seat to learn rather than heading to the back row to sleep. And if you sit in the front row, you're less likely to notice the intimidating size of your lecture, and the whole class suddenly seems more intimate. (My roommate, Sophie, gave me that advice; she is a junior so she knows all those awesome college tips.) The professor covers a lot of material in the lecture, so questions and comments are saved for your recitation section. I love it though! You completely immerse yourself in a subject without any distractions like those of a small high school class.
Here the courses I take as a first-year pharmacy major (our schedules for the next 6 years -- Class of 2015 represent!-- are actually set by the pharmacy school):
- General Chemistry
- General Psychology
- Calculus I
- Expository Writing
- Introduction to Experimentation (aka Chem Lab)
My earliest class all week is Chemistry at 11:10 AM and my classes end at around 3:35 PM, except on the nights I have Psychology. I love my schedule, even though my Wednesdays and Thursdays are a bit tough with some back-to-back classes.
So, the question is... have I actually learned in these acre-large lecture halls?
... YES! But I did not expect I would have to do so much independent study. I'm still catching up on homework that will never be corrected; I'm still studying for quizzes and tests that were only briefly announced; I'm still organizing my notes for each subject. Then again, with more responsibility is also more freedom and power.
Essentially, I am building my own education out of the bricks Rutgers has given me.
Location: SinglePost