Inspired by David's post... I've decided to give everyone a snapshot of all the classes I am taking this semester. I mentioned before that college classes are much different than high school classes--- but just how much? Read on...
(I am also procrastinating from my expos paper. Blogging is much more fun than writing a 5-6 page paper about comparing two essays). Speaking of Expos...
Expository Writing
Do not believe the people who say "Oh, it's not that bad. Don't worry about it." Do not believe them. This class is difficult, time-consuming, and discouraging. It's supposed to help you develop "critical thinking/reading/writing skills," but you're more likely to develop a headache than anything else. Expos makes me question my ability to read and write. Yes, seriously. On the other hand, my professor Jesse Hoffman is very entertaining, encouraging and helpful. But I still have to tackle this expos monster because my first paper is due on Friday.
General Chemistry
My professor, Dr. Rajoo, flies through General Chemistry with every lecture. But it's unanimous that she's an amazing and articulate teacher. More than 500 students cram into the hall every morning three times a week to hear her lecture. This class goes so quickly that I feel like I'm always trying to catch up. There is a lot of problem-solving and studying for this class-- but you're in good company. There are over 1200 students taking this course; so at least you know you're not suffering alone.
Calculus 135
Calculus never ends. Just when you think you finished your homework, there's webwork, and then the next lecture, and then more homework, and then a quiz, and then more homework. This class does not go as quickly as General Chemistry, but the concepts are incredibly challenging. I go to the Loree Learning Center and my Bunting-Cobb dorm library for calculus tutoring every week so that makes the class more bearable.
General Psychology
My favorite class! I absolutely adore Professor Jacobs's lectures. He makes the class interactive, which is actually a difficult thing to do when the lecture hall has more than 200 students. He applies interesting examples and class activities in every lecture so the class is never an hour of powerpoint slides and monotone lecturing. If you get the chance, definitely take Professor Jacobs for General Psychology.
Introduction to Experimentation (Why don't they just call it Chem Lab?)
We do chemistry experiments for three hours every week. THREE HOURS. It supplements General Chemistry because it provides hands-on experience for chemistry concepts. I have a super nice and helpful lab instructor so lab is actually fun.
Thankfully, I placed out of General Biology or else I would practically just live in the library.
Anyways, pharmacy students follow a pre-set curriculum for six years. If anyone is interested in the pharmacy program at Rutgers, I uploaded the course requirements:Pharmacy Curriculum.pdf (24.94 kb)
Speaking of pharmacy, today my dean sent all the freshmen pharmacy students an email basically saying: Do not screw up your chem exam next week.
Wow, no pressure or anything, right? AH-- I must remember to breathe.
All right, I should get back to my expos essay. To conclude my post: here is Buddy, the hearing-aid dog for my psychology professor. The other day Professor Jacobs let us feed him :)
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