4C - New Student Edition - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 6, 2000
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Wonders and worries
all part offrosh life
S
By Anna Clark
DAly StaffTReporter
keep up with the work load, o
keep up, but at the expense of le
After battling through his fir
l
"I wonder if I will be able to handle the said he's learned a few lesson
transition from high school to college level sonte surprisingly pleasant on
classes. It is quite intimidating, knowing that it that the writing classes in colle
will be incredibly hard to earn A's and B's" more fulfilling than the on
"As an athlete, I'm slightly concerned about school," he said. "I also found
balancing swimming around my course load." classes were, to quote my proble
"(I don't know if) I can adjust from going to fessor, Ravzn Gelca, 'damn hard
a small high school and being one of the top He added that he was forced t
students there to going to a big college where I school study habits. "My math c
will be an
"(I'm worried) that many other
dent."
Answering students are at higher academic
anonymously
on oritentation levels and I will not be able to
evaluations,
nearly 80 per: take the stress of keeping up
cent of
Scrnt m i n g with the high pace and highly
have written conpetitive students."
that the Uni-
v e r s i t y 's - Incoming Freshman
c l a s s e s , as quoted at orientation
scheduling
and high aca-
demic standards were prime causes of sleep- The rest of the time was for soci
less pre-college nights. Many incoming students didn
It seems that the class of 2000's laundry list hard to earn the top academic
of accomplishments -- for instance, half have classes. RC freshman Bill Tre
perfect GPAs, according to the Office of while he didn't study much in h
Undergraduate Admissions -- is matched by still excelled academically. "I
similar lengthy list of academic concerns. very small academic environme
After carving their niche at the peak of their cess required little more than
high school class, perhaps with minimal and I am troubled to think that1
studying, new students worry about handling ping into a world of intellect
the University's classes. Many ask, "exactly which I'm ill prepared to meet,"
how much harder is this going to be," often Although he said le's going t
specifically citing organic chemistry and eco- hard on improving self-disciplin(
notnics as top concerns on the evaluations. he's excited about classes. "I'
Will I be competitive among thousands of ward to the atmosphere of inte
other smart students? Will I be able to balance and being able to interact with it
my time? really know what they're talki
"I would like to be as successful here as I said.
was in high school," one student wrote bluntly, With the OUA reporting 95 pc
summing up the fears. Their concerns aren't men returning for their second y
unusual. Current Universitv students remem- cent graduating within five
ber when they too doubted their abilities. students seem to agree with T
greater challenge of classes is w
Aren't the classes going to be hard?
r that I would
isure time"
st year, Pavlov
s - including
es. "I thought
ge were much
es from high
that the math
m solving pro-
.'"
o alter his high
lasses were the
ones that
forced me to
change my
study habits
to keep up,"
he said. "I
found that the
approach 'try
to get every-
thing done at
some reason-
able time
before the
deadlines'
worked really
well for class
and studying.
Ial stuff."
't have to work
spots in their
tnary said that
high school, he
come from a
ent, where suc-
consciousness,
I may be step-
tual standards
he said.
o have to work
e, Trenary said
i looking for-
Ilectual people
idividuals who
ng about," he
ercent of fresh-
ear and 80 per-
years, most
renary - the
sorth it.
'one else?
d the best," the
S3
BRAD QUINN/Daily
Although orientation allows students to become acquainted with campus, most freshmen admit reservations upon entering the University.
University raises the competitive level sig- lar as they were in high school." best ways to make the most of their time.
nificantly for students. Several wrote on the Most students stream into Ann Arbor "My classes are at crappy times," com-
evaluations that their top fears were main- unsure about what they want to study, or plained one student, while another worried
taining a success worthy of top business or are likely to alter present plans as they about getting to distracted by the "wonders
medical schools; manv others worried about unedver new passions along the way. Sev- of Ann Arbor." Mahaffy said time manage-
keeping up with classroom debates or under- eral freshiten said they were worried about ment can be a constant struggle, even after
standing reading assignments. declaring and fitting in both college and the first year.
"(]'tn worried) that manv other students are concentration requirements. "I think it's so overwhelming - living in
at higher academic levels and I will not be Pavlov said it's best to explore many areas the dorms with everybody right there, being
able to take the stress of keeping up with the before committing to one - that way, a stu- away from home, no curfew - that I still
high pace and highly competitive students," dent won't waste her time catching up on hadn't found the perfect schedule by the end
wrote one freshmen. requirements if she switches later on. of my first year," she said. "Friends who are
Pavlov said University competition is based "Try and take some intro courses and involved but can still make time to study, and
on self-motivation. "The whole competition see if any subjects spark your interest," he can study with you, are a big help."
thing becomes a bit more moot in college, due said. Still, as a prospective computer sci- Pavlov emphasized the importance of
to the fact that there are many, many, many ence major, lie admitted that it's important sleep. He said his problems in French were
geniuses hanging around," he said "I found to focus at times. solved by getting in bed earlier the nights
that it was much better to try and set my goals "Unfortunately, I was unable to take a before class.
around becoming a well rounded individual computer science course last year, so it "If you. have classes later in the morning,
with strength in some areas, instead of trying will take some effort to catch up," he said. like 10 or 11I am, don't get into the habit of
to beat out evervone else in my classes" The University's most popular under- staying up later than usual - 2, 3, or 6 am,"
Elizabeth Mahaffv, an RC sophomore, said graduate concentration programs are busi- he advised. "It's just as bad as waking up
students have to choose what they want to be ness administration, English, psychology, early in high school."
competitive at. "If you want to ace every sin- political science and mechanical engineer- Mahaffy also recommended taking advan-
gle class you take and be successful academi- ing, according to the OUA. tage of campus and city resources.
cally, you have to make that your priority, and "There are a million libraries and cof-
other aspects of college, like social and How am I going to balance my time? fee shops where you can study, but what-
extracurricular, will suffer" she said "If you ever you do and htowever you do it,
want to net really involved with everv organi- With sporadic classes, band or play prac- remember to make room in your schedule
zation on campus and be successful in that tices, tougher homework and a brand new for change," she said. "Flexibility is key, and
sense, your grades probably won't be as stel- social life, many freshmen worry about the See NEW, Page 5C
60
0
s
Zac Pavlov, an RC sophomore, said he wor-
ried last summer that "I wouldn't be able to
How will I compare to every
In attracting "the leaders and
-- - - -Advisors provide aid, knowledge
By Hanna LoPatin
Daily'StaffReporter
For the majority of freshman ori-
entation, incoming students to the
University spend time snith their
advisors, learning what will be
required of them in the next four
years and how to get there.
But orientation is not the only
time that students can spend with
their advisor. LSA Academic
Advising Center Director Alice
Reinarz said an objective of the
University's advising system is to
maintain a continuous relationship
between advisor and advisee
thought the latter's time at the Uni-
versity.
"The ideal situation is that they
will work with the same advisor
throughout their college career,"
Reinarz said.
Primarily, the advising office
assists students in scheduling, but
other services include assistance in
choosing and learning about a con-
centration.
The most high-traffic time for the
advising office is usually right
before class registration. But
Reinarz said that she urges students
to make appointments with their
advisors at any time, and not to wait
until the last minute.
"Anytime they can walk into our
office at 1255 Angell Hall," Reinarz
said. "Or call and schedule an
appointment with their own advi-
sor.
Walk-ins will see whichever advi-
sor is scheduled on that particular
day.
LSA Advising is not the only ser-
vice available on campus. "Other
schools and colleges have offices
comparitive to ours, but our is the
largest," Reinarz said.
"Some students working on joint
degrees will be advised in both
offices."
There is also a peer advising
office where students can go and
talk to other students who have been
trained to counsel in scheduling and
registration.
Thie LSA advising office also
works closely with the LSA Honors
office, Reinarz said. Neighbors in
Angell Hall, "We have a shareO
commitment to the students," she
said.
All of the offices work together,
Reinarz said. "I feel that it's a big
team effort."
Last year 37,500 students visited
the LSA Advising Office, but there
are other ways to seek advice or
receive help.
Advisors set up e-mail groups for
their students to keep them up to
date on occurrences within th.
office. For simple questions, stu-
dents can e-mail their advisors at
anytime.
Other ways students can get their
questions answered are by either
using Quick Question e-mail at
ask. isa.acdvising iaiimic(h.edit or
going online to the LSA Student
Academic Affairs Website located
at inww.lsa.umie't.cdt/saa/.
Reinarz said she wanted to get thoP
message out to new students on how
"happy we are to be working with
them. We hope they will be seeing
their advisor often."
Do NOT RIad This
-Well. since you're going to read it anyway...we want you to know that...
If you are negatively affected by the behavior of
another student that violates the University of
Michigan's Code of Student Conduct, give us a
call...we can help!
Office of Student Conflict Resolution
6040 Fleming Building
(734) 936.6308
www.umich.edu/~oscr/
a
0