My first year vs. my fourth year

As a first-year student navigating deadlines, I was compelled to procrastinate most of my tasks. I soon realized the semester passed by quicker than I thought. My advice, start early. Try organizing your time by working on parts of your assignments or studying ahead of the deadline. This way, you aren’t cramming everything before it is due.  

I was the type of person to rely on friends or peers to acquire information. This wasn’t necessarily a bad approach but I could have learned a lot more from my professors and teaching assistants. Your professor and teaching assistants have office hours to answer any questions or address concerns you have about the course. 

If you are interested in research and find a professor’s work intriguing, make use of their office hours to network, get to know them and enhance your learning. Before meeting with a professor of your interest, make sure to learn more about their lab and research!  

Tip: I would visit a professor’s office hours with a prepared list of questions typed on my computer and take notes based on the professor’s responses to each question.

In my first year, I never took advantage of the student services, workshops or events. After attending workshops and services, I realized they really helped me.

One of my favourite workshops I went to was hosted by Careers at the Student Success Centre. It focused on the actions students could take to create personal statements and letters of intent. I then made an appointment with a career coach, who reviewed my resume and provided career advice.

Taking advantage of the resources on campus made me feel like I was not alone. If you have spare time, visit some of the services and events happening on campus.  I highly recommend attending events and appointments. You can learn more on OSCARplus under Student Success Centre.

There will be times when your plans or expectations do not go your way. I had moments where my grades didn’t end up the way that I wanted, or I had to change paths. But it’s okay for this to happen. Every moment in university is a learning opportunity. As students, we must make room to grow and this could mean accepting change and mistakes when they happen. If you need support in your academic adjustment, check out the individual appointments you can book with the Writing and Academic Skills Team.

We tend to disregard feedback, especially negative feedback attached to a low or unexpected grade because it can feel disappointing or frustrating. Not considering feedback can affect your learning progress.

Every type of feedback is important for you to understand what went wrong and how you can improve. Take note of everything that you can do to improve in the future. When you receive positive feedback on assignments, I would recommend reading the part(s) if stated, that made the assignment strong and apply it to future assignments as well.