|
Free
Advice for New BIO Advisees
At
the risk of sounding preachy, here are some tips I've gleaned after
nearly 10 years of advising BIO majors. I offer them in all sincerity,
and out of a desire to be helpful -- I think they can make your
stay here more successful. You'll certainly avoid reinventing wheels.
Best of all, like all good advice, it's free.
1.
Faculty members wish you the very best for the future. Our responsibility
is to help you prepare for it. During your stay at UGA, we will
try to give you the best education, and the best advice, possible.
We care about you. However, in the final analysis, it's your future,
not ours. That's why you should act like an informed consumer in
planning your education. Avail yourself of all the information you
need to fulfill university, college and major requirements. In other
words, read the labels. All the information you need is available
in printed and on-line form. Come to advising appointments PREPARED
to discuss your course plans. Remember - your advisor is just that:
an advisor, not a dictator. When you show up -- ON TIME -- have
a good idea what you should take next.
2.
GET TO KNOW FACULTY! Many students ask me to write recommendations
for professional schools. In most cases I gladly comply, but I cannot
do so for students I hardly know. It seems that many students don't
get to know the faculty who teach their courses. Some don't even
know their professors' names midway through the semester! While
some of my colleagues agree to write letters for people they hardly
know, ask yourself, what kind of letter will they write? Most admission
committees want to learn about a student's maturity, motivation,
communication skills and a range of other character factors. A professor
you haven't made an effort to meet can only testify to your grade,
something a committee will find out anyway from your transcript.
I URGE you to engage your professors, and view faculty as a resource
outside of class as well as inside. It doesn't matter whether it's
history or chemistry, DON'T BE ANONYMOUS! Here are some things you
can do:
- Make use of office hours to ask faculty questions from lecture
and/or reading assignments (not just to argue about exam points).
- Ask questions after or during class.
- Take advantage of review sessions.
- Before classes begin each semester, surf UGA websites in order
to find out about your professor's research interests. That
information can enhance what you get out of class and provide
opportunities for informed questions and conversation. Who knows
-- you might find the research interesting enough to assist
the professor. Here in Biology, we stress undergraduate research
and offer credit for it towards the major. If you've gotten
to know the professor, you already have a foot in the door.
- Get involved with your major department. One way is to join
clubs like AMSA and BSSA. Go to research seminars and other
functions where you can meet faculty.
There are all sorts of ways to make contact and establish a relationship
with faculty. When it comes time for a letter of recommendation,
the prof may not remember your name (after all, we're talking about
PROFESSORS), but (s)he will remember your face, and that's what's
important -- it's easy to remind her/him of your name. One word
of caution: in my experience, most faculty members are eager to
engage interested, interesting students. However, I can't guarantee
that you won't encounter somebody who isn't as receptive as (s)he
should be. Don't be discouraged!! Just chalk it up to their misfortune,
and try again with other professors.
3.
Don't put off registration! It's hard enough to get courses around
here - don't waste a chance at getting your first choice of courses.
4.
Acquire good study habits. A student recently admitted to me, regretfully,
not having figured out what it takes to retain material in textbooks
and notes and synthesize concepts from disparate information until
late in her UGA career. She and other students tend to rely on the
'passive' learning techniques that suffice in high school but are
of little use in college. I recommend a website on active learning
put together by Professor Marshall Darley. It's for biology students,
but serves equally well for almost anybody: www.botany.uga.edu/~darley/studybio.html.
In
short, instead of just highlighting and memorizing -- i.e. passive
learning -- be pro-active in the process by asking yourself questions
about the material you just read, writing out answers, relating
reading material to other chapters and lecture notes, and posing
questions to study-buddies.
And by all means, BE PREPARED in class by reading your assignments
AHEAD OF TIME. One of my students couldn't understand why he was
doing poorly on lecture exams. When asked, he admitted to reading
only the chapter summaries in the textbook. Ugh!
5.
Cultivate curiosity and a thirst for life-long learning. Success
after college increasingly depends on flexibility and adaptability.
Start now by regularly reading books, magazines and newspapers,
in print or on the web. Get a student subscription to Nature, Science
and/or Discover. Read the Science Times section of the New York
Times every Tuesday.
6.
Get involved with a few carefully chosen extracurricular activities.
There's more to UGA than classes. Joining clubs like BSSA, AMSA
and The Sagan Society introduces you to diverse people, helps forge
lasting friendships, and affords the opportunity to learn about
things you may not encounter in class. Obviously, your first obligation
is to education, but doing other things helps relieve stress and
takes the edge off of studying. So take some time for yourself with
a favorite activity, like working out or volunteering for a charity,
and consider a club or two.
7.
Get in the habit of writing regularly. Good writing, and good communication
skills in general, are in demand. People who express themselves
well succeed.
- When you send e-mail messages, take time to construct sentences
properly, with good grammar, spelling, punctuation and caps.
- Consider keeping a daily journal. Take time early in the morning
before you start the day to jot down the previous day's experiences,
plus your thoughts and perspectives.
- Sign up for classes that emphasize writing or speaking skills.
GOOD
LUCK AT UGA!!
Barry A. Palevitz, Coordinator of Advising in Biology
|
