Advice for surviving weed out courses at large schools

[Anonymous]

Not that my kid will listen to any advice...

Thinking huge bio, chem and calc classes with discussion or recitation sections led by TAs of varying skills...

[Anonymous]

Sit up front and take good note
Don’t miss lecture or discussion classes
Use office hours
Keep up, don’t fall behind

[Anonymous]

Check to see if there are tutoring services. Liberal arts colleges have several layers of peer tutoring (one on one, group, etc.) in addition to the profs' office hours. I know WashU has peer tutoring in STEM fields that's limited to students who have declared their majors. There may be some type of peer tutoring sponsored by the college, offered at no cost to students.

[Anonymous]

Sign up for the 8am class. They are typically smaller. Plan your semester, note due dates and exams. Study consistently throughout the semester. Use TA and office hours. Sign up for tutoring if offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sit up front and take good note
Don’t miss lecture or discussion classes
Use office hours
Keep up, don’t fall behind

This.

College professor here. NEVER miss class. Do ALL the homework. Even if it's boring, seems stupid, or you don't understand it. Repetition works wonders.

Also, if there are free MIT lectures on the topic, watch them. You may have to watch an MIT course out of order to make it match the topics in your ourse.

[Anonymous]

Go to the tutoring centers from the start of the first homework. Stay on top of the work. The minute you start slipping that puts you in the situation of trying to get a handle on old material while trying to learn the new material. It becomes a game of constant catch up.

Stay on top of the work. Even if you think you understand it, go over it.

[Anonymous]

^And definitely go to each and every class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sign up for the 8am class. They are typically smaller. Plan your semester, note due dates and exams. Study consistently throughout the semester. Use TA and office hours. Sign up for tutoring if offered.

Are you kidding? I always slept through my 8 am classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sign up for the 8am class. They are typically smaller. Plan your semester, note due dates and exams. Study consistently throughout the semester. Use TA and office hours. Sign up for tutoring if offered.

Are you kidding? I always slept through my 8 am classes.

College kids staying in dorms stay up late. My kid always go past midnight. So, avoid early morning classes (at least the first semester) until the student knows his sleeping pattern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sign up for the 8am class. They are typically smaller. Plan your semester, note due dates and exams. Study consistently throughout the semester. Use TA and office hours. Sign up for tutoring if offered.

Are you kidding? I always slept through my 8 am classes.

College kids staying in dorms stay up late. My kid always go past midnight. So, avoid early morning classes (at least the first semester) until the student knows his sleeping pattern.

Ha! We were at an admitted students day panel and one question was “give one piece of advice” - panelist says: “Tread carefully when signing up for classes. You might think the 8AMs are no big deal because you did it every day in high school...that doesn’t usually work out.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sit up front and take good note
Don’t miss lecture or discussion classes
Use office hours
Keep up, don’t fall behind

THIS, and

go to bed by 11pm. Get your sleep.
find/create a study group

[Anonymous]

You folks are great! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My D is taking advantage of ALL available tutoring through her school, every week, including peer tutoring and prof's study sessions. Don't wait 'till the student falls behind to seek extra help. Use the extra help to stay current. This should be done every week.

[Anonymous]

He has to STUDY. A lot.
I took those classes and , for instance, the class average was a 14 and I had a 79 I received a ‘C’ grade, there was one B , a bunch more C’s and many many F’s. It was brutal.
Don’t give your kid ‘tips’ - let him figure it out and start growing up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He has to STUDY. A lot.
I took those classes and , for instance, the class average was a 14 and I had a 79 I received a ‘C’ grade, there was one B , a bunch more C’s and many many F’s. It was brutal.
Don’t give your kid ‘tips’ - let him figure it out and start growing up.

Yep.