How to Succeed At University--International Edition. Danton O'Day
Correct Any Failings
This is a tough one because each of us has strengths and weaknesses. One area of common weakness is in writing. You are going to have to write reports and essays as well as essay-type examinations. If your writing is weak, no matter how well you know the material you’ll lose marks regularly because you can’t communicate your thoughts effectively. Another issue is spelling. Each discipline has key terms and words that embody the subject. Learn to spell them correctly.
8. Leave Your High School Attitudes Behind
Some students attend a university where their friends are going rather than one that specifically suits them. Others seem to carry over high school attitudes. A simple example is talking to friends during lectures (our special pet peeve) or having your cell phone ring. Not only will these approaches annoy your instructors, your fellow students will also notice your attitude.
9. Know What Is Available
Things won’t always go as planned. You may get sick. You may get lonely. Something bad may happen. For these reasons, you need to know what resources are available on your campus. The university offers a diversity of resources to help you in your academic life and with other aspects of the student experience. There are doctors, nurses and counsellors to help you with health issues. There are clubs where you can join in activities that may interest you. There are always on-campus activities and sporting events where you can meet up with your old friends or make new ones.
10. Have Fun
While the previous nine rules may sound like you’re in prison, that’s not true. You’ll be interacting with students between classes and at various social events. You’ll still get to socialize and have a great time. If you find that you’re not enjoying yourself, then it’s time to re-evaluate why you are at university. What do you want out of life? Once you know, then you’ll be on your way to success.
Understand Yourself
Make the most of yourself for that is all there is of you.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
At first glance the university can be an awe-inspiring place. You will enter the almost sacrosanct halls of academe as the underling. You have lost your place as one of the upper-year students in high school; you will have to start from the beginning again at university. You are young. As a result you may feel insecure in your new environment. You will be tempted to sacrifice the “me” for the “us”. Don’t do it! Remain unique. If you are not already independent, develop independence. Don’t follow the crowd unless it is clearly to your benefit. Your newfound freedom, the freedom that life at university can give, can lead to your rapid decline if you aren’t enough of an individual to survive.
The biggest problem for students, as for people in general, is to understand yourself. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your personal limits? You must learn to build on your strengths and cautiously avoid your weaknesses or, better yet, overcome them. For instance, a surprising number of students enter university with a limited command of written English. If your written English is weak, you can work around your deficiency. Don’t try to write sentences that are beyond you. Don’t get so tangled up in words that your meaning isn’t clear. You should write sentences that are short and to the point. On exams most professors are not expecting fancy displays of terminology; they want you to tell them that you understand and know the material.
Did You Know?
In 2011, only 52% of high school graduates who took the ACT (a higher education admission test in the United States) were capable of reading at the postsecondary level.3
However, you will be assigned reports and essays in which you will be expected to show a reasonable command of the English language. If your English expression is weak, you would be well advised to strengthen it by taking an introductory English class in your first year. Even if you have an extensive vocabulary, you must know your limits. Don’t employ words or terminology that you are not positive about. A simple word that is correct conveys more than a pompous one that is wrong. Using the wrong word may suggest that you don’t know what you’re talking about when in reality you might.
The person who uses a lot of big words is not trying to inform you; he’s trying to impress you.
—Oscar Miller
Now don’t get the wrong impression. We are not advocating adhering to an inadequate vocabulary. We am saying that while developing your vocabulary, you should be careful to remain within the limits of your learning.
There are few mandatory first-year English classes in many universities today. Often high school English requirements are also minimal. In the absence of good training you should use what you do know to your advantage.
If you are not competent in English, you will pay for your incompetence time and time again. In every subject your grades will be lower because you have difficulty expressing your ideas in written words. The cure is a writing workshop (most universities have one), a non-credit class that teaches you how to write essays, book reports, etc. In a writing workshop you will write essays for critical assessment. Your weaknesses will be corrected and your strengths reinforced. If your written communication is weak, take advantage of this facility. Details about the university writing workshop (how it is organized, when it operates, whom to see, etc.) will usually be available in the student services centre, library or similar facilities, in addition to the university website.
This seems the best time to broach a very important aspect of your life. You are a unique, special person. You have to develop your feelings of worthiness. If you find that book learning does not come easily for you no matter how hard you try, don’t feel stupid. Some people can’t learn easily from books; some people do not do well at university. So what? Find out what you are good at and do it. If you discover that you just aren’t interested in succeeding at university, know when to pack it in. Exploit your virtues, not your weaknesses. Don’t waste time trying to get a degree that will be made meaningless by low grades on your academic transcripts.
That said, people who can’t learn from books are in the minority. We firmly believe that anyone with normal intelligence can be a top student at university. That’s what this book is all about.
It’s Your Future
Most students attend university to obtain a degree. That’s a simple fact. It wasn’t always this way. Years ago students attended university to learn for the sake of learning, but that’s not the way it is today. You will probably attend university for the purpose of making it through three or four years to emerge with a degree in some area of specialization. If you are like many students you intend to be a doctor or a lawyer or to enter some other equally remunerative occupation.
Professor O’Day’s Advice: Competitive Programmes
I teach cell biology and a class in human development so it’s not surprising that many of my students are motivated to become medical professionals. If I had a Canadian dollar for every student who told me he or she was going to be a doctor, I would be rich. The sad part is few students have the grades to enter medicine, let alone any other competitive programme.
One of my big concerns as a teacher has to deal with students who have unrealistic goals. It is not easy trying to gently explain to a student with poor or average grades that he or she has no chance of even being considered by a reputable medical school as a potential student. If a student has such unrealistic expectations, I often try to guide that student