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| You on your first day of school (but not really) |
You're all settled into residence and are recovering nicely from Frosh Week when it hits you, class starts Monday. You're anxious, nervous, and excited all at the same time, ready to start that new chapter in your life. So, what can you expect during your first week of classes at Glendon? Based on some of my experiences during my first week of classes at Glendon, here are some things to keep in mind during your first week:
Classes:
Friends: First and foremost, don't worry if you don't know anyone in your class! There's a good chance that a whole bunch of other people in your class don't know anyone either. Be bold, and sit beside someone random. Most of my great university friendships started because one of us decided to sit down beside each other during those first few classes and started talking. And if you do sit by yourself, NOBODY is secretly judging you. It's all good.
Laptop or notebook: Depending on the class, you'll see a pretty big mixture of people either taking notes on their laptops or kicking it old school (like me) and taking notes with a pen and a notebook. The choice is totally up to you. For the most part, profs really don't care so bring whatever you feel most comfortable with. Most students find that using a laptop is the only way they can keep up with what the prof is saying while others (me) find it distracting - learning about Shakespeare one moment and seeing what your friend ate for lunch on Twitter the next.
Time: If your lecture is three hours, don't worry, you will not die. (Okay, somedays you might feel like you will but you won't, I promise.) There are two important things to keep in mind. One, you will get a 10-15 minute break in the middle of your class and two, you get out about 10 minutes before class ends which will give you plenty of time to get to your next class.
That first week of class: It's very typical for the first week of class to be short, sometimes not even an hour. What usually happens, especially for your first year, is that profs will tell you what you can expect from their class, to not plagiarize, and hand out the class outline for the semester or year. (They will often go over the course's book list but more on that later.) Then they let you go. This doesn't happen all the time but it's sure nice when it does. After they give you their welcome speech, some profs will have a short introductory lecture - "What is language?" (I've had that lecture twice...) - or some profs will feel that the semester is too short and will give you the full-on lecture. Be prepared for both options but usually shorter first lectures happen more often.
Books:
When to buy your books: Books! My favourite part of the new school year. Cracking the new spine, smelling that book smell....ahhhh....(English major here). As you can see under our new Lion's Den website under "Buying Your Books," for the most part we recommend buying your books AFTER attending your first class. I recently was telling my friend this and she said, "I never understand why people suggest that.” Maybe you're thinking the same thing. In a couple of months you will be able to see your book list for your upcoming fall classes and might want to rush out and buy them but there are a few things to keep in mind. When you do go to class your prof might say, "Oh there was an error online and you're suppose to have this version of the textbook." Or maybe you'll find that you'll only be studying a few chapters from the book and it's not worth it to buy it but rather it's better to get it out from the library. These things do happen. What I've run into is that some books on the online book list will say that they're mandatory purchases but you get to class and really, they're not. (I was suppose to buy this stylistic book for two different classes but never did. I don't feel like I missed out on anything.) So rush out and buy your books or wait it out - the decision is up to you.
Where to buy your books: There are numerous ways to go about getting your books for the school year which are all good and all have benefits. As mentioned before, the library. York University’s library will often have a few copies of your text book or whatever book you need. Clearly, you can only keep if for a certain amount of time but it’s good to keep in mind if you know you’ll only need your book for a short time. The book store at Glendon sells all of the books needed for your classes. They offer them, usually, both brand new and in used condition. At the end of the year, you yourself can sell back your books to the book store. If you’re not feeling the bookstore prices, your fellow students always put up flyers around campus selling their books and often Facebook groups will pop up with the same purpose.
Vocabulary:
Okay, so maybe this one is just me but I think I will always remember my confusion over the word syllabus. After hearing the word “syllabus” multiple times during my first classes, before actually being given it, I was wondering what in the world it was! Well, a syllabus is just a fancy word for a course outline so I learned. I remember even texting my brother saying, “Why do people keep saying the word syllabus?” So to summarize - syllabus = course outline.
Do you have any more questions about what happens on the first day of school? Let me know and maybe I'll make another post like this.
