General Student Recommendations

These are just some "best practice" ideas I've realized as I interact with students. All are, of course, guidelines not rules. Always keep the context of your own situation in mind.

I have some more specific software recommendations in Mac Comp Sci Student Recommendations.

Much of this is distilled and expanded from Resources for Undergraduate Students.

Communication with your instructor

  • Use their preferred communication methods.

    • This will prevent unintentionally ignoring you.

    • This will make their job easier.

    • If in doubt, use your university email to contact their university email.

  • Be polite.

  • Ask questions!

  • Keep in mind their position and responsibilities.

    • Do not make unreasonable requests.

    • Never beg for grades. Your circumstances do not change the grade you earned.

    • Asking for something past its deadline is too late. Plan better next time.

    • "Poor planning on your part does not necessitate an emergency on mine."

Scheduling & Task management

  • You need a calendar.

    • When is that assignment due? Do you have enough time left to complete it?

    • When is that midterm, again?

    • When is the last day of classes? How far away is that?

  • You need a todo list.

    • What is your top priority?

    • What will take the most amount of time with the least runway to complete?

    • What did your group mate ask you to do?

    • What reading do you need to do before class? (Yes, you should be reading assigned books.)

  • You need a central place where you record and read notes.

Involvement

  • You will get out of this degree what you put in.

  • You need to be involved socially with others. This is how you become "the best" and guage your skills and improvement areas.

  • You need to do more than your course demands.

    • Courses can not cover everything.

    • Your instructor cannot learn for you. They can only guide you.

    • What external resources have you read based on what you learned in class?

    • What intreseted you? What have you explored based on that interest?

2024-05-22 by u/cws