As a 36 year old returning student, I started my 12th semester tuesday. I work full time, so I can only attend one class per semester. The downside is that it is taking for-freaking-ever to finish my degree, but on the plus side I already have a job, and one I like, so I’m not in any real rush. Now that I have finished my core requirements, I am almost always the oldest person in the class, and am actually older than some of the instructors. It certainly makes me feel a bit more comfortable relating to them, since we are both grown-ups.
I also generaly insist on calling them by their first names. This is somewhat aided by the fact that I work on campus as well, so I know many of the teachers as co-workers. My prof this semester actually told me I should take his class, so I figured why not. As a rule, though, I don’t like to take classes with people in my department: we have a working relationship, and I am uncomfortable adding a student teacher relationship on top of that. I don’t want hem to think I’m a fuckup if I do poorly, and I don’t want them to feel obliged to give me a good grade, since as a senior tech support person I could make their lives a living hell.
Super Gnat you are at UMCP, right? Whom do you have for physics 2? I know some people in the physics department.
Last Tuesday was the first day of my third year in college. I’m graduating in December.
My first day, I had an interview at a advertising/design company that has its office a scan 7 minute drive from my school and my dorm. I got the job that day.
Most days, I’m out of my room more or less constantly from 9/9:30am till 6-8pm. I’m working 20-30 hours a week in addition to taking 17 credit hours, all of which are in classes that I NEED to graduate and therefore cannot drop or fail.
If I don’t graduate this semester, I don’t graduate. I’ve gotten comments since the first day of school about this. They assume that I’m only graduating early because I don’t like school, or because I’m ambitious, or because I want to live with my fiance earlier. And they refuse to understand that it’s either that I graduate in December debt-free, or I don’t graduate at all. I don’t qualify for huge loans, and there’s no way my parents can pay for a spring 2004 semester unless my dad gets a job, and since he’s been out of work for over a year, I’m not holding my breath.
I’m an officer in Alpha Phi Omega (coed service fraternity), which means I have responsibilities having to do with that. And since they’ve decided to go very strict on our attendence and involvement this year, I can’t miss any meetings. I am countering this with a “well, if I do, what the heck are you going to do, take away my birthday?”
Thanks, mnemosyne. The Chem Fraternity sells modeling sets, so I’m thinking I should drop by there tomorrow.
Emilio: I have Dr. Anderson for Physics, and I’m in the H-level so I have him for discussions too. The only scary part is that I had a really bad teacher for Physics 1 and learned nothing, so I’ll pretty much be going on my high school physics. (You probably wouldn’t know the bad teacher; I’m pretty sure she only taught for that one semester and then got fired.) Still, I more or less understood the lecture, and the Slawsky Clinic is always there if I get really lost.
Angel of the Lord, I have a friend in Alpha Phi Omega. She’s really into it, too. Good luck with your semester, and don’t be scared to drop non-academic stuff if necessary, a lesson I learned the hard way in high school.
Super Gnat: Anderson’s a nice guy, but he’s a little scatter-brained. Just go see him after class if you have any questions. He’s very approachable. I am very curious who you had for 161. If you don’t want to 'fess up you can tell me what semester you took it in and I can figure it out from there.
Let me know if you’d like to have a TerpDope lunch some time; I’d love to meet you.
Super Gnat: Never mind. On mature reflection, I know exactly who you are talking about. I’ve worked with her before. She is, er, shall we say, somewhat high strung?
Anyway, the lunch offer still stands. Good luck with your classes this semester.
Mmmm, school. It feels good to be around young people with backpacks on their backs again. Everyone just looks so excited.
Although to me, college is more about what you can do outside of class. When I transferred here last year, my classes were just OK, but when I saw the long list of movies and plays and dances and cultural events to attend, I knew I’d arrived.
I’m getting fed up with the English core curriculum. It seems so narrow and old-fashioned. 4 out of the 6 required classes are British Lit, I’m not kidding. The other two are American Lit and any ethnic studies class. Still. FOUR British literature classes. It doesn’t help that I’m sitting through my third and have hated almost all the material in them so far. I wish I could change it.
The surprise of the semester has been Javanese Dance, which I took because I wanted something fun, but is quickly turning out to be my most interesting class.
I can only imagine how the freshmen must feel. Many of them come from these tiny, tiny towns in isolated parts of Wisconsin, and then they immediately get put into classes with more people in the lecture than there are in their hometown. I picked up a job at one of the bookstores this summer, and can’t count the number of times I saw this play out:
Freshie: Hi, do you work here? I need some books.
Daowie: For…
Freshie: Chemistry.
Daowie: Okay, which class?
Freshie: (blank stare) Um… the one you take first?
Daowie: Chemistry’s all along this wall… 103 or 109? Sound familiar?
Freshie: Oh yeah, 103 I think.
Daowie: Cool. Which lecture are you in?
Freshie: Wha? There’s different lectures?
Daowie: Yep, and the 11:00 uses a different notebook.
Freshie: (terrified) I… I don’t remember…
Major kudos to professors who can make these kids feel welcome in a 1300-person class.
The current department head in my department transferred here from Arizona State University - my grad-alma-mater - he had quite a culture shock coming from teaching 4,5,6,7 hundred student classes down to 40 or 50 max. When he first arrived here I had to tell him that these Lib-arts students are not just numbers…and usually expect a prof to know their names. Tho not necessary, learning the students names in my classes is essential. Students are usually amazed that I remember their names years after they have attended…
I’m [FINALLY!] a senior, graduating in December. The other day I was struck with this idea that for the past 18 years I’ve been taking classes here and there in hopes of one day finishing – It’s going to be so strange to not have to finagle classes.
My professors are quirky and great. I had one last semester who walked to class with a shower curtain wrapped around her because it was raining and that was the only suitable thing she could find in her office (I have no idea why a shower curtain was in her office).
Another one of my professors starts off the semester by saying he has no life, we are his life, we are never bothering him by emailing or contacting, and if he hasn’t responded to an email in 5 minutes, something’s wrong.
The real pain in my caboose are the advisors. Do univeristies purposely hire the nastiest advisors they can find? It’s like they get off on making/conveying problems. One advisor practically GLEEFULLY told me that I was 6 credits short (I wasn’t) and was so busy wetting herself over the news that she wasn’t listening to my explanation (I went to a different advisor who was only mildly better).
Friend - does one have to be a good speller to be a good advisor? And at my school, profs are assigned to a certain number of students as advisors…it’s not a sole position. And frankly, I don’t really care if I missspell things, most students/people look at what my words mean, not how they are conveyed. You should see what happens when an English Major takes one of my classes I once got a syllabus back from a student fully corrected.
And Cookie - congratulations on your seniorship. and I’ve met my fair share of surly advisors and profs in my day…
I’m a freshman (University of Tulsa), and it’s been such a shift from high school to have so much free time. I can’t decide whether I completely love it or I’m indifferent.
I once got a syllabus back from a student fully corrected. 