If you’re two weeks into a paper and you don’t like it, DROP IT. Seriously. (unless its required.) I wound up stuck in Greek History for a semester and I HATED it. With a passion. And I failed, miserably. Where ever possible, go with your gut instinct. Unless it’s $1.50 dunkin-donuts-and-a-free-coffee. It may seem like a good idea, but don’t touch their coffee. There’s a reason they’re giving it away.
Also; team up with people to write essays. It’s more fun, and you tend to learn more. It takes a little longer (this is not supporting plagarism, btw, rather, I’m encouraging group study), but it is ultimatly more rewarding.
Philosophy, especially Logic, is maths. Maths is actually Philosophy.
If you take an Ethics paper then someone in your tutorial will be rabidly fanatical about something. Abortion, euthanasia, indigenous rights…pick a cause. And they’ll harp on and on and on. Avoid them. Like the plauge.
Finaly…make friends with people! Generally, they’re nice.
Ask questions… not only of your professors, but of your fellow students. Learn as much about a particular professor/class as you can before taking something from them: that makes life soooooo much simpler.
Don’t give up on an instructor just because they have an accent that you don’t understand. Tough it out for awhile, see if they become more understandable. (I think most of the time, they’re non-understandable simply because people aren’t used to hearing that partiuclar accent.) Rely on the written word, if need be. If that doesn’t help, then look into switching sections/taking the class with a different professor next semester.
If you find a professor that you really like, don’t be afraid to let them know, and let them know why you like them. (Teaching style? Easy to understand explanations?) They’re humans as much as anyone else is, and they like to know when they’re on the right track.