Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with university and tips

Keep the black dog at bay

teraspawn — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 02:08:47 -0800

Depression in University/College: most of you seem to have been through it, do you have any tips? According to my research, about 90% of Mefites suffered from depression while they were in university ^{[citation needed]}. You gave me some amazing advice in my previous question about taking a year out from my course, and I'm happy to say I feel like I'm mostly out of the woods now and ready to start second year again in September.

However, as someone who's fairly prone to depression, I'm a little apprehensive about trying to keep up with my work, socialising and looking after myself (when I don't have my mum on hand to feed me!).

I've read this question on a similar topic, but I'm looking for general advice and tips on how to depression-proof my time at university, and how to do well academically without driving myself absolutely potty. What do you think, Hive Mind?

Tips for university teaching

onoclea — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 12:25:09 -0800

Teaching a university course for the first time: any tips or suggestions? A friend of mine is preparing to teach his first university course, calculus for non-math majors. He has given single lectures and many seminars before on other more advanced topics, but this is the first time he will be carrying a whole course, on calculus, and with an audience of this size. He's a quiet guy, works really hard, takes this commitment very seriously, wants to continue in academia, and obviously wants to do a good job! Any tips, suggestions, warnings, recommendations, revelations, wake-up calls, etc. would be very much appreciated! Thanks.

To Exchange or Not To Exchange

divabat — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 06:31:08 -0800

Should I go on exchange next year? I am an international student (Bangladeshi passport, Malaysian PR, considered Malaysian for all purposes except immigration) studying in QUT in Brisbane, Australia. Currently I am doing a Bachelors in Creative Industries (Interdisplinary), submajoring in Creative Writing and Creative Industries Management.

My university offers students an opportunity to go on an exchange for a semester-a year with their partner universities worldwide. I'm thinking about taking up the opportunity, but I'm not entirely sure if I should.

Now I'm an exchange nut. I've always wanted to be an exchange student in some fashion. One and a half years ago I travelled around the world on a global education program and had the time of my life. I should be jumping for joy at this opportunity, but there are some things that are making me second-guess it.

PROS:
1. It's exchange! Travel! Learning! New experiences! Just my thing!
2. I can obtain an "International Exchange" minor from this, which may actually help with my career goals.
3. I don't have to pay the overseas uni; I just pay my usual uni fees. I'm on a scholarship (which covers half my usual fees) so that helps.
4. There is a system in place and I will get credit transferred.
5. It fits with my visa guidelines (as long as I am here for my final semester I'm fine - I'm planning to go in early 2008).
6. I have a semester full of electives, which I can use to study just about anything - I'm hoping to do something related to education or social work.

CONS:
1. The partner universities don't seem very appealing. I'm quite the "alternative nontraditional education" girl (think Hampshire or Semester at Sea) and the unis they have there are more on the traditional side. (It was telling when I asked people for recommendations, listing my preferences and the unis available, and I got so many recs for UC Berkeley - which is NOT a partner uni.)
2. The more interesting countries have a language requirement, which I can't fulfill. Or they don't quite have the courses I want. Which leaves me with UK, USA, Ireland, or Canada. There is one uni in the US (The College of New Jersey) that has piqued my interest, HOWEVER...
3. ...the US is weird in that I have to go back to Malaysia to get a student visa (I already have a tourist visa). Other countries let me get visas at the Australian embassy. I don't know if I'll have the time or resources for that.
4. I'm not sure I'll be able to support myself or be supported financially. I still depend on my parents to a large extent (my part-time job doesn't pay all that much) and they already paid for my round-the-world trip, so this would be a hard sell.
5. I have a boyfriend, whom I loathe to leave behind. He's actually encouraging me to go on exchange, he thinks it'll be good for me. But it'll still be hard. We spent 3 months apart for hols and it was still hard!

One complicating factor is that my friends are adamant about going to South America during the summer/end-year holidays - fun idea, but between getting the visas for everywhere and getting my paperwork sorted, it is a logistics nightmare.

Mainly, though, it's the lack of any super-interesting partner universities that's bumming me out. There's none there that make me go "OH I MUST GO". I would much rather travel on a program like The Scholarship or Semester at Sea or wherever, or do an internship for a semester, but that involves taking a Leave of Absence, which can be really iffy on my credit transfer and with my student visa. Also, I'll have to pay full fee, which could suck.

What should I do? Any suggestions? There's gonna be an exchange fair in the next couple of days, but what other options do I have?

Future Brissie

divabat — Thu, 04 May 2006 07:13:47 -0800

I'm moving to Brisbane, Australia soon for university. What should I know? The last time I was in Brisbane - or Australia for that matter - was in 1995, and obviously things have changed a lot. The "Study In Australia" guides all sound pretty same-y, and while I have tons of great advice from elsewhere, they're largely US-centric. What would be useful to know before I head off to Brisbane?

Some thoughts:

1. I'm coming in July, and I understand that's winter - how cold does it get? Do I need to hang on to my best friend's winter coat? (I'm from Malaysia, so 21C is "I need a sweater" by my standards, but I'm familiar with snow to some extent.) Last time I was in Gold Coast, I nearly had a heat-stroke - does it still get drastically hot?

2. I'll most likely be living in International House in University of Queensland; my course is in the Kelvin Grove campus of the Queensland Uni of Technology, 2km from the city centre. IH advertises themselves as being 20 mins away from the city, but the Translink trip planner tells me I need to leave about 45 minutes before I have to arrive if I'm taking the bus. (St Lucia to Kelvin Grove, 411 & 345, and vice versa) How long do the buses actually take? How early should I leave? Is it different at night than at daytime?

3. I'm the sort of person that constantly needs something to do. I know I'd be busy with college work anyway, but what else is there to do around Brisbane? I'm not a partier, so clubbing or pubbing is out; ditto sports (can't play sports to save my life). I'm interested in writing, music, social work, activism, culture, youth, and anything out of the ordinary. What can I do during free days that doesn't get me booted out of the country?

What else should I know? Any and all tips are appreciated. Thank you!

Advice for college freshmen?

petah — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 18:34:38 -0800

I'm going to be a freshman going to college in the fall. Any advice, helpful anecdotes, experiences, tips or suggestions? Sorry about it being so broad, I was searching for a college thread like this and couldn't find one, so here we go...