Ask Slashdot: How Should College Students Approach This Academic Year? 42
Long-time Slashdot reader goombah99 wonders how college students should approach this next academic year.
First, should defer their next academic year? Even universities opening their dorms are still limiting their dining facilities to take-out box lunches and offering most of their classes online. (Though some give students a choice of online or in-person classes). Yet despite the new rules, "Some universities are sticky about deferrals, requiring medical excuses, or else re-application for majors and scholarships. Others are more generous."
And that's just first decision students are facing: If you chose to attend online, would you opt to be in the dorms — or in your parent's house or your home town? What would you be losing (or gaining) by that choice, compared to socially distanced in-person?
For a real-world example, the original submission asks what's the best strategy for a CS major taking just one or two classes online. "Take a freshman core course? Take a super hard foundational upper level course like Algorithm's and Data Structures? Or take a simpler class like Intro to Object- Oriented Programming in Java. Which of these benefit the most from having in-person study buddies and labs with in-person TAs?"
Utimately the original submission asks what it is that makes college transformative — the classes, or being there (and living on-campus) in-person? "For me, I recall not even knowing all the possible majors when I attended, and it was networks, chance, new friends and upperclassmen who were how I learned what I wanted to pursue... What does one lose by remote learning and why, either academically or socially?"
Share your own thoughts in the comments. How should college students approach this academic year?
First, should defer their next academic year? Even universities opening their dorms are still limiting their dining facilities to take-out box lunches and offering most of their classes online. (Though some give students a choice of online or in-person classes). Yet despite the new rules, "Some universities are sticky about deferrals, requiring medical excuses, or else re-application for majors and scholarships. Others are more generous."
And that's just first decision students are facing: If you chose to attend online, would you opt to be in the dorms — or in your parent's house or your home town? What would you be losing (or gaining) by that choice, compared to socially distanced in-person?
For a real-world example, the original submission asks what's the best strategy for a CS major taking just one or two classes online. "Take a freshman core course? Take a super hard foundational upper level course like Algorithm's and Data Structures? Or take a simpler class like Intro to Object- Oriented Programming in Java. Which of these benefit the most from having in-person study buddies and labs with in-person TAs?"
Utimately the original submission asks what it is that makes college transformative — the classes, or being there (and living on-campus) in-person? "For me, I recall not even knowing all the possible majors when I attended, and it was networks, chance, new friends and upperclassmen who were how I learned what I wanted to pursue... What does one lose by remote learning and why, either academically or socially?"
Share your own thoughts in the comments. How should college students approach this academic year?
remote learning at the same price on site is bad! (Score:5, Insightful)
remote learning at the same price on site is bad! and what are you getting the UOP with an better name?
Re: (Score:2)
There are advantages and disadvantages.
+ Less distraction by on-campus stuff
+ Cheaper as you can live anywhere
+ Courses may be easier as staff over-compensate for remote learning issues
- You may not learn well remotely
- Could have more distractions where you live
- Fewer networking opportunities
- Less opportunity to socialize
Exam results for school and college students in the UK are just coming out and it's turned into a massive drama has huge numbers of grades get downgraded and vast numbers of appeals get
Re: (Score:3)
There are advantages and disadvantages.
+ Less distraction by on-campus stuff
+ Cheaper as you can live anywhere
+ Courses may be easier as staff over-compensate for remote learning issues
+ Ability to "attend" class in your underwear
+ No-one cares if you've showered recently
+ You don't have to hold back your farts until recess
Sounds like nothing but advantages to me.
Re: (Score:2)
+ Ability to "attend" class in your underwear
+ No-one cares if you've showered recently
+ You don't have to hold back your farts until recess
That sounds like the normal on-campus experience to me.
Re: (Score:1)
+ Courses may be easier as staff over-compensate for remote learning issues
You label this as an advantage; why?
If easier means you learn less, that's not an advantage. You should be studying to learn.
If courses really are easier, employers will learn that those who studied during COVID-19 are less skillful, and not want to hire them, or pay them less.
Re: remote learning at the same price on site is b (Score:2)
No, the way you measure how difficult something is, is independent of how much you learned. It just doesnâ(TM)t follow.
It could follow that your average Covid student grade doesnâ(TM)t compare well to non Covid students, maybe. But grades rarely matter beyond âoedid you pass or failâ except if you are continuing in academia, and if you are, then all your rivals are in exactly the same boat. The one case is somebody who might have failed in other times, but squeaks by this year. It wo
Re: (Score:2)
I don't learn remotely well.
Re: (Score:1)
It's worse than that. Remember at the end of 'The Wizard of Oz' when the scarecrow is given a certificate and suddenly becomes intelligent? That's what college is like, but the certificate costs half a million dollars.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Hmmm. Like Boris Johnson, then?
Rough situation (Score:4, Insightful)
A big part of it would depend on where you are in school in my mind. For my final year, I would defer and try to get some kind of job/internship for the year, as the classes (and experience) are much harder to pull off in the current situation. If I was a Freshman, I would just do community college and get pre-req’s out of the way.
As a sophmore or junior, I have no clue. You have too much invested in what comes next and what you have done; not continuing is pretty hard.
No matter what though... either take additional classes/courses or get a job. You really need to try to make lemonade out of the lemons you have been stuck with.
Freshmen are the special case (Score:3)
Frosh year is the big change and the big indoctrination. You are on your own but in a community of upperclassmen that become your new peers. You have to learn a whole new set of skills socially and academically. And you have to learn to be self propelled.
How can one really do all that taking on-line classes and not really being able to have all the in-person bonding experiences that come with entry into college.
Learning of course doesn't require that technically. People do learn at commuter community co
Re: (Score:2)
Frosh year is the big change and the big indoctrination.
Yes.
You are on your own but in a community of upperclassmen that become your new peers.
Sadly, that is true in most cases.
You have to learn a whole new set of skills socially and academically.
If you haven't already learned those skills by that point, then you are already in the "remedial" category of human being.
How can one really do all that taking on-line classes and not really being able to have all the in-person bonding experiences that come with entry into college.
Rest assured that nothing of value has been lost.
But somehow I feel like something will be missed.
I can assure you, that is a myth with no basis in reality.
Deferals and community college not an option (Score:2)
Some universities (most?) have a policy that if you defer and then take any classes from any other school, even guitar lessons at the communicy college, then you lose your scholarships and your acceptance in a major, and will have to re-apply. (No I'm not making this up, I can name major state schools with that policy.)
So it's not an option for a freshman who has a scholarship to simply take core course at the local collage in the mean time. You are locked into taking on-line courses from the school you
Turn it into an advantage (Score:2)
Focus on learning. (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Gen Eds (Score:2)
If you're early, get your gen eds done. Especially if you know you want to go into a particular field. These will be the least important for you to understand everything, and frequently they're done at community colleges or skipped via placement tests or AP credit anyway. You won't lose out on much by doing those now.
If you're past that, I'd recommend working on the classes that are most likely to engage you. Its hard to focus these days, and your stereo/gaming system/TV/the internet are always literall
pare down, for now (Score:1)
Regardless, this is a shit show for everybody. I don't know anybody who likes any aspect of online school.
Re: (Score:2)
please elaborate. What sucks about it. Which classes suck more than others and why? What would the traps for on-line learners be, especially freshmen?
Re: (Score:2)
Way too many variables to say. Depends upon the major and the school.
In my school, for science/engineering majors, physics sucked. Something like 35 was passing. Out of 100. A lot of people still didn't pass. I had a lot of foreign professors, and physics was one of two or three that I had trouble understanding. But, that was ok, but because he pretty much just wrote on the board the whole time and people just copied off the board. It was one of the few classes where I felt I was learning without help, othe
Just stay the course (Score:2)
There is no way to know when this situation will be resolved. It could be months or years, who knows.
Are you going to put your life on hold indefinitely?
I say if you are in the school of your choice just stick with your plan.
If the courses are remote that's life. Just do your work and continue progressing towards your degree.
I don't see the point of being in a dorm though if all your classes are remote and everything that makes the on-campus experience worthwhile is closed.
Stay with your parents and save s
Algorithm's and Data Structures? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
You apparently need English 101.
Defer... (Score:5, Insightful)
...your degrees. For several reasons:
Just wait a year or two until you can physically attend college or university. You'll also have a better time, get peer support, make friends & connections, may find the love of your life, etc., & you're far more likely to graduate with a well-respected degree.
Just my $0.02 from 20 years of working in online & distance education!
Question about K-12 (Score:2)
Most folks are facing a choice about returning their younger kids, and you sound like an informed opinion.
- What's the earliest age for effective distance learning?
- If "in person progress" is 100%, where should our expectations be for distanced learning?
We're going "online + augmenting with a virtual pod," but at 11 and 14, a year of ineffective education isn't disastrous, it just delays when they graduate HS.
Just curious,
mckwant
Re: (Score:2)
Most folks are facing a choice about returning their younger kids, and you sound like an informed opinion.
- What's the earliest age for effective distance learning? - If "in person progress" is 100%, where should our expectations be for distanced learning?
We're going "online + augmenting with a virtual pod," but at 11 and 14, a year of ineffective education isn't disastrous, it just delays when they graduate HS.
Just curious, mckwant
It'd be great if there were some ball-park figures, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, it's so complex & so context specific that any generalisation would be meaningless.
Re: earliest age, it's more like a sliding scale of age combined with level of achievement, e.g. already high-achieving children will do disproportionately better than low-achievers - the more you know, the easier it is to learn (Ph.Ds do best, post-grads do well, under-grads not so well, etc. the younger & lower level the learner, the mor
Re: (Score:2)
I feel your frustration, but thanks for the effort.
My educational background is PoliSci/Economics. I thought our statistics were tricky, but Education must be ridiculous.
Thanks again,
mckwant.
How (Score:2)
Returning to university (Score:1)
If the condition (1) pertains, then you need to assure yourself that social distancing is possible in both residences and classes, that cafe
Distance learning (Score:2)
How? With extreme forethought and caution. (Score:2)
That is easy to answer ... (Score:2)
Downwind. (Score:2)
From a downwind direction.
Use online universities practices (Score:1)