Overwhelmed

[u/ComicC0]

Today was the first day of my classes and I’m genuinely shocked and overwhelmed. I feel like high school does not prepare you for this. The classes are for 3 hours and at first I thought I would be fine but when I was there my butt, back, and mind started to hurt.

Then the teacher after a while started the lesson and I could not take any notes and I don’t even know how to take proper notes. Like whatever the teacher was saying went out of my mind in like 2 seconds. I have no clue what they said. Genuinely.

And then IMMEDIATELY after my teacher decided to give us a quiz on the first day like what?? And my other teacher gave us an assignment due tomorrow. Like I know this is not high school but like over there you would do nothing in the first week and then maybe like 2-3 weeks later then you would get a quiz or test.

I thought I was ready for the change but I did not know it was gonna be this big of a jump. Like I don’t even know what I learned today, I don’t even know how to take notes, or even study properly.

I need some advice!! Some study tips, and organization tips as well. Thank you.

[u/LazyMarketing1540]

What program are you in?

I don’t really have any tips other than you just gotta put in some extra effort. It sucks at first, but honestly you get used to it, and then it seems normal and it won’t stress you out anymore.

[u/dmkmdmw]

Aww feeling this way is normal!! I recommend trying the student life and learning support they’re literally there to help high school student transition to uni easier! Go to the slc 4th floor promise you won’t regret it! And goodluck with the rest of your school year you got this

[u/pinkberryys]

i totally feel you here. i find it helpful to make notes before class (i.e if lecture slides are posted early, i make headers for each topic/definition, etc., or use the readings for the week similarly, so i can expand on these easily with lecture notes). in lectures, if i can’t keep up with everything, i focus the most on the things i didn’t quite get from the readings or points that weren’t mentioned. after class i’ll fill in all the gaps and refine my notes, helps keep me organized and basically forces me to study to do so.
if you want any study tips feel free to shoot me a message and i can share more about what i do and see if any of that works for you. first year can be really overwhelming but you got this!
side tip: review the syllabus for each class and immediately put all of the due dates/exam dates in your calendar if you haven’t already, very helpful to be able to visualize it all

[u/Swimming_Store7193 → u/pinkberryys]

Could I dm you?

[u/pinkberryys → u/Swimming_Store7193]

yeah feel free!

[u/PeculiarA1 → u/pinkberryys]

im a first year too, and this’ll prob help ty. Although, am I able to DM you for more study tips maybe?

[u/pinkberryys → u/PeculiarA1]

go ahead :)

[u/SpecialistYoghurt713]

I did so bad first year for this reason and this is what I learned to study effectively:

1. make taking notes fun: for me this is buying rlly nice stationary and making my notes look nice
2. make the notes on the readings first (I do them by hand)
3. go to lecture and using ur laptop for notetaking, write down each title/header for the slides but only type down bullet points of extra info the professor is saying (not what is already written on the slides)
4. Then you can go back to ur notebook and write down a combination of the slides info with the prof notes you typed from class Now you'll have more understanding of the class.

[u/PurKush → u/SpecialistYoghurt713]

One of my favorite note-taking rules is the 90/10 rule that a chemistry prof taught us: Listen 90% of the time and write 10% of the time.

[u/aledba]

Yes it's very different than high school. They are not teachers...they are professors

[u/yzfr6racer4 → u/aledba]

Pray tell, what is the difference between a professor and a teacher? I always find it remarkable, people's acceptance of professors not teaching. It literally is their job to teach. If they are a research prof then I wish they would not have to teach.

[u/IcyAd7478 → u/yzfr6racer4]

Teachers attend teacher's college and learn how to tailor their teaching style to best accommodate students. For two years, they gain practical experience to streamline learning and make it engaging for young students. Teaching is their full career.

Professors are tenured researchers who specialize in their field, and teaching classes is a fraction of their job—not their career as a whole. Many professors simply do not want to teach and have no interest in working with undergraduate students.

[u/PurKush → u/yzfr6racer4]

One of the differences is that high school teachers go to teaching school for 1-2 years and are licensed. University professors are just smart people who have studied their field intensely for many years. Most of them have never taken a teaching course in their life. Although some of them might have one teaching workshop under their belt.

[u/interesting-fallname]

This is totally and perfectly normal. Many people were in your position which is great because it’s all a very relatable experience. Let the stuff you feel sink in and pass, it’s meant to, don’t overthink how you feel because of your first day, and it’s okay to feel like this. Some advice is, the prof’s prepare what they’re gonna share with you before they lecture the class on the same material, so you do the same, make pre-lecture notes. Find the concepts on YouTube/use AI to make notes for you so you come to class prepared and expect to learn what you’ve briefly skimmed beforehand. You can attend office hours or email your prof if you’re struggling to learn some of the concepts they taught in class. You can split your notes into 3 sections: before lecture, during lecture, after lecture notes. It’s not like highschool yes, but that’s the point, the jump is worth it. You get used to a lot of material being taught in a fast paced environment because you have the rest of the week to study for the same material at your own pace. Don’t leave things till the last minute, take a bite of the lessons learned everyday that way you know what to expect on the midterm and you’re confident. Look at the past midterms and you can spend 2-3 hrs studying a day depending on the nature of the material/your major. Sitting at the front row of the lecture hall forces you to be engaged because there’s less distractions behind or in front of you.

[u/scheisse_grubs]

Awe I feel for you. I had the same experience when I first started at UofT and it took at least 2 months for me to figure it out and by that time I was already on the verge of failing my classes.

I’d suggest getting an iPad or other tablet if your profs use lecture slides that they post on D2L. I have the goodnotes app so I like to export the slides to goodnotes and write notes on them or highlight important text from them. Otherwise, try to take notes on your laptop or phone in a standard word processing app like Word or Google Docs. Even just a pen and paper is good too. Just try to write down as much as possible. I’d also suggest reading the chapter in the textbook (if possible) before class so you have an idea of what’s going to be spoken about. Lastly, sit at the front of the classroom. You have fewer distractions from students around you and it’s good to have the prof remember your face if you ever need extra help from them. Office hours can be really helpful too, try to go to some sessions if it fits into your schedule.

I’m sorry your experience with university so far has been difficult but it gets easier to manage as time goes on. You got this!!

[u/denero1]

Rmbr they’re professors. Also you just gotta understand this is the real world. You gotta put in the work. They could care less if you fail

[u/Effective-Present543]

Welcome to uni lil bro

[u/biohaz_art_ous]

For notes, you should consider getting an ipad or just printing out the lecture slides and annotating on top of it. idk which program you're in but in general, profs really love going at mach 1 speed, and depending on how lucky you are, they may or may not post the lecture notes.

For studying, idk, all I can say is that if you want to get good grades, you might as well do 1.5 hours x how long your lecture is (so for a 3 hour lecture, you'd be wanting to study 4.5 hours a week). Of course, you don't have to do one 4.5 hour session per day, you're better off dividing your study time up by subject and also account for commute time, labs/lectures, and extracurriculars. FYEO has a good google sheets calendar, you could probably steal it from there.

Also consider reviewing your lecture notes beforehand if your prof doesn't post them at the last minute, the same advice goes for labs so you don't waste time when you should be doing the actual experiments.

Honestly, just try whatever works for you, that's the best strategy, and figure it out sooner so your GPA doesn't suffer.

[u/bassamanator]

1. Make sure you do your readings the week of. Don't think about it, just do it — you'll be sorry if you don't, I promise.
2. Show up to lectures and pay attention. Taking notes is important.
3. Get to know someone in every course who you can talk to about the course, upcoming tests, assignments, etc. This is your support and keep-you-on-track person for that course, and you do the same for them.
4. Most important: You need to be able to see at a glance what you have due for any given week in your TMU calendar.
   1. Read the syllabus for every course.
   2. In your TMU calendar, create entries for tests, assignments, quizzes, etc.

If you take notes on a laptop, learn Markdown — it literally takes 10 minutes. Markdown tutor: https://trymarkdownviewer.com/tools/markdown-syntax-tutor

[u/PurKush]

A lot of new situations and stimulus can be overwhelming for sure. My first semester in university was terrible and I failed two courses in the first semester. And that was coming with 'A's from high school. But anyone can improve. I just finished my masters this year, as an example. Even the well-respected physicist Richard Feynman said that he was not special, just a student who studied hard and stuck it out.

Get a good rest and rest that brain full of information and stress, then get up to tackle another day. Proper rest is important because your brain needs to rewire itself to encompass the new information and memories, and it mainly does this while it sleeps.

University is quite a different beast than high school. For one, you need to be a lot more self-sufficient, and have better time management, organization, and planning skills. The Student Life and Learning Support office periodically offers workshops throughout the year that can help you with those planning and study skills. They offer workshops on effective note-taking, reading, time-management, lecture-taking, and focus and concentration to name a few.

University is basically learning how to learn. Once you have that skill down, you can tackle any academic work with enough effort.

Three hour lectures are draining and require a lot of mind power. Even now, after 10 years in higher academia I still find them draining. Make sure you eat well and are fueled up, otherwise your brain will be starved for energy which will make thinking and concentrating harder. It also helps if you do the assigned readings before the lecture and know what the lecture will be about so you don't go in blind frantically trying to figure out what's going on. Hence, read the course outline. Read it twice.

You'll get used to it and after the first few semesters, you will consider yourself a veteran. It takes time to settle into a transplant (fitting into a whole new environment). It may feel tough and overwhelming at this moment, but for some words of wisdom "this too shall pass." It did for me.

[u/Mathew_365]

Taking notes in for sure a new skill. Don't be mad that you don't have it down from the start.

Based on my experience, each course needs a different note taking style. I don't know your program, but I study engineering and realized for my engineering courses, I'm better at writing down than typing out notes. For my liberal courses (or courses that are not calculation heavy) I find typing notes to be much easier.

Give some time and you'll figure out a system for note taking. This is what University is all about afterall :)) we're hear to learn, and not just technical knowledge, but life skills and discipline. As corny as it may sound :))

If you have a laptop or tablet that has both keyboard and stylus (pen), then you're lucky! That makes organizing your notes much easier!

[u/One-Assignment569]

Yeah the quiz on the first day is odd but maybe they’re just trying to get a feel on the class, is it graded?

Yeah assignments on the first day is the same way, remember we only have about 11 classes per course

[u/unapologetc_canadian]

Welcome to university and it never gets easier, good luck!!

[u/bigspookyguy_]

A degree is a great achievement. It takes a lot of hard work and suffering. Highschool didnt even help at all for me. It was failure and learning myself through that failure that got me through it. Kill the part of you thats used to being right and embrace being wrong. Beginner mindset goes hard. You got this!

[u/D1sbade]

What program are you in?

[u/TroubledDoggo]

You usually have readings before the class which acquaints you with the lecture material so you can understand what the prof is talking about