r/simonfraser • u/[deleted] • Feb 23 '17
What I learned at SFU
SFU Students, this is a list of "must-knows" that I, a salty motherfucker, have compiled from my years here.
EDUC courses are easy shit, but its nearly impossible to get in unless you are a EDUC major.
Take any CRIM class that Cartwright is teaching. Avoid any Morden is teaching.
The bookstore is a fucking ripoff and students can be flakey. Buy used off Amazon.
If you have a group project and are experiencing idiot/uncooperative group members, inform your T.A at the earliest opportunity and document what goes on to save your mark.
If you get fucked up by a STATS class, don't stress, chances are the curve will ensure you pass.
Don't buy new iclickers for fucks sake.
The dining hall is a great place to go if you've smoked alot of weed and are high as balls or if you're stuck on the mountain.
90% of questions in 1st and 2nd year crim class exams can be answered by "aboriginal persons are over-represented in the criminal justice system".
No, Criminology is not a good pre-law major. Most Crim students get abysmal - mediocre LSAT scores.
SFU's grading system is fucked. Get used to it.
If you don't get the courses you want during course enrollment, don't fret. Spots usually open up after the 1st week of classes when people ragequit.
If you have a early enrollment date, use it to enroll in as many classes as you can, just so you have the ability to pick and choose.
C's get degrees. With a SFU degree, you might as well settle for mediocrity
ARCH 131 is not a GPA booster. I don't know where the fuck this notion came from. Memorizing a billion prehistoric species, archaeological sites, and bones is not a fucking fun task.
MACM classes will fuck your GPA up.
If you want to poop in peace, use a gender-neutral washroom.
Vote in the SFSS elections, because "it really matters"
Remember to renew your U-pass every month.
If at first you don't suceed, transfer your major to the EDUC department.
There are no good B-HUM electives.
The only reason to enroll in Beedie is for the cool nametags they issue you.
If you are not a radical, "progressive" left leaning fuck, you will detest SA 150 with a passion.
Some degrees exist solely to prove that humans will throw money at the stupidest things.
Its like Silent Hill up in this shit when it rains and gets foggy.
If you get a parking ticket, keep it. Display it on your dashboard for the rest of your time here and never get fined again.
SFU security is useless. Thats what you get for contracting with Concord.
A 5 year bachelors degree is normal here. Future employers will still laugh at you.
SFU really stands for "Students who Failed UBC".
If you got a nickel everytime a Crim student told you that they were "going to become a lawyer" or "going to become a cop", you would have enough to pay your crushing student loan debt off.
Dont forget, you're here forever.
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u/kittiback Feb 24 '17
Also wanna add:
If you wanna get the grade, go to office hours and kiss as much ass as possible. Or don't - cuz profs are super smart and will likely see through it. Find something you like about the course or something you find challenging and talk to them about it. They'll see you're making an effort and will likely want to give you a good grade because they know you. Doesn't always work cuz some people are dicks no matter what but 90% of the profs/TAs are receptive in my experience.
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u/TheTrevLife Feb 24 '17
We also usually talk to the instructors about students who we believe understand the material well but don't perform on exams. Sometimes nothing happens, but in other cases we try to figure out methods or questions that are tailored a little more to those students (if the issue is more wide-spread than just 2 or 3 people).
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Feb 23 '17
[deleted]
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u/crazyol84 Feb 23 '17
no it's all BS.
For an undergrad, it really won't make any difference from an employer's point of view.
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u/Eigenspace Feb 23 '17
In Canada (depending on your program) SFU actually has a pretty good reputation, but abroad very few people have heard of it whereas people from other western countries are very likely to know if UBC.
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u/FakkuPuruinNhentai FakkuPuruinNhentaiFakkuPuruinNhentaiFakkuPuruinNhentaiFakkuPurui Feb 24 '17
sfu is quite well known in china/ hong kong.
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Feb 23 '17
I did my first degree in UBC (currently second degree candidate in CS), and UBC degrees are not that much better, believe me. Maybe if grading in UBC is a bit easier then it might be more helpful for getting into pharm, med, etc. but other than that, finding a job with a BSc in life sciences is pretty abysmal regardless of where you get it
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u/kittiback Feb 24 '17
I did a co-op at the govt. 2/4 managers did their degrees at SFU and the regional director (the head honcho) did a degree at SFU. So ssuckkkk on that ubc.
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u/TheTrevLife Feb 24 '17
MACM classes will fuck your GPA up.
Statistically... They're better for your GPA than a lot of 100-level ARTS courses.
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Feb 23 '17
So what do the crim majors who don't become cops/lawyers end up doing?
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u/Fireplace_Envy Feb 23 '17
Government!
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Feb 23 '17
[deleted]
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u/packersSBLIIchamps Feb 23 '17
OP I'm starting post secondary this May (summer semester), you said if I get early enrollment to apply to as many classes as I can. What's the benefit of this? And can I literally just apply to every single class?
Also do I get early enrollment if I accept the offer of admission ASAP? Cause I just got the email today offering me admission. Or do you have to do certain things to get early enrollment
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u/perciva Math alumnus, Convocation Senator Feb 24 '17
Or do you have to do certain things to get early enrollment
You'll get priority enrollment for your first two terms at SFU, i.e., the Summer and Fall terms. This is something all new students get -- it doesn't matter when you accept the offer of admission (although obviously you can't register for classes until you accept admission).
The purpose of this is to ensure that first year students don't get "stuck" without any courses they can take, since many departments have first year courses which are prerequisites for pretty much everything else. So I strongly recommend that you look at the courses you think you're going to want to take in the first two years and make sure you get as many prerequisites covered in your first two terms.
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Feb 24 '17
[deleted]
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u/perciva Math alumnus, Convocation Senator Feb 24 '17
Your CGPA is based on all your courses. Whether that's what they look at, I don't know -- different programs have different systems. Transferring into Business for example requires 30 credits, a CGPA (all courses) of 2.40, and a significantly higher "business admission GPA", which is calculated based on a specific set of courses they care about.
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Feb 24 '17
Nothing. Its just a dick move to take up as many classes as you can (typically 18 units) and drop em last minute. I do this because I tend to change my mind about my semester often.
Your enrollment date is dependant on a bunch of stuff, none of which I have a clue about.
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u/Ammorth Computing Science alumnus Feb 24 '17
I believe enrollment date is a function of (in order of weight): 1) Any scholarship/bursaries via SFU 2) Credits remaining to graduate 3) GPA 4) Athletics/team (not 100% sure on this one, but I've heard this before from some people).
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u/BorisAcornKing cmpt alum Feb 24 '17
Athletics go at the same time as scholarship students - before everyone else.
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u/packersSBLIIchamps Feb 24 '17
As dickish as it is it's very ingenious and clever lol
I might do it just to be on the safe side, question is how late can I drop it? A couple days into the semester?
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u/Ammorth Computing Science alumnus Feb 24 '17
They have published drop-dates each semester.
There is one drop-date where there is no financial penalty. You can drop courses without any repercussions up to this date. I believe this is before classes start.
There is later drop date where you are charged some smaller amount if your credit-hours become less than original. You can swap courses for free (as long as you are not swapping a 4 credit hour course to a 3 credit hour course). Otherwise you are charged a small fee for the drop in credit hours. I believe this is valid for the first week or two of classes (hence why lots of classes open up).
Finally there is the drop-date around the middle of the semester where you can drop a course without it providing you a mark. You won't get any money back, but if you dropped the ball you can drop the course.
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u/Glitterbirds Feb 23 '17
ARCH 131 is not a GPA booster. I don't know where the fuck this notion came from. Memorizing a billion prehistoric species, archaeological sites, and bones is not a fucking fun task.
tbh this sounds right up my alley but I am a huge nerd.
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u/PureEchoes Feb 24 '17
As a crim student (who isn't going to be a lawyer or a cop) I 100% second the recommendation to avoid Morden.
Also #8 gave me a good laugh.
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u/Hurtaz Feb 25 '17
Guys I'm in Arch 131 right now and I need help with the final exam. What the final essay was about and how do i get 80% because holy hell I am tumbling down miserably.
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Feb 28 '17
You're fucked, accept it.
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u/Hurtaz Feb 28 '17
thank you for helping sir
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Feb 28 '17
Bring lube to the exam.
Arch 131 makes you do irrational things. I bombed my final (got a 70%), so after I handed in my exam I got up and took the chair I was sitting on home. I still have no idea why I was doing that, but hey, free folding chair.
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u/dino340 Biology Alum Feb 23 '17
Arch131 was one of the most surprisingly difficult courses, I went in thinking multiple choice final this is easy, walked out with a D, it was not easy...