Just Look Around

During the bustle and hassle of the first week of classes it is easy to be overwhelmed by the flood of details necessary to get the term started.

Am I in the right room?

Do I really need this class?

Can I add that section that just opened and drop the one which interferes with my work schedule?

Do I need a parking permit?

Do I really need my car?

Lots of stuff to think about.  Lots of decisions to be made.  In the midst of all this Planet College has a suggestion.  Well it is more like a direction. It is this. Pick a class you are attending. This is particularly effective if it is a popular class or a class which is a necessary pre-req for some major.  During the first few meetings of the class take an opportunity to look around. It is likely that every seat is full. There may be students lining the walls or sitting on the floor, usually hoping to add. Look around completely, take a full view of the entire class and students and store it as a mental picture.  File that picture away.

Then, sometime during the term, this is particularly effective around mid-term, look around the classroom. Take the same view.  How many students are still attending?  There is a good chance there will be no students leaning against the wall or sitting on the floor, unless they are too hung over to find a seat.  There will probably be some empty desks.  Take that mental picture as well.

At the end of the term, ideally during the final, take one last look around the room.  How many students are still attending?  Compare this total with your first mental picture and your memory from the mid-term.   The students who are still at the course for the final are the students who have the best chance of finishing college and obtaining a degree.

That is it.  That is really or essentially almost all there is to it.  The students who are no longer attending?  Well, where are they? Not in class and they won't be at graduation either.

You will because you have stuck with it.  The basic secret of success on Planet College. Just keep showing up.

The Flyer Said "Two Guys Want To Start A Band."

Planet College has regularly advocated the use of Flyers on campus. Here is a post from a while back about this subject . That post is still helpful because flyers are still useful.  On a large metropolitan campus a flyer appeared this week which said, "Two Guys Want To Start A Band".  It gave the details of the interest of the two players involved.  It also included the influenceswhich have directed their playing in the past. And it gave contact information for the two guys who want to start the band.  Planet College once again emphasizes the effectiveness of flyers. Most campuses are dotted with bulletin boards and posting places.  These are from the time when paper was the sole means of communication. That times have changed significantly is illustrated by how few flyers  are now
posted on such boards.  Everybody's  electronic and that is that.  And that can be to your advantage because your flyer, for a new roommate, to sell a book, or to repair iphones now has far less competition.  Want results? Get 'em out there.  Give it a try.

Write Your Own Program. Interdisciplinary Studies

Filling in a schedule for Fall can be challenge especially if you have not yet found a major.   Planet College offers often a variety of choices.  Students who enter as undeclared find that selecting a major can become difficult as the terms parade on.  For some particularly inventive students Interdisciplinary Studies may provide a solution to the 'undeclared' dilemma .

Interdisciplinary Studies combine subjects for two and sometimes even more programs.  With this as an option interdisciplinary studies students have the opportunity to essentially write their own program.

Provided your campus offers and Interdisciplinary program the process is involving but rewarding. Usually the co-operation of two separate programs are required. This involves surveying the courses from both departments and selecting the classes which will fulfill the requirements you have set for your program.

Before any of this first determine whether you campus offers such a program. If it does find out the details from the designated office. If this is not The Registration office then learn which office does handle this program. Once you do find the supervision office follow through, which usually means signatures, is crucial.

The extra work an Interdisciplinary Studies program requires can definitely pay off at graduation and beyond.  Constructing your own college program and graduating according to your own requirements is a significant achievement which you will value long after you have left school.