Post Mortem: University Life Part 2: Academia

Im not saying that I don't shower alright, that ode goes to my Eng Sci mates and perhaps the Electrical's too XD

So what about U of T Engineering ?
1. Canada's most prestigious Engineering School
2. Internationally recognized
3. Located smack-dab in the heart of the city
4. Also known as "Skule"
5. When entering, you have a sort of initiation which involves you kissing a horse's genitals supposedly so that you won't fail any subjects during the semester. ( so far so good XD)
6. You will be in the company of many many many bright, talented and ambitious students
7. We have Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT for short) which is a leadership program made by engineers for engineers. Open to all years and its pretty active too.

Expectations:
People always tell me that University Life for an engineer will not be a cakewalk. And what more, if your in one of the really really big universities. My seniors told me stories of even though your in one of the best universities, it does not necessarily mean that your education will also be one of the best. Your class sizes in first year will be around 100+ people and some lecturers are just some PHD students who probably don't really have that much of a passion in teaching. Looking at how grades are given here also throw me back to the days of high school where its literally just 1 midterm and 1 final plus minus a quiz or two. It is not as liberal as the Canadian Pre U system which gives you multiple chances to do well. So you are expected to perform very very well for those tests. Another thing to keep in my mind was that most of the people that came here were actually more prepared than we were. CPU only scratches the surface of Tertiary education. It only gives you the most basic (and sometimes the most important) skills and tools you need to succeed in University. What basic skills and tools DO you need you might ask ?

Reality:
I've been here for quite some time and all I can say is that being an Engineer is about learning how to learn. I feel that the syllabus for our engineering courses ( and i think for other engineering schools as well) are purposely made difficult for students to understand. Its done that way because it forces us to learn things in a different way. Even if you barely passed all your courses in the next 4 years but provided you understand how to learn and relearn things, then your engineering education has been put to good use. Throughout the term, you will go through a series of great euphoria coupled with sometimes manic depression. That's how i went through the term. Sometimes you feel so happy because you understand what your doing and your grades are in your control. The next, you just feel like being invisible and lifeless because everything just seems so hard to grasp and no one is there to pull you up. I'm gonna STRESS on the fact when i say develop a good SUPPORT SYSTEM !
Make friends. Make a lot of friends. Help them and share your time with them. Because in a place where its described as "Heavily encourage personal responsibility and independent-learning", you WILL be left hanging many times in your studies and you will need help from friends. Not only that, they also will become an outlet for those depressions and " I feel like im dying, kill me now ! " moments. Oh and some of them know how to cook really good food ! XD
All in all, so far the 1st term was more like revision of CPU + SPM so it wasn't that bad. Out of all the subjects i took last term, only 1 was completely new. I understood the majority of what we we're learning but not all. Im expecting the 2nd term to be hell because i think i know perhaps less than 1% of the courses being taught.

Observations:
1. Friends are very important, make as many as you can. Be truthful and honest to them. Try your best to help them out. The least you can do is brighten their day with a smile or honest conversation :)
2.Khan Academy has saved my ass so many times this term, its a really good source to learn new concepts and refresh old ones.
3.Pre-reading makes a big difference before lecturers, they really do ! It psychologically prepares you for what you'll be learning in class which is a big help when you wanna digest some weird complex theory 5 % of the world knows but only 1% truly understand and can act upon it.
I was a skeptic at first, but ever since trying it out, its been such a big help ! dont underestimate the power of Pre-reading !
4.Whenever you feel down, don't hide behind the curtain but rather do the opposite and open up. The reason why we're down sometimes is because we focus too much on ourselves. What im saying might be counter-intuitive, but it really really helps that when your opening up, always make it your priority to not only be heard but to also LISTEN and understand what your conversation partner has to say. The cure for depression is not the act of revealing your emotions but rather having a different perspective of things which opens up your head. That works way better than sleeping. Though sleeping is also important too !