Comments on: 5 tips for an undergraduate education http://schweblog.com/2007/01/25/5-tips-for-an-undergraduate-education/ the weblog of Jesse Schwebach Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:59:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: jen wuz here http://schweblog.com/2007/01/25/5-tips-for-an-undergraduate-education/comment-page-1/#comment-6 jen wuz here Mon, 29 Jan 2007 22:35:19 +0000 http://schweblog.com/2007/5-tips-for-an-undergraduate-education/#comment-6 Hah! No one I know would have ever skipped doing the reading, instead counting on a vast and jargon-filled vocabulary and a talent for sophistry to get them through a fancy philosophy school... On the other hand, CONGRATS! Even if you are a magna-cum-lately...now you will have time to see more of the world (and if I could make a suggestion...) And check your e-mail! Hah! No one I know would have ever skipped doing the reading, instead counting on a vast and jargon-filled vocabulary and a talent for sophistry to get them through a fancy philosophy school…

On the other hand, CONGRATS! Even if you are a magna-cum-lately…now you will have time to see more of the world (and if I could make a suggestion…)

And check your e-mail!

]]> By: Topher http://schweblog.com/2007/01/25/5-tips-for-an-undergraduate-education/comment-page-1/#comment-5 Topher Mon, 29 Jan 2007 20:43:42 +0000 http://schweblog.com/2007/5-tips-for-an-undergraduate-education/#comment-5 I concur with your thoughts. Well thought out. I concur with your thoughts. Well thought out.

]]> By: bieblog http://schweblog.com/2007/01/25/5-tips-for-an-undergraduate-education/comment-page-1/#comment-4 bieblog Fri, 26 Jan 2007 05:37:17 +0000 http://schweblog.com/2007/5-tips-for-an-undergraduate-education/#comment-4 If I can weigh in, both as a professor and a former student, what Jesse says here is largely true. You get more bang for the buck in upper division courses and you will probably get more face time with your professors. However, as I took almost no 100 level courses as an undergraduate and have never taught one as a professor, perhaps I'm not the best person to comment. As a professor, I probably should tell you to suck it up and always do the reading but based on my own experience as a student, I can attest that you can get away with not doing it at least some of the time. This depends on your ability to accurately assess how you are going to be evaluated, so if you miscalculate, you've screwed yourself. It's a calculated risk. If you like to play it safe, you know what you need to do. True - undergraduate education probably offers the maximum opportunity to experiment intellectually that you will ever experience. If you go on to graduate or professional school, your scope will tend to narrow very quickly. So explore a little while you have the chance even if it takes a little longer. As for those professors, yes, do talk to them. I can't speak for my profession at large, but one of the reasons I opted for academia instead of some more remunerative occupation was the chance to interact with curious intelligent people, to exchange ideas, to debate on a regular basis. Yet much of the job is solitary – you read, you do research, you prepare, you write lectures alone, and you expend it all in 50 or 75 minutes and wonder if you made any impact at all. Then there are those office hours every week – spent alone more often than not. Getting the opportunity to know students, to provide a bit of advice, to be a mentor, is incredibly rewarding. That's the fun part. Yes, there will be some professors that can't or make time for undergraduates, but I suspect most do. Give it a shot. Not because they might write better recommendations for you, although that's a likely byproduct. Just do it. If I can weigh in, both as a professor and a former student, what Jesse says here is largely true. You get more bang for the buck in upper division courses and you will probably get more face time with your professors. However, as I took almost no 100 level courses as an undergraduate and have never taught one as a professor, perhaps I’m not the best person to comment.

As a professor, I probably should tell you to suck it up and always do the reading but based on my own experience as a student, I can attest that you can get away with not doing it at least some of the time. This depends on your ability to accurately assess how you are going to be evaluated, so if you miscalculate, you’ve screwed yourself. It’s a calculated risk. If you like to play it safe, you know what you need to do.

True - undergraduate education probably offers the maximum opportunity to experiment intellectually that you will ever experience. If you go on to graduate or professional school, your scope will tend to narrow very quickly. So explore a little while you have the chance even if it takes a little longer.

As for those professors, yes, do talk to them. I can’t speak for my profession at large, but one of the reasons I opted for academia instead of some more remunerative occupation was the chance to interact with curious intelligent people, to exchange ideas, to debate on a regular basis. Yet much of the job is solitary – you read, you do research, you prepare, you write lectures alone, and you expend it all in 50 or 75 minutes and wonder if you made any impact at all. Then there are those office hours every week – spent alone more often than not. Getting the opportunity to know students, to provide a bit of advice, to be a mentor, is incredibly rewarding. That’s the fun part. Yes, there will be some professors that can’t or make time for undergraduates, but I suspect most do. Give it a shot. Not because they might write better recommendations for you, although that’s a likely byproduct. Just do it.

]]>