Dear Freshman Neuroscience Majors,

From Freshem to Freshmen

Hey, I’m writing this letter to offer some of my own advice on how to adjust to and survive your freshman year at the university. Most of the advice you have probably heard already in the other letters and throughout your orientation; so I will try to keep this short. I’m sure you have had a lot of new experiences over your first couple of weeks here, and it may all seem overwhelming. You may have found that you love college; you may wish you were still with your old friends in high school; you may be amazed at the vast number of squirrels that are on campus; or you may have realized Scranton is not the most exciting place in the world. Regardless of your feelings, I hope my advice will make your first year at Scranton at least a little more enjoyable.

I’ll start out with probably two of the most important things to any college student: Class work and Grades. There is only one piece of advice that I stress that you follow at that is to go to class. Regardless of a professor’s cut policy, going to class will help you to learn the material but will also keep you aware of what assignments are due and when tests are coming up. It may be difficult to roll out of bed when your alarm goes off for early morning classes, but going to class is the best way to do well in college. Besides this first piece of advice there is no set of guidelines that will make you a better student. The best advice I can give to you is to find out what form of studying works best of you. Find the best time of the day and location that will allow you to maximize your studying time. Whether it is at the library, in your dorm room, in a lounge, or outside finding your own place to study will help you do better in your classes. Lastly, if you have any questions in class or are confused about a topic go see your professors. They have mandatory office hours for a reason, and they will be more than willing to help you as long as you go see them before the day of a giant test. There are tons of resources on campus from tutors to group study sessions so find what works for you and you’ll do better.

That being said don’t spend you entire freshman studying. One of the best aspects of college is that you get to meet fellow students from various areas with different views and interests. It’s important to make new friends as well as stay in touch with old ones. By being open and trying new things, you can meet new people and even learn different things about your own likes and beliefs. Don’t be afraid to get involved in clubs and actives; they are a great way to meet new people and relieve the stress of classes. It is important to make time for yourself to take your mind off stressful exams and just work in general. Try and set a side time to watch a movie, play some videogames, or just hangout with your dorm mates. This will ensure that you do not get burned out and will also make college a far more enjoyable place. I do actually encourage procrastinating ever so often, but keep in mind that falling behind in work makes it very difficult to catch up.

Getting involved and finding studying habits that work for you are perhaps the two biggest pieces of advice I can offer. There are a few other small pieces of advice I’d like to leave with you. First, don’t worry if you have not decided what you want to do after college or even if you want to continue with the neuroscience major. I have no idea what plans lay ahead of me, and I did not even know there was a neuroscience major until I meet Dr. Cannon at orientation and switched my major. Secondly, if you have any questions feel free to talk with Dr. Cannon he is a great professor and is more than willing to help you in any way that he can. Other than that get used to the Scranton weather it is one of a kind and remember to have fun and enjoy your first year at the University of Scranton.

Sincerely,

Dear freshmen,

Well first off welcome to the University of Scranton or as many of us (especially Dr. Cannon) refer to it as daU. I also would like to congratulate you on making some very good choices. First off you picked a great school, in the short time that I have been here I have fallen in love with this school and the people here and I am sure you will do the same. Second, neuroscience is a great major with much too offer as long as you are willing to do some work. Here at daU the neuroscience program is relatively small, this is one of the things I like most about it. Get to know your fellow neuroscience majors. It is quite a relief to know that if something goes wrong you can count on one of them.

Now I want to give you all some advice. If things don’t seem exactly as “they should be” don’t jump into action. Give your roommate, classes, professors, teachers (yes there is a difference), and daU a chance. If something goes wrong try to fix it, not necessarily change it. Take some time for yourself. No one can just spit out work day after day with no relax time. Watch some TV (my personal recommendations are Lost, House, Family Guy, and just about anything on Animal Planet), play a board game (I currently am writing to you in the wee hours in the morning due to an extremely long game of Axis and Allies), read a book (I suggest this one a bit more than the others, especially if you are on the med school track), and never underestimate the power and loveliness of a good nap. Go to class, 95% of what is one your tests will be covered in class. When you study don’t do it all in one night, I have found that my grades are much better than they were in high school because of this bad habit. Study a bit each night then you won’t be all stressed out the night before the exam. Get to know your professors, many of them really enjoy talking to students and helping with their problems. Try not to fall behind. If you do, you will struggle to catch up. Do something that will make you stand out. Join some clubs or play a sport. Get involved with your floor mates and arrange things to do together. Finally the most important tip I can give you is find a schedule that works for you. I personally do my best thinking late at night and like sleeping in. You will learn about the psychological meaning of this in class so I won’t bore you with it.

Any way, do what you will with my advice I don’t claim to know everything about what you are going through or know everything about time management. This is just some off the things that have helped me. I wish you a long and prosperous career here at the University of Scranton. Good luck!

To the New Freshmen:

First of all, welcome to Scranton. This is a fantastic place, and you are really lucky to be a part of this community. Get ready to spend a great four years here.

That said, it’s important to make sure you get the most of the opportunity at your feet. Don’t be a superintelligent-Neuroscience-waste-of-life geek. Get out of your dorm room as soon as possible and DO something! Or do a lot of somethings! Make friends with your floormates; you’re going to be living with them, so you might as well get along. Join a club, play a sport, anything – just get involved in some way. Always keep in mind that this school is about more than just academics. Pretty much everyone I know here does something. I met some of my best friends here through sports or clubs we are in. It pays to not be a vegetable. You’ll be so much happier with yourself if you set aside whatever fears you may have and meet people.

I’m sure that part of the reason you even chose this place is for the feeling of community, maybe even of family, that you sensed when you first stepped foot on campus. And, if that is the case, you should try to contribute to that. Love your school and help make the experience good for everyone else. You’re going to meet about thirty million people in the next few weeks and you’re probably going to remember about six, but more than likely, you’re going to like most of them. It’s overwhelming but this time is extremely exciting. You’re going to love it. College is quite a learning experience, and Scranton is a great setting for learning autonomy and independence.

Of course, there’s schoolwork to do, too. Don’t sleep through class; I know that it’s enticing when you read the syllabus and you know that the professor is not going to take attendance to just get those few extra hours of sleep, but really, it’s not worth it. This is coming from my personal experience. You need to be in class, even if it’s solely for the purpose of getting to know your professor, and getting that professor to know you. Plus, missing material in college is way more serious than missing class in high school. Just go to class.

Another really important thing – you’re going to be having the time of your life, but don’t get so caught up in socializing (or all of those clubs that I told you to join) that you put off your work. I pretty much invented procrastination, guys, so I know what I’m talking about here. You’ll just get to the point where you have three exams and a paper due and a basketball game all in one night and you’ll just want to sit in your room and cry because you have to stay up all night to get anything done. Teachers will work with you – they want you to succeed – but they are not going to baby you. Again, this is not worth it. Read ahead of the class discussion and start your papers when you get them, even if you just jot down ideas. Staying on top of your work is crucial. Do it.

But honestly, the best advice I can give you is to just enjoy this experience. Do what has to be done first, but try to lighten up, live a little. To quote Eleanor Roosevelt: “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Take chances, try new things, do something crazy once in a while!

But don’t forget all the reasons that you are here. Good luck to you all!

Dear Freshmen,

Welcome to the wonderful world of Neuroscience and to the University of Scranton. I hope your few short days here have been pleasant. I know it must be overwhelming with all the things that are expected from you. College and high school are two very different things. I came from an all boys preparatory high school and it was suppose to prepare me for college, but nothing can really prepare you for it. Keeping your room clean, studying things on your own, and not having mom and dad around must be kind of hard. It is weird that you craved freedom from your parents for the longest time and now that time has come. For me it took an entire month to get over being homesick and missing my friends from high school. But do not worry these are all emotions a freshmen gets when being away from home for an extended period of time. Okay now it is time to pass on the knowledge I have learned in my first semester here as a Neuroscience major and a student of the University.

First get to know your professors. Unlike high school where you may had little to no personal relationship with your teachers, college is very different. You really should get to know your professors and talk to them. These are the people who will be guiding you on your academic journey (Okay I know that sounds really corny). Professors are more than happy to talk with you, and you should take full advantage of their generosity. Dr. Cannon can go on for hours telling you about his experiences in life and can give you plenty of advice when you are at a fork in the road on your journey. Also it is good to remember that these are the people you will be turning to for recommendations for grad school or medical school, and if they do not even know your name, it will be really hard for them to write a recommendation for you.

Second don’t stress over Biology and Chemistry. These classes are meant to be hard. No doubt about it, these classes are meant to determine if you will stay a science major. If you find that you are struggling in class, talk to the professor or a fellow classmate for some help. Do not let your shyness get in the way of asking for help. There is no shame in asking for help from other people. Also if you need a tutor for these two courses try to arrange one as fast as possible. Bio and Chem tutors go extremely fast so keep that in mind. I know that you probably will not have your bio practical for a few weeks but keep that in mind. If you talk to most upper classmen who took Gen Bio they would probably say it is extremely hard and you are going to fail. But if you ask me the practical is not that hard. Most people in Gen Bio do not know how to study effectively for the practical. Just start asking for some tips from upper classmen who knew what they were doing and you should do fine. Just study some time before hand and do not stress over it.

My third piece of advice is to sleep as much as possible in a day. Sleeping is very important in college. When I ask my friends how many hours a night they sleep they normally say five hours. I look at them and ask how they get through the day. Then they tell me they sleep in class and miss the entire lecture. So you should try to fit in as much sleep as possible and do not be freighted of naps during the day. Taking a 15 to 30 minute power nap before class can help you stay awake for a long lecture or lab. Also if you do not sleep you are more prone to getting sick and getting sick in college is not a good thing. In high school you could miss a day and not really miss much in terms of learning. But if you miss a class in college that could mean being a chapter behind, and that is not a good thing.

The last piece of advice is to be active at the University and meet new people. Your friends you make at the University will be the people you turn to for advice, share laughs, and help you through the though times of college. These friends are essential to keeping your sanity during all the work you will be receiving. Also be active in your school. Grad school and medical school look at what have you done with your time at the University. Anyone can lock themselves in their dorm room and get straight As, but it is really hard to juggle school work and being involved in the University. How well you manage these two things is what grad schools are looking for. They do not want just a brain at their school but a complete human.

Well I went over the two page limit on my letter, but it was fun writing to you. Here are a few things to keep in mind before I finish the letter. Remember your parents are not paying for you to go out and party. They are paying a tremendous amount of money to send you here, and it is the least that you can do is bring home a good report card to them. Also do not be afraid of switching your major. You may find out during you first semester that you hate Biology or psychology. There is no shame in switching your major. You want to do something that interests you. Be sure to pick a major that suits you. To end this letter, I will leave you with the words of an English teacher I had in high school: “Don’t you hate it when all the lemon cough drops are stuck together” (His point was to not take life so seriously. You have plenty of work, but you should remember to balance it out with some fun).

Your Friend

Dear Freshmen,

Well, well, well…finals are approaching and the semester is coming to an end. Whoever thought that a measly three and a half months could have such a dramatic impact on a person’s life? I have changed and grown as a person in that little time span, than I have throughout all of high school. Don’t worry you will too. And with that being said, I’m going to offer you some words of advice. You lucky person, you.

First, your classes are going to be hard. If you were like me in high school, you really didn’t have to do much of anything. Well, guess what? This isn’t high school. The whole memorize and regurgitate information process will not work anymore. You’re actually going to have to earn your grade. You may have to break a few limbs in the process but in order to achieve a high grade; you’re going to have to work for it. It’s not as terrible as it sounds though, and you really learn more in the process. It’s better that you learn to actually be able to apply the information you learn.

Next, you’re going to have to learn how to manage your time wisely. Your exams and homework assignments are not going to work around your schedule, you are going to have to work around theirs. However, do not panic. Even when it seems like you are not going to be able to be prepared on time, just take a deep breath. I found that the worst thing to do is panic. Your week of torture will come and pass, whether you’re ready for it or not, just be confident as you can with the material given to you.

Secondly, don’t let your schoolwork slip away. Once you miss reading a chapter one night, or end up not doing your lab work until an hour before it’s due…it’s not very fun. Get ahead, and stay ahead. It’s not fun trying to catch up on fifty chemistry problems, when you still have to study for three other exams and a bio practical. Although homework assignments may seem trivial, they can add up. A few homework assignments may end up pushing your B + to an A -, so take advantage of it.

Third, don’t be stupid. You may be pressured to do certain things and be a certain way. Don’t buy into it. It’s better to stay true to yourself and your ideals, than trying to please those around you. You don’t have to worry about the cliques or who the popular kids are anymore. There is no such thing as the word “popular” in college. Just don’t do anything you don’t want to do; you’ll regret it later on. Go out, have fun, do something crazy if you feel like it – but be yourself.

Lastly, get as much sleep as you can. Keep in mind, pulling all-nighters every time you have an exam is not the greatest idea. Remember to especially get a good night’s sleep, the day before a test – this can make or break you. With a solid amount of sleep, you will be able to function better and concentrate harder on the material you are being tested on.

Furthermore, morning classes can often be burdensome. If you are not a morning person like me, the hardest part of my morning is waking up. I know having your Freshman Seminar class at eight o’ clock in the morning isn’t all peaches and cream, but it’s not too bad. After class, go to the cafeteria, and get some breakfast with those next to you – those mornings may end up being some of the most memorable times you will have freshman year.

You have an interesting road lying ahead of you. It may get bumpy, but it’s going to be an amazing experience. Make the best of it. Remember to not have a panic attack when midterms come like I did — believe me your grades will go up. Have a great freshman year and don’t do anything stupid.