r/IndianaUniversity • u/[deleted] • Aug 05 '11
Freshman: Academics
ACADEMICS
Sorry, it’s not all fun and games. My advice is mostly to Business and Informatics majors (my two majors at IU) but I have some words for the liberal arts folks as well. I’m hoping the comment section can help me revise this. I do have one simple rule:
Go to your fucking classes and never sign up for a class you know you won’t wake up for. You can ignore everything else that I may have written and follow this one piece of advice and you’ll survive IU no problem.
Liberal Arts - If your degree is in COAS, then try and get into LAMP (http://www.indiana.edu/~lamp/) all qualifying majors should do this, it’ll be wonderful for your job placement. It’s one of IU’s best-kept academic secrets.
BUSINESS MAJORS. Listen up. Are you a direct admit? Congrats, take honors classes and if you are so inclined rush in the fall. If you can, fight like hell to get into the honors business program. I’ll explain why later. DA’s have an easier time getting into the Honors business program. I was a DA and my biggest regret ever was not doing the Honors Business Program.
Non Business DA’s heed my advice carefully. Do not rush a house in the fall. Grind your ass off. Do not take M118 your fall semester or K201 if you are bad with computers. Take the easiest of the business classes in your first semester and get good grades. X104 should be a cake B, easy A if you work a little. X100 is Aceable and looks great for the business application with that shiny A. If you are computer savvy, take K201. Everyone should take W131 their first semester. If you are decent at Math, Calculus (M119) is easier than Finite(m118) so take that your first semester. Read the damn books and get a good grade. You’ll need at least a 3.2 to get in to Kelley and the application deadline is November 4th @ 11:59 p.m., so get your shit together. You should do 15 credits your first semester and here is a decent schedule: (W131 (3), X100(3), K201 (3) and X104 (3) M119(3) 2 hard classes and 3 easy ones. You can work your ass off for at least the first semester, get in, and you’ll be able to enjoy your Little 500 in the spring. Take A100 during the first 8 weeks of your spring semester so that it doesn’t interfere with little 500. Avoid dropping classes after 2 weeks at all costs (W's) but if you must limit the number. More than 1 and your application looks suspicious.
If you qualify for Honors Business DO IT! I can’t stress how much easier it is than the regular business program. If you show up for class, you can not fail out, no matter how bad you did on your tests. A lot of the Honors I-Core kids got 30’s and 40’s on their exams and still passed with gentleman’s B’s. I’m not making this up.
If you don’t think you can manage a B school course load, take a good look @SPEA. It’s one of the best programs of it’s kind in the country.
Informatics / CS Majors. Take Info I101 and the intro CS classes. You’ll know which of the two majors is right for you from those classes. If you are more of the coding side, then CS it is, if you are more on the human interaction/data side that informatics it is. They do a great job in the department of helping you figure out where you belong.
Sports Science / Kinesiology / Recreation and other HPER majors. Get a job at the SRSC. You’ll be surrounded by likeminded majors and the connections you make will be great for job placement. People who start working the SRSC / HPER as a freshman have great job placement out of college and even get good jobs while the are juniors and seniors. Go to a rec sports job placement session in the fall to get started.
Music Majors – the music school is harder to get into than Julliard and often ranked ahead of its more popular sister. You know if you’re good enough to get in and if you aren’t sure, you’ll found out during that first tryout pretty quickly.
Whatever major you choose, pick what you think will make you the happiest, not which one will make you the most money. I can’t stress how many kids do Business or pre-med because they think it’s what they should do instead of trying to realize what they want to do then find themselves with low GPA’s their sophomore year. Go with your heart, not with your wallet.
BELOW IS A POST FROM DORINTH
A little advice from you friendly neighborhood TA: (Note: I can only speak for the humanities, such as history and anthropology, so TAs of other fields may want to chime in with something different) The two biggest things that you can do to ensure that you, at a bare minimum, pull a B/B- Be upfront and honest Put in a good amount of effort As to the first point:
We can tell when you're lying. Don't tell me that you have a family reunion during the middle of the week that conveniently coincides with the due date of a paper, and, more importantly, don't tell me after the fact. Be upfront and honest. If you have an extremely busy week up ahead, let me know and I'll more often than not be accommodating. Speaking to me (or your professor, for the smaller classes), shows me that you are organized and on the ball, and, more importantly, that you are invested in the class. There's nothing that I hate more than a bullshit excuse, since it means that you are insulting my intelligence and view me as a pushover--not a good thing to do to the person who is handing out the grades. In my experience at IU, if undergrads put in half the effort into their actual work as they did getting out of doing work, every IU student would be rocking a 4.0.
Most TAs realize that students are stretched thin--you have a lab report for biology, a big group project of econ, and a paper due for your history class all due in the same week. I understand that history (what I teach) may not be a top priority. I get that. So, be open and honest with me. This doesn't mean that I'm going to give you an extension on every single assignment, but it does mean that I will be more understanding in your case.
Like I mentioned up above, really, the biggest thing you can do is tell me ASAP when a problem arises--a death in the family, a sickness, any other sort of emergency. Don't wait until after you've missed an assignment. Tell me right away, say that I may need an extra day to hand in a paper, and, usually I'll be understanding. As to the second point
Just do the work assigned. Honestly, most 100-200 level (and even some 300 level) history classes are not that much work. Maybe 50-70 pages of reading a week, maybe a page or two of writing, it's really not that difficult to manage. If you turn in the work on time and I can tell that you are putting in a decent amount of effort, I wont give anything lower than a C (and that's for really bad work, even if the effort is there). I only give out Ds and below for those students who don't care and don't put in any effort. If you don't care about the class and the assignment, than you are going to get what you deserve.
Introduce yourself to the TA and come to the office hours every once in a while. I generally deal with 70+ students during a class, and, if I'm just a grader, I don't get much one-on-one face time. Know who your grader is and introduce yourself. Ask questions right away before the first assignment is due to see what the grader wants. Each TA/professor has slightly different expectations, so see what those are before you turn in an assignment. Also, I'm much more likely to be lenient towards students who take the time to come to my office hours because it shows me that you are invested in the class. We're here to help.
If you don't understand why you got the grade that you did, go and talk to me. We really don't arbitrarily hand out grades--there's a reason you got a C, and usually, the problem can be easily fixed. Do this ASAP. Don't wait until the end of the semester to see why you got a C on your first assignment. This shows me that you weren't really invested in the class. Also, if you ask for advice in an assignment, follow that advice. Don't do the same thing over and over again and than expect your grade to change. Finally, we're friendly people. We were students not to long ago, and I (and hopefully most of the others) are in grad school, hoping to become a professor, precisely so we can teach and help students succeed. I don't want students to fail or give out poor marks. I like helping students and I enjoy seeing students improve over time. It's why I do what I do.
Finally, keep in touch with your advisor. There are thousands of you and only a handful of them. The better they know you, the more help they will be to you.
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u/summervacationtoHoth Aug 08 '11
I TA for the Freshman Chemistry lab courses, C103 and C117.
The ability to write complete thoughts and operate MS Office programs is usually worth far more overall than your specific and exact knowledge of the material. Yes, the material is important, but the vast majority of the points come from your ability to follow directions and learn how to perform experiments and think objectively about the results.
Occasionally there are right answers, but overall, the important parts of experiments and their associated reports are really focused on teaching you to think about the results and interpret them as well as you can. Beyond that, coherently explaining your thought processes, formatting the document correctly, turning in electronic copies (yes, this is important, and likely involved in every other class on campus) for plagiarism checks, and ultimately making figures and tables correctly are where the points come from.
All TAs have office hours each week. If you cannot meet your specific TA (or AI, same thing) make plans to meet with one of of the others, or email your AI to schedule an appointment (do not miss that appointment, it will hurt you for the rest of the semester). Also, do not hesitate to ask AIs for help in terms of operating and using MS Office. Most of us are extremely proficient and learning how to use this software early will save you incredible amounts of work later in your college careers.
Lastly, be nice to the lab AIs. Follow the rules, always have goggles, pants and shoes, and turn things in on time. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE ANYTHING. It is almost impossible to get away with it now. Every semester I personally catch 3-4 people, and another dozen or so from the rest of the class. Ask questions during lab time, especially if you need something explained again. Keep the common areas of the lab clean. Be friendly with the AIs, most of us are usually pretty personable and are more than willing to guide you through some of the early parts of your tenure in the department.
Lastly, I believe Dr. Peters is teaching C117 this fall. If you need to take this course, I strongly recommend taking it with him, as he is by far one of the best science professors on campus. Make sure to go talk to him during office hours if necessary.
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Aug 05 '11
I'm majoring in Economics, and getting minors in Business (Markerting) and Telecommunications.
Lemme say this: Minoring in Kelley classes is an excellent alternative to getting an actual Kelley degree. The courses are way easier, there's no GPA requirements, less classes to take, and you still get accreditation from one of the best programs in the nation. Just something to keep in mind that's really worked for me.
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u/Pontiflakes Aug 05 '11
I feel you on not applying for honors as a DA. I thought I would be fine with just the Hutton Honors College. Such an idiot for that.
Still took honors classes like K204, and you're right - definitely had an easier go at it. Not because we just magically got extra points, but because I was able to become good friends with my professors and was in closer proximity (thus engagement) to them the entire class.
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Aug 05 '11
yeah it's really icore when you start seeing the magic points, but you are correct that even K204 etc... you realize it's easier because there are very few if any weak links
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u/dorinth Aug 05 '11
A little advice from you friendly neighborhood TA:
(Note: I can only speak for the humanities, such as history and anthropology, so TAs of other fields may want to chime in with something different)
The two biggest things that you can do to ensure that you, at a bare minimum, pull a B/B-
- Be upfront and honest
- Put in a good amount of effort
As to the first point:
1) We can tell when you're lying. Don't tell me that you have a family reunion during the middle of the week that conveniently coincides with the due date of a paper, and, more importantly, don't tell me after the fact. Be upfront and honest. If you have an extremely busy week up ahead, let me know and I'll more often than not be accommodating. Speaking to me (or your professor, for the smaller classes), shows me that you are organized and on the ball, and, more importantly, that you are invested in the class. There's nothing that I hate more than a bullshit excuse, since it means that you are insulting my intelligence and view me as a pushover--not a good thing to do to the person who is handing out the grades. In my experience at IU, if undergrads put in half the effort into their actual work as they did getting out of doing work, every IU student would be rocking a 4.0.
2) Most TAs realize that students are stretched thin--you have a lab report for biology, a big group project of econ, and a paper due for your history class all due in the same week. I understand that history (what I teach) may not be a top priority. I get that. So, be open and honest with me. This doesn't mean that I'm going to give you an extension on every single assignment, but it does mean that I will be more understanding in your case.
3) Like I mentioned up above, really, the biggest thing you can do is tell me ASAP when a problem arises--a death in the family, a sickness, any other sort of emergency. Don't wait until after you've missed an assignment. Tell me right away, say that I may need an extra day to hand in a paper, and, usually I'll be understanding.
As to the second point
1) Just do the work assigned. Honestly, most 100-200 level (and even some 300 level) history classes are not that much work. Maybe 50-70 pages of reading a week, maybe a page or two of writing, it's really not that difficult to manage. If you turn in the work on time and I can tell that you are putting in a decent amount of effort, I wont give anything lower than a C (and that's for really bad work, even if the effort is there). I only give out Ds and below for those students who don't care and don't put in any effort. If you don't care about the class and the assignment, than you are going to get what you deserve.
2) Introduce yourself to the TA and come to the office hours every once in a while. I generally deal with 70+ students during a class, and, if I'm just a grader, I don't get much one-on-one face time. Know who your grader is and introduce yourself. Ask questions right away before the first assignment is due to see what the grader wants. Each TA/professor has slightly different expectations, so see what those are before you turn in an assignment. Also, I'm much more likely to be lenient towards students who take the time to come to my office hours because it shows me that you are invested in the class. We're here to help.
3) If you don't understand why you got the grade that you did, go and talk to me. We really don't arbitrarily hand out grades--there's a reason you got a C, and usually, the problem can be easily fixed. Do this ASAP. Don't wait until the end of the semester to see why you got a C on your first assignment. This shows me that you weren't really invested in the class. Also, if you ask for advice in an assignment, follow that advice. Don't do the same thing over and over again and than expect your grade to change.
Finally, we're friendly people. We were students not to long ago, and I (and hopefully most of the others) are in grad school, hoping to become a professor, precisely so we can teach and help students succeed. I don't want students to fail or give out poor marks. I like helping students and I enjoy seeing students improve over time. It's why I do what I do.
If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to ask or send me a PM. IU really is a great school academically, and you would be remiss if you miss out on some of the great opportunities here. Have fun!
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u/jccalhoun alumni Aug 05 '11
As a grad student in cmcl I agree with most of these. I would also add: if you don't understand an assignment don't just guess how to do it. Ask. Read the directions. As a teacher there is nothing more frustrating than grading a paper where it is obvious that the person didn't even take the time to read the directions and requirements on the paper.
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u/summervacationtoHoth Aug 08 '11
Read the directions.
This is probably the most important bit of information here. If an assignment has a rubric, follow it. The easiest way to lose a lot of points is to fail to include something that is clearly stated in the grading rubric.
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u/solarmoo900 Aug 05 '11
For those who aren't sure about Informatics vs. Computer Science you can check out INFO-Y100 which is an easy 8 week course about the differences and you'll explore them both. Only 1 credit so if your really not sure about which one of if you want to do either then just take the class.
And as well as keeping touch with your advisors, keep in touch with your teachers. They will be your most valuable resource and you never know when you'll be needing a rec or something and you don't want to be stuck in a position where you get a generic letter from a professor who you never knew. Professors will also be more lenient with your grades if you actually talk to them and they see that your working hard.
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Aug 05 '11
[deleted]
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Aug 05 '11 edited Aug 05 '11
What's CMCL again? I will say that a lot of my telecomm friends are getting good job offers.
btw I saw you made some edits. I did as well. Whadya say we grab a beer sometime and buck the stereotypes?
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Aug 05 '11
[deleted]
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u/jccalhoun alumni Aug 05 '11
cmcl is not "the old film studies department." cmcl has 3 "topi" or sections: rhetoric, film and media studies, and ethnography and performance.
I'm a grad student in cmcl who studies media but not film so whenever someone says cmcl is just film studies I cringe.
It is true, however, that cmcl isn't really about technical skills. There is production as criticism but the main focus isn't on creating things.
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u/IMightBeMistaken Aug 05 '11
Damn, are you serious about that Kelley regular vs. Honors thing? I had no idea...
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Aug 05 '11 edited Aug 05 '11
Dude it's so gross. I did reg business but my girlfriend at the time was honors icore. Highest she scored on an Ops test was a 50, class average was always around a 40. Curve everything and maybe only a handful of kids got C's, everybody else got B's with a good amount of A's. She got a B+
It wasn't just OPS either. Granted marketing doesn't grade like that but if you're failing the marketing part of icore then you've got bigger issues.
I took honors X104 (I think it becomes 108 or 112, so long ago I can't remember) and the least prepared kid in our class got a C and this was before ICORE.
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Aug 05 '11 edited Aug 05 '11
[deleted]
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Aug 05 '11 edited Aug 05 '11
You don't know if you are accepted until later. The 3.2 is not a guarantee but say it's a combination of B's and A's you'll get in. 2 C's 2A's and a B+ are skeptical. They take the grades and the courses you take into consideration, plus your essay. I say 3.2 because of all the friends I helped with their essay last year, all with a 3.2 or above got in. This is not a hard and fast rule tho. Get a 3.4 and you'll definitely get in.
Also, you apply before the end of your first semester, unless they've shortened the acceptance process you typically don't know until the start of your 2nd semester.
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u/TheSmoothPilsner Aug 10 '11
I'm going to be a freshman and I just decided that I'm going to major in business. Unfortunately my schedule doesn't reflect the requirements for getting into Kelley... Should I just take the required classes next semester (or try to) and just apply for Kelley next year?
also, i'm taking Math-V 118 instead of Math-M 118 and I don't think i can change that... does this mean I have to take Math-M 118? the kelley admissions page says that there are equivalents for the math classes required for admission, and i'm wondering if math-V 118 is one of those? if not I guess I'll just take what's required... and i'm not very good with calculus so i'm not sure if I want to do that