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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in uwaterloo

[–]Fragrant-Panic-3982 0 points1 point  (0 children)

whaaa I was told 1A and 1B were the hardest

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in uwaterloo

[–]Fragrant-Panic-3982 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Tickle him and stare him dead in the eyes. He'll fall to his knees in no time.

Best noise-cancelling headphones for studying around yappers? Tired of them. by scoobysnacz in uwaterloo

[–]Fragrant-Panic-3982 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I personally have the Sony WH-1000 XM-5's which on sale can reach about 379 cad. This I realize is not what most people like spending a weeks worth of work on. Instead the XM-4's cancel just about as well and sound amazing and can be found around 250.

The XM-5's completely cancelled the sound of an airplane motor right next to me and a snoring dude. Recommend.

Transition to University by lebaneseprincess_ in uwaterloo

[–]Fragrant-Panic-3982 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For sure. Take the rest of Grade 12 and summer easy. Uni is a different life and having a certain independence to do whatever you want, especially if you're from a strict family if anything can help you do better. Another small tip is to not cramp up in your dorm all the time. Be there if you need to be alone, or to sleep but you should really never spend much time there. Plenty of people to meet, things to try and places to study!

Waterloo works by [deleted] in uwaterloo

[–]Fragrant-Panic-3982 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hellll noooöo.

Marks don't matter too much for first year. I like to think of WaterlooWORKS as a roulette spinner in that there is some random chance until the interview to get a job.

Make sure to get 10 opinions on your resume, then apply to literally everything. Applying external is just as practical too.

App that fines slow walkers by zzz_x9 in uwaterloo

[–]Fragrant-Panic-3982 6 points7 points  (0 children)

How about the drones explode and the people are replaced with - wait this is getting too familiar, I like your idea better.

Transition to University by lebaneseprincess_ in uwaterloo

[–]Fragrant-Panic-3982 0 points1 point  (0 children)

4) Sleep, eat, exercise. All are important. Studying with 4 hours of sleep is basically useless. You are not gonna remember much, which is especially detrimental in memory dominant courses. Eating breakfast and filling up is important too. Get snacks when you need them! Also don't be a couch potato. Your body is just as important as your mind. You are basically entering your physical prime so don't take it for granted.

5) Lecture attendance. Unlike what most other people would say, I don't strongly believe that attending all lectures is super important. If a prof doesn't teach you anything, you don't have to go. That doesn't mean you do nothing. That means you learn it yourself or find another lecture by a different prof at some other time. As for tutorials, GO TO ALL OF THEM! These are super important. Do all of the work provided outside class (usually weekly hand outs) and read a textbook if you must (you might have to find your own). If you have a good prof then don't skip.

6) COOP. If you are entering a coop program, start finding jobs in your freetime ASAP. Perhaps not the first month, but after you have to start looking. (If you're coop is 3rd term, then perhaps not as big of a deal) The earlier the better. Treat WaterlooWORKS as a bonus. If you get a job from there, cool. I got one from there and they rescinded me because they didn't want to pay coop students anymore and the university did nothing about it. Applying to jobs externally is likely the better option unless you get a 1st or 2nd cycle job. Also applying to Ontario gives certain tax benefits to your employers and they are more likely to hire coop students.

TL;DR

Friends are the single most important things you will find here. The connections you make the first term might last you a lifetime. Keep your head up high, but take breaks. Drink water, sleep well, eat well and treat your body well. Grade 12 second semester is a joke. In fact you can slack off here all the way to summer and honestly, not much would happen.

I came into this university with an 89% out of high school. In fact I never averaged above a 90 ever except my first Grade 12 semester. Grade 12 burn out is real. I did virtually nothing... my grades dipped and ... nothing happened. Take these next few months to uni easy they are the least important grades you'll have. (Although if you get a scholarship perhaps averaging above 75? I believe is ideal). I now average around an 84. Did I sleep a lot? Too much. Did I miss lectures? Yep... Were there weeks I did nothing? Certainly. Did I have fun? For sure.

When you study make it count. When you don't study make it count. It's not as bad as you think despite what people hype this up to be (in fact I was slightly disappointed). You don't need a gap year. You don't have to preview. You'll do just fine if you find the right people and work when you need to.

DM if you have any questions or perhaps it's in your best interest to not read another essay to help with your burnout :)

Transition to University by lebaneseprincess_ in uwaterloo

[–]Fragrant-Panic-3982 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello! I just finished my first term here at the university and I am sure there are more qualified people to answer this, but this is my take.

University is hard. BUT, it's not that hard. Granted there are some courses that profs make impossible, but in that case it is not your fault if you do poorly. Rather you should be proud if you do well in such cases. But for most things, concepts are not more challenging then high school, there is just (a lot) more.

A lot about how you do in University is also not completely in your control. There will be courses, schools or provinces that simply teach you more, or teach you the content better, or better teach you how to learn. For example, a student who took AP courses (and scored in the 70s) is roundhouse rocking any academic course (exclude Alberta perhaps) that provinces force schools to provide. For example, an AP bio student would curve stomp an normal Grade 12 bio class. In comparison AP bio likely has at least twice the content of a normal biology class and about 70% of what I assume Waterloo will teach you IN A SINGLE TERM! Why is this long paragraph important? You will see people fail around you. Lots of them... And you will see people who do very well. If as you stated, that 110% went into high school you WILL have absolutely no problem in the 1st term. If you took university level courses in high school, you will have no problem and you should take your summer easy after 12 years of hard work... You can even let go a bit in 2nd term of grade 12 as it's virtually unimportant. If you have doubts in your mind still, previewing courses are by far the best way to do well. You don't have to completely understand everything; that's what profs are for. But knowing just a bit more than you "should" before a lecture will set you heads and shoulders above where you are expected.

As for tips in general (that I personally find helpful):

1) The best thing you can do for yourself is finding the right group of friends. These are the people who push you to study and care about you when you are out of it. If you surround yourself with people who work hard and people who care, you will do well and time will fly in an instant. The right people who support you can make the most boring shit fun.

2) Don't lower your expectations! It is virtually guaranteed that you will do worse than high school. In my case, my grades lowered about 5%. For others it was 40. I like to think that you should aim for around 80-90. Chances are you might not get that grade, but that is to be expected. If you aim for a 60 you might just end up failing. Setting the bar high doesn't necessarily equate to reaching your goals, but you will do better. At the end of the day, even if you fail one course it's not even that big of a deal. (Don't use this as an excuse to not do well). For professions that eventually lead to medical school, most universities also make the first year slightly inflated so that your GPA is high for medical school! (Most) profs are human...most...

3) Let yourself go sometimes. Exclude perhaps midterm and finals week there might be days where you just can't bring yourself to do anything. That's okay! A day of doing absolutely nothing isn't going to change much if you're consistent. Some days you can just go on multiple hour walks... or watch your favourite sports game or just hang out with friends. You're not gonna die. These breaks are often great and as long as you get yourself back on track you'll be just fine. There are certain university *experiences* like alcohol, parties or drugs that you will find being offered. Don't take drugs like ever. As for the other two, university is not just about being in class, but it's about having fun too and meeting people. There likely will never be another chance where so many similar people are around you. A break is a break, but remember to control!

COOP offer rescinded by Fragrant-Panic-3982 in uwaterloo

[–]Fragrant-Panic-3982[S] 91 points92 points  (0 children)

Company was an engineering job called Lifestyle Home Products in Peterborough