On Wednesday night I went to the Rose cafe event titled: How to Succeed in College and Beyond: Preparing for The Future after Graduation by professor Dan Schwarz. There was nice snacks before the talk began and a lot of people were there. I was particularly interested in this topic because I am struggling on finding balance in studying and socializing recently. Also I start to feel the pressure of job searching so I thought it would be great to hear some advice.
Although Professor Schwarz teaches English, his approach to college planning is very practical and specific. Here are some points that I learned
- Don’t to afraid to talk to professors during office hours. This helps form bond and could possibly lead to future possibilities
- Start looking for job early, ideally from sophomore. Summer is a good time to try internship and junior summer intern may lead to full time return offer.
- Take computer science and economics courses. I think it is very interesting that he brings this up since this is usually the talk from STEM or business people. I would do some research on what this professor has researched when I got free time.
To be honest, I have heard all these advice before. It is good that the professor sum it up. However, I wish there were more advice on mind set and motivation stuff, like how to make decisions when you are stuck on which subject to major in or which club to pick. Because I always face these kind of choices and I am still trying to find an effective thinking method to solve it quick. And also, although I think learning practical stuff in useful and realistic, time should be spent more on the stuff that you like so that you can get better in that area everyday. I have been stuck on this problem. What do you guys think?
Hi! Sorry I don’t know your name, but I definitely relate to your struggle of balancing school and social life. One of the ways I’ve found that helps is to do things with people (that aren’t school) that I would have done anyway. Like instead of going to the gym by myself I set a date and time to go with a friend. Then I hit three birds with one stone: I see my friend, I go to the gym, and the exercise helps with the stress. As far as internships, apply apply apply! Its really hard to find time to do time-consuming internships, but the more you put out there the higher the chance someone will want to hire you. As far as majors, I’ve known what I was doing since the moment I stepped on campus, but for sure do something that you like and that will get you up in the morning – working on something you hate is terrible and going back to school for something else is expensive, so do something you love!
Hi! Thanks a lot for the great advice. I am trying to apply to every internship I know right now and so far it works out not bad. About major, I am still having a little bit of struggle but I have confidence or finding it if I don’t give up trying new things. And great social advice!
Having just gone through the most busy semester of my college career, I can safely say that a school-life balance is necessary to not drive yourself insane. I remember professor Schwartz saying that you should do something fun every day. That makes things easier. And sometimes for me that just wasn’t possible. I would have things due today, tomorrow, and Monday in perpetuity that I had to get done RIGHT NOW. That said, towards the end of the semester I was a bit more risky, taking time to hang out with friends or go see a play on a whim, and I can really say that it’s so worth while. I don’t measure my life in terms of grades any longer, now I measure it in how well I spent my time. I highly recommend it.