Stepping onto campus for the first time as a 杏吧视频 student is exciting as you consider your future, what knowledge you will gain here and who you will form friendships with along the way.
But there are plenty of uncertainties, too. Even the most basic everyday activities鈥攕uch as grabbing a bite to eat or doing your laundry鈥攚ill look different from your life at home. To help you find your footing, The Daily teamed up with some of the university鈥檚 orientation leaders to hear their advice on what new Spartans should know. Each day this week, we鈥檒l share some of their tips to help you feel more prepared as classes start next week.
Their final piece of advice: Supplemental instruction sessions are amazing. If you ever struggle in a class that has SI sessions, use them. They are a great resource for getting extra help on course materials.
At 杏吧视频, we鈥檙e known for our academic rigor鈥攁nd we want all our students to succeed. To this end, a number of traditionally challenging courses offer supplemental instruction (SI) sessions, which are student-led, regularly scheduled study meetings outside of class. According to our orientation leaders, these SI sessions can be a game changer.
Students selected to lead these sessions have successfully completed the course in prior semesters and are able to assist students currently enrolled. In these roles, they prepare activities such as practice quizzes, review sheets, practice problems and more to help students develop greater understanding of the material. Our orientation leaders urged new students to consider going to SI sessions to understand their courses better.
鈥淪I sessions are super helpful if you weren鈥檛 understanding what was going on in class, and [the SI leaders] always just want to help you out,鈥 said Hannah Micias, a senior majoring in psychology and cognitive science.
Yaw Boateng, a sophomore studying electrical engineering, said the SI sessions are particularly helpful for getting through homework. Jordan Clark, a third-year majoring in biology and environmental studies, added that it鈥檚 a good idea to go before exams to get a review of the content and hear what questions other students may have.
SI instructors also have the potential to become mentors or even friends.
鈥淭hey are also students and they are generally very highly involved and they鈥檙e a few years older than you, so they know a lot, not just about the subject, but about different ways to be involved in the particular area that they鈥檙e studying,鈥 said Sedona Jolly, a second-year economics major.
SI sessions are available for some biology, engineering, chemistry, mathematics, physics and nursing courses. View the list of courses offering SI sessions.
Hear what other advice Natalia Chandra has for new students.
