What I Learned My First Year of University

Incoming students have a lot of questions about starting their academic careers on the right foot. We want to answer those questions by having successful upper-level students who can share advice for not just surviving, but thriving, as a first-year student.

Yay! You have finally made it to the University of Toronto, and you will be a freshman soon! Today I would like to share with you the things that I have learned in my first year of university and share some tips for you to not just survive at University of Toronto Mississauga but thrive as a first-year student.

Reach out if you need help

One of the most frequent questions I get asked as a current undergraduate student at UTM is ‘How challenging is U of T?’. When I get asked this question, I do not deny the fact that our university can be challenging, but I bring up the fact that we have loads of services/programs available to support students throughout their entire academic career.

For example, on the second floor of the Deerfield Hall, there is a Math Learning Centre where the Math Teaching Assistants (TA) hold their office hours. Office hours are held by professors and TAs to give an opportunity for students to come and ask their questions directly to instructors). By visiting the Math Learning Centre, I was able to get more help with course materials that I thought I was not too strong on, which aided my understanding of the subject. If you ever find yourself struggling with any kind of math courses, I highly suggest you take advantage of this program.

The Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre (RGASC), located in the MN building, is another great source for student support. They hold online and in-person sessions to help with math, writing, time management, test preparation, etc., to support students throughout their entire academic career. In your first year, when you are assigned to a huge project for the first time, you might be wondering if you are missing anything from the rubric or simply if your work is ‘good’ enough. By booking appointments with RGASC, they give feedback on what you can improve on and what areas of the assignment you might have to refine.

 

Learn how to manage your time efficiently BEFORE the start of the semester

I found learning how to manage my time (not only the academics but also work, leisure, family, friends, etc.) before the start of the first semester to be incredibly helpful. Most courses in your first year can be assignment heavy. With weekly quizzes, assignments, and readings, it is easy to lose track of when the tasks are due and whether you have completed them. To prevent this from happening, I highly recommend trying out different time-management strategies before the year starts. Some people work better with paper calendars/planners, while others prefer digital calendars and to-do lists. I personally found the online calendar better for me because it is easy to correct due dates and keep track of which assignments I have left.

The reason why I recommend trying out different time-management techniques before the semester starts is because once the semester has begun, it might be difficult to find some time to look into different strategies that would work the best for you. As such, I strongly suggest finding your own method of managing time over the summer before the start of your first year.

Build connections with your professors

Do you want to ace your courses in your first year? Attend office hours to build connections with your professors! You might be now asking yourself, what are office hours? As I have mentioned earlier, office hours are small size meetings held by either the TAs or the professor themselves, where students have the chance to ask questions directly to the instructor. Personally, coming directly from high school to university, it was more difficult to achieve the teacher-student bond in university since most first year courses here are about 400-500 students. In class sizes like these, building a connection with the professor can be difficult. This is where office hours come in handy. If you have any questions that you couldn’t ask during the lecture or have any concepts or materials that you need further clarifications on, office hours are a great way to reach out to the instructor to assist with your learning.

Now you might be asking, if you don’t have any questions, should you skip office hours? My answer would be that you should attend as many office hours as possible. At least one person attending the office hours will have a question to ask which could be a question you have not yet thought of. Also, you do not always need to ask course-related questions during office hours. Once, my professor mentioned that he visited the arctic as part of his research, so I asked him if he would mind showing us some of the pictures that he took back then, and we got to see his amazing pictures of arctic life! By attending the office hours and making connections with your professors, you will feel more engaged in your learning, which will surely benefit you!

Makes friends and Have fun!

Studies at UTM can be challenging and one way to manage this is by making friends for some great memories! I started my first year online, so it was a little harder for me to connect and make friends. Despite everything being online, I was still able to meet people through the many first-year orientations that were offered. Speaking of first year orientations, we have two main types - UTM head start, offered by Robert Gillispie Academic Skills Centre, and Frosh, offered by UTM Student Union (UTMSU). The main difference between the two is that UTM head start is the academic side of the orientation, whereas Frosh is more recreational. For example, when I attended UTM head start, there were sessions on ‘how to effectively write your chemistry lab report’ and ‘managing your time for exams’. Frosh, on the other hand, had more recreational activities like club nights, squad games, etc. Both are amazing ways for you to meet people and make friends before starting the semester.

I put emphasis on making friends since university is not only about academics, but also about making connections and enjoying your time. I doubt my university life would have been this enjoyable without my friends. They have been super supportive, and I now cannot imagine my academic career without them. Thus, I highly recommended that you attend first-year orientations. But don’t get me wrong, attending just orientations is not the only way to make new friends. It’s also important to take the first step and talk to people first! Here are some of the ice breaker questions you could ask to start a conversation with someone:

• What’s their stream of study?
• If both of you are studying the same thing, ask them what courses they are taking. Most first year courses are decided for students by the department, so you will likely share many courses if both of you are in the same discipline.
• What courses are they taking?
• Ask to see if you have the same tutorials or practicals as them. If you do, that’s great! You now have a friend to sit with or talk to for that session!

These were the things that I learned in my first year. I hope it helps you thrive in your first year at UTM and wish you all the best. Good luck!