first year – semester one
One of the topics that I want to discuss on this blog are course reviews and essentially talk about the challenges that I faced taking each of these classes and what I learned. I’m not going to sit here and complain haha (even though I want to), but I want these to just exist as pages where I can look back and realize how far I’ve come.
So, to start off, I want to discuss the courses that I took in the fall of 2024, in my first year of university and how I fared with those.
Calculus 1
This course was actually pretty easy for me, because it was the exact same as AP Calc in high school. I did really well on the midterm, and the though the final was a little bit harder, I pulled through.
Things I would do better next time: Go to class more. Sometimes I would skip the entire week if I missed the first class that week.
Challenging Topics: applications of derivatives, including curve sketching and related rates
Physics 1
I’m not good at physics. I’m terrified of it, and going into this class, I was shaking in my boots. I had to really bust my butt to do well, and overall, I think I did really well. It was challenging, but it was doable.
Things I would do better next time: Pay attention in class. My attendance was pretty good because there was mandatory iClicker, but… most of the time, I would not be present mentally.
Challenging Topics: what even are fluids…??? Also, I have no clue how to use Newton’s laws half the time, that is literally so embarrassing
Organic Chem 1
This class genuinely made me want to end it all.
– me
It literally made zero sense half the time (chair conformations??) and I’m not great at visualizing things in my head, which made everything so much more difficult. The second half was easier, in my opinion.
Things I would do better next time: I highly recommend watching Chad’s video series. And also, do way more practice problems. Way, way more.
Challenging Topics: Newman projections, chair conformations, chirality, basically the whole course
Organic Chem Lab 1
This was my first “actual” chemistry lab, and it was all individual, so I was very nervous. Key rule in a lab: just copy what everyone else is doing and you’ll do fine. The content itself wasn’t too bad, and I ended up enjoying it.
Things I would do better next time: Hand lab reports in on time. Easily would’ve gotten a better grade if I did.
Challenging Topics: NMR takes a bit to pick up, but it’s not too bad.
Métis History
I have no idea why I jumped into a second-year history course in my first year, and it was definitely challenging. However, the content was very interesting, and I learned a lot – not only about the topic but also about how to write.
Things I would do better next time: Write proper outlines for my essays and participate in class.
Challenging Topics: How to research effectively for essays. Also how to complete 30 pages of reading for each class.
Literally everybody that I talked to told me to only take four courses, but I… I don’t know, I decided to try out five. What I will tell you, as someone who did everything last minute and generally scrambled around, is that IT IS POSSIBLE. However, you’re going to be stressing and panicking, so if you want to avoid that, get better time management skills or only take four.
We’ll soon get into Winter 2025, where things will get interesting (in a bad way).
Until next time!
