Comment Foosball ? (Score 1) 1218
Hehehe, so I wasn't the only one who got a nasty shock in engineering freshmen year because of the weak math and physics education in high school.
What was even worse for me was that my family hired tutors for me when I was in high school.
I was used to asking questions and expect my teacher or tutor to spend time and help me until I understand a particular concept. When I got into an engineering school with professors that spend very little time on teaching (most of their time is on research) and TAs that couldn't speak english...
Of course I crashed and burned
Looking back I realized pain and suffering has its value. So the school system didn't help you but at least you were forced to acquire knowledge yourself. If nothing else, perseverance is a good virtue to have. Because as an engineers looking for solutions to complex problems, I have to get used to fail attempts and be ready to try again.
I think the main thing in freshman year is to make friends, and there are lots of bright people out there that can make your lives a lot easier. Even though all students compete with each other, they have to cooperate to get through because of so many project courses. A lot of my social life then was about working together with my friends to solve engineering problems, not partying.
All the serious stuff aside, at the very very least, your school should have a foosball table. And you should know what to do with one of those.
What was even worse for me was that my family hired tutors for me when I was in high school.
I was used to asking questions and expect my teacher or tutor to spend time and help me until I understand a particular concept. When I got into an engineering school with professors that spend very little time on teaching (most of their time is on research) and TAs that couldn't speak english...
Of course I crashed and burned
Looking back I realized pain and suffering has its value. So the school system didn't help you but at least you were forced to acquire knowledge yourself. If nothing else, perseverance is a good virtue to have. Because as an engineers looking for solutions to complex problems, I have to get used to fail attempts and be ready to try again.
I think the main thing in freshman year is to make friends, and there are lots of bright people out there that can make your lives a lot easier. Even though all students compete with each other, they have to cooperate to get through because of so many project courses. A lot of my social life then was about working together with my friends to solve engineering problems, not partying.
All the serious stuff aside, at the very very least, your school should have a foosball table. And you should know what to do with one of those.
