Grad Connect
GAS Grad Connect – Watch and Learn!
Welcome to GAS! You’re all set for an exciting, productive post-secondary experience! You’ll make new friends, meet interesting professors, and learn many new skills. To help you get off to a great start and help to reduce stress, we’ve put together some information to let you know how GAS students achieve success in college.
We invited six 2011 GAS Grads to tell us about their learning experiences and strategies for coping with heavy assignment workloads, balancing life and school, and communicating with fellow students and faculty. Click on the links below to watch the clips and gather useful tips and advice for making your year in GAS a success!
Topic 1: Tips for Starting the Semester Right
For many students, the first few weeks of the semester determine how the rest of the semester will go. College moves FAST! Fifteen weeks pass quickly, as the Grads discovered. They offer advice about how to plan your first few weeks, to get focused, and how to get to know classmates and professors.
Topic 2: Getting Organized
Find out the best organization strategy for YOU. It might be using an iphone or Blackberry, or it might be using a pen and an old-school agenda (free from Student Services!). No matter what system you use, keep track of all important information and dates – professors’ contact info, study buddies’ contact info, assignment due dates, bursary application dates, etc. – to make sure you stay on top of your work. The Grads offer advice on when and how to contact your professors if you need extra help or extra time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg5oTYehxR0
Topic 3: Group Work
Strong teamwork skills are in high demand by employers, so GAS students are given opportunities to develop strategies and skills for working in groups. The Grads point out that it is important to pick your group wisely and to stay in constant communication with your group members to make sure that the work gets done.
Topic 4: Tips for Specific Classes
In GAS, all students take a Computer Foundations course and Communications I and II. (Contact your Academic Advisor to get information about course exemptions if you have post-secondary credits in these courses). The Grads provide advice about why it is important to take these courses seriously and attend regularly. Rather than dismissing these classes as “bird courses,” staying on track in Computers and Communications classes is a great way to boost your GPA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9zxkvFr2_g
Topic 5: Time Management
Most students do not drop out of school because the material and the assignments are too difficult; most students end up dropping out of college because of time management issues. It’s tough to manage schoolwork, a part-time job, relationships, family, getting up early, etc., but the GAS Grads point out that your goal this year is to be a student and learn. College is the number one priority, and everything else in your life needs to reflect your commitment to your studies for the next 30 weeks.
Topic 6: College Services
We all need a little help now and again. GAS has Student Success Specialists who are ready to help you with problems and issues, and Algonquin College offers a range of support services for students for issues related to academic help (Coaches, the Learning Resource Centre, Peer Tutoring) health care, financial support, employment, and counselling for students with learning challenges. College staff and faculty are here to help.
Topic 7: A Fresh Start
Along with opportunities to meet new people and learn new skills, college offers you a chance to start fresh. Whatever your high school experiences were, whatever opinions people held about you and your abilities, they no longer apply in college. You are free to be the kind of person and student you want to be. The grads let us know that this was one of their best – and unexpected – college experiences.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OcqxLoNTuc
Topic 8: A Few Last Tips
The Grads offer a few more ideas about how to make sure your college experience is all that you want it to be.