Knowing what student resources are available to you can come a long way when it comes to making your overall university experience the best it could possibly be. This article covers all facets of information from getting good grades, knowing the best spots to eat on campus, to the best bars to frequent. Once reading this, you’ll have a great overview and will be well accustomed to student life.
- Talk to Upper-Year Students in your program
This is probably the best piece of advice I have to offer from an academic standpoint. Leverage your network to find someone who attended the same program your entering and that has done well academically. This could be an older sibling, one of your friends’ siblings, or you could even find them on LinkedIn and send them a message for a short 30 minute conversation over the phone. If you can’t find someone before you actually get to Western, there will be many upper year students that you will meet during orientation that you can ask questions to. Be sure to ask about what courses to take, the best profs, best clubs to join based on your interests, and any other questions you may have.
Once you get on campus, you’ll hear about this resource called Prep 101. It’s not affiliated with Western University, but it is a company that runs exam preparation sessions before major midterms and final exams for popular courses at Western. Courses cost around $99 but many students find them worth it as they get great grades. Some students achieve 20% higher grades after taking Prep 101. If you are taking Calc 1000, Stats 2035, or Econ 1021 and are having trouble grasping concepts, I would recommend checking out Prep101. Sometimes they also offer free classes.
- Facebook Groups
Joining Facebook groups are extremely important especially during online university, but are still a great way to meet new people. I would recommend joining the following groups (you can just type them into Facebook search):
- Must Knows for Courses
- Western U Housing
- Western University Class of 20XX (whatever your graduating year is)
- Facebook Groups for your specific courses
- Used Textbooks for Sale
Being part of these groups can give you extra resources that might help save you time. It’s also just a great way to connect with other students and meet other students in your year or program.
- Google Calendar
If you have a gmail account, google calendar is a great way to organize your month, weeks, assignments, and meetings. You can even sync your UWO calendar to your google calendar so you have all the important dates in together. If you would like to schedule calls with people (for recruiting purposes or networking purposes), it is very easy to send a calendar invite through Google Calendar that will remind both you and the recipient of this meeting. You can also download a Google Calendar app onto your mobile phone so you have access to your schedule at all times.
During my time at Western, I found the Western Career Center was one of the student resources that was overlooked. Regardless of what program you’re entering, there are many internships and full-time jobs posted on the Western portal that you can easily apply for. There are also many information sessions that you can sign up for to learn more about specific companies. This is a great tool to use if you’re looking for summer internships.
Overall, it’s important to make sure you’re aware of the thousands of student resources that are offered to you. Once you are aware of these resources, you can leverage them to make your university experience even better!
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