02/08/2016

Parents,

We are now in that period of time that will greatly influence how this semester will turn out. In most cases, students will have had their first test. Even a very bad grade can be recovered if students take actions now. We are still weeks away from Spring Break so students need to keep their focus. I have found that the beginning of the semester improvement resolutions that our students make tend to evaporate about this time. I hope you can help them maintain the improvements that they adopted at the beginning of the semester.

I have a couple of things to tell you about that could be important:

  • March 1 is the deadline for completing the FAFSA form. The FAFSA is needed for almost any type of financial aid including many scholarships. Students can get the form from the Financial Aid office (in the new Evansdale Crossings Building).
  • Registration appointments will start soon with advisors. Students will be registering for both the Fall 2016semester and summer classes. You and your student should discuss summer school plans (if any). If your student decides to take summer classes at home, he/she will need to have a transient application completed. Generally these are done at the same time as the fall registration. Your student’s advisor will help him/her do the transient forms.
  • The registration dates are as follows:
  • 4/8/16: Sophomores (most students will qualify for this time)
  • 4/11/16: Freshman

Students who will have completed 29 hours of college credits by the end of this semester are classified as sophomores. This includes any AP credits, prior college credits and credits by examination. Honors students will have earlier registration.

While it may seem early to think about registration for the fall, now is the time that students should start making advising appointments. With an entire week off for Spring Break, the week of March 19, it would be very good if students could get their advising appointment over before the break.

This week I would like to discuss a common problem among our students. I have found that few engineering students do well until they find study partners. Every senior that I have ever taught, has a small group of classmates they study with.

Unfortunately, many of our students are very shy, a common trait in engineering students. They find it hard to identify friends to study with. I know that this was my case in college. Here is the advice I give to the students I mentor.

  1. Look around your classes and see if there is anyone that you share several classes with. Try to find someone who seems to be serious. Ask the student if he/she would like to study together. Often this works out very well because the other student is also shy.
  2. Develop a study routine together. Often one student can push another. Study partners are very effective in helping each other get started on their work.
  3. In preparing for tests, make up test questions for your student partner. Making up test questions is a great way to learn the concepts, and practicing test questions is a great study aid.
  4. I suggest that students do their math/chemistry/physics homework together. What works well is to split up the assignments and then teach each other how to do the problems. Teaching another person is a great way to learn.
  5. If students are dating someone, I suggest they have study dates. These are much more effective than endless conversations on the phone or just hanging out.
  6. If possible, select roommates who can also be study partners. It’s often a disaster when one of our students has a roommate(s) in a less challenging major.

I hope that you can help reinforce some of these points with your student. I know that our shy students find it a challenge in developing study partners, but they really need to start now. One more thing. For whatever reason, poor students often find that they work best with study partners that are different from themselves. Females often have male study partners. International students do better when they have an American study partner. Minority students work better when they partner with a non-minority student. Students who are really outgoing need to partner with a quiet student. I don’t know why this works this way, but it’s one of the great things about the college experience.

Let me close with the story of Zach. I first met Zach when he was in my freshman class. During the class he would get out of his chair and come up to the screen in front of the room. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, but I didn’t say anything to him.

Zach was also in two of my sophomore classes and I got to know him better. Zach is legally blind. In class, he will place the book two inches from his face to read it. He will also come up to the blackboard and take notes standing a foot from the board.

It’s very heartwarming to see how Zach’s classmates treat him. The chair directly in front of the room is always kept open for Zach. During class, you can see his classmates whispering things to him that he doesn’t understand. They even help him with his notes. When I put information on the board, I always say what I am writing a couple of times just to make sure he knows what I’m putting on the board.

What is most interesting about Zach is how well he has done in college. He has close to a 3.9 grade point average. He had A’s in both of my classes.

Studying engineering is really a group activity. Zach’s situation is an unusual one, but it still goes to show that all of our students need the help of others to do well.

P.S. By the way, Zach’s hobby is photography.