Coming into a competitive engineering program, I was incredibly excited to finally start learning about topics I was passionate about. I’d dreamed for my entire high school career about pursuing a career in the biomedical tech industry. While I have no regrets in the path I’ve chosen for my education, in my last two years, there’s a few things I’ve learned that I only wish I knew before I started this journey.
Hopefully these tips will help some of you, whether you’re an engineering student, a student moving away from home for the first time, or even just someone starting a new chapter in their life. Feel free to let me know anything you’ve learned since you started your journey that I can add to my list!
1. When it comes to your academics, everybody struggles with something. Yes, even the person on the Dean’s List.
Academics are hard. Even if you were an honours student in high school, I promise you that you’re going to struggle. And that’s okay. You’re not expected to be perfect. You’ll find the subjects you excel in, and you’ll find the ones that you need to work a little harder in. At the end of the day, your grade on your programming final is not going to matter all that much. After four years, you and your classmates are all going to graduate with the same degree – it won’t matter who was at the top or the bottom of the class. After all, what did they call the guy who graduated at the bottom of his class in med school? That’s right, they called him a doctor.
2. You’re all in it together.
I promise you, all of your peers are likely having most of the same feelings and struggles about your program as you are. If you have a small class size, this is even more true. In my experience, nobody else will really understand your struggles better than your classmates. They understand the pain of having four of your assignments due on the same day as your calculus midterm, having to deal with job applications and stressing out over getting a co-op position. They understand because they’re going through exactly the same thing. You’re all going through it together, so lean on each other. Work together. My class has never felt like a competition, and I am so grateful for that. We do everything we can to help each other out with our coursework, because we want each other to succeed. Work with your peers and use all of your resources! It’s the best way to get through it.
3. It gets easier.
You might think that university is supposed to get more difficult as the terms go by. That might be true for the later years – I’ll let you know when I get there – but in my experience, things have only gotten easier since I started. In your first term, you’re dealing with so many changes. You’ve probably moved away from home for the first time, you need to make new friends, get used to a new environment, all while trying to keep up with a rigorous academic schedule. By your second and third term, you’ll figure out a system – who you work well with on assignments, what study methods work best for you, and how much time you need to put into academics. You’ll get used to your school, make new friends, and slowly start to find your place in this new environment. School will always be stressful, but without all of the extra changes, you’ll find it easier to handle.
4. Do your homework. Seriously.
You had to know this one was coming. In university, and in engineering disciplines specifically, professors tend to give weekly “homework” questions that they won’t be collecting for marks. In the mind of a student, this usually means that this gets pushed to the bottom of the to-do list in order to prioritize graded assignments. However, once you get to finals season, all of a sudden you have an entire course to learn in a week. Believe me – I’ve been there. What I’ve come to realize is that these questions are almost exactly like the ones you’ll see on your exam. By doing them throughout the term, you’re essentially studying every week, and then when you get to exam season – wait for it – you’ll only have to review material you already know. That certainly beats learning an entire course at the end of the semester!
5. It’s not all about academics.
As a last tip, one of the most important things I learned since becoming an engineering student is that life for the next four years is not just about academics. Don’t get me wrong, your schooling is important, and it’s the reason you’re there (and the reason it’s so expensive…). However, having a good school/life balance is so important. In order to do your best in school, you need to feel your best, and that includes taking care of your mental health. It’s important to do the things you enjoy, as well as keep up with your studies. Studies have also shown that busy people have the best time management skills, so you might find yourself not procrastinating as much when you don’t have the time to procrastinate! For me, continuing to sing and dance was really important when I moved away. These are two things that I grew up doing. They were my creative outlets, my stress management system, and something I could always count on to make me happy. So, find whatever that is for you, whether that’s joining a club at school, or just devoting some time each week to a hobby. Remember that school isn’t your whole life!
There you have it. Five things I wish I knew before I started engineering. If you can relate to any of this, I promise you’re not alone. Whatever you might be struggling with on your academic journey, you’ll get through it, you’ll graduate, and life will go on. I’m still on my journey too, and I’m sure I’ll learn more things on my way. I’ll make sure to update this list as I go along!
Until next time,
-LC