Lessons From Orientation continued by Kelli Turpin

pic by Tulane Public Relations

Lessons from Orientation (continued):

The Computer is Stupid (or: Look at Your Schedule, Silly)

Computers do exactly what you tell them to do and nothing else. Therefore, it’s up to you to make sure you know what you’re telling it.

During Registration/Before the Semester Starts

After you’ve registered for all of your classes, click on the “View Schedule” button.  This is your moment to make sure that you didn’t accidently transpose a number within the CRN (Course Reference Number) and register for Ceramics at Mesa when you really meant to enroll for Beginning Stagecraft at City.

This is also the moment to make sure that the classes you scheduled back-to-back are really at the same campus. The computer requires that you have at least 10 minutes between classes. It will let you register for a class at City that ends at 11:00 a.m. and a class at Miramar that starts at 11:10 a.m. Because the computer doesn’t drive, it doesn’t care that you cannot physically get from City to Miramar in 10 minutes.

While you’re paying attention to details on Reg-E, click on “View/Pay Fees.” Most people have to pay the $19 health fee – even if you have Financial Aid. If you don’t pay your fees, you will be dropped from your classes. Even if you’ve already paid the health fee, click on the Fees button just to make sure (see above “The Computer is Stupid”). I don’t think you’ll be dropped, but better safe than sorry.

If you’re on a wait list for a class, you need to check your e-mail and/or Reg-E at least a couple of times a week. Once you get the notification that you’re able to add from the wait list, you only have a few days to do it. After that, the next person gets the class and you get dropped from the wait list. For some classes, that’s not much of an issue. For others (like English or Biology), it could be critical.

After the Semester Starts

The most important thing to do at the beginning of the semester is to look at your schedule on Reg-E. If you look at your schedule on the second Monday of the semester and find that you’re actually not enrolled in that Art class you love so much, you have plenty of time to make that happen (the deadline is the second Friday -- February 7th for spring 14). If you wait until the third Monday, you’re out of luck. You will not be able to register for any class after the add date.

Make sure that you drop any class you’re not actually attending. Professors are supposed to drop students from their roster who are inactive, or did not show up for class. Usually, they’re pretty good at it. Sometimes, they overlook someone.

pic by Arthur Grigoryan

Pop Quiz: To whom is your life more important? You or the professor?

Answer: You, Silly. Therefore, it is your responsibility to make sure you’re enrolled in classes that you’re attending and that you’re not enrolled in classes you are not attending. 

Lessons from Orientation Continued (Math) by Kelli Turpin

picture by Galaksiafervojo

Lessons from orientation continued: 

Math is one of those subjects that most people either love or hate. If you love it, definitely take it your first semester. Consider majoring in something that requires lots of math – engineering, economics, computer science, physical sciences – because those are majors that are connected with jobs that tend to grow.

If you hate math, you have a couple of choices:

a.       Take it your first semester and plow through until you’re done – once you’ve started, don’t stop. Math builds on itself, so keep building.

b.      Wait a semester. There’ll be flak for this one. Here’s my logic. If you think that you’re going to struggle in math and this is going to be your first semester in college, waiting for a semester to start math will give you the opportunity to succeed in college courses. Once you’ve succeeded, you know you have the study skills and ability to do well in college. At that point, you know that any issues you have with math are with math specifically and not with college generally. Waiting also gives you the opportunity to figure out how much time classes will take without math, so you have a better idea of how much time to budget for math – or how many other classes you can take with math.

Keep in mind that you can’t earn an associate degree without finishing Math 96 (or its equivalent) and you can’t transfer without a class that has Math 96 as a prerequisite. So don’t put it off too long.

Also know that all the baggage you carry around in regards to math is probably from some moment or series of moments in elementary school. You’re not 10 years old anymore – chances are, with the right professor (use ratemyprofessors.com), you’ll actually get it now.

If you need help in math, there is free tutoring available in our tutorial center (room L-205), and you can always arrange to meet with your math instructor during office hours to make sure you are on track.  

SDSU Student Fee?

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San Diego State University is considering a new student fee to help pay for classes and instructors. "SDSU Considers Student Fee to Pay for Additional Faculty" was published in the U-T San Diego on Jan. 25th, 2014.

Cinema Jobs!

Pacific Arts Movement is a nonprofit formerly known as the San Diego Asian Film Festival. They are hiring for the positions of Marketing and Outreach Director (open immediately) and Development Director (open immediately).

Scholarships!

The San Diego Foundation has scholarship info. There is a list of separate scholarships managed by the Foundation with their own timelines. Another list of external scholarships provides more scholarship opportunities for San Diego County students.

If you want to create your own profile for scholarships, go to www.fastweb.com. This website is not affiliated with The San Diego Foundation.

Lessons From Orientation by Kelli Turpin

picture by Tomwsulcer

I spent last summer doing an orientation or two every day. I noticed that I hit on certain things regularly, even though they weren’t in the presentation. Call them lessons learned; call them nuggets of wisdom. Here are the things I’ve noticed students need to know to be successful.

The big question I get asked over and over again by first-time students is “What do I take?” The answer is almost always, “It depends.”  But here’s my formula: in an ideal world (a world where you can get any class you actually want to take), you should take one or more English classes and/or Math, plus at least one course you want to show up for. Why?

pic by carmichaellibrary

English is the basis for every other class. The better you read, the easier it is for you to get information via the written word, the easier every other class will be. This is key if you’re not yet eligible for college-level reading. It’s not impossible to do well without the appropriate English level, but it’s difficult. Instructors assume a certain level of reading competence and measure the amount of reading based on that. If you’re not there yet, you’ll be spending more time reading than the other students who have better skills. Chances are, if you’re not reading at college level, reading probably isn’t your favorite thing, anyway – do you really want to do any more of it than you have to?

If you’re ready for college reading, but you still need another class or two for writing, I’d suggest getting started. It’s not as imperative, but you will be writing papers and the more practice you have, the easier it will be – and the less time you’ll have to spend doing it.

If you tested at college level English (Both R5 and W5 on the assessment), it would still be worthwhile to get that first composition course out of the way.

To be continued in a future post ...

Giving Thanks by Raymond M. Wong

 Thankful

Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude, a time of appreciation. This is what I’m thankful for: Quyen, my wife of 15 years. She is my foundation, my best friend, the reason I get up in the morning, the person I hold lovingly in my arms at night. She is the mother of my children and the person I cherish with all my being. In an uncertain universe, she is my light.   

Kevin, my twelve-year-old son. When I was growing up, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a parent.  No, I was certain I didn’t want to be a father because I was afraid of the responsibility. Being a parent is the single most important job anyone can ever hold, and I didn’t want to screw it up, so I told myself I wouldn’t take it on. Safer that way. Quyen believed in me when all I had was doubt and fear. She knew I would be a good dad, and that was enough for me. Now, when I gaze upon my son, I am filled with a sense of wonder. The world isn’t such a scary place. No, in fact, it’s a place of joy, of braces that need to be fitted, fantasy books yet to be read, Minecraft to be played, miles to be jogged in an afterschool running club, and a future of hope and bonding between father and son.

picture by Cliff from Arlington, VA

Kristie, my nine-year-old daughter. Quyen and I named our little girl after figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi because of the Olympic athlete’s artistry on the ice. Kristie personifies her mother’s grace in that she knows what to say and do in any given situation. She knows how to make people comfortable, and everyone trusts her. Kristie is the embodiment of all that’s good and precious in the world, and I am so very blessed to be her father.

Work: Sigmund Freud—“Two hallmarks of a healthy life are the abilities to love and to work. Each requires imagination.” In working at a college, sometimes I face bureaucracy and politics that tarnish the real purpose of why we’re here. Every day at San Diego City College, I get to help students who are striving for something better in their lives, and they’re doing it through education and learning. That's what we're really about.

Books and writing: there is a beauty and power in words. They can convey so much when a story comes from a place of purity, of soul and spirit. When words ring true and connect to the fabric of our being, it is something miraculous and awe inspiring. Thank you to Jeannette Walls for the The Glass Castle, for teaching me that a child can persevere and forgive in the face of the most desperate circumstances. Thank you to Antoine De Saint-Exupery for The Little Prince who learned to see with his heart. Thank you to Cormac McCarthy for The Road, a post-apocalyptic world of darkness and despair that opens a window to life and humanity. Thank you to all the writers who struggle to compose sentences in the hope of giving us a glimmer of truth.

    

UCSD Six Colleges

UCSD is made up of six colleges on campus: Revelle, Muir, Marshall, Warren, Roosevelt, and Sixth. Each college has a unique perspective and focus. Find out more about each of the colleges at this link to UCSD's 6 colleges.

FYE

This "YouTube" video highlights the benefits of joining the First Year Experience program at City College.

Foster Youth Becomes Student Body President

"School was my home," Matt Walsh said. "I got good grades, I had friends there and it was where I got my meals. If I didn't go to school, I didn't eat, so I hated weekends and Christmas vacation." Cal State San Marcos Student Leader A Role Model for Fellow Foster Youth appeared in the "U-T San Diego" on Sept. 3, 2013.

Financial Aid

"College is expensive, and costs have gone up -- as much as 8 percent a year -- while we've suffered through a bad economy. According to the College Board, the average total cost for a student in the U.S. to attend a four-year, in-state public school in 2012/13 was $22,261. Out-of-state students paid $35,312 and the cost for a four-year private school was $43,289."

Find out how you can get money to help pay for college in Making College Real -- Financial Aid. This article appeared in the "U-T San Diego" on September 2, 2013.

Bookman to Retire?

picture by Onderwijsgek

Irwin Herman, the man whose organization donates books regularly to San Diego City College and other schools, homeless shelters, and prisons in San Diego, is thinking of closing shop. The Bookman's Story Nearing Its Epilogue appeared in the "U-T San Diego" on Aug. 28, 2013.

UCSD Ranked Number 1 College

picture by Panoramedia

 

Washington Monthly Magazine tabbed UCSD as America's best university. "What it says about us is that we're committed to the things that all public universities should be doing: social mobility, community service and research," said Pradeep Khosla, the chancellor of the University of California San Diego. UC San Diego Tops Ranking of Colleges appeared in the U-T San Diego on August 27, 2013.

Obama Wants to Reduce College Costs

picture by Fogster

President Barack Obama wants to help more people get into college: "Higher education should not be a luxury. It is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford," Obama said. He wants to rank colleges with a rating system related to tuition costs, numbers of low income students, graduation rates, and student debt.  Obama Seeks to Ease College Costs appeared in the U-T San Diego on August 23, 2013.

City College Roll Call

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San Diego City College is approaching its 100th birthday, and we want to connect with all current and former students, staff, and faculty to join our celebration. Join our roll call and receive info on all the exciting events planned for our centennial.

Mentoring

Want to make a difference in the lives of elementary to middle school students? A charter school in El Cajon called Excellence and Justice in Education Academies is asking college students to volunteer an hour a week to make a difference in the lives of their students. They need role models to show that education is possible.

Contact school counselor, Patricia Castaneda, at 619-401-4150 x105 or e-mail patricia.castaneda@ejeacademies.org for more info.

Bullying Victim Develops Program to Prevent Bullying

Gizelle Studevent overcame being bullied while attending La Jolla Country Day School to become a basketball player for Penn State. She also started a program called Penn State Athletes Take Action so athletes can work in middle schools to stop bullying. Hey, High School Bully -- Take That appeared in the U-T San Diego on July 28, 2013.  

Sacramento State Open for Spring 14

Sacramento State University is open for spring 14 application starting August 1st on CSU Mentor. This info was forwarded by Marilyn Harvey.