Guide to EA Life for Freshies By Jonas G.

Dandan

Hello freshies! Welcome to the Engineering and Architecture world. Prelims (First Sem) have (has) passed, and perhaps you now have an idea what it feels like to be an EA student. You may now have realized that Engineering and Architecture are two of the tough disciplines that require analytical and critical thinking. But don t worry; you don t have to be an extra-terrestrial genius to survive EA. With diligence, patience, and perseverance, you can go all the way through the demands and requirements of the college. Here are some tips that may help you with your studies: y Be ready when you come in class. It always pays off when you read in advance any assigned material before it is covered in the class. This helps you recognize the ideas as your professor discusses them. Take down notes. Most professors love to just talk and seldom write on the board. So take an initiative to write down, if not all, most of the important points in their lecture. Practice, practice and practice. One of the keys that have proven to be effective in passing any EA professional subject is to solve problems. Most professors give less complicated sample problems in class but excruciating, almost unbelievable problems in the exams. So, make it a habit to work out problems from simple to complex ones even if your professor didn t give you any assignments or problem sets. This will help build your confidence. Avoid the 11th hour. Cramming is the practice of working intensively to absorb large volumes of informational material in short amounts of time. You may be able to go through the exam successfully by cramming but the lessons or materials you have hurriedly studied may not have along-term retention in your memory. Hence, you would have a hard time recalling the concepts from your past subjects when you reach higher ones. Teamwork. That s one of the trademarks in EA. You can hardly call yourself an EA student if you don t share your blessings (haha). Professional engineers and architects seldom work in isolation from one another. Thus, as an engineering and architecture student, you must train yourself to work with your classmates when doing group assignments or plates. But this doesn t mean you just have to simply copy from another. Otherwise, you will never learn. Keep your cool. If all else fails, just relax. Don t fret and never give up. If you didn t make it, double your effort and outdo your best. If you made it, don t just settle with whatyou have earned. Achieve more and good things will come your way.

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