I'm starting school again in a month. What should I do to prepare?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around preparing for the upcoming academic year in an engineering degree program. Participants explore various strategies for academic, lifestyle, and social preparation, weighing the importance of review versus rest during the break.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests reviewing calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, thermodynamics, and transport phenomena as part of academic preparation.
  • Another participant emphasizes the importance of focusing on lifestyle and social activities during the break, arguing that rest is crucial for mental health and academic performance.
  • A third participant shares personal experience, advocating for taking breaks to recharge, noting that continuous study can negatively impact academic performance.
  • Some participants express skepticism about the feasibility of reviewing all proposed topics in a short time frame, suggesting that familiarity with the material will return naturally.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally disagree on the balance between academic preparation and the need for rest and social engagement. Some advocate for thorough review, while others stress the importance of taking time off to recharge.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying assumptions about the adequacy of review time and the impact of continuous study on performance. There is no consensus on the optimal approach to preparing for the upcoming school year.

Who May Find This Useful

Students in engineering or similar fields preparing for an academic year, particularly those considering how to balance study and personal well-being during breaks.

pa5tabear
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I'll be starting my fourth year of my engineering degree. Up until now, I've always had as much fun as possible during my break, and just jumped in when the time came. Now, though, I'm wanting to prepare ahead of time. I will be taking difficult classes and I think it would be smart to do some prep.

My ideas:

Academic:
-review calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations
-review thermodynamics
-review transport phenomena

Lifestyle:
-build a steady sleep and exercise routine
-start a steady diet
-abstain from drinking
-give up the "addictive" time wasting activities

Social:
-focus on spending time with people with similar lifestyles
-become more comfortable spending time alone

==============

Do you guys do this stuff? What else should I be doing? I want to be as prepared as possible.
 
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Spend time on the last lifestyle and social instead of on school. School will keep you busy all year. Hollidays are a time for resting and charging your batteries for the rest of the year.
 
I agree totally with eXorikos. Take a break and recharge. I am working on a dual degree program in Math and Engineering and have gone to summer school every semester, giving myself less than a month break for the past 3 years and it sucks!

I can tell you that it has hurt me academically. You can't just think about math and engineering all the time and if you don't recharge those fun batteries you probably will take a small mental break during the semester which won't help your grades!

If you feel you really need some review time just spend an hour or so a day during the last week of summer. You know the stuff, it doesn't take long to get back in the swing of it.
 
eXorikos said:
Spend time on the last lifestyle and social instead of on school. School will keep you busy all year. Hollidays are a time for resting and charging your batteries for the rest of the year.

I'll have been off school for six months and am very ready for school. I've been working in industry, but it's just not the same. The classes assume significant background knowledge. I want to be familiar with things, so that I can focus on new content from day one.
 
That's it. You haven't taken time of for the past six months. You can read some, but reviewing all those topics in one month is impossible. Six months is not eternity. Everything will come back to you without problems.
 

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