First year post-secondary students?

[ronthecivil]

Yep, and it isn't stopping anytime soon. Enterance averages are going up everywhere. Scary to think, but four years from now it is going to be even tougher. Especially with that new online courses thing that makes getting As in any course a piece of cake.

[Common sense]

Only reason to go to the bookstore is to pick up on frosh girls while price checking the books.

There will always be people that took the course the year before that are looking to sell them at bargain basement prices or some friend you meet that will let you borrow the book long enough to make it to the closest Kinkos.

[Martin Frk]

When I was looking at post secondary for broadcasting I looked at BCIT, and considered it quite a bit, but then I thought, hey! why dont I move away to Saskatchewan, get into school for cheaper, the programs a year shorter, and they have a 100% job placement. Needless to say, I got hired in my first broadcasting job in Kindersley Saskatchewan, doing News writing, DJ shows on the radio and play by play for the Kindersley Klippers of the SJHL. What I'm trying to say is, sometimes if you can not get into a program in BC, there could be better options out of province

[JeremyW]

When I was looking at post secondary for broadcasting I looked at BCIT, and considered it quite a bit, but then I thought, hey! why dont I move away to Saskatchewan, get into school for cheaper, the programs a year shorter, and they have a 100% job placement. Needless to say, I got hired in my first broadcasting job in Kindersley Saskatchewan, doing News writing, DJ shows on the radio and play by play for the Kindersley Klippers of the SJHL. What I'm trying to say is, sometimes if you can not get into a program in BC, there could be better options out of province

[ckamo]

Supplemental, as far as I know, is mandatory now. My councillor's back in highschool were saying UBC is realizing that the bookworms in highschool who got the 97% averages have absolutely zero social or work skills, come 4 years later. I can totally see why the supplemental plays such a vital role in the application process.

[MrsCanuck]

See what classes you actually need the textbooks for. Don't buy optional and buy the required used. I'm sure there's a facebook group or something for your school to buy/sell textbooks! I either get friends to lend them or definitely try and buy them used. Sometimes you can't find them and have to buy them new but most of the time you're able to find a buyer for the next semester.

Studying really varies from person to class to prof to exam. As a business major (concentrating in accounting) I've learned what's best for me.

For me, I always start studying 2 weeks before the bigger exams. (Business courses, exams with more weight put towards the final, etc.) This is what I feel helps me the best. I've been blessed to have taken some pretty easy non- business electives and I've managed A+'s with 4 hours of studying the night before a final.

You won't know everything in all of your courses (unless you somehow manage to stay 110% committed throughout the entire semester which is something I find is rare among students). You'll have to prioritize what is more important towards your GPA. (if the class has more units, if its on a curve, etc.)

You're in first year. Don't think you're going to get slaughtered. Every class is passable and aceable. Talk to the profs/TAs, study SMART and know what you should focus on come exam time. First year is not as hard as people think it is. It's a big adjustment but profs give you every resource to succeed. (most of the time...). Exams suck, you won't rock everything, and you'll go to LOTS of lectures and walk out not knowing anything the prof said. You're not alone.

Enjoy the experience! If you are committed to doing well and use the resources available to you, you will.

[Offensive Threat]

You won't know everything in all of your courses (unless you somehow manage to stay 110% committed throughout the entire semester which is something I find is rare among students). You'll have to prioritize what is more important towards your GPA. (if the class has more units, if its on a curve, etc.)

[etsen3]

Question here. I'm taking engineering next year at uVic, and I have 5 courses this term. Do you think I'd have time to work a part time job (not looking for many hours, maybe 10 a week)? Keep in mind I actually want to have a life too (don't wanna spend all my time at work/studying).

[Mainly Mattias]

Supplemental, as far as I know, is mandatory now. My councillor's back in highschool were saying UBC is realizing that the bookworms in highschool who got the 97% averages have absolutely zero social or work skills, come 4 years later. I can totally see why the supplemental plays such a vital role in the application process.

[ckamo]

What's the 'Supplemental'?

[The Colt 45s]

I had a 70% average in high school. I flunked out my freshman year of college.

After working for twelve years, I went back and graduated university with a 3.75 over 128 hours.

I am now a second year graduate student at Central Michigan University with a 4.0. I love it. Financial aid package and employer tuition assistance program makes things easier; just upset that my Labour Relations textbook cost $280.00, and software for another class cost $1,400.

[LeanBeef]

Hey op, how does BCIT look at your application? Do they look at just the requirements or what.

I'm planning on going there next year and I have pretty good marks in the required highschool courses, but I really bombed physics... I'm just wondering if a bad mark that is not part of the course's requirement would hinder my chances of getting into BCIT.

Also a buddy of mine who is just meeting the expectations for our required highschool subjects but has a pretty bad average (73) thinks he can get in with me, do students like that get accepted?

Anyways sorry for asking a bunch of questions, I'm just sorta excited/nervous about getting accepted to a post secondary school.

Cheers

[unknown33429]

Good luck guys.

Undergrad isn't really as tough as it first seems. Remember, you have access to all the stuff the profs can test you on. Just do the reading and try to do as many practice tests under tests conditions as you can. It really helps you figure out what stuff (chapters, topics) you need to work on. Also, the textbook website sometimes have practice quizzes, which I found very useful in midterm and final prep.

[Hamhuis Hipcheck]

First year will take you by surprise, well for me it did. Had to fix my studying habits to keep up with materials

[JeremyW]

Hey op, how does BCIT look at your application? Do they look at just the requirements or what.

I'm planning on going there next year and I have pretty good marks in the required highschool courses, but I really bombed physics... I'm just wondering if a bad mark that is not part of the course's requirement would hinder my chances of getting into BCIT.

[LeanBeef]

First of all, don't worry if you bombed physics, there are physics courses at BCIT which you can take to improve\replace your physics mark (my friend is taking this route.) They aren't official Gr12 supplements, but they're short courses that start before most of your programs and BCIT will accept them as a replacement. Some goes for chem or math, etc... They're a lot more expensive than just getting a decent mark in high-school, but if you have the moola, go for it.

Hmm, well, I got in the Electrical engineering program with:

English 12 72%

Math 12 89%

Physics 11 80% (Phys 12 86%)

I did however take Physics 12 and got an 86% (so that didmake me more competitive) I really winged the english provincial and that dropped my English mark a disgusting amount (lol, I won't tell you how high it was before...) Although it doesn't show, I got 92% in chemistry 11 (even though courses like this [chem11\phys12] aren't a 'requirement' per se, having them makes you much more competitive) I got 94% in Calculus, but I'm not really sure if that made much a difference in my application (I heard unis don't take hs calc seriously...)

Note, that isn't to say that you can replace your Phys 11 mark with your phys 12 mark on your application (BCIT doesn't let you do that.) I.e if the requirement is 80 in phys 11, and you got 50 in phys 11 but 85 in phys 12, BCIT will not accept the phys12 mark to meet a phys 11 requirement. (maybe with special circumstances they will, its worth talking to your admissions officer) Even though: Physics 12 is basically physics 11 a little faster + some extra material.

You're accepted on a competitive basis AFAIK, to some degree. You are accepted near the application dead-line (? I think, I don't really know, lol) I can't quite remember how far in, they make you pay a commitment fee to reserve your seat (up-until then, you can be replaced by someone more competitive.)

The programs at BCIT can vary from very difficult to easy to get into depending really on the appeal for the program and the sort of people you are going against to get accepted. I.e you can graduate highschool with a 4.0 GPA, but if you lack experience in say, the marine field, you'll have a lot of trouble competing for the field of nocturnal sciences (my friend got rejected for this reason, even with some experience.)

It depends on the program, mine had a required B average just to be competative.

[aaaa322]

Please first years, don't make the same mistake as I did. Wait until first week of classes before buying any books; buying used older editions of textbooks usually make no difference. Most professors actually detest the bookstore and allow students to use older editions. Hell, grab some texts off the web if possible or used that photocopy idea (some people actually do it). Don't get screwed over.

For example, first year I bought a chem 123 (generally all first years in science do this course at ubc) textbook and I didn't even use the thing. I did really well in that course and by the end of it, the shrink wrap was still on the book. Don't buy books super early.

[JeremyW]

Thanks for answering!

Anyways, is there any way to contact an admission officer at BCIT?

Thanks again and who knows if we might run into each other at BCIT next year.

[Hobble]

Make sure you buy all the recommended and optional books. This is very important. You use them on the first day. You don't want to be the only kid without books on your first day, do you?

There is absolutely no chance that the professor does not use the books on the book list. No chance.

[Hobble]

I was in the IB program during highschool and found that that was much harder than my first year of university.

Studying practices are always different between people. I know some people like to study every night, keep current with lectures and all that, but I found I did fine with just going lectures, listening and then studying hard 1-2 weeks before a test, 2-3 weeks before an exam depending on the course.

Also, as others said, don't buy the textbooks early. For some annoying reason, professors will mark a book as required, and then on the first day of class will say "It's not really required, more of a study aid, all you need to know are in these handouts/notes, etc.".

I never bothered to resell any of my books, as I find they look nice on a bookshelf and they become somewhat useful when having to write lab reports/essays.