placement exams

Aug 19, 2009 19:57

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kontzel August 20 2009, 00:30:58 UTC
My experience was that my first semester was rough and there were times I had no idea how I would make it - get all the readings done, all the papers written, etc. Then as time went on, I discovered ways to improve my work, organize my time, and other things. I learned to scan/speed read things. I learned to budget my time better. I learned how to consider different approaches to papers, etc. in the back of my mind while doing other stuff. Don't get me wrong - I still get overwhelmed at times. However, I have found ways to balance *most* of the things I really want to do and accepted that some of the others will need to be on hold for awhile.

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raspberrydagger August 20 2009, 00:45:23 UTC
But is it crazy insane ALL THE TIME? Do you feel like you are trying to sprint for 5 years and that's the way it is?

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kontzel August 20 2009, 00:55:39 UTC
That hasn't been my experience thus far. Once I started to get myself into a groove, I've felt very busy and occasionally stressed, but I've learned how to get it all done. It doesn't feel crazy insane all the time, but it does feel busy. I have certainly had enough time to make good grades, be encouraged in my writing and individual research interests, and maintain a reasonably healthy social life. It can be done. ;) It's busy and a lot to do, but it can be done.

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raspberrydagger August 20 2009, 01:03:54 UTC
busy is fine, but is it busy with the sense that if you put one toe out of line you are freaking screwed?

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kontzel August 20 2009, 01:16:21 UTC
Oh good gracious no! I have never felt that way at all!

I suppose that some disciplines are more hard-nosed about stuff (social work, even social work academia and/or a doctorate work, is rather touchy-feely in some ways) but the only thing I could do to get "freaking screwed" by placing one toe out of line is if I significantly plagiarized something. (And not something like forgetting a citation, but snagging someone's work as my own or using exact quotes from another person's work -- real Bad Stuff (tm).)

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lostreality August 20 2009, 01:19:39 UTC
i would say at this point the worst thing i could do (other then plagiarize) would be to forget to show up to a class I'm TAing, but that actually happened to me once and my prof was ok with it after I apologized for being such a flake (I thought the class started at 5 for some reason and it actually started at 4, so at 4:25ish I went down to have a cigarette and saw my students leaving the building...)

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matrexius August 20 2009, 01:23:57 UTC
No. One thing you'll learn to do in chemistry graduate school is to screw up gracefully and move on.

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