Ask HN: University and Fallnig behind | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: University and Fallnig behind

TL;DR: Passing through University

I think, most of us - not all - have gone through University. Other have gained experience in other ways. What I would like to have, is some help. I think I'm not the only one stressing the upcoming semester in September. I have fallen back a lot with courses like Math and generally lower level stuff. What is the way of getting there? I am willing to put a lot of work in, but I'm concurrently working few evenings in the week. I don't want to add, that I have problems concentrating, even if that's the situation.

I am talking about Bachelor of Computer Science

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Standard disclaimer: your mileage may vary, and it seems like you may not be in the US (?), so I'm not entirely sure how your University system works or who is paying for it, so this may not 100% apply, but the biggest advice I'd have for you is:

Slow down

It's not a race and taking an extra year or two in school isn't that big of deal long term. I ran into a bunch of shit during college, including bouts of depression and the death of my father, and the worst thing I did was try to power through it and worry about graduating in four years. A caveat: It may be a little easier for me to say this than for some others, as my father was very successful in business, so another year or two of college was not a financial burden.

A fun trick: if the classes you struggled in have large lectures, just attend it again the next semester. No one is taking attendance. You'll just be there to learn without having to worry about any of the work or the tests. I did this with a couple of my CompSci classes and it was helpful.

Your school also likely has a bunch of fairly nice people who work in the guidance center who would be happy to talk to you about your struggles and concerns.

I went through a similar experience last semester and decided to change my approach. From now on I'm going to be taking fewer classes and no longer worry if it delays my graduation date. Why?

What matters most in undergrad is what you do OUTSIDE the classroom.

Are you attending hackathons/programming competitions at your university? Are you applying for internships? Are you part of any club where you learn stuff? Are you preparing for coding interviews? Are you making friends?

Right now the competition is easy. Most students in comp sci are caught up in their course work so it's not hard to stand out. The tech giants and local startups will be looking for undergrads/fresh grads for their internships.

The biggest thing to realize is that the first serious job out of school is going to set the trajectory for the rest of your career.

So you should think of your time in undergrad as a time when you set yourself up to get that ideal job. Don't expect your classes to prepare you for anything.

In other words, don't worry so much about grades. Take a lighter course load if you have to. Focus on the extra curriculars instead.

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