Spokesman

Issue date: 7/11/07 Section: Campus Life

In 2004, I started my matriculation at Morgan all bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to tackle college life. I had all the preconceived notions about college. This should be simple enough, study hard, party harder. Little did I realize the time I really had to put into classes, how little I would party, the expenses I would incur and the headaches from unwanted situations with friends, family and school that I would get.  SO to help you begin your journey at Morgan, here a few tips I wish I knew when I arrived.  
NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK. And I do not mean with just students. Get to know the faculty in your department and administration. There are mentors here at Morgan and people who are willing to help you along the way, you just have to find them. Plus, talking to the right people can get you almost anything from jobs on or off campus to being invited to conferences and trips that pertain to your major that can be great networking tools. The networking will be important when you need someone to provide you with a letter of recommendation to use for your internships.
 
If you are failing a class at midterm, more than likely you will fail at the end of the semester. Just drop the class. You do not want an F on your transcript and for your GPA to drop. End the misery at midterm, concentrate on your other classes and try again the next semester, possibly with another teacher. This tip pertains to you failing one class. If you are failing more than one, talk to your teachers and advisors on what action you should take next.
 
Do a little research on instructors. One could only wish that there was a profile on each and every teacher stating their teaching style and workload, but there is not (unless you include the rating system on HYPERLINK "http://myspace.com/"myspace.com). Ask around about who is a good instructor to take for certain classes. Guaranteed someone has already taken the class and could give you a recommendation. Some students like to be challenged whereas others prefer a teacher who has more laid back approaches. This is important to your learning experience so make it worth your while.
 
Buy your books early. Whether it is from the school bookstore or from HYPERLINK "http://amazon.com/"amazon.com, do it early. The Morgan State bookstore is quick to run out of books especially for general classes. Get there early and get the used books. So what they are a bit worn, they are cheaper and guess what, they have the same information. The only things you may be missing out on are the tutorial CD and online password to the site but who really uses either? If you are ordering from a website, do it early keeping in mind that delivery may take 1 -2 weeks. This may or may not hurt you in your class depending on how dependent your instructor is on the text. Remember to find out the right book for your class. Do not rely on word of mouth. Someone may have the same course but a different instructor and therefore a different textbook. The bookstore does not allow you to return books unless your schedule changes. Another good tool is buying from a student who took the course already. Students are more willing to give you a reasonable price for their used books.

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