Difficulties I Had at UCSB

It is normal to have difficulties when transforming to a new environment. For me, personally, two of the biggest difficulties are adjusting the quarter system and getting involved in the university’s community.

Because I am from high school that educates in semester system, I got used to have a lot of time to learn concepts and do practice problems. Sometimes when I couldn’t follow classes or I missed classes for some reasons, I have time to figure it out latter in the week. Under the quarter system, it is different. If I miss one class or I am not well prepare for the lecture, I have to figure it out at same day, or I will fell behind. Everything should be done on time, because everyday have new lectures, new assignments, and new things to handle. If I procrastinate, I will end up with submerging a pile of unfinished assignments and plans. At the beginning of my life in UCSB, I thought I have a lot of time and didn’t need to worry about homework and assignment yet. Therefore, I never checked the GauchoSpaces and have no idea when my professors post assignments, not to mention the due dates of each of them. When I saw couple zeros in my grading sheet, I realized I missed assignments. Then I started to realize that time-management skill is very important in college, especially important to a quarter-system university. I know I am bad at manage my time, I attend CLAS time management workshop. I learned to build up a quarterly, monthly, and daily plan to keep myself on track. I also learned to well separate my time in studying, socializing, exercising, and entertaining, so that every minute can be used meaningfully and efficiently. Now I got used to mark down all final dates, due dates, and event dates in my quarterly plan. After that, I assign works for myself each day to well prepare for all the due days. After I learned those skills to well manage my time, I started to like the quarter system, because it always keeps my life motivative and fulfilling.