The “right” fresher mindset
Congratulations! You’ve done the hard yards and got yourself a place at one of the best universities in the world and picked a brilliant subject to study for the next few years. You’re probably caught in two minds about how to prepare for the forthcoming year or what UCL has in store for you.
It’s okay to be nervous, we’ve all been there — wondering how best to get settled into university life and into Computer Science without looking silly or dumb. I remember asking myself…“Will I actually make any friends here? I don’t know anybody…”…“Will everyone be smarter than me?” and wishing …“If only a student from the year above could tell me how to settle in?” ;)
To provide some context, I am now going into my third year of Computer Science at UCL. I was a transition mentor last year and had the pleasure of welcoming and integrating a lovely bunch of 2015 freshers into CS. I’ve also had the chance to work with students outside CS get stuck into tech and help establish a core tech community at UCL as a vice-president of UCLU Technology Society last academic year.
From experience, there are several key traits which help you make the most of your first few weeks and settle comfortably into university life, especially in Computer Science. More frustratingly, I’ve witnessed too many freshers get themselves into trouble and struggle — so I’m incredibly keen to share these plot holes with you so that you too can avoid them!
To be very clear, I’m not going to give you a strict plan to follow in your first few weeks of university. As cliche as it sounds, university is very much about trying new things and learning from your mistakes. Rather than a formal routine, I want to focus on the mentality you should have in your first few weeks which, I personally believe will help you make the most of the year ahead.
Be open to new people, new ideas and new ways of learning!
In your first few weeks, you’ll be exposed to so many new possibilities that you’ve probably not encountered before. Be it the people you meet, the ideas put across by the staff or taking a different approach to learning, I encourage you to actively engage with everything so you understand how it can be beneficial to you.
I’ve seen too many freshers close themselves off when introduced to new things, mostly in fear that they lack sufficient knowledge to be involved before they even begin university. They would rather be alone and look to “catch up” in their comfort zone — it’s understandable — but at university, you’ll learn a lot more from other people than you will solo.
To bash any fears you may have, I can tell you right now that there are some seriously awesome students across the years that will take time to talk to you and point you in the right direction if you ask them any questions. Just step out and ask. With an open approach, you can be sure to reap the benefits of open and collaborative learning. You’ll absorb a lot of knowledge — from your peers, staff and those outside UCL.
Break the shackles! Explore the Tech Scene at UCL and beyond…
Hopefully, you will have an open mind to all the new things UCL will throw at you. You’re probably slightly still skeptical and still slightly nervous. When you get to UCL, break the shackles as soon as you can. There are plenty of beginner events you can go to and naturally, it makes sense as a Computer Scientist to attend all the tech related ones.
There’s going to be a ton of beginners events that introduce you to CS concepts and skills. Equally, there will be lots of industry talks and a chance for you to interact with recent graduates. By going to the events, you’ll see how welcoming everyone really is and being open to these people will become easier.
It sounds simple, but being involved in CS-related activities will get you to understand the subject even more and make more out of it. I can’t emphasise the variety of tech related events on offer. The UCLU Technology Society (TechSoc) runs coding classes, projects, tech talks, meetups, nerdy socials, outreach events and hackathons. There’s even more out in London, with start-up fairs, tech conferences and dev meetups that happen weekly. The best part is, you don’t have to go to these events alone, there are plenty of students that will take you.
By exploring all these events and immersing yourself in new ideas, you’ll find which areas of tech are for you and you’ll be on your way to learning more deeply about Computer Science whilst having fun doing it. This is super important. Find an aspect of CS that you enjoy — as it’ll help you through the next 3 or 4 years!
At some point, you’ll get stuck. But don’t give up!
Computer Science has the biggest dropout rate of any subject. I think this is because it’s very likely that you’ll get stuck on something — a group project, buggy code or an algorithm you just can’t understand. You’ll struggle alone not knowing where to get help. Eventually, you won’t see how what you’re working on has any meaningful impact and this disconnection from the subject causes a lot of dissatisfaction.
This will happen to you. You will be frustrated but it’s important to deal with it in a positive way. Where can you get help you say? From all those wonderful people you’ve been meeting at the tech events. We are a community of problem solvers and by talking your issues through with someone, you’ll be able to obtain insight or a new perspective on your problem and this will help you work through your problem better.
Nobody is going to do your work for you — but an open conversation will help you retain your connection with the subject and you’ll be able to work through it. Maybe others also have faced the same issue. This is fairly normal, just ask someone!
Student dissatisfaction at UCL
If what I’m saying is true and that UCL is an awesome place to be — how can UCL’s student satisfaction ranking be so bad?
There are many sides to this and if you speak to a CS student they’ll be able to pinpoint the parts of the course which will leave you stressed, unhappy and frustrated. Student satisfaction scores are measures of what the department and UCL as an institution does, rather than the interaction with the student community. Institutionally, UCL is a large university in London and with that, the cost of living here is enormous. The rent strikes are an example of student dissatisfaction at its highest.
Moreover, the Computer Science department has several issues it needs to address to improve it’s reputation amongst the student body. The biggest issues being: coursework not marked on time, feedback of low quality and a general lack of clear communication between students and staff at times.
That being said, these issues have been highlighted to the department and attempts are being made for the teaching quality to be on par with its world-renowned research. I’ve been involved in several meetings with professors and the head of department, John Shawe-Taylor is particularly keen on listening to the undergrad body and supporting them.
Not only is he reviewing the feedback we provide for the modules, but he’s also green-lighted the department to give support of any kind of student activities. To give a concrete example, the very popular module “Computer Architecture” was removed the syllabus but will be reinstated for this coming year after the module was taught by students for students and enough noise was made by students to bring the subject back.
So yes, in short, there’s lots to be improved within the department but the good news is that the staff are here to listen if you make noise and give feedback constantly. Things will only get better if you keep talking to staff members — this is a far better approach than moaning about it to your friends without making any effort to change things.
Give back to the community.
At the end of the day, you’re not just learning from others, you’re a part of the tech community here at UCL as your opinion will be of value to someone somewhere and help them learn something new. I highly encourage you to get involved and help each other learn and improve.
The tech events run at UCL and in London are organised in people’s spare time to help foster collaborative learning. It’s not a one-way service by any means and any help in making these events better is hugely appreciated. There are lots of ways to get involved — just be willing to help!
Even if you’re a beginner and you’re just learning the basics of programming, you can still help out at Outreach events. The department has a strong tradition of inspiring younger children to get into STEM. Whether you’re helping kids or your fellow students, you’re making CS more open and available than it was before — something the subject desperately needs.
Do non-CS things! Downtime is important.
Do we just live and breathe CS?
Absolutely not. Across the year, you’ll find that people pursue many activities in their spare time. They are involved in a wide array of societies ranging from rifle club to salsa to debating. UCL is a diverse place and whatever your interest, you should pursue them! You’ll get to meet a wide range of people too and you’ll be happy switching off from your everyday work.
Finally, these tips aren’t an exhaustive list. You should talk to the students in the years above and most importantly, look to find out what works well for you!
There’s a lot to do once you start your degree at UCL and personally, what I find the hardest is time management in balancing all these events, activities, academics and personal life. But there are ways around it, and I’m sure if you ask students in the year above, they’ll give some great advice.
Get excited, it’s going to be a fun ride :)
