September session has already started and we would like to share ours and our students’ tips on how to survive and be successful in college.
1. First and foremost is Plagiarism. Plagiarism is when you use someone’s work as your own. Be very careful when you write and submit your research papers or written projects, as colleges have a special software where they can upload your work and check if you took it from the internet or even from another student that graduated from college some time ago. Some colleges have a joint database with another colleges or universities. Even if you copied one sentence or a paragraph from someone’s work, it is considered as Plagiarism. Canadian colleges are so serious about Plagiarism that you can get a grade “0” on your work or grade “F” for the course. In some cases, the student can be suspended from the program.
There are some tricks you can use to avoid plagiarism. Try to paraphrase the sentence. If you can’t come up with proper synonyms, you can change the order of the words. In case that also doesn’t work, just use a citation. The citation is probably the easiest way, but don’t overuse it. Just use 2 or 3 to look smart :). It will also positively affect your grade. Also, don’t forget to mention the source when using the citation.
2. College attendance. Some professors take attendance very seriously. If you skip classes more than 2-3 times, you can get “F” for the course. Also, remember, you are on a study permit, so it is better to attend all your classes and be responsible. Some professors are being very nice and at the end of the semester they can add 5-10 extra points to the final grade for the course, but they don’t usually mention it until the end of the semester. Usually, a passing grade for the course is 50-60 points, so if you get extra for attendance it can actually save you from failing if you are not doing great.
3. Cheating. Cheating is prohibited in Canadian schools. If professor catches you cheating, he can easily fail you for the test or even entire course.
4. Books. New books are pretty expensive. You can try to find students on Facebook who graduated from your program and buy used ones from them. Also, some Colleges have Facebook groups where students can post ads and share experiences.
5. Group projects. Almost every class has a group project. You will have approximately 4 to 6 people to work with to complete the project until the end of the semester. Some professors will allocate students to groups, but if you have a chance to choose a group, try to choose people with different skills set. You will need someone with good computer skills, proper grammar to write a project paper, good research skills, and a good public speaker.
6. Deadlines. Deadlines are extremely important. Usually, for every day past the deadline professor deducts points. If you submit your project a couple of days past the deadline, there is a risk to get “F” on it. Also, if the project is worth about 50-60 points, you can fail the entire course.
Overall, try to be responsible with your studies and be considerate of the college’s rules. Remember folks; you pay a lot for your program, so try to get the most out of it.
Always on your side!
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