How to Succeed At University--Canadian Edition. Danton O'Day

GPA. It’s interesting that while women score lower on average on SAT than men, their SAT scores underestimate their success at college.⁵ It should also be noted that today’s colleges and universities are more ethnically diverse than ever before and while there are minor variations in results between ethnic groups and between students whose first languages differ from English, fundamentally the results are the same regardless of these aspects of student diversity. Each group brings richness to life after high school that is the heart of any college or university.

      The next question that comes to mind is the following: “Is there any correlation between high school grades or admission test scores and graduation from college or university?” Research studies have shown that high grades in high school and high scores on standardized admission tests are both associated with a higher chance of postsecondary graduation.^3,6 Thus it seems that using high school grades and/or admission test scores is still one of the best ways for admissions officers to select students for entrance to their college or university.

      Did You Know?

      It typically takes four to five years for students to complete what is considered a four-year degree. However, that’s the average and it’s not unusual for students to take six or more years to graduate from a four-year program. As a result, it’s common for students to discuss their progress towards graduation in terms of the number of courses taken as opposed to specific years of study.

      It is important to keep in mind, however, that neither high school grades nor admissions test scores are perfect predictors of post-high school success even though they can determine whether acceptance to college or university is granted. As I’ve mentioned before, many students who did comparatively poorly in high school thrive in the less structured learning environment provided at college or university. In some cases those who have excelled in high school can fail for similar reasons.

      A Word about Grade Points

      Most universities also have a complicated grade point system in addition to percentage and letter grades. One system involves converting the percentage or letter grade to a 4.0-point scale, as shown in Table 2.1 for the University of Toronto. The GPA ranges used vary between universities, with some calculating grades on 4.33-point, 12-point or other scales.

      Since this is of little concern to you at this stage and since the system in Canada varies from university to university, it will not be discussed further. I will make a point about this, however. I’ve never been able to understand the logic of converting a 100% scale to a 4.0 or other scale with 0.3 gradations, as is done in some grade point systems. This homogenizes the marks and distils them to a smaller number, putting students into groups. At the University of Toronto a student who gets 85% is given the same grade as one with 100%, completely destroying the concept of excellence. What’s more, depending on where you fall one percentage point of real marks can be quite significant. A 1% difference can mean either a 0.3 or a 0.4 difference in value (which actually represent 7.5% and 10% differences in grade point value, respectively). Similarly, a student with 80% gets only 0.3 less than a student who gets perfect! This becomes even more ridiculous when different universities then have to recalculate your university’s grade point into their own which further fudges the grade. There are numerous other inequities to the system but I think the point has been made: Canada is on the metric system and all universities should use the full 100% scale because it is fairest to students.

      Lectures

      By definition a lecture is a formal discourse before an audience. Not all lectures acknowledge this definition. The lectures you see and hear will be as diverse as the people who deliver them. They will involve sights, sounds and sometimes touch and smell. They will be exciting and they will be boring. “So what’s new,” you might ask, “I’ve been through all of this at high school!”

      Well, there are a lot of differences. First, in your beginning year you will be a member of a large community (first-year students are also called freshmen or, to be less sexist, frosh—freshpersons just hasn’t caught on!). Many of your classes will contain hundreds of other students in lecture halls as vast as the Carlsbad Caverns. (This may not be true of the smaller universities—at least in some disciplines—but it will probably be true in general since the majority of students go to large universities.) It is only in the later years, as the surviving student numbers dwindle, that you will be in lectures with a reasonable student population. The reduced class size will also influence lecture content. Upper-year courses will often be more interactive, with a greater focus on active learning strategies such as student seminars.

      Lecture format will vary dramatically from course to course. Sometimes the lecturer will talk at you for the entire duration of the lecture and continue this for every lecture for the whole course. Sometimes the sessions will consist of watching pre-recorded lectures, especially in very large courses that have many different sections (the same lectures offered at different times). This saves the lecturer having to repeat the same lecture to several different classes. Recorded lectures may also be made available for viewing online. Sometimes the course will be team-taught—several lecturers will share the teaching of the course material with each talking on his or her area of expertise. The lecturer may be an extremely organized and well-prepared speaker or the lecturer may be disorganized and simply ramble on for the lecture period. You will be exposed to a wide range of knowledgeable people with varying abilities and methods to communicate that knowledge. Regardless, you will have a tapestry of experiences that will affect your life and your beliefs for as long as you are here to enjoy them.

      Labs and Tutorials

      Many courses will have laboratory and tutorial sessions in addition to lectures. In general, labs and tutorials will have many sections offered at different days and times and you will be given a choice of which to attend. The class size will also be smaller as a result.

      Laboratory sections are offered in science courses and consist of demonstrations and hands-on exercises. You may be required to work individually, with a partner or in a group. A lab manual that outlines the experiments and step-by-step procedures will usually be provided. In some labs you will have ample time to finish your work, while in others every second will count. So make sure to read the lab manual and prepare well in advance.

      The format of tutorials will vary depending on the course. In courses like physics and mathematics where extensive problem solving is required, tutorials may consist of question-and-answer sessions where you can get help with your homework. Quizzes may also be given during these sessions. At other times tutorials will be similar to lectures, with a professor or teaching assistant elaborating a certain topic; however, due to the smaller class size there will be a greater focus on class interaction and more opportunities to ask questions.

      Online Courses

      At this time, the use of online courses varies widely with the university. All universities use the web to communicate information. Some instructors present their material online but the extent varies quite dramatically from full web courses to notes to simply the course content and schedule. This approach is changing rapidly with the use of university web portals and technologies like Blackboard that make course content easy for professors to put online and for students to access. Most if not all aspects of the course can be presented online. Students can also access their marks and communicate with their teaching assistants and professors.

      Did You Know?

      With the proliferation of web-based courses, entire degrees can be obtained online. Of course,