Category Archives: Academics

Right now, “I gots this.”

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Every semester I’ve had so far in university starts off  chiller than a ice cube sitting on a bigger ice cube in the tundra.  In the case of exchange, it starts off the same, only in this tundra it is always Friday night.  As the end of the semester approaches it is always like I’m stuck on a treadmill with no stop button and water is just out of reach.  I could probably reach it if i tried but it’ll probably end in a mess on the floor without a single drop ricocheting into my mouth.  That or I’ll fall off the treadmill.  The no stop button meaning the never ending troubles that come up and the water being all those fun things that seem to happen when you finally buckle down to study.

Okay, I’m exaggerating.  I am a strong believer that the work hard, play hard thing can be done.  I just haven’t quite figured out how to do it yet.  Breaks can be productive.  If you have a good idea of what you want inspiration for, for some reason, when you’re out there taking a break, it’ll come.  Usually.  Eventually.  Hopefully.

Anyway, back to the topic.  At the peak every stress season, I find myself always going between “I’m screwed” and “I gots this” feelings.  Here’s a graphic representation:

Yesterday night:

I’m Screwed -> “Holy crap  I have 3 presentations this week and 3 presentations next week but i have absolutely no interest in working on the first few ones, but i have to get them done because they are due first but for some reason i have a group meeting for the later projects this week, wait, doesn’t this meeting clash with that meeting??  WHY IS THIS WEBSITE ONLY IN CHINESE? I need to schedule this out- no there’s no time just gogogo. LOW BATTERY?! What am I going to get for that guy’s birthday?? OMG I ONLY HAVE 1 MORE MONTH IN HK BUT I HAVEN’T DONE EVERYTHING I WANTED TO DO YET!!!!!! *check FB for the 6th time today anyway*”

And now:
I gots this -> “You know what? I gots this.  I’ve been… productive.  It’s been a while, lets go write a BlogSquad post…”

 

Repeat this cycle a few more times until the end of my projects and repeat again before finals and I think I have my next few weeks summed up.  Nah.  I’m loving being in Hong Kong and CityU.  It’s too early to let go, but I’ll talk about that some other time.

Review: 3 week summer courses

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Tomorrow is my final exam for JAPN 212, the 3 week long summer version.  As you can see I am totally procrastinating right now.

Anyway, I wanted to write a post about this course because I was scared out of my mind to take it. 5 hours a day, 4 days a week, for 3 weeks. Japanese is hard as it is during the normal school year so I had no idea how I would survive this.  But I am here to tell you it is not as bad as it sounds.

Sure I had to take cut down shifts at work, load up on coffee when the end of the week comes around but I am still managing to have a social life once in a while and getting decent marks (hopefully that final exam will be ok…)  By the way Super 8 is a fantastic movie.  So is X-Men: First Class.

The schedule: homework almost every day but it doesn’t take up much time.  Doing well is a matter of getting a good night’s rest so that you have enough energy to go to class in the day and still be motivated enough to study in the night. (Easier said than done for sure… I was not able to do this.)

The best part: I thought I wouldn’t really learn and just be cramming to survive, but I feel like it is sticking. For now anyway.

The worst part: sometimes you just have to suck it up and take the grind.  Get out of bed, stay awake, keep writing and remind yourself it will be over before you know it.

I think sometimes it is just a mind over matter thing.  Relative to the winter semester it seems chaotic but if you take 4 courses in the winter, time spent in school is about the same.  It is harder when you believe that summer is for summer vacation and you ask yourself what the heck are you doing in school in July.  This moody Vancouver weather we’ve been having these last 3 weeks is making it much easier to take though.  I don’t feel like I am missing much by being in here with the cold and clouds out there haha.

 

Side note: OMGz. Universities across Canada are gathering at UBC tomorrow for ROBOT RACING.  I have no idea what it entails other than robots and racing but it sounds cool.  Or maybe I’ve been at school and sleep deprived for too long.

Things I Wish I knew About Exchange Earlier That Wouldn’t Have Changed My Decision But Would Have Been Nice To Know:

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1. Unless you make special arrangements, you have to pay for a full course load.  In other words, 5 courses.  You can take less courses but you have to pay for 5.

2. Just because UBC has given you the go-ahead to your school of choice, you still need to apply to the actual school as an exchange student.  (I knew it was too easy!)

3. I forget the number, and it may only be a Sauder thing, but there is a limit on the number of courses you can take that are the equivalents to your core courses. Ie. You need A202, B204 and C203 to be promoted to 4th year, you are only allowed to take 2/3 abroad.

4. You might not know what you are taking on exchange until after your course registration dates at UBC. So if spots in your faculty are competitive, plan ahead and make some extra worklists.

5. Even is you are rejected by your 1st choice, have your 2nd and 3rd choice of schools fill up, there is still hope.  I am going to my 4th choice! =D City University of Hong Kong (which was actually my original 2nd choice until I changed all my plans 2 days before the forms were due)

6. Student residence in other countries may be cheaper than you think.  If money is something holding you back from exchange, remember that your tuition is the same, less in a sense because you won’t be paying for things like a UPass, so the only difference is your living expenses, unless you are already paying for them.  (Considering we are in Vancouver, chances are you will be saving money.)
*side excursions to nearby countries not included

7. All Go Global students get a scholarship of up to $1000 per term! (and a bunch of other possibilities)

Random money tip: when applying for a visa, those photobooths in the mall (not sticker photo) will work and you will save about 20 bucks.  But unless you are drop dead gorgeous, your picture will probably look ugly. Photobooth pictures do not qualify for passport renewal pictures, visas only.

Held Up at Penpoint.

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Dear UBC,

I am a 2nd year student at Sauder and today I am an unsatisfied student.  I’ll just be direct, I feel like I’m being robbed.  Please explain yourself.

Below is a screenshot of my tuition for 2010W Term 2 tuition.


All of my 3 credit courses cost $669.42, I have 2 Arts faculty electives: Japanese 200 level and social psychology.

Below is a screenshot of my friend’s tuition for 2010W Term 1 tuition. He is a 2nd year Arts student.

All of his 3 credit courses cost $451.80.  Notably, PSYC 305A which is a personality psychology class.

We are both 2nd year students, entered in the same year, same age, same citizenship, but different faculties (ok he also took personality psyc and I took social psyc but either way…) How is this fair?  Even if I took PSYC 305A 002 with the same prof in the same room, at the same time, learning the same things, I would still be paying $217.62 more.

In first year, both of our 3 credit courses cost $442.95.  Excluding first year, to graduate with a BCOM we need a minimum of an additional 18 credits of non-commerce electives.  Without factoring in annual tuition increases and tuition increases due to being in a higher year (which doesn’t make sense because arts doesn’t get that increase,) and the “time value of money” for you finance kids out there, this translates to $1305.72.

I suppose you can say that is a small price relative to a whole degree but that doesn’t mean it is justified.

Perhaps Sauder students should have to pay more because of our teachers/facilities.  No, that doesn’t justify why we have to pay more for courses not in our faculty.  I’m sorry, but this feels like robbery.  I paid it, but that doesn’t mean I signed up for it.  The school did not tell me I was paying more for my courses by being a Sauder student.

UBC, I’d like some answers.

Sincerely,

Paulina Tsui

@readers, What can I do about this?  I actually don’t know, someone please help me with a next step.

By the way, does anyone know how much non-commerce students have to pay when taking a commerce course?

Financial tip to incoming business students: take summer school in first year.  You get to pay first year fees for those courses and knock of some requirements at the same time.

Going Global Part 2: Post Application Thoughts

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I posted a post a few weeks ago about applying to Go Global (exchange) where I was debating between Manchester University in England and Keio University in Tokyo. In the end, I actually applied to, in order of first choice to last, Hong Kong University, Keio University and a Shanghai Summer Program.

Let’s just say, at the time of that earlier post, I hadn’t done enough research as I should have yet and didn’t realize a few set backs and almost missed out on some amazing opportunities. So I have  some tips:

Start your application early.
Early as in December, and if it is something that you really want do, at least have it in the back of your mind (which it probably will if you’re dying to go like me.) I had ideas in my head, I thought I would be able to fill out the forms in max two weeks and it’ll be a breeze.  If you’re in commerce, it’s not as much of a breeze because you will have to make a rough plan of all the courses you will take until you graduate.  I was actually kind of surprised other faculties don’t have to do this because it felt like like something they would have to consider too.

Despite the point above, It’s never too late.
I know some people who decided they were going the night before the deadline.  At the info sessions there were 4th years who were going to go on their last semester which isn’t usually allowed.  If you want it, go get it =)

Advisors aren’t scary.
I don’t know this for a fact because I am always too scared to talk to them, but I don’t know else is going to be able to help you more.

Don’t forget why you’re going.
Don’t lose that fire just because you stayed up crafting that beautiful “why you want to go” essay and didn’t get any sleep and forgot what you wrote it.  For schools with limited spots or an excess of applications, there may be interviews.   I went to one today and I walked out of that room feeling pretty bad.  Nervous, as always, I couldn’t say the things I wanted to.  When I started replaying the events, I realize I didn’t mention the fire, there were these special classes that I really wanted to take, the reason why I chose that school first with a solid “yes this is it.”  And the feeling of having a fire and not letting it burn for others to see feels like you set yourself in ashy flames… let your fire shine!  (man that’s lame sounding)

You will need two references that are teachers or TAs (at least one a teacher) but all you will need is their name.
Another reason to start earlier…

There are paper AND online components.

It’s not as hard as this post is making it sound.
It’s an easy process once you know what you want to do.

Hands down the most important class.

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Hands down the most important class I took in high school that has helped me the most in succeeding in university…

English.

Ok, so it’s more like a subject than a class but you get what I mean. Seriously though, those reading and writing skills… boy do they mean a lot.  There were times where I thought, “whatever man, I’m in business, reading and writing? Pfft! English is my first language, I did great in English 12, I’m fine with what I got.” Even though there isn’t a huge requirement for writing and comprehension skills in the business faculty, they have seriously been a huge asset.

1) Get through questions faster because I can read them faster.

2) Spend less time constructing sentences and more time constructing sentences for answers.

3) Study time is cut shorter because I can read the book with less re-reading.


And even with English as my first (and for the most part, only) language, being in university has made me realize how much I am still lacking in it.  Looking back, I wish I had read more and conversed with people more.  Well, life is a continuous learning circle.

I often think the point of elementary school was to do well in high school and the point of high school was to do well in university.  So what’s the point of university?  To do well at work?  Is that what we are all aiming for?  I know I am looking at it in a very black and white way, but it seems almost too… soulless. I could very well be wrong.  What do you think?



What is the most-helpful-to-your-life-after-high-school high school class that you took?

The Monty Hall Problem.

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Does anyone remember the scene in 21 where Professor Keven Spacey is asking the protagonist about choosing behind three doors, two with a goat and one with a door behind it? Well in case you don’t…

3 years. 3 years ago I saw this movie on an airplane. 3 years later in a stats class I now finally understand this problem.  I’ve thought about this problem many times over the 3 years and now finally. I feel so enlightened.  That feeling of goodness at school would be second place right behind the last day of exams last semester. The sad part is that if I had wanted to know the answer enough, there are great explanations for how it works on YouTube.

The strangest thing that I can’t get over is that even though I know the answer, and cannot deny the proof that my professor showed us on the overhead, my head still makes it feel like it must be a 50-50 chance.  It just feels natural that way.  You’re a strange one, brain.

In case you were curious, the most easy to understand explanation that I came across was that when you first choose a door you have a 1/3 chance winning a car.  So, the chances that the host has the door with the car is 2/3 since he has two doors.  The fact that he shows you what’s behind one door doesn’t change the fact that his chances are still 2/3 while yours is 1/3.  So switch.



For another taste of stats, or COMM 291, I’ll describe another exercise the prof gave us.

He holds up 3 slips of paper.  The first one, pink on both sides.  The second, green on both sides.  The third, green on one side pink on the other.  The professor hides them behind his back and then asks the class what is the probability that if he randomly chooses one that it will be the double green.  The class is silent.  We all think it is a trick and no one wants to make a fool of themselves.  He reassures us that is it not a trick, although he also reassures us that half of the things he says are tricks.  A student says 1/3.  Correct.  Now he picks a card and shows us one side. A green side.  He now asks us what is the probability of the other side being green as well.




Care to take a shot at it?

Career contemplating again.

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Whilst studying for my Human Resources Management final, I became unbelievably bored.  Distractions are common when it comes to studying (like being on Blogsquad instead of studying for my econ final tomorrow…)  But distractions are one thing and pure disinterest in a subject completely is another.  I just didn’t care.  Especially when it came to reading about laws and stuff.  So last night I decided, HR is completely out of the picture for my potential major.

When it came down to the exam and I was sitting at the little wobbly desk in the gym, the strangest thing happened.  HR just flowed through me.  I was so in the zone.  More than that, it was… dare I say it… fun.  I hated remembering all the rules and stuff but when it came to the other aspects, it was rather entertaining thinking about answers to questions like “what would you suggest to NAME in regards to SOME HR CONCEPT ie termination.”  And so I’m back to square one again.

My dad told me last night “you can make plans, but they’re going to change.”

Boy did my plans change fast.

One plan I don’t think will change:

My plan to avoid cubicles as much as possible.

I WAS TOLD A HELPFUL STUDY TIP: Listen to epic music to make your studying feel epic.

Haha, one of the comments: “While doing Calculus homework, this song makes me feel like the next answer I solve cures cancer lol.” – XagonogaX

Enjoy. =)

“Straight A’s Never Made Anybody Rich By Wess Roberts”

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2 posts in one day? Wuuut?

I found the following on a print out that was lying around in my accounting class. Hope it makes someone feel better (it sure made me feel better after receiving that midterm back…) To be honest, a lot of this is rather cheesy but, who really knows the potential of cheese.

These “suggestions” are from Straight A’s Never Made Anybody Rich: Lessons in Personal Achievement” By Wess Roberts

1) There are many paths to personal achievement. Often education and training lead you to the opportunity to make the most of your life.

2) A teacher’s job is to teach- to help you gain skills and knowledge. As a student, it is your responsibility to learn- even though it is sometimes convenient to blame poor teachers when you don’t.

3) Whether you have earned straight A’s or lesser grades, whether you are endowed with material riches or get by with something less, you are the master of your own destiny.

4) After you’ve done all you can to learn a new skill or to broaden your knowledge, you’ve earned the right to be proud of your efforts regardless of the grades you receive. (Remembering this point will help you become consistent and dependable, instilling in you a sense of self-worth, and all of these qualities are far more important that sheer brilliance.)

5) However poorly you perform in school, only you (not your grades) can keep you from learning the future the things you need to know to have a meaningful and productive life. Nonetheless, learn as much as you can while you’re in school!

6) Arriving at a major milestone is always more rewarding if you had fun while you were getting there. So enjoy each year of your schooling- and you will enjoy graduation day all the more.

7) Your school days illustrate how personal achievement is sometimes arrived at by a journey down a serpentine trail. Progress toward your goals often requires you to take steps sideways and even backward. But to graduate- or to accomplish other goals- you need to remember to take more than steps forward than in any other direction.

8) As a student, to arrive at the place you’ve set out to reach- promotion to the next grade and eventually graduation- you will have to endure difficulties and face challenges. From time to time, therefore, correct the course you’ve set.

9) And last, remember the ultimate goal of your school days is not to only learn what you don’t know but also to learn how to find out what you still need to know. Education is a lifelong process.

Would the real stressed out students please stand up?

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Okay, my most stressful days have finally passed. And after tomorrow’s COMM 392 3-hours-of-negotiation-hopefully-not-turning-into-yelling union vs management collective bargaining simulation ends… I think hope things will be nicer.

Does the following ever happen to anyone one else during exam times?

One moment I was deep in my books, who knew when I lifted my head I was literally deep in books. “…ok so when that graph shifts that way, firms enter the market… *look up* HOLY CRAP WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DESK?”

Here is the labeled version in case you were interested:

I find it hard to study one subject for too long at once… I feel better off switching around. Do you guys usually study one at a time, put it out of your mind and move onto the next? I wonder which is actually more effective despite how I personally feel about it.