Tips from Students

What does it take to succeed academically at Sewanee? See what a selection of current students offer as advice about:

Fear of Failure

Study Skills

Time Management

Missing a Class

Homesickness

Learning Disabilities

Varsity Athletics

Honor Code Violations

Ending a relationship

Roommate Issues

Discretion



Entering Sewanee, I was carefree and clueless. Others in my class were calm and completely in control, or so they thought.   It was a rocky road, and I was right about one thing, no one but me would determine my path. Those other students and I don’t claim to have the answers, just some advice that we hope will be useful:

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Fear of failure is one of the most common struggles of a college student. The amount of pressure can often be overwhelming due to the rigor of academics or the inevitable personal problems that arise. Most importantly: Do not be afraid to ask for help if needed. Even though it may appear that you struggle alone, counselors, professors and even staff members are willing to help. They are real people that understand the transition every college student must make. Take advantage of office hours to go talk to your professors; those one-on-one relationships will not only help you academically, but will also help ease your fear of failure.

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Study skills. Many students here stay up half the night to finish work, are then exhausted during class the next morning, and while present in class, miss material and get behind, take a nap and mess around in the afternoon, and then start the cycle all over again. Because they waste too much time during the day, many end up doing lots of work over the weekend, as well. Instead of losing sleep and having work for the weekend, I work until dinner every day and then usually have more work to do afterwards, but get plenty of sleep and have a break over the weekend. So, just don’t go back to your room after class! Reducing the stress of assignments hanging over one’s head, is totally worth it.

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Time management. You can tell when it gets to be that time of the semester...you ask a friend how he's doing and the reply is a grim look and a monotone "Busy."  Or maybe it's a five-minute list of all the exams and papers coming due in the next week, or maybe a glassy-eyed, "I can't remember the last time I slept"...all of these are fairly common among college students, I've learned.  In four years of busy Sewanee life I've developed a few time management strategies to ward off the stress attacks.  First, and note weeks that are going to be crazy--then get started on a couple of those things early.  You may need to ask for an extension on an assignment if you have three exams, a research paper due, and a project presentation on the same day; some professors will allow extensions while others won't, but it's a pretty sure bet that if you come to them the day before the exam or assignment is due, you'll be out of luck.  Plan everything out at least a couple of weeks in advance.  Next, sometime Sunday look at all of your syllabuses at the beginning of the semesterorganize a plan of attack for the week.  What are the top priorities?  When do you have time to do work?  When can you relax for an evening and hang out with friends?  If you have an hour or two in between classes, don't waste that time!  Head to the library and get in some good study time.  Make sure you get a decent amount of sleep--you'll be more productive during your working hours if you do.  Finally, don't let stress rule your life--it's not a useful emotion.  I've noticed a lot of people spend more time worrying and complaining about what they have to do than actually working on it.  Make a list of everything you have to do for the day in order of importance, then forget everything but the first item.  Attack the list one item at a time.  Utilize study time well, and you'll have plenty of time left over for fun.

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  Missing a class might not seem like a big deal.  Say you went out the night before, and eight o'clock seems too early, so you sleep in.  Nothing huge, right?  You'll be at the next one.  But the problem is that if you miss one, you're probably going to miss another and complications begin to snowball.  The more classes you miss, the less trust you have from your professor, but trust and respect is key to succeeding in a class.  Going to class shows that you want to be there and you want to learn.  It shows respect.  Missing classes in more than one course places an even bigger problem on your shoulders.  You create all these loose ends, relying too much on friends to let you know what happened in class that day, missing class announcements, and having more than one professor doubt your dedication.  Eventually you have  the cut warning, and perhaps even a chat with the dean, neither of which simplifies your life.  Miss too many classes, and you might even fail.  So get some rest and get up early and get to those eight and nine o'clock classes on time.  If you get to those early ones, chances are you'll go to your midday and afternoon ones, too.  You'll be happier that way, because no one, including you, will be on your case. If you must miss a class , notify the professor by email or telephone as soon as you know of the problem.

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Homesickness, something associated with first-time campers, can creep up on anyone at Sewanee. With the excitement of coming to college, I never thought about being homesick. Not until I hugged my dad and walked back to my new room, did I realize just what I was about to not see. Home, for most of us, is all we have known. We are comfortable in that place with our family, friends, school…everything. I cried on my bed for a few minutes and then realized that this would not help. I talked to my new roommate that I really didn’t know that well, but found comfort in that she was feeling the same. I then began to see what was out there: sports, SOP, outreach, church, and anything that would be a healthy addition to my new life. I called my parents and friends often and quickly realized their love for me was just as strong and the new opportunities at Sewanee were a big help. I believe that being homesick is a good thing because it means one has grown up in a place than means a lot to him/her. As second semester rolled around and I was sitting at home, I remember distinctly a brand new feeling: I was homesick for Sewanee.

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Learning disabilities. If you were allowed extra time in high school or had other accommodations for learning differences, have your documentation sent to the University Counseling Office and make an appointment to see if you are eligible for accommodations at the college level. Every semester give each of your professors a copy of your accommodation letter so arrangements can be made before the next test or paper.

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Varsity athletics. Give each faculty member  a copy of the team schedule as soon as you know  you expect to travel with the team. If a test is scheduled on a travel day, make arrangements with your professor and coach as far in advance as you can.

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Honor code violations.  Our experience is that most honor code violations occur when we are too tired or too far behind for our own good. Before you do something dumb and risk suspension, talk with your advisor, or RA or the professor in that class to see if an extension might be possible. A semester or two at home is a long will make you wish you had at least asked.

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Roommate issues can be trying psychologically.  My roommate was rather quiet and reserved.  He enjoyed his space.  I on the other hand was outgoing and jovial.  He didn't feel the need to talk and I felt uncomfortable not talking.  What made this difficult was that I did not feel comfortable in my own space.  The two of us ignored each other in a way, and so I came to feel somewhat ill at ease, as if I were always getting on his nerves.  You don't want to spend time in your room, because you feel as if you're a burden.  I wouldn't want to turn over at night for fear that I would disturb him: a space that should be a space of quietude became a space of discomfort. I hope you will talk to your AP or head resident before I did.

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Ending a relationship can be extremely difficult at Sewanee since, chances are; you are going to see your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend often.  This can be awkward, but I found that if you stick to the simple"passing the time of day" tradition upheld by most Sewanee students and faculty, seeing your ex can be a little easier to bear.  Simply saying "Hi, how are you?" and exchanging a friendly greeting shows respect to your former boyfriend/girlfriend without having to engage in aconversation on a day-to-day basis.  Another way to make life a little easier for yourself is to avoid your ex if you have been drinking or know that he/she has.  If you suspect your ex will be at a particular party some night, at least try to avoid confrontation with him or her because
drunken confrontations can lead to disaster in more ways than one.  The most important thing to do is to be respectful of your ex and if you have serious problems dealing with them, talk to your peers or counselors about the best way to handle your individual situation.

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Dealing with the death of a close friend is difficult for everyone, but it is even harder at the beginning of a college career. We are young, immature, self conscious, uncertain about our future, we like to party, flirt with the opposite sex, drink, be careless, and not accept reality. For the majority of us we are still living off our parents. Getting through the week for the weekend is what we are most concerned about, not the real world involving jobs, insurance and families of our own. The last thing on someone’s mind when they are coming to college, or even older, is dealing with the death of a close friend. It is a tragedy that you have told yourself will never happen to you or any of your friends, but the reality of it is that it does happen and has happened to more people than you know. I came to college four days after having lost a best friend in a car accident. I didn’t know how to deal with myself, my friends, or the new people I was meeting; I was lost in myself. I wanted to talk to people about my loss, but it is hard to talk to someone you have only known for a week, or a month, about something as serious as a friend’s death without feeling like you are seeking pity. It is a common feeling which can make a person clam up inside until their feelings manifest into severe depression which can lead to much worse things. Talk to people about your losses, express you feelings, -bleep- em if they get offended or don’t want to talk about it. Chances are they aren’t going to be a good friend anyway if they can’t take a few minutes from their day to listen to a friend dealing with a very emotional part of their life. The point I am trying to make is:  deal with your hurt, don’t hide it or it will only get worse. Talk to people who have dealt with the same thing, or people who have not. Share your feelings and you will probably learn that more people have suffered similar losses than you would have expected.

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Discretion. People preach it on the mountain, and rightly so. It’s true that there is such a thing as wrong place, wrong time but, the simple fact of the matter is, if you break the rules enough, you’re going to get caught. And if you aren’t careful, you’re going to get caught even more. I’m not going to sit here and hypocritically tell you what you should and should not do. I just ask that you think about why you’re really here, and what it would be like if this was taken from you.

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Live every moment you have on this monuntain and know where your priorities lie.