Tips for a Carleton University Science Student
Textbooks
Don’t by used books until you’re sure that you don’t need an access code for a homework website
If you need a $200 chemistry textbook that comes with the access code, and you buy the book used, you’ll probably only get the book for as cheap as $50 at a used quality, and the access code on its own is usually $150 anyway, so you’re actually losing out rather than saving by buying used books; buy books new if you need the access code with it
Make sure you actually need the textbook before buying it, if you look in the syllabus and there’s only one reading, you probably don’t need to shell out $100 for it
Email the prof if the textbook information hasn’t been provided for you ahead of the class and you want to get ahead in your readings
Sometimes you can buy a previous edition for cheaper than the most recent and the prof is usually cool with this; the homework questions are different but the profs often have sample ones to give from the old textbook as well as the new, and important figures you need for the midterm/exam you can get from a friend with the newer version of the textbook
Carleton students: go to Haven Books instead of the Campus Book Store
Be careful when looking for used books, not everyone is trustworthy to buy from, especially if you’re buying from someone on the Facebook used book group
Always flip through the textbook to make sure there aren’t any chunks of pages missing, and if it truly isn’t highlighted like said in the ad; check if there are separate booklets that usually come with the textbook when bought new and make sure you get those too
Try and bargain with the seller, often upper year students are just trying to get rid of their old books and if you ask for a lower price they will probably say yes
LOOSELEAF textbooks are the best!!!! They save you like $50-100 and all you have to do is buy a binder for like $10 (you need a sturdy one for heavy textbooks like for biology)
Don’t open the plastic until you’re 10000% positive you have the right textbook (and make sure you have the one that comes with the access code if you need one for the class) because you can’t return it once opened (except if you return it as a used book)
If there is an electronic copy available and you can (legally) print it, do it! Being able to highlight it and hold it in your hands while waiting for the midterm hall doors to open is (in my opinion) better than just having it saved to your desktop
Rent textbooks through the campus book store
The (Carleton) library has a reserve section that has textbooks that you can borrow for a few hours (while still in the library) so you don’t have to buy them; however, not all prof’s put their textbooks on reserve and there aren’t endless copies so someone else may have it when you want to read it
Take good care of your textbooks so you can sell them next year
Sell them back to students rather than the bookstore so you can get more money to help pay for your textbooks for the new year
It’s harder to sell the books with highlighting and marking in them so an alternative is to use sticky notes in your book (a little costly if you want nicely coloured ones and such but pretty and keeps the textbook pristine)
Personally, I use pencil because I can just underline important bits, which I actually find makes me engage in the material more than highlighting, and I could erase it to sell it again (instead I’m just giving the books to my sister next year so she gets them free, lucky her, lol!)
A word on e-books: they expire after the course is over, so you can’t sell them after and if you failed the course/want to re-take it to improve your grade, you have to buy the text again
If you have friends taking the class with you, split the cost of the book with them!
Picking Classes
The Carleton Central website is not user friendly at all. I hated every minute I had to use it when I first accepted my offer; to combat this: I suggest going on the website and feeling around it to get used to it and figure out where all the important links are before going on it to set stuff up
Set up your school email as soon as possible because if you have any issues figuring out how to use the website to set up residence/meal plan/etc. you can ask for help, but no one will answer your emails if they’re not from your Carleton email (this is for privacy reasons, they’re not trying to be difficult)
At Carleton, you can set up your timetable in advance of when you actually have to register for classes; do this as soon as the opportunity arises because the classes fill up fast on registration day and you don’t want to still be figuring out which section and time and everything when you need to just click the “register” button and be done with it
Speaking of registration, you will receive a time-slot based on your student number/last name (I forget which) so don’t worry too much about classes filling up before you get your chance
If a class required for your program fills up before your time-slot opens don’t panic yet; several classes have online sections where they live stream the lecture and you can watch it that way, and if the regular section is full then you’ll just have to register in the online section.
You can still go to class rather than watching it online, and most people do this; my chemistry class had people sitting on the stairs and on the floor at the front of the lecture hall for the first two weeks before people decided if they’d rather watch online or in the lecture hall; the only thing this really affects is where you write your mid-terms and exams, and if you complete your teaching-evaluations in-class, or online
I hate to break this to you, but if you’re in a science program, having one day completely free in first year is not a reality (if you get one please tell me how). I can almost 100% guarantee that you will have lectures every day
Mental Heath & Self-Care
Allow yourself mental health days where you can skip your classes to recover without feeling guilty about it
Don’t take classes at 8:30am if possible, even if you’re a morning person, you will regret it
Especially don’t take 8:30 labs because you can’t miss those without a doctors note
Don’t pull all-nighters in the library when its open 24 hours during exams. Go home. Shower. Eat real food instead of just snacks you brought to the library with you. SLEEP. IN YOUR OWN BED
Try not to fall into that hole of all-nighters where you start rewarding yourself for completing an assignment with a shower or something that’s a basic necessity. You shouldn’t put getting work done above taking care of yourself, no matter how important the assignment or lab report
TAKE BREAKS. It’s okay every once in a while studying, you don’t have to just curl up with a textbook in some corner of the library and study it until your hair falls out, you’ll remember more anyway if you allow your brain some time to absorb the information (trust me, I’m here learning to be a neuroscientist)
Fun fact: you can cry from any emotion. Why is this relevant in a list of tips for new university students? Because you will probably get overwhelmed at some point and cry, and crying is good for you, and also natural. Emotions are chemical levels in your brain and your body is constantly trying to maintain homeostasis (equilibrium, balance, etc.); if your brain notices that there is a lot (or too much) of once chemical, it will try and get rid of it. One way to do this is to package up those chemicals all nice and neat into tears and flush them out. (hint: this is why we feel better after crying, because those emotions were essentially “cried out”). So don’t try and hold everything in because you don’t want your family or new friends to know you’re struggling, because not only is it okay to cry, but your friends are likely just as overwhelmed and your family must know how hard you’re working and how hard school is. You can cry because you’re overwhelmed or because you’re happy or because you watched a wonderful movie (e.g. Moana) and all this means is that you are beautifully and wonderfully human! (pro tip: drink water after crying)
Keep a clean room; I know this sounds annoying but it will help clear your mind and give you a healthy study space. Coming home from a long day of classes and labs to a messy room might only make you more stressed
Drink some water you fool
Naps are cool as heck
Instead of making a competition out of how high your stress levels are, brag about feeling whole and at peace (and if you aren’t, pretend until you believe it)
If you have anxiety, cut out caffeine from your life (even if you don’t have anxiety this is a good idea to do) (I know some really good caffeine-free teas)
Don’t beat yourself up about not getting everything done, just do your best to get as much done as you can (sometimes, mental illness means your best is only doing one of your two assigned readings, this is okay)
One of the biggest lies you will be told in your life is “don’t half-ass anything”; waiting around for the day where you can do absolutely everything you need to do when you have a mental illness or even if you’re still getting adjusted to your new responsibilities as a university student (and adjusting doesn’t just take a few days or weeks, it’s a continual process) is silly, that day may never come. Do as much as your illness permits you to do. If all you can do is make your bed while the rest of your room is a mess, just make your bed. If all you can do is type the heading for your resume, just do that. If all you can do is put the papers for your taxes in a pile, do that, and take a shower or rest. You don’t have to do everything at once, it is okay to just do a little bit
There are 5 things to ask yourself if you’re feeling particularly yucky and don’t know why:
Have I eaten anything substantial recently? Eat an apple or go to the school cafeteria/make something at home
Have I had anything to drink? Grab a bottle of water
Have I slept a decent amount in the last 24 hours, and in the days before that? Take a nap
Have you engaged in any exercise or movement recently? Go for a walk
Have I spoken to anyone at all in the last while? Text or call a friend/family member
Essentially: eat, drink, sleep, walk, and talk
The pomodoro technique is lifeeeee!!!!! Study for 20 minutes or so and then take a break, then repeat (after about three sessions, reward yourself with a longer break than before); if you can’t focus, this is a great way to get a little bit of work done
If you have an IOS device, I recommend the app Tide
Residence & Meal Plans
Apply for residence as soon as possible because although most schools guarantee an offer for first years, they really only mean before the deadline and after that you’ll be on a waitlist. If you get off the waitlist and get a room offer, it probably won’t be in one of the buildings with air conditioning, an elevator, or windows that actually open
If you plan on having a job while at school, you can ask to be in a residence building that remains open over the holidays (this does cost extra though, and for some reason, despite this being an option at Carleton, and that you’re not allowed a hot plate or other cooking device in traditional style rooms; virtually all the places to eat on campus are closed for the entire winter break, including the caf)
On holidays and reading week, the caf closes like, 2 hours early, this sucks. More times than I’d like to admit, I forgot it was a holiday and went to go get dinner at my usual time to find the doors were locked and it didn’t open again until 7:30 the next morning, with literally every other food place closed for the holiday, Mr. Noodles was the only option remaining. Don’t do this to yourself, please
At Carleton you have to rent mini-fridges through a company with the school called coldex
The prices aren’t bad and you can always split with your roommate if you’re in a double room
A bonus of this is that if you order it before a certain date, the fridge will already be in your room when you arrive on move-in day
I haven’t heard of people sneaking in their own and what happens if the school finds out, but I still wouldn’t recommend bringing your own (you don’t want to have to hide a whole mini-fridge when inspections come around)
Move-in day is hectic
Arrive as soon as possible to get it out of the way so you can start exploring campus, check out the cafeteria, and go to some events for frosh week
There are volunteers to help you bring your stuff up to your room so no need to bring your entire extended family (unless you want them all there, of course)
If you have prescriptions of any kind, then switch your pharmacy to the on-campus one and write down the hours somewhere
A few words on the dorms:
Most of the desks have a built-in lamp so don’t buy a desk lamp before you know if you need one
They also have a push-pin board so bring pins to hang your pictures and class schedule
Christmas lights go a long way to making the place more home-y
Buy a coat rack that goes over the front door, and one of those shoe organizers to go over the bathroom door and fill it with all kinds of things
Bring lots of storage bins
Buy one of those fabric shower caddies that go over the shower head so you can all keep your soap organized in the bathroom (the showers don’t have very much shelf space and it can be a pain to carry all your soap in and out, especially when it’s all wet from your shower
The room should come with a garbage and recycling bin, but might not have one for the bathroom as a heads up
Act like your parents are visiting once a week and tidy everything up
Labs
If you are a science or engineering student, you will definitely have labs, lots if you’re in science
Most labs (i.e. chemistry and physics) are every two weeks, and sometimes they have a tutorial on the opposite week (chemistry doesn’t, you just have an empty three-hour slot on one week).
Biology labs at carleton are every week, going from experimental labs one week to analytical labs the next week (sometimes theres a computer simulation lab the week before the experimental, so in that case the lab topic spans three weeks)
You will usually have two weeks to write your lab report and then hand it in at the beginning of your next lab session, but sometimes they only give you one week (this is good and bad at the same time) DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE NIGHT BEFORE TO WRITE A FORMAL LAB REPORT
They take at least 6 hours to write and thats once you get the hang of it and 6 hours will probably still only get you an 80%
Informal lab reports (write-ups) you can probably get away with doing the nigh before but don’t be surprised if you get a 60% with only that much work put into it
Don’t forget to do the lab assignments online, they are usually worth a lot towards your grade for that lab (even if you do the multiple choice quiz real quick before the lab starts, it’s better than nothing)
Go to the Science Store as early as possible to buy your lab coat, glasses, notebook, and manual, the lines are crazy long
You can’t buy an older version of the lab manual to use for a new lab session, they won’t let you and if they find out you’re using an older version of the manual, they could decide to give you zero on everything. They change little things so you might end up doing the wrong thing in your experiment which can be very bad if its a chemistry lab for example.
If you don’t know something, or are unsure, ask the TA. Even if you’re mostly sure, ask the TA. Most labs are designed to take exactly there hours if you do everything correctly the first time, so if you do something wrong, you can end up rushing to finish before the lab ends
THEY WILL NOT LET YOU STAY LATE TO FINISH YOUR LAB
If you do happen to finish your lab early, instead of leaving as soon as the TA signs you out, do some calculations you’ll need for the report, you will thank yourself sooooo much later I’m not even exaggerating. One time I started them at the end of my lab and then forgot about it and you better believe there were tears of joy in my eyes when I opened up my lab notebook to start the report later and saw that I had already started
Decorate your lab coat!!! Spice it up!! Spell your name in the periodic table across the back, cover it in sharpie! Put your favourite science joke on the pocket! Have fun!
Roommates
Roommates can be a blessing or a curse; if they’re a curse, switch to another room as soon as possible
If you can’t stand your roomate, then you’re only going to be more stressed when you’re at home on top of all the stresses of your new life as a university student, and that’s not good
All roommates and canmates have to sign a roommate agreement once you’ve settled in
A canmate is someone living in the room that adjoins your bathroom (most Rez buildings are designed with two rooms sharing a bathroom)
Reach out to your roommate once you’ve been told who they are so that you can meet up before move-in day if possible to get to know each other, get each other’s phone number
If you’re thinking of renting a mini-fridge, see if your roommate wants to split the cost of one so you can share!
Consider buying a silent alarm (its basically a watch that vibrates to wake you up instead of ringing) and earplugs so that you don’t have to wake each other up if one of you has an 8:30 while the other doesn’t have class until noon
Make sure you both agree with the decisions made in your roommate agreement, don’t agree to anything that you’re not comfortable with.
Remember that its just as much your room as theirs, and vice versa
Understand that dorm rooms are small, so don’t be afraid to voice your preferences and concerns; communication is key and it keeps everyone happy
Try to be understanding; don’t give your roommate a hard time about something they have no control over
When it comes to alcohol or other substances, be open and honest about what is okay and what isn’t
Officially you’re only allowed 2 guests per roommate in the room at once (so 6 total), but unless you’re being loud and disrupting the whole floor, nobody is going around and policing it
As with room capacity, there is a set limit on how many times you can have overnight guests, but nobody is really counting (except maybe your roommate)
Definitely give each other a copy of your class schedule
Some people like to leave their door open so that you can go in and meet them, it may be awkward but you should totally go for it! Most people are really shy and won’t go in, but you can still leave your door open too
Go to floor meetings (officially they are kind of required) to meet people, and also because they usually provide snacks or participation prizes (I won a $10 Tims card at my first meeting)
If you’re going to come home at 3AM drunk with friends after a night of bar hopping in Quebec, then get a single room
Your roommate doesn’t want to wake up to the sound of you kissing your S.O.
Do the dishes as soon as you can, don’t let them fester and grow old because you hate washing dishes in the tiny sink Don’t snoop, we all have things we like to keep to ourselves
If you’re going to hook up with someone in the room while your roommates away, make sure they’re not going to come back early. And don’t forget to dead-bolt the door and lock the bathroom so they don’t go through the canmates room thinking their key card is just broken
Share emergency information with each other; do you have a history of seizures that they should be aware of? Any allergies like peanuts so they know not to keep peanut butter in the room? And if you’re unconscious being sent to the hospital, whom should they call?
Always use headphones/earbuds. Even if your roommate has the same taste in music or likes the same movies/TV shows, wear them for the love of all that is good in the world. Get a headphone splitter if you want to watch a movie with a friend on your laptop.
Meeting New People
Academic orientation day was honestly the best time for me to make friends; everyone I talked to that day was either in my faculty or a related program (if not the same program as me). My closest friend now is a girl I met on academic orientation day who’s in my program, and we got to study for all our classes together and since we had such similar schedules, we had the same blocks of free time to hang out.
Make friends with people in your program. You can keep each other on track with your studies, explain concepts to each other, quiz each other, work on assignments together, and so many more things; you can hang out and study at the same time which is a really great thing
If you have friends from high school going to the same university as you, but in a program nothing like yours, then you’re probably going to have a hard time finding space in both your schedules to hang out. Make the best effort you can to hang out anyway
You know those people you can see rolling their eyes at you from the corner of your eye? Don’t make friends with them. They don’t have your back and they don’t care enough to listen to you when you’re talking about your personal struggles. Don’t waste time on someone who wouldn’t give their time to you
disclaimer: the information provided here is based mainly on my experiences as a neuroscience student at Carleton University, as well as from other sources that I looked at for ideas on what else to add here.