Spooky Season: Be Advised!

by Arabella Chamberlain

Beware, advising season is upon us!

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Sounds a little scary, right? It's not just me? You're not alone if you feel that way. You might be thinking, "I've barely made it through this semester and you want me to pick harder classes and take more labs next semester?" It can be daunting.

Some of us may have already met with our advisors, but for those of you that haven't - look out! Spring registration is fast approaching. Registering for classes can be pretty spooky,
but we're here to debunk some myths and get you ready for advising, registration, and anything in between.

• MYTH 1: I'll just sign up for whatever classes I want when registration opens. Hate to break it to you, but in order to register for any classes, you'll need the approval of your advisor, but many of them are already in full advising mood and happy to schedule a time to sort out your schedule.

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  MYTH 2: I have no say over my schedule and I'm going to be stuck in a bunch of gen-eds I don't want. NOT TRUE. Very few majors have strict plans for what classes and gen-eds to take when. Take a peek at the Academic Catalog for ideas on what to take this spring that might be exciting! Or look for a partial credit class like dance or choir that will broaden your horizons!
• MYTH 3: My advisor will do all the work for me so I'll just take whatever they tell me. Also, NOT TRUE. On the flip side of our second myth, don't be so passive about your own education! What excites you? What drew you to your major? Come to your advising meeting with a list of ideas of what classes you want to take. This will not only speed up your advising but also be much more fun!
  

Registration for Spring 2021 opens the week of Nov 2nd. Hop on my.coe.edu for more information about when you'll be eligible to register. Don't hesitate to reach out to your advisor, the Registrar's Office, or the Learning Commons with any questions or concerns about advising and registration.

I know that advising season might have you a little frightened, but the only spooky thing this season is not staying masked up and socially distanced! Have a safe (and a little spooky) weekend and happy registration!

Making It Through Midterms: Academic Support

by Arabella Chamberlain

Midterms are fast-approaching, and this semester has already been pretty crazy. That said, fear not - the Coe College Learning Commons is jam-packed with resources!

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Though midterms can be a bit daunting, going in with a plan can always help. Take some time before the crazy rush of midterms to schedule what exams you'll study for when, so you won't be overwhelmed. Take it slow and work in chunks on the material from the classes, changing it up every once in a while to stay engaged. Ultimately, you're going to get through this, just take a deep breath and go get 'em!

If you are looking for some extra help, it's never too early to ask! Below is a list (not at all comprehensive) of resources available from the Learning Commons:

• Requesting a Tutor: Click here!
• Tutoring is a great way to get one-on-one help with assignments, learn new study strategies, and prep for exams.
• If you need a tutor for specifically for Cellular and Molecular Biology (Cell & Molec, BIO-145), please use this form to request support, click here!
• Requesting a SpeakOut Consultant: Click here!
• SpeakOut Consultants are great for helping with that nerve-wracking presentation coming up!

• Already have a Tutor or SpeakOut Consultant? Click here for the tutor scheduling system.

• Peer to Peer Academic Support: https://discord.gg/QU3FbxE

• This Discord server is available for students to ask questions for common courses and topics. Students who have taken those classes host office hours to answer questions.
• Supplemental Instruction: https://discord.gg/G4WACfQ
• For courses with SI Sessions, this Discord server offers additional support to courses with SI Sessions. SI Leaders will host office hours to answer questions, as well as providing updates about their sessions occasionally.

• Biology help: https://discord.gg/aDPsFNJ

• This Discord server is a Biology-specific space to ask additional questions from Biology classes.

• Schedule an appointment in the Writing center: https://coe.mywconline.com/

• The Writing Center is a wonderful resource from first draft to final edits. Meet with a Writing Consultant to help with anything from brainstorming to proofing!

  

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Need other supports and don't know where to start? Check out the Request for Academic Support form, available here.

Know that the Coe College Learning Commons is here for you whenever you need us! Don't hesitate to reach out to us! Good luck with Midterms!

Midterms for Seniors: Preparing for Grad School

Photo by Julia M Cameron from Pexels

Midterms are finally here! For most students this means exams, late nights, and tons of coffee, while for others this is a wake-up-call. Who is this wake-up-call for? Seniors. What is this wake-up-call? The fact that the first semester of our senior year is halfway over. 

Senior year is amazing. I mean, soon we’ll be out of here! The Coe bubble will pop, if it hasn’t already, and we’ll go out into the adult world: post-grad life. Yes, midterms are definitely a stressful time for all the same reasons it’s stressful for everyone else, except on top of the assignments, papers, and group projects we have to prepare for the future.

What are you planning to do after college?

is one of the most common questions we are asked,

but it’s a good question.

• Are you going to grad school?

• Are you going straight into the workforce?

• Planning on starting a family?

• Taking a gap year?

• Have no clue yet?

Graduate School Preparation

Depending on your answer, you may have a lot of work to do this fall. Most graduate programs require you to apply in December or January, and while other programs may accept students in the spring, there’s no telling how many spots will be open. Seats are often limited, and we are still in a pandemic, so it’s important to research accurate information to better your chances of being accepted into a program. 

If you weren’t aware: the type of degree you’ll may pursue graduate school, will depend on the career or field you’re interested in. Many jobs in the field of psychology require at least a Master's degree (M.A.). For example, I am interested in school and educational psychology, and I will need at least an education specialist degree (Ed.S.) to practice in schools. I’m also interested in social work which often requires at least a Master’s in social work. 

You’ll most likely be asked to answer an essay question, or two, and provide recommendations for each program. To gather more specific information, you may want to contact graduate school professors, as well. 

All of this preparation takes time, and, since we are in the middle of a pandemic, preparation is even more important. One requirement you need to check for your degree programs is whether you need to take the GRE. The GRE is the Graduate Record Exam, accepted and often required by most graduate programs.  For more information on the sections of the GRE, check out Kaplan. 

How to know whether you need to take the GRE:

• Research your programs of interest and what their application requirements are

• Determine whether you need to take the GRE at all

• Determine which GRE you need to take (general? psychology? mathematics?) 

How to sign up for the GRE:

• Create an account with ETS, so that you have access to testing locations and dates - Test Taker Account

• Verify your account - make sure all of your information is accurate

• Check which tests are available for your location (in-person, online)

• Select the date and time for your meeting

Now, my goal with this post wasn’t to make you more anxious than you already were, but to keep the near future on your mind, and how our new normal plays into it. It’s possible that this term, you’ve learned that online classes are not for you, which means online graduate school may not be for you. However, because of the pandemic, many programs are online to protect their students, faculty, and staff, so please consider this. Make sure to research whether your programs of interest plan to remain in-person.

There are many options for students outside of going straight to graduate school. Stay tuned for my next post where I’ll be focusing on senior planning to enter the workforce. 

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Helpful Sources to learn more about life after college:

https://www.shemmassianconsulting.com/blog/how-to-get-into-grad-school 

https://rossier.usc.edu/should-i-go-to-grad-school/ 

https://www.toptieradmissions.com/how-the-coronavirus-impacts-grad-school-admissions/

Trick or Treat? Halloween ideas for 2020

 Halloween is a beloved holiday for many children and young adults alike.  It's a chance to  revisit childhood memories and be creative with friends, not to mention score some free chocolate. Here are a few ideas for celebrating Halloween while maintaining social distancing.

Things that you can do for Halloween celebration while social distancing: 

Put on a Halloween Parade

 Invite a group of friends to all dress up and me out the quad at the same time and take a tour around campus. Show off all your cool onesies or costumes and throw out a couple pieces of candy here and there if there are onlookers. Perhaps even stop at Walmart and get some squirrel food and feed the squirrels while you're at it.

Hold a Halloween door decorating contest

 Something especially fun for RA's, host a door decorating contest and have a competition to see who has the best decoration skills. Come up with some themes such as scariest door, most effort door, and hardest to take down. Don’t forget to send us pictures at the Learning Commons! We’d love to see what you’ve made!

Make Halloween a month or week long celebration with a fun DIY countdown calendar

 Get some yarn and hang up in the corner of your room, add some plastic spiders from the dollar store or make some out of puffs and pipe cleaners, then write numbers on the back or with each spider pick a random candy from a bowl or premade surprise canisters. You can also make Witch hats out of construction paper and hide candy inside!

Hang Up A Piñata

 Piñatas are known mostly for small children's birthday parties, however they can still be relatively cheap and are a lot of fun in small to large groups. Snag a Frankenstein's monster, a ghost, a pirate, or a creature of your choosing and set up a time with your friends to snag some candy. Just make sure to clean up your trash after you're done.

Walmart

Party City

Amazon

Hold A Mask Costume Contest

Ask friends to design their own face mask, then gather over Zoom to see who’s come up with the most inventive one. A few clever ideas: a cat, butterflies, monster, and beard mask!
Most of your supplies for this can be made with supplies found at the dollar store such as pompoms, pipe cleaners, markers, gems, paint to dye with, and glitter if you’re feeling brave.
Michael's also has instructions for how to make all kinds of different types of masks. 

Ideas!

Try The Good Kind Of Ghosting

Ring the doorbell of a friend, leave a special bag of goodies out front, and then run before anyone can get to the door. Tape a big sign to the bag that says, “You’ve been booed!” along with the recipient’s name and who it’s from so they know exactly who to thank for the sweet surprise.
This can be a paper bag filled with their favorite candy, some knickknacks, decorations for them to hang around their room, confetti, you name it.

While we may be a little old for trick or treating and our usual get togethers may be canceled, there are still lots of fun ways to get the gang together and enjoy some fun. What are some ways you plan to celebrate Halloween this year?