So I haven’t been posting lately, but there is a good reason. I got a hardcore bacterial infection and did not have the ability to do anything other than eat jello and pudding…ahhh pudding. This unfortunate occurrence lead me to something else I can tell y’all about..the Student Health Center.

State has an excellent student health facility. You can set up appointments online, walk-in, do the self check-in, and be in the office without breaking a sweat (unless your fever is breaking like mine was).  The doctors and nurses seem to really know what they were talking about and have an in-house lab that did the bacterial swab and blood tests. They had the tests back and I got the medication I needed from the pharmacy in the front and was on my way to a quick recovery.

That’s the story of my trip to the student health center.  My suite mate has also been there for MRI scans and my girlfriend has gotten X-rays done there. They have Counselors, within the Counseling Center to talk about everything from panic attacks to weight loss. They also have a center soley for the ladies, to take care of all those things I don’t really understand. I was very impressed by the capabilities of that building, but hope I won’t be back for a while.

So I am wrapping up my first semester at NCSU by entering what they call Dead Week. Dead Week is the week before exams when all projects are turned in and no homework is assigned so we can study…so of course I pick this time to write to you guys…because this type of procrastination at least seems studious.

This seemed like a good time to wrap up the semester and tell you guys some things that I learned about State that I would have liked to know.  Looking back on when I was signing up for classes there are three main things I think I would have liked to have known.  The first is that I really enjoy 50 minute classes more than 2 hour classes.  I say this because those are the two main types of classes, lots of short meetings or a few long ones.  Something they don’t tell you though is that those everyday 50 minute classes usually give you one day off.  It is really a personal decision though.

The second thing is lecture vs. small classes.  Lectures are really alot more about you, your computer, and the few people around you in the massive 200 person room.  You meet alot of people who can help you but you don’t have a real connection to the teacher unless you go to office hours. Small classes give you the option of establishing a good form of communication with the teacher and gives more of an opportunity to ask questions, but less people to meet.  It seems lectures are for people who are going to try to go for it on their own and classes are for people who want a connection with their teachers.

The final thing is GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS. You can see how easy or hard a teacher has graded in the past by checking out the grade distributions through MyPack Portal.  The other thing I want to talk about is the freshman repeat. It is something here at NCSU that allows students to make up some of the courses they take their first year. I let my grade in English 101 get away from me and was really worried about it until I found out about this. We get two and basically it is a redo, like Monopoly you’re getting out of jail free but just not receiving the 200 dollars when you pass go.  If you do bad in a class you tell your advisor about it when you sign up for your next semester and you retake the class and your new grade replaces your old one. The only sign left afterwards is a little R beside the class on your transcript.

I am now going to go back to trying to study for Dead Week. Hope these few academic insights from my first semester will help you guys out. Oh and one more thing I learned…procrastination DOES NOT FEEL GOOD AT THE END!!!!

I had some questions from a high school student, which is great and I welcome because it means I don’t have to come up with topics. (Score!) The first quesion I was asked was how was the transition from High School to College, and its probably going to sound like something you have heard alot before, but sometimes you hear things alot because they are true. In High school the teachers and faculty try to help you to succeed. When you get to a big college, it is really up to you to take the initiative towards your own success.  In some classes your teacher might not even know you are in their class. It’s not as sink or swim as it sounds though, yeah its up to you to put in the work, but if you fall behind there are tutoring and help centers for just about every class.

The other transition is going to sleep, a big problem I have found here as opposed to high school is that it is not too easy to hit the hay before about 11 or 12, so if you have early classes…it might not be a fun time.

The next question is about things to do other than sports… and you are in luck at a school like State, because there is a club for everything. I have heard of either a club or group of people who enjoy doing just about everything you could think of. I like to play music and I have found many people to go play with and have a good time. It is really all about being open with what you like doing and you will quickly find other people who enjoy those things too. The person who sent me the questions asked specifically about colorguard and chorus and all I know about colorguard is that I have seen people around practicing and its pretty impressive and as for choruses, there are a lot of A Capella groups around campus. They wanted to know if I am an in state or out of state student and I am in state about an hour and a half from home. 

The final question was about travel around campus and that is pretty easy for me because I love to walk around. I live in Lee and takes about half an hour to get to the other side of campus, so if you are comfortable walking that long, it should be no problem. You can also invest in a bike or a skate board if you know how or want to learn. There is also the Wolf Line, which are the NCSU buses, which are pretty nice buses that run pretty regularly around campus. I hope I was helpful and if anyone else has some questions…bring ‘em on.

While I was trying to think about something to write about this month I decided to procrastinate and go to the gym then it hit me… love it when things work out like that. Carmichael will be a great surprise to anyone who was planning to see something similar to what they knew in high school. It is a gigantic complex with 3 weight rooms that I have been to, a gigantic pool that is deep enough for kids to have a scuba class in it and an indoor track. It houses all the IM sports (Intramural Sports–which are sports where State students compete against each other) and club sports (which compete against other schools). I personally don’t do any sports but I am up there at least three times a week because the facility is great. It’s about a 10 minute walk from Lee and is open most the times a person would feel like working out. They have classes like yoga and Pilates, or meetings with personal trainers, and if you feel like not paying there are free classes that you can take like an abs class and cardio boxing. Funny how I can go from no idea what to write about to having all this, but that’s something I have discovered about state… it doesn’t really matter what you like to do or what you are into all it takes is maybe half an hour of wondering around to find something fun to do.

Later guys.

Hey guys I’m Jack Brandon and this first blog is for all you readers to get to know me a little bit and a little bit about the first month I’ve been here. I am 18 years old and a freshman in the College of Engineering. I’m thinking about double majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering, but that’s all likely to change at anytime. I’m staying in Lee, which is a suite style dorm on west campus. Its got pretty big rooms and there haven’t been any real problems so far, but that could be different if there were people in my suite that didn’t get along. For those of you thinking about dorms, from what I have seen hall style allows you to meet a lot of different people, but not get a very good connection with them. While the suite style allows you to meet a few people and get to know them very well.

I have joined a few clubs and am hoping that they end up being cool. I am in the IRC and Habitat…acronyms I know but I will get into it. The IRC is the Inter-Residence Council and I am the Lee Hall representative in that. It basically deals with how the school is going to help out the dorms and how the money gets spent. Finally is Habitat for Humanity, which as I’m sure you guys all know builds houses for the needy, they actually build houses for people in substandard housing, tear down houses to recycle the materials, tutor children, and do many fundraisers and trips.

I have a 15 hour course load this semester and it hasn’t been so bad as long as you try to read ahead and ask when you have questions. Finally I am also doing the Entrepreneurs Program this semester, which is a lot of fun. You can sign up for a 1 hour class that meets once a week and basically the leaders pick a project, you pick one to work on, and the group makes it, markets, it and basically does everything to get the product off the ground. I will be keeping everyone updated twice a month with blogs about certain aspects of the school so you can decide if you like the sounds of State or find out about what to do once you guys get here.

Later.