Bhavnoor Saini

Pszotka, Kate

CARD 103

September 6, 2023

First Week at NCC

My first week of school has been quite stressful due to the classes I am currently taking. I

am currently taking calculus 2, and the last time I took calculus 1 was roughly a year ago before I

transferred to North Central College. Since, there has been a huge gap since I practiced any of

the material, which is all required in calc 2, I have to reteach myself all of the topics. The worst

part is that stepping into calculus 2 I was expecting a welcoming review session on the first day;

however, we were immediately given problems to solve that required knowledge from the

previous course. This first weekend I spent mostly watching calculus review videos just so I can

catch up with the rest of the students in the class. I also bought a tablet for this course to take all

my notes on, so now I can study anywhere I have time, such as work.
 The other course that I find rather time consuming and difficult is Data Structures and

Algorithms. Everyone (that’s a computer science student) has told me that this is most difficult,

or if not one of the most difficult, courses in the entire computer science curriculum. Thankfully,

I prepared a little bit beforehand during the summer by taking an online 30-hour course that

covered most topics in the NCC course, so now I have more time to focus on calculus. Now, I

just have to form proper time management to finish all the never ending projects that are given in

this course

Over the summer, I took an accounting financial course. I did this so I only have to take 4

courses (including CARD-103), instead of 5. This decision gave me so much more time to settle

in with my course material and build a proper study and homework schedule.

Due to the overwhelmingly difficult course, I am taking this semester, I took of all

weekdays from my work schedule. I thought I could handle a 4-day work schedule, but after the

first week, I was so wrong. I immediately told my manager that I can no longer work weekdays

to the course load I have.

Since I came to NCC as transfer student I haven’t really had a proper way to meet and

form relationship with others. Freshman’s have the easiest time to form relationships since barely

anyone knows anybody. However, for me, I came in while everyone already has their own friend

groups, and that has made it rather difficult.

To set myself up for success this semester, I found a very useful and powerful

application: Notion. Notion helps me manage all the required material and due dates for tests,

quizzes, and assignments. It is also a very useful note taking app that utilizes AI to better

structure and give tips on my note taking. I also built an internship tracker using the app’s AI

feature to track all of the internships I apply too.

 The first week of NCC has been quite eventful and overwhelming, but I am sure that I

can overcome all the obstacles to have a successful semester.