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Good Advice for Students Who Plan to Attend FSU
- Prepare to Attend College
A solid foundation in high school, with some careful
reflection on life goals and career interests can make the
transistion to college smoother...
- Expand your Skills
Classes and skills you should seek for success in academe
and beyond...
- A Proactive Stance to College
Students are expected to be active participants in the
educational process..
What can I do with a degree in Biology?
That is a loaded question we hear quite frequently and, as
academic advisors in a department, we can't give you a good
single answer. You really need to explore career choices -
what do you like to do, what are your life goals, career
goals, etc. Then, once you've got an idea about what kinds of
things you might like to do, you can research specific
disciplines and/or jobs. We do maintain a partial list of jobs
by field in the Undergraduate Advising Office, but if you want
something fast, you might try searching the web or your local
library.
A good site to visit to see how this works was set up by the
University of Central Florida for the Society for Marine
Mammalogy. It addresses questions and concerns for people who
are interested
in Marine Mammalogy. Before searching for a site like it,
you would have wanted to clarify for yourself what field or
discipline was of primary to you as well as what kinds of
activities you want to spend your working hours doing! The Career
Center here at FSU, or elsewhere, can help you begin the
career choice process. It takes a considerable amount of time
to make choices like these, and you'll probably spend a lot of
time fine-tuning and adjusting your career goals as you gain
more experience in academe.
Should I be taking special classes?
You should be in a college prep track, but you can pick up
courses once you get here if you are short. See the section for prospective
students and class suggestions, as well as current
student information on math and chemistry requirements. It's very
important to be as prepared as possible.
I don't really like science classes
other than biology, how much of them do I really need to do
biology??
This department requires 2 semesters of college
calculus (two statistics classes can be substituted for the second
semester of calculus), 4 semesters of chemistry, and 2 semesters of
physics. This means that incoming biology students who place at MAC
1105 (College Algebra) can anticipate that the first 4-5 semesters
at FSU they will be taking math, chemistry, and biology every
semester. So, in that first semester, an additional 3-6 hours of
liberal studies classes will round out the academic load to ~15
hours. Later there will be physics and language to take the place of
math and chemistry.
15 hours is a heavier load than I
wanted...
The university suggests that 15 hours a semester be considered
the appropriate full time load. We recommend that all new FSU
students - freshman or transfers - start with a 12 hour load for the
first semester to become acclimated to FSU. Less than 15 hours
per semester will extend the time needed to graduate (unless summer
classes are taken). It is important to progress in the degree, but
students must also do well academically.
Can I take summer classes?
Yes! You can take any approved classes that count
toward your degree requirements while at home for the summer, or
stay here to do them. Biology classes are limited to 18 hours of
accepted transfer hours. Many students use the summer to lessen the
fall and spring load but still stay on time. Remember - the State of
Florida requires all university students to enroll for at least 9
summer hours at one of the 10 State University System institutions.
Community college credit will not count toward the 9 hour
requirement.
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What do you mean by
"skills"? More classes?
This is a long answer since the question is deceptive. Some
careers may need only the skills you obtain while earning your
degree. Anything beyond the basics they will either train you to do,
or expect that you can already do them. For an exaggerated
example...say you want to do marine research. The Research
Technician I position (data collector) requires a bachelor's degree
in Biology or related field. Additional skills required are a diving
certification and experience using databases. The additional skills
can be picked up while you are here, but they aren't a required part
of the degree program.
It's important to anticipate what you will need in your chosen
career. This is particularly true if you want to do something that
is competitive (Examples: a job that is of popular interest but has
low demand - like working with dolphins or big cats; a job that is
popular, with medium demand but high skill level, and limited slots
are available - like vetinary or human medicine). Any additonal
skills or experiences you gain increase your marketability. You
don't want to loose out on an opportunity for lack of something you
could have picked up easily if you had planned in advance.
How can I tell what skills I need to plan for?
Start with what the degree will give you and recognize that in
most cases a degree isn't going to give you everything you need to
be succcessful in your chosen career. Most people change careers
several times so you can't plan for everything. You can try to
minimize the backtracking or retraining you might need to do.
Skills you will obtain with the degree are laid out in the
university, college, and departmental requirements for that degree.
Some of them address very general goals like skills in written and
oral communication that are met through a variety of specified
courses. Other goals are very specific like the "Introduction
to Plant Biology" course that is required of all undergraduate
biological science majors.
You can think of the curriculum you take as a student in a
particular degree program as the set of skills that faculty have
defined as being necessary to earn the degree. These curriculi are
not arbitrary but instead reflect both the philosophy and mission of
the university, department, and the field as a whole.
These goals aren't always laid out with a clear rationale (why or
because) statement. But if you look carefully, you can piece
together what the curriculum is trying to tell you. For example,
biological science majors are required to have 5 laboratory or field
oriented courses as part of the degree requirements. This tells you
that the department, and the field of biology as a whole, values
applied experiences that teach skills and techniques. Similarly, 4
semesters of chemistry and 2 semester of physics are required of all
majors so you know that some basic knowledge in other science
disciplines is important to succeed in this discipline.
Now do research on what you want to do: Who will hire you? What
skills do they want? Who can teach them to you? Does it matter where
or how you learn them? What level of competence do you need? Etc.
Can't you give me any specific skills for biological
science?
Beyond all the chemistry and math you can stand? :-) Well, if you
want to do research you want to be good with data - so look at
skills in statistics, spreadsheets and databases. You'll also want
to get experience doing research with a DIS or Internship.
Communication skills are important so try presentation skills - from
powerpoint to speech and journalistic writing. Look at other
departments for elective courses that might enhance your background.
For example, if you are interested in the environment, you might
want classes that deal with hazardous waste disposal, urban and
regional planning, business law, and education. None of these are
part of the degree but may be useful to you later - or not. It will
depend upon your career interests.
I need more help!
See the section below - and remember that you can always go back
to pick up what you need. It's just harder to do when you have a
mortgage, kids, and a full-time job! :-)
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What do you mean by
proactive?
When you come to college it's important to be
responsible for the success of your own education. This should be
taken in an active sense. Higher education is founded on the idea
that students are responsible adults capable of managing their own
educational goals and needs. As much as possible, the univeristy and
departments provide information and services to help students take
advantage of the academic environment, but the initiative is up to
the student. Too often students go along without seeking available
help from instructors, advisors, or the university. "Yes, there
are stupid questions...the ones that don't get asked!" is true.
No one knows what you need like you do, so be proactive about your
education and do what you need to do to succeed!
What are some examples of the
things I should be doing?
Come to class prepared. Yes - that reading assignments
is supposed to be completed before class!
Have a list of questions ready. If they don't get
answered in lecture, ask them!
Seek detailed feedback. This includes exams, papers,
quizzes...figure out what you can and then bring your list of
questions to an appointment.
Take advantage of study or help sessions, form a study group.
A rule of thumb is that you "owe" two to three hours of
preparation outside of class for every hour in class. That may be
more for you when you take Organic Chemistry and less in something
else.
Plan. You know when your exams and papers are due. Time
management is a hidden skill you learn with your degree.
Contact the instructor/the university when you have
conflicts - in advance if possible. Usually we can help you if
you give us something to work with. You've shortened everyones
options when you wait to seek help.
Learning isn't a given. You can't pick it out and buy
it. Sometimes its fun and easy or its frustrating and painful.
Sometimes it could have been better. Recognize when you can change
it (seek help or study more) or when you just have grin and get
through it.
Keep records of all your contacts - who said what, syllabi,
class schedules, etc. Make sure your records are accurate and
get them fixed right away if they aren't. Human error is a given,
so be responsible for your stuff - from quiz grades to your
transcript.
Know all of your deadlines! Exceptions are rare and
non-existent for some things...or with nasty penalties.
Be positive - faculty and staff don't really bite. It's
not all roses but they aren't out to get you either. Keep asking
and someone can help.
This is a lot to assimilate - who
can help me do all of this!?!
Instructors and Advisors can usually get you to where you need
to be. A great deal of information is in the General
Bulletin, each semester's Schedule of Classes, in the
department and on the web. The university offers a First
Year Experience course that is designed to be a good
introduction to academe.
What else should I be doing?
Do some good research on career choices. For career
guidance, you can research libraries, look at places like
FSU's Career
Center and do some value searching for yourself. What do
you know it important to you? An academic advisor would be
able to help you make decisions about coursework, but
sometimes you'll need more than that for career counseling. A
good bit of the work on this is old fashioned research...and
you really do need to have some specific questions before you
start looking for answers.
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