by John Macdonald | Nov 6, 2023 | The250
I came out of my first full year of college reeling. Even after putting my mind to getting better, I had done worse my second semester. I knew I was in trouble because in the late 80s in Penn State engineering, you applied for your specific major (EE in my case) after... by John Macdonald | Nov 5, 2023 | The250
Disobeying this one almost sunk me. Heading to the backend of the second semester of my freshman year, I had started to figure out some things about how I learn best, but I was about to learn the most important one. Finals week was upon me, and it was a killer. I... by John Macdonald | Nov 4, 2023 | The250
My first semester punched me in the face. I had never seen a C before on a report card, let alone a sub-3.00 cumulative average. I now had a couple of lessons under my belt, but as it would turn out, not nearly enough. My two best friends were also engineers,... by John Macdonald | Nov 3, 2023 | The250
I aced my first college test, and it ruined my first semester. The first test of my college career was in freshman chemistry — Chem 12. A 20-ish question, multiple-choice test, 6:30 at night in the forum. Right or wrong answers only. No partial credit for... by John Macdonald | Nov 2, 2023 | The250
The first time it caught up to me, I woke up in a lecture hall all by myself. Within 48 hours of arriving at Penn State, I found 20 new like-minded friends. Wanna walk downtown? Yes!Wanna play softball? Yes!Wanna explore campus? Yes!Beer? Yes!Wanna hang out and listen... by John Macdonald | Nov 1, 2023 | The250
I almost wasn’t accepted into my major. Not only didn’t high school prepare me for college, but I think it hurt me. I have a good memory for things like dates, names, formulas, and definitions. I did a lot of homework on the bus ride to school or in...