I’m actually making this post when I’m supposed to be reading my Ecology textbook….procrastination has gotten into me again.

So the last post that I made was when I finished my 2B term (December 2015). Damn, I haven’t been updating about what’s going on so far. So here’s a quick update:

• I finished my 4th coop term! Really enjoyed working with my supervisors and manager. I learnt a lot about Internet of Things (IoT). I got to play with microcontrollers as well!
• Currently the second week into 3A right now. So far, I’m enjoying all the courses. I originally wanted to do ECE 209 (Materials Science I think?), but I had a course conflict, so I can’t take it 🙁 . Instead, I’m taking ENVS 200 – field ecology! This is to satisfy my List 1 NSE requirement. It has weekly labs, and for this week we went bird watching in Waterloo Park! Definitely looking forward to these labs.
• Crammed my work report last week. That was not fun…

I know I meant to post about Orientation Week and Hack the North from last year, but I really never got around to it. I guess I’ll do that sometime closer to the fall term.

I also can’t believe that I’m more than half way done ECE! Just…damn. Really going to miss all the friends I made when 4B comes around.

Anyway, back to reading Ecology!

You’ve probably read about Nikhil’s experience repeating his first year, or my experience about almost failing 1B. But what about the non-academic stuff? Back in first year, was my first time ever being away from home, and after a month into first year, I really missed being at home. You could say that I was pretty spoiled since my parents would help me with what I call the essentials (making food, washing clothes, grocery shopping) which I now have to deal with on my own. So here’s a list of things that I screwed up hard, which really stuck with me ever since my 1A term.
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Earlier, Nikhil wrote a post about the courses you will be taking in 1A ECE. As the term comes to an end, you might wonder what 1B ECE has in store for you. So, similar to what Nikhil wrote last term, ECE Lifehacks Part II!
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In engineering, you will be taking a lot of courses specific to your program, most of which are required courses. Some programs may have their first electives as early as their 1B term (ECE has their first elective in 2B). These electives are usually chosen from a specific list as listed on the undergraduate calendar for your program. While you must satisfy these requirements, you can also take certain courses that can satisfy the requirements of certain “Options”.
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For the first year engineering students at the University of Waterloo, midterm week (or more commonly known as ‘hell week’) is right around the corner. Other university programs spreads out its midterms over the course of the term, but at Waterloo Engineering, all your midterms are scheduled in one week; one after another, and is one of the most intense week for all engineering students at Waterloo. It would be pretty unlucky if you had a midterm at night and then the next one in the morning. Anyways, that’s not what I’m here to talk about: I’m here to talk about my experiences with midterms, specifically in my 1B term. Nikhil’s post was about his learning experiences after you fail your term and tips to prevent that, and my post is what you should do before you fail the term.
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Hey Everyone! I’m Nikhil Ramburrun, a student in ECE at UW and I’m currently on co-op. I figured since most of you have heard that ECE is hard and others are taking it lightly, that I should make some kind of blog to tell you guys about my own story. For someone who never failed a single course in their lifetime, failing 3 courses and hence my 1A term was devastating if you can imagine. Continue reading