Transitioning from High School to College: Advice to PAs on Starting your Freshman Year (Part II)

Dear Freshmen,

Congratulations on being accepted into Wagner's Physician Assistant program! Wagner is a phenomenal school, and you will have a lot of fun in your time here as you head down your paths to becoming PA's. You all have bright and successful futures ahead of you, but with success comes hard work. Don't worry about the work being overbearing; once you get into the swing of things, it becomes routine and straight-forward. I would like to share with you some advice so you all land on your feet when you arrive! These tips will help assure that you are happy and stress-free:

What to bring to class

-Keep a folder and notebook for each class. Having all of your notes and handouts together makes it so much easier when it comes time to study or do homework!

-Always keep your calculator in your backpack as well as extra pens and pencils. It's so easy to forget these things, so you should have backups!

-Some teachers may ask you to bring textbooks or assigned reading to class

-Laptops may be brought to class if the teacher lets you, but in my experience they just tend to be distracting. It may be very tempting, but it has been proven that hand writing notes is much better for learning anyway. But if you feel you are disciplined enough to not get distracted, go for it!

Textbooks

-Many of you are probably wondering whether you should purchase or rent the books required for each class. In my experience, renting used books is very beneficial because students from previous years often highlight important information and leave notes within the book. For classes i.e. Medical Ethics and your Reflective Tutorial, which consist of reading mostly short books/plays, I would recommend renting used books from the bookstore. These notes help significantly with the essays that Dr. Danisi will assign you.

-General Chemistry and Anatomy & Physiology are courses which you will be taking in your first two semesters, so I would recommend buying (used) for these rather than renting. If you would like to save some money, many of the upperclassmen are looking to sell their books at a reduced price. This is a very helpful resource you should take advantage of! Never buy full priced from the bookstore.

-If you have Prof. Alauddin for Chemistry, he will most likely assign homework in the textbook, and Prof. Raths is always assigning homework for A&P in the textbooks; it’s much more convenient to actually own these books than to constantly ask a friend to borrow one!

Manage your time well

-The main difference between high school and college is all the free time you have in college. In order to enjoy the freedom of college while doing well in your classes, making the most out of the time that is given to you is important!

-If you are sitting in class, pay attention and take thorough notes. Write down everything the teacher says in your notebooks, because the in-class material will definitely make up the test material. It's pointless to sit in a class i.e. Anatomy & Physiology and not take notes, because the material is information you will need to know for the rest of your life as a PA!

-Make sure you study at least a day or two before a test, and before you go to bed you should re-read your notes taken to prepare for a quiz. This is a habit I took up this past year, and it has made the work so much easier verses cramming the night before!

-Make sure you are studying correctly: for a class such as Chemistry, read your notes and practice the math problems over again. For a class such as Anatomy & Physiology, memorize your notes by reading them multiple times then self-testing what you’ve learned (flash cards help).

-In your first semester you are required to spend 30 hours volunteering at Carmel Richmond and 25 hours of PAA events; these hours are very easy to finish, so don't worry! Just go to the nursing home once a week when you have some free time, and go to PAA events as they happen.

Food and rest

-Make sure to eat three times a day; as straight-forward as it sounds, sometimes back-to-back classes make it slightly more challenging. Besides the energy you gain from eating, meals are a really good time to wind down and hang out with friends. If you need to study and want to save time, maybe grab a meal and coffee from Hawk's Nest and head to the library!

-Try your best to get at least eight hours of sleep a night! It's really easy as long as you manage your academics and social life properly. Just be smart about it — if you have an 8:00am class, don't go to bed at 2:00am.

Make college a fun time

-Give yourself plenty of downtime to relax and socialize, whether with parties, movie hangouts, on-campus activities, or trips to Manhattan! Without this kind of downtime and rest, your brain would fry. College is incredibly fun, so make the most of it.

-Make plenty of friends in your first year! Being surrounded by at least a couple of close friends is what makes college as amazing as it is.

-Become as involved as you can on campus! Joining some of the numerous organizations at Wagner will help you make great friends, become part of a network, and strengthen your leadership qualities that will make you stand out amongst your peers!

-Don't give into the temptation of going out the night before a big test. There will be times when the majority of the school is out partying and you have a test in the morning. When this happens, remind yourself that it won't hurt you to miss a party but messing up your GPA will hurt. It isn't impossible to go out the night before and do well, but most of the time I've seen people go out and fail the test in the morning (other times they are too sick to show up). There will be plenty of other opportunities to go out.

Utilize your resources

-Wagner is a great community with many helpful resources to offer for those who need it.

-Don't be afraid to ask questions to your peers or upperclassmen in the PA program; we are all colleagues and may work together in the future, so we want to get to know all of you and help you out!

-The Tutoring Department offers tutoring in many subjects, including the classes you will be taking this first semester such as Anatomy & Physiology and Chemistry. So if you find yourself struggling, sign up for a tutoring session!

-Hormann Library will basically become your home for studying in the next few years; the environment is relaxing, comfortable, and extremely conducive to studying.

You will find that the first year of the PA program is mildly-challenging, straight-forward, and a lot of fun at the same time. Make every moment of your first year at Wagner memorable, and remember that you are working towards a fantastic career. Keep your heads up, have fun, work hard and have an awesome freshman year!