A few questions

Pseudorandom · August 11, 2011, 9:48pm

Just have a few questions for last minute preparations.

<ol>
<li>Do most professors have requirements on what type of ruled paper to use? I find myself partial to narrow ruled paper and want to know if they require college ruled before I purchase some more.</li>
<li>Is the first day of class going to be similar to the first day in high school, where it's generally just introductions and an overview of what the class will be like, or are we going to need to be ready to start that day? </li>
<li>Has anyone used e-textbooks here? If so, have you ever had a time where you would have preferred a regular textbook? Does anyone know if there are any professors that require paper textbooks?</li>
</ol>

hsb1104 · August 11, 2011, 9:55pm

I've never had a professor care about the paper you use. Any formal assignments are going to be submitted online or typed anyway

The first day you will typically go over the syllabus but also be prepared to start on material right away. It depends on the professor but I've had classes where we went over the syllabus for a few minutes then dove right into the material, and I've had some where we spent a great deal of time on the syllabus and only starting introducing the material.

I've never had a professor care about an e-book, it's the exact same thing. For me personally I find them a little annoying, especially if I had to do a lot of homework out of it or something, I prefer having the physical book there but I think that's going to be all a matter of personal preference.

aforautumn · August 11, 2011, 10:59pm

this is me saying everything that hsb1104 said.

Pseudorandom · August 11, 2011, 11:21pm

Alright, thanks!

ufgator18 · August 12, 2011, 12:53am

be sure to read your gatorlink mail.

about 3 days before summer b, one of my professors emailed the 1st day's homework to be due on the first day.. over half of the class got an E (because they don't do F's at FLorida lol) for the first assignment.. and chances are you will never handwrite anything to turn in.. you will type all assignments.

Pseudorandom · August 12, 2011, 1:09am

So, along the lines of the second question, do we need textbooks by the first day?

aforautumn · August 12, 2011, 2:50am

not usually. for one, the professor doesn't care in almost every class. i've only had one class that i was scolded in for not having a textbook the first week. beyond that, the only reason you'd need it on the first day is if you had assigned homework every day, which is extremely unlikely.

in the case where your grade immediately depends on you having a textbook, i'd just suck it up and buy it at the bookstore. you're probably not saving that much money by buying online anyways.

i guess i failed to mention why you wouldn't want to get it out of the way before classes anyways. i've had multiple classes where the textbook was not required, not used, or not useful. i find that its worth waiting and seeing. if you walk into a class and the lecturer makes no point about the necessity of the textbook, i'd seriously just not buy it until you think you really need it. if they don't mention it when reviewing the syllabus, just ask.