How to get the most out of university? By Rooney - Final

The University of Toronto is a massive institution that provides seemingly unlimited resources to the huge student body on a daily basis. Sometimes, it can be overwhelming for a first-year student in terms of making decisions that could impact their future.

**Choosing A Program**

 Being in the transitional stage between school and career, college students often find choosing the program of study extremely difficult, mostly due to the lack of goals and knowledge about each specific program. Luckily, the Faculty of Arts & Science at U of T provides students with more than 300 programs; the Faculty also allows, and in fact, encourages students to combine their programs of study. Keeping these possibilities in mind, while understanding the program requirements, will help students have a better time choosing a program.

"Step Into Programs." *Step Forward U of T*. University of Toronto Faculty of Arts & Science,

http://stepforward.artsci.utoronto.ca/step-into-programs/#c. Accessed 28 Nov. 2016.

This page is a part of the official Step Forward U of T website, newly launched by the Faculty of Arts & Science and designated to help students optimize their academic and career experience in the faculty and beyond. The "Step Into Programs" page provides a comprehensive overview of the process of choosing a program, including enrollment requirements and resources that can help students explore. This page explains that the programs are to help students sharpen their competencies in both their specific study and any other academic fields in general. It answers some common questions students have regarding selecting and switching programs. It also has a database, based on student responses and in progress, that highlights information about featured courses, advice, and popular combinations for almost every program.

**Goal Setting and Motivation**

The lack of goal setting and motivation is often one of the biggest problems college students face as it often leads to procrastination and loss of hope. Every year, many students are extremely frustrated with their academic experience and see "no future" in themselves. This kind of mindset needs to be resolved quickly with goal setting so that students can be better motivated and actually enjoy learning.

"Goal Setting and Motivation." *Student Life.* University of Toronto Academic Success Center,

http://www.studentlife.utoronto.ca/system/files\_force/Goal%20Setting%20and%20Motivation.pdf?download=1. Accessed 28 Nov. 2016.

This handout is adapted from the article *Study Smarter, Not Harder,* authored by Paul, K. and published on Self-Counsel Press: Vancouver. It addresses the importance and steps of goal-setting and its relationship with motivation. This handout also defines and differ the various types of goals. While many students have rather vague ideas of their goals and simply regard finishing the assignments as their motivation, it helps students come up with specific and reasonable goals, both immediate and long term, that could better motivate them in their college career.

**Career Myth**

If choosing a program of study is scary, then choosing, or even thinking about choosing a career, could be terrifying for most of freshmen.

"Career Myth." *Student Life.* University of Toronto Career Center,

http://www.studentlife.utoronto.ca/cc/myths. Accessed 28 Nov. 2016.

This page is part of the official Student Life website of the University of Toronto. This page addresses seven main myths about careers many students have at the University. It emphasizes on the uncertainty of careers and helps students realize that they often have a much wider career path than they imagined. The page states that the career frequently does not directly relate to the degree, which could relieve many students stressing over getting into or even selecting a program of study. It also points out that students should weigh their personal reasons more than other resources when they make their career choices.