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Newbies Beware: Embarking on your UNIBEN journey is thrilling, but let’s talk real – we’ve all heard of the 12 common missteps.
When I got into UNIBEN, I was in Frenzy as I got admitted into school after attempting JAMB the third time. It was really cool that finally I will leave the four walls of my house and go into my own world. This was the feeling and the joy was really unquantifiable. We were given temporal accommodation in one of the hostels or halls of residence as you may have it. And trust me, as the bookworm type, I went straight into studying day and night.
We began to go to Night class from the very first day and one of the major reasons I was going was because I wanted to Keep up with my friends who were as it were paging. Trust me the experience was amazing and not amazing. With Several of the experiences I have gathered, I will now head over to tell you the 12 Deadly/stupid mistakes UNIBEN first year students make and why you should avoid them below.
Freshers Are Usually Carried Away and Have Little Or No Proper Guide
A popular quote by Martin Luther King Jnr. goes “We have Guided Missiles and Misguided Men” while this is true most of the time, you can be the exception and be among the few who love to be properly guided. The Simple truth about life is that If you want light to come into your life, you need to stand where it is shining. The importance of having a proper guide as a fresher cannot be over-emphasized. I have discovered that a lot of students pack their bags into school without getting knowledge concerning important details such as Resumption date, Clearance date as well as all documents that are required for their clearance (Both Online and Physical).
It is very important that before you gather your belongings and begin to enter the school premises, you have to be armed to the teeth with all of these information. Another important thing is updates on how to go about course registration. You need to know if you are to do it physically or online and for UNIBEN its both ways. You need to register your courses online as well as get your course registration form from your respective course advisers.
What other guide will you need as an 100 LEVEL student or as a fresher as you are fondly called, you need to know when the deadline for payment of school fees will occur. Over the years we have seen several students being delayed from writing exams because they relax and think school fees can be paid any time. In some cases , paying fees late incurs Extra charges and in the other case where you are distracted from writing your exams, it poses several problems for you as student in the long run. You can end up having carry overs at times and if you ask me, its not a good way to start your first year in the University.
Another guide you might need is how UNIBEN students jark or page. We have written a post earlier on how to read and remember what you have read. You can take out some time to study some of the techniques which we have mentioned in that article. The very first advice I will give you is that you should not try to be like someone else. Your 100L is the only time or only level you will have time for yourself. It is the only time you will understand what works for you the best. There are several styles you can adopt to study and the most popular one we have is Night class In UNIBEN. It is a period usually as from 7PM when students go back to their classrooms either individually or in groups to study. Please I want to sound a very loud warning. Night Class doesn’t work for Everybody. I have had several Senior colleagues who have graduated with first class and have not stepped their foot into Night class for once. So its all a matter of knowing what works best for you. I will leave it here. I am sure we will talk about this again soon.
Another Guide you might need is How Exam Questions are set. UNIBEN just like any other school have lecturers which have been teacher for several years and believe me or yes, these lecturers might still teach your children if they happen to attend UNIBEN(Smiles). Therefore, studying materials along side with all the past questions that have been set before you and since the beginning of your department will help you pass very well. I have had several courses I passed by just concentrating on past questions. However, what about if the lecturer has been changed, it means that you will need to re-adjust to the system of the lecturer. It means you need to attend the lecturers class all the time and listen attentively. However, even at this, past questions will also be very helpful because most of the lecturers in UNIBEN graduated from UNIBEN. They might hold the same believe as their lecturers and seemingly maintain their pattern. Likewise, it boosts your confidence towards the exam you are preparing for especially when you are getting the answers correctly.
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Likewise, how the lecturers’ mark is another important thing you need to take note of. Over the course of my study at the University Of Benin, I have come to see different types of lecturers of content and character. I have come across lecturers who mark in several different ways. So I am basically going to talk about this using Engineering as a case study. I have seen lecturers who don’t really care about how you got to a final answer and I have seen others who will make sure you follow a certain process to get to the final answer. I have seen others who pay attention to long definitions and I have seen others who are not. The crux of the whole matter is that you need to understand your lecturers very well. Therefore, you can ask your senior colleagues about a particular lecturer and how he does his things and this may be a good plaace to begin.
The last guide I will discuss are tips on how to avoid missing scripts or absent cases. You will see a student studying from the beginning of the semester up through to exams consistently and even see a first year first class in him and in the end, its totally disaster. He/she either gets a missing scripts or absent cases problems. So how do you ensure that this doesnt happen. You have to ensure that you sign all the attendance sheets that will passed during your exam. Some students sign the rough sheet and forget to sign the computer sheet and vice versa. This can cause serious problems for whoever finds him or herself in this sort of situation. I never had this kind of issue but there were several others who had it. Therefore, while you are concentrating on your exams, you’ve got to pay attention to the number of sheets that will be signed in the exam hall and sign all of them.
Saying Yes To Distractions
A great saying goes “You can’t do big things if you are distracted by small things”. In other words, it means that you can’t achieve much if you are distracted or give in to distractions. Once you enter into the four walls of a University especially UNIBEN as the case is right now, you get to see several distractions ranging from social Activities, pretty girls for the boys and handsome boys for the girls. Likewise, You get to see guys with money distracting those girls who don’t have much or who are easily swayed by money. Immediately when school resumes officially, you will begin to see several parties organised by different individuals who don’t have plans for themeselves and it is usually tagged “FRESHER’s PARTY”. Both day and Night parties will be holding at every corner of the school and you will get to see some particular persons attending all of these parties. You will attend your own and also attend your friends own. You will attend Your church’s own and also attend that of your friends church. Welcome parties are not bad but please use your NUMBER 6. You don’t need to attend all.
Skipping Classes
To be very sincere with you, a lot of students do not attend classes when they are in 100 LEVEL. They basically join their class group and get all vital information. Then use the library as their second home. They study and study and study till the exam day and trust me they will pass. Attendance is not really taken serious but attending classes is very important. There is a rule that if you don’t have 70% attendance, you cannot sit for exams. Therefore, you can ensure you attend classes as well as utilize other mediums of study. As a university student, understand that the lecturer will not teach you everything. He will teach you A and set G. You’ve got to be able to think outside the box.
Social Life
There are sevral students that will know the whole of the University of Benin in 2 days. They are very social. They know all the joints for pepper soup around the school environment as well as all the clubs in the whole of Benin City. They are the bosses of shoes and the first to get a reserved sit in all the activities around school. While this might not be too bad in the first year, but when yoi begin like this it is likely how you are going to continue. You need to Learn The technique of time management.You need to really plan your activities and attend those one which are important while letting go of those you don’t want.
Paying Lot’s Of Attention To Dressing And Make UP
There are some students who will refuse to attend classes because they according to them, they don’t want to be laughed at. However, let me shock you a little. I have seen several students who had only one shirt while in 100 Level and now are doing incredible fine and can afford whatever they want. I was one of those who had merely two clothes but i constantly iron and wash them clean that you wont even notice. For the girls, I have seen a lot of them who make up and miss classes. You see them coming very late to classes and therefore attract boys that will put them into trouble in the long run. Please be neat and dress decently but don’t let it take your attention away from what you came to school for.
Hanging At Hall Two Car Pack All Night
Once school resumes fully, you get to see the traffic that goes into the Hotel D’ Ebeleb daily and you will be shocked. The hotel the Ebeleb is adjured to be the meeting point for lovers stay around and outside the school hostels. However, several other stuffs go down there daily such as fellowship meetings and all the rest. Several first-year students make there their second home immediately after returning from classes and this eventually has impact in their results. If you have a visitor, you could stroll down there to see him or her and leave when the time is ripe. Learn to plan with time because time is not what we have at luxury.
PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO SHARE TO YOUR FRIENDS & SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
Know It All Attitude
One thing you need to understand is that the previous knowledge you had before getting to school will always be important but its not what will make you succeed in 100L and through school. You need to keep your previous knowledge as a foundation and focus on the real deal. We have seen several scholars in secondary school flop in the University. We have also seen teachers of JAMB and WAEC lectures drop out of school because of this Know it all attitude. Therefore, my advice is that you should be Humble enough to learn, Unlearn and Relearn.
Not Staying In The Hostel
Why you may say this is not important, I will say it is very important to a very large extent. As a first year student, you need to ensure that you have knowledge (Complete Knowledge) the school and how things work. You need to be close to information as much as possible. Trust me, the only place you can get all of these is in the hostel. However, if you have other options, just make sure you have a friend staying in the hostel that will be feeding you with those info.
PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO SHARE TO YOUR FRIENDS & SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
Not Taking General Studies Text (GST) Courses Serious
In case you don’t know, if you don’t pass GST courses, you can graduate from the four walls of this university and ensure not to be misguided, GST Courses are not waved for any student for any reason. Therefore, you must have to pass them and the only way you can pass them is by reading them. The textbooks might be very many and voluminous, but they are quite interesting to study.
Going To Night Class In Groups
Going to Night class with groups of people who know what they are doing isnt a bad thing at all. Where you will incure the wrath of your village people is moving with a bunch of unserious people. You end up suffering yourself in the night classes doing nothing when you should be sleeping. For security sake, you can go in groups but ensure you dont read with all your gang in the same class. Follow people who know what they are doing and people who can help you progress academically.
Pleasing Everyone
Ed Sherran once said, “I can’t tell you the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone”. The only wrong thing with trying to please everyone is that there is always ther is always at least one person who will remain unhappy. Therefore, instead of trying to make sure that everyone is happy, just ensure you do your best at all times and leave the rest. It’s never one man’s job to make every one stay happy.
PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO SHARE TO YOUR FRIENDS & SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
If you have read this, I am sure that you have learnt alot. If you still have any questions, do not hesitate to drop them in the comment box.
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