U101: Understanding College and College Life

College can be confusing and intimidating, but U101 can help. If you were just admitted to college and are nervous about what the next step in life might look like, this course is for you. If you are the parent of a newly admitted college student and curious about what college life is like, this course is also for you.

While your specific college will, no doubt, provide additional orientation material, we wanted to give some basic information about what life might be like at a large American University. You might be years away from college or enrolled right now; either way, U101 has some excellent advice from college students, professors, administrators, and staff. At the conclusion of the course, learners should: 1. Understand the basics of how colleges and universities operate. 2. Identify and describe what faculty are looking for in college-level academic work. 3. List some effective study strategies. 4. Identify some strategies for exploring and selecting a major. 5. Identify the various types of grants and scholarships available and describe the steps involved in applying to these. 6. Discuss the college life, with special attention to the benefits/limitations of living on or off campus. 7. Identify some strategies for getting the most out of campus life activities (investigating student clubs, fraternities, sororities, etc.). The course is divided into 4 weeks/8 lessons, which provide an overview of the different aspects of college life. If you were just watching the videos and looking at some of the links, the whole course would take about 4-5 hours. Week 1 Lesson 1. Welcome to U101! Lesson 2. Understanding the Nature of College Week 2 Lesson 3. Succeeding as a Student Lesson 4. Building Your Major Week 3 Lesson 5. Financing Your Education Lesson 6. Living On and Off Campus Week 4 Lesson 7. Getting Involved in Campus Life Lesson 8. Conclusion Please join us for a short exploration of modern American Colleges. Hopefully, this course can help demystify your upcoming college experience.