How to Get a Good University Education

Read this when you have time to think about it, not when you're dealing with some specific problem of program or curriculum. Much of what I say here runs counter to the professional orientation of studies at NDSU, but give my advice some thought, because it's based in experience.

Master the basic skills. You have to be able to write well, speak well, and use computers. General education does not take care of these things. You have to cultivate the skills, go beyond what is required. Examine your own abilities in these areas critically, and if you are not confident in them, take action to improve.
Get a liberal education. Whatever you study, the profs are going to insist that you swallow heaps of facts and learn the methods of the discipline. Often they forget that there is more to life, and more to college education. Learn your major, yes, but learn outside of it, too. Use your minor and your electives to broaden your thinking. If you've been concentrating in the humanities all your life, go over and take some courses in the sciences or agriculture. How about a foreign language?
Experience the life of the university. Get involved in associations, ones that support your field of study, build your communication skills, or allow you to pursue an interest. It's a good idea to be involved with at least two campus associations, one in your major field of study and one in some other area that is purely a personal interest of yours. Attend university events. If you like sports, then for every game you attend, resolve to take in some other kind of cultural event, too--a play, a lecture, a political forum. If you hate sports, then go to a Bison game and see if you're liberally educated enough to analyze it as a cultural event. If you're just going to hang around the edge of the university, then you might as well go to some community college.

Bison Advisin'