Wardah | Did you know that you can get student discounts at MANY restaurants in Qatar being a student or employee of Qatar Foundation?*
Here’s a compilation of these restaurants!
Talabat- Discounts of 15-22% off for select restaurants valid until 31 Dec 2022
Snoonu– Discounts of up to 20% valid until 17 May 2023
Other Restaurants– Note that you may be required to present your valid student QF ID to avail these discounts. *These places have discounts valid at the time of posting.
The MCAT will be the most important exam you take in your Pre-Med years. It’s an exam given by the AAMC, typically for admission into US med school. In your WCMQ course, in will be used for promotion into the 4-year medical program. It may seem scary at first, but worry not. There are many ways to do well and pass the exam. The key word there is “pass”, you need to get 50% in the exam to be automatically promoted. Here are some resources and tips to perform well for the exam.
Coming into Cornell may be an exciting or a terrifying prospect, depending on who you ask. Personally, I was terrified; a totally new environment, where teachers don’t plan out your routine and anything goes. However, the advice and companionship of my seniors and fellow peers helped me stay afloat and thrive. Here’s some personal advice for the incoming batch of students. You know who to thank if any of it helps!
Enisha | As a first-year student, you must do what is best for you. For instance, you must take charge of things. I was apprehensive about the change from high school to university. I came from an IB curriculum, and it is known that they train you for university better than other curriculums. The biggest mistake I made was letting that get to my head and getting overconfident.
Unlike the IB curriculum, I decided not to do any extracurricular or community service-related activities. While I was confident about doing well, I was still anxious about the change. Their advantages and disadvantages too doing this because you miss out on several clubs where you could be in leadership positions as an upperclassman. However, one significant advantage understood the academic workload, which has made it less pressuring for me as a Sophomore now.
When you start classes, I suggest that you read the syllabus for the courses and inquire about any doubts with the professor. It can often help you mentally be prepared for what is coming your way. This way, you’ll be able to participate in other activities and manage your time effectively. The essential tip for succeeding is to be prepared.
Enisha | Coming to Georgetown, Qatar, is instead a start of an exciting journey. Some might say that digital learning takes away the spirit of Georgetown, whereas some say they continue to feel connected to the community.
Personally, Georgetown started for me online, and as a second-year student, I have roughly spent ten weeks at most in-person. It is disheartening, but Georgetown does its best to provide everyone with a similar experience. Whether it is through the induction week where we get to learn about the campus, professors, grading, etc. The numerous workshops during the induction week start giving you the “Georgetown vibe” and get you further excited.
This is continued by the First-Year Experience program, commonly known as FYE. These events occur every week, and you are put into a group with two upper-level students. The events always provide snacks, food, and most importantly tips and tricks that most definitely help you for the coming years. You can text them, email them and talk to them whenever you need to ask anything or talk. Similarly, professors can be easily reached out to via their email ids. If there are other academic-related curiosities, you could ask the librarian or set up a meeting with the peer tutor.
ushara | In this blog, I would outline study techniques that I personally feel have helped me a lot during my time as a student in EC.
Before Studying
Whilst Studying
During Lectures
Especially for people who procrastinate like me, it would be painful to stick to a schedule at the beginning, but this pain only lasts for a short period of time. After that, everything would become much easier to handle.
Disclaimer: Theses Study Techniques are my own opinion and these tips could work for some but not for others.
ushara | I have just bought my own Smart Tablet for whatever trainwreck Spring 2022 would bring. A couple of experiences led to this decision. One, I wasn’t able to properly organize or store all of the handwritten notes, even though I rarely made notes prior. Secondly, I have observed that a lot of my friends have started using smart tablets in order to make notes. These two scenarios led me to purchase a Smart Tablet for myself. In this blog, I would go through my setup, my initial impressions of digital writing, what I have done to practice and learn digital note taking, and my view on its advantages and disadvantages compared to handwritten notes. Do note that whatever I describe applies to any brand of smart tablet.
My setup consists of an iPad 9th generation WIFI 64GB model, a Folio case with a Bluetooth 3.0 Keyboard and a ‘SMART’ Stylus.
When I first setted up my iPad and started practicing drawing on a screen instead of paper, I realized that it is in many ways a very different experience from traditional note taking. These differences are outlined below.
Therefore, I decided to learn the principles of digital note taking. I turned to YouTube for help, and luckily for me there were a lot of videos on helping newbies take their first steps in note taking. The most helpful channel in my opinion was ‘emilystudying’. After spending a couple of hours practicing using a stylus, I ran into my main issue- finding a suitable note taking app.
With the release of iPadOS 15, the Apple Notes application gained major updates, holding its own against the most popular apps, GoodNotes and Notability. After spending a lot of time experimenting with the Apple Notes app, I decided to choose between Notability and GoodNotes, mainly because the Apple Notes app still lacked crucial features such as pdf exporting.
Both GoodNotes and Notability have their pros and cons. However, one thing stood out to me. GoodNotes, despite being a paid application, is only a one time payment, whilst Notability was a subscription based model. As someone who hates subscription services, I decided to stick to GoodNotes and purchased it for QAR 30. We shall see whether this QAR 30 was worth spending now.
After purchasing GoodNotes and having a fair bit of practice with its tools, these are the advantages and disadvantages of digital note taking from my point of view.
Nevertheless, in my opinion, these advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages. I was able to complete my work much more efficiently. Personally, purchasing a Smart Tablet does have a huge effect on your productivity, especially in University, where efficiency and productivity are crucial.
ushara | At the time of writing, I am a Sophomore in my second semester. In this blog, I would detail my experience as a MEEN student, and I would provide tips and tricks that worked out for me.
My Experience
Last Semester, I have taken a CAD course and an introductory course to Mechanical Engineering (MEEN 225). I did find it hard to keep up with deadlines, mainly due to the fact that I did not communicate with other students, and I haven’t clarified details about projects with the Professors themselves. Basically, I was trying to not get help when it was necessary. This made my MEEN courses much harder for me personally.
My tips
One of my main tips for MEEN is to take notes. You would say that you could memorize the content without the aid of notes, but that is false. Taking notes allows us to firstly improve managing content, and whilst managing our content, the content itselves tends to stick to our heads more firmly, in my experience.
Additionally, if you become a team leader, it is very important that you lead your team to complete the necessary tasks within a deadline. The reason for this is that postponing team work till the deadline makes the environment very tough, and induces a lot of stress on yourself. Finally, when it comes to the content of the MEEN courses, getting a conceptual basis makes MEEN so much easier. It would be time consuming, but it is a good investment, in my opinion.
ushara | Texas A&M’s CTL (Center of Teaching and Learning) division has the Student Tutoring initiative. It is an initiative where Students would offer tutoring to other Students on courses they have undertaken previously. There are two types of tutors in this division- a Peer Tutor and an SI Tutor. A Peer Tutor offers one on one sessions to help out a student in any part he/she may have trouble in a certain course. An SI Tutor offers revision classes, where they cover everything the current Professor’s in a course has taught. Both of these types of Tutors encompass the CTL Student Tutoring initiative.
I have been selected as a Peer Tutor for this current semester (Spring 2021). At the time of writing this blog, I have successfully completed 9 peer tutoring sessions, and it was a very different experience.
I always taught that it was easy to tutor other people, simply because I taught tutoring means just ‘saying stuff you already know’. However, within my first session, I instantly realized that wasn’t the case. I LEARNT that a good tutor has the ability to efficiently communicate information in such a way the tutee could easily articulate what the tutor is saying. The tutor should also be able to explain why something is like what it is, and a way to remember a certain topic or workouts. I definitely stuttered a lot during my first 9 sessions, as I was trying to encompass what a good tutor does. Thankfully, in the end, all my tutees were able to clarify their doubts to a certain degree, which was a big relief for me.
Additionally, I found out that the use of a Smart Tablet expedited the tutoring process by great magnitudes. This is mainly because we can access the textbooks they use, annotate on it, and use the plethora of tools that the note-taking application provides, to help communicate what we are trying to say to the tutee. Additionally, it would be much easier to export our notes and workouts to the tutee.
Therefore, I can confidently say that peer tutoring is a good skill that everyone would need, as it helps them to effectively communicate what they are saying in a Technical Workspace later on. If you would like to apply as a Peer Tutor (or an SI Tutor), head on to the CTL, and talk with our coordinators.
Anji | What you need to know about Art Foundation
What you need to know about Art Foundation
What is Art Foundation?
It’s a one-year mandatory program for students that wish to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts. The programs help students build skills and improve their creativity. It helps them prepare for their future majors.
Courses:
-The program consists of four courses:
Each semester, students take two of the non-sequential studio/research courses. Project courses are offered only during the spring semester.
It also consists of electives that the students can choose from:
For example:
Anji | Helpful services in the VCUQ library:
-can be found under images and videos.
-It is only accessible to VCU students
-Helps when researching about anything related to fashion.
-Searchable archive of pictures and information involving Vogue.
-Also, under images and videos
– It is only accessible to VCU students
-Under Books and eBooks
-Gives you access to a verity of eBooks when doing your research.
-You can find this service under Virtual Services and Other resources
-The writing center helps you improve your writing skill and goes through your essays/thesis before you submit them.
Anji | What you need to know when you are a Freshman at VCU:
Get to know your seniors:It’ll be very helpful in the future ,because they’ll be able to share their advice and knowledge when you’re struggling with a project.Since you will be starting your foundation year , it’s important that you ask the seniors about their experiences in the different majors, this might help you choose which major you’d like to go into.
Take a tour around campus:Even though VCU is one of the smaller campuses I suggest taking the tour with the seniors, when you get accepted to VCU.It helped me alot and i didnt have to struggle looking for classes around the university.
Attend karak hours and events:You’ll be able to make friends or talk to some of the staff and teachers.Going to university is not only about learning and attending your classes, it’s also about socializing and discussing different topics in these karak hours.
Join Clubs:When I joined the adventure club it made me feel like I was a part of a community.These clubs will really help you destress from the work loads and they’re also super fun!It’ll look good on your resume too.
Time and organization:DO NOT pile up your workload and try to finish everything last minute.You might be able to get away with it in any other major but as fine arts majors, we need to take pictures of our process and explain how we made/built/created our project.
ushara | ENGL 104 is the first English course that every freshman takes. I have already taken this course in Fall 2020. During this course, I learned about the basic principles of writing, such as the Rhetorical Triangle and framing a story. Our final project for this course was to conduct Ethnographic research on a community of our choice. I would be talking about my experiences with the course in general, and then talk about my experience with the final project- the research project.
This course was very fun but very challenging. This was mainly because I wasn’t used to a university-type schedule. Secondly, since everything was online, I had to take some time adjusting to online classes. We wrote a lot of essays and analyzed a lot of writings. Despite the fact that everything was primarily online, I still enjoyed the lessons a lot. I was able to write a really nice story (over 3000 words) and I was able to pry deeper into who I really am and who I would want to be. It was one of my favorite courses until now.
For the ethnographic research project, we had to come up with our own research topics. The topic itself was a challenge, and thus I had to change it 3 times. In the end, I settled on ‘The effects of COVID-19 on Student Clubs in TAMUQ’. I was pretty happy that I came up with this topic because it was obviously original since the pandemic was only almost a year old. I had a lot of trouble understanding the process of researching, which led me to ask a ton of questions from my instructor. Additionally, I was (and still am) a master at procrastinating. That trait definitely did not serve me well, since I had to submit my final project at around 5 AM in the morning! However, our class was also divided into groups, for the purpose of helping each other with this final project. My group has definitely helped me so much with this final project, without which I would’ve doubted if I was able to effectively carry on my research.
However, in the end, I was very happy with the research report I have produced, and thanks to my instructor and the help of my group, my research got selected for the ‘Best Writing 2021’ which is an initiative that recognizes the best writings from all the students in TAMUQ. I consider myself to be a poor writer, but this definitely brought a smile to my face.
In conclusion, I can confidently say that I would not forget this course, which is proven by the fact that I am writing about this course in the year 2022! For anyone who would be taking ENGL 104, my tip for you is to finish all the work on time, and ask as many questions as you need!
Having been in a Foundation year at WCM-Q, I can confidently say that it was one of the best years at my time in college and there were many things that took me by surprise when I was in this program that I wish someone told me about beforehand. My expectations for the university foundation year as a high school graduate were studying or revisiting the sciences related to medicine along with studying English and some maths. I was a bit down as I had to study an extra year and medicine is a long enough journey. However, little did I know that studying Foundation at WCM-Q wasn’t going to slow me down but actually give me a solid headstart for the 6-year Medical Program. How? Well, read on and you’ll find out. Here are some of the aspects of the Foundation Program at WCM-Q that I wish someone told me about:
Overall, The Foundation Program is a great, challenging, and healthy environment that allows the students to develop their skills, build foundational knowledge and tools to tackle the Medical Program. It not only helps the student grow but also gives a clear pathway of what it requires to be a physician along with having a better understanding of the depth of the medical field as both a scientific and humanitarian career path.
Contribution by Anonymous
Wardah | The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is a division in Texas A&M Qatar. It was established by Dean César Malavé on March 13, 2017. It serves to improve the educational experience of students in TAMUQ. In this blog, I would describe my experiences in the CTL as someone who has become part of the CTL in Fall 2021.
Since the emergence of the COVID19 pandemic in the year 2020, I was primarily online for the entirety of my Freshman year. However, last semester, I have finally become part of the CTL community, and I can confidently say that it is a very pleasant experience.
For one, since the CTL is one of the main divisions in TAMUQ, I was able to meet a lot of new people over there. This in turn allowed me to expand my connections, which could be proven vital in a variety of scenarios.
Since the CTL is the place where peer tutors carry out their tutoring, I realized that it was really easy to get help when I needed it. Since most of my friends also chill in the CTL, we were able to also have a really good time despite having a really rough semester. These sources of support alleviated my positive experiences within the CTL.
When it comes to carrying out academic work, personally, the CTL was a very calm environment, despite the fact it does get loud at times. What matters is not just how loud it is, what also matters is how positive the environment is. In my experience the environment was really positive. Additionally, it allowed me to find more friends and to get acquainted on a personal level.
I am still a newbie to CTL. Nevertheless, I am excited to come across new experiences in the upcoming semesters.
Contribution by Anonymous
Wardah | Starting university in the middle of a pandemic was far from the typical university life experience. What with all the sleeping in 8 am zoom classes and submitting assignments on Canvas two minutes before the deadline, with on campus events being canceled, there was not much to balance academics life with. Here’s a list of the things I wish I’d known in my freshman year, pandemic or not:
University might just be one of the best times in your life but if you fail to learn from the mistakes of your seniors it could also be one of the toughest. Navigating university as a high school graduate is, undoubtedly, a challenging task but it opens up doors that you never thought it could if you keep on the lookout for such opportunities that make you both a better person and a more competent engineer in the future!
Wardah Shan,
Chemical Engineering ’24
WCM-Q student
