How To | Surviving In A Tri-Sem University

I decided to post this up because I spent a huge deal of time today thinking about the Trimestral System and what a tricky, tricky icky spider's web it can be. For those of you who are possibly still thinking about what school to go to and don't know what the Trimestral System is, it basically means that the school year is divided into three semesters--as opposed to the more common two semester division. This means less time (14 weeks per term) for learning and (supposedly) more time for application of what you've learned.

I know that a lot of people have qualms about the system because the fast-paced environment causes a lot of people to be delayed and graduate later than people who go to a regular semestral university. However, the high-stress environment does have its perks: I don't know any one, for example, whose made it through the Trimestral System who isn't great under pressure. It really trains you for intensive stress and time management so yeah. :) Read on if you're interested!

Figure out the basics. The thing about the Trimestral System is that it equips you well for change, yes but you may find that change happens very quickly so it's good to more or less have your living arrangements figured out. Are you going to live around campus or go home? I've tried both--I lived in Taft for two terms and went home the rest of my college life and they both have their pros and cons. 

Thoughts on Living Away from Home. There are some great things about living near campus: you can wake up a bit later than usual and you can go home as late as you'd like without worrying about rush hour or whether or not it'll be traffic. But there are other problems that pop up like whether or not you can discipline yourself enough to go home, sit down and study. Also, you have to worry about more basic things that I think don't occur to you when you're at home--where will you eat tonight, how do you manage your money, what to splurge on, bottles vs sachets. It can also get very lonely, especially on weekends or when class is cancelled. But it's also a lot of fun. If you're the time of person who can manage on his/her own and can deal with the logistics of living then I'd definitely suggest you try it out. :)

Living at Home. While a lot of people will complain about commuting, I really don't have a lot of qualms with it. It can be therapeutic too: it gives you time to warm up at the start of the day and time to wind down when the day is done. Also, commuting teaches you to be street smart: you learn how to sleep with your arms around your bag, where to put your phone so that you'll feel it if someone is trying to take it, etc. But the thing about going back and forth (especially if you're in a pre-med course) is that it takes away a lot of your study time. You could, of course bring your books with you and study on the bus but I don't think that happens (in my experience, anyway). 

Know your way around the area. And I don't just mean around the campus--I mean be familiar with the areas surrounding the campus as well as with different routes from your house (if you're living off campus) to the university. This is very, very important because the last thing you want to do is Fail Due to Absences (FDA)--and because Metro Manila traffic can be a pain in the ass, it's better to be safe than sorry.


Also, if you're in the BS Psychology program because a lot of the teachers from the College of Science give quizzes at the beginning of class (this was my experience with Embryology, Zoology and Chemistry); the trimestral system means less class days in a term and therefore, less activities to help raise your grade. So yeah. Know different commute routes and time them then proceed accordingly--if you don't have to be early for class, take the more leisurely route, if you're in a hurry go the quicker way.
For the lovely people who are from Alabang and go to school in DLSU-Manila or CSB, here are the routes that I find most trusty: You can either take the buses along Alabang-Zapote road that get to Taft via the Coastal Road (1.5 hours travel time) or you can take the SLEX bus (the Dimple Star terminal is beside Star Mall Alabang, although Juaymah Maureen isn't bad either) which takes the Skyway and drops you off at the Vito Cruz extension along Osmena highway where you take a bus down Zobel Roxas that takes you to Taft (40 minutes travel time).

It's also very important to know where it floods and where it doesn't flood. If it's raining, get off at the McDo/University Mall/South Gate area--ankle-deep is nothing compared to the Dagonoy/Agno area's knee-deep. :) This is also crucial during emergencies and when flood season rolls in.

Go to class on the first day. I can just hear my friends scoffing as they read this--I myself have not attended the first day of class numerous times and that is a regret that I live with everyday. :)) Kidding aside, it really is helpful to go to the first day of class because that's when you find out things that will set the tone for the entire term--who your teacher is, what their house rules are and what kind of classroom they keep (fun and interactive or more strict and formal). It's also a good way to find out crucial information about the course: the grading system and whether the prof will be checking attendance, etc. :D This also gives you time to pick your seat; I'm not sure if this affects anyone else but me but if I get a crappy seat it just ruins the "learning experience".

Use Your Cuts Wisely. This seems like a no-brainer but trust me--it is so tempting to use up all those cuts on an off-week or when there doesn't seem to be anything interesting in class. This seems easy until you're at a friend's air-conditioned apartment, watching Scott Pilgrim on TV, contemplating your third cup of coffee and another cigarette. But yes, always save a sick cut and distribute your cuts throughout the term. Once every two weeks is good, methinks. :)

Don't Be Rude. See, people in Trimestral schools (or at least in DLSU) are cranky most of the time because they've had to cram for something or because they stayed up all night trying to cram for something (but failed to do so thanks to the internet) and are burdened with the prospect of failure. So the real reason that people get pissed off with the freshmen isn't because they're freshmen, it's because since they don't experience a lot of stress, they don't know how to behave around people who are constantly stressed and jumpy from being jacked up on caffeine (I just described myself). :)) But yeah--common fucking courtesy, my friend Ron likes to call it: don't talk too loud, don't push at the gate, don't block passageways, don't broadcast what happened between you and Mr. Lovely Eyes last night to your friend from across the classroom. Be considerate of others. :)

Keep Tabs. It's so easy to get lost and absorbed in the mundane happenings of the term--most times you blink and poof! It's midterms week! A good thing to do is to mark every Monday on your notebook with a week number so that you're never caught off guard with tests and things. Also, get a copy of your course flowchart! This will help you organize your schedule and plan out what subjects you'll take. This is crucial if you're a shiftee. :D

Try Joining An Org. I say "try" because I know a lot of people who've tried joining an org and it just wasn't for them. But because I joined an org and it worked out pretty well for me, I'd say at least try to join either a professional org (didn't work out for me but my bestfriend Marz was an officer of her professional org and she had a great time) or an interest org. It can be really fun and you  learn how to make friends as well as find something to do during long breaks. :) Plus if for nothing else, it looks pretty good on a resume.

Talk To Strangers. Or friends of friends at least. Of course, I don't mean talk to people off the street literally, but don't be afraid to talk to people around campus who are hanging out in the same place as you or who are heading organizations or whatever. I've made some of the most memorable err... hrrrm... connections? Friends, acquaintances or whatever bumming a smoke in agno, inquiring about whether or not someone had a pen and/or commenting on their shirts. Small talk can be sincere too, I think--if you mean what you're saying and be yourself. :D

So yeah, that's it for this entry! I hope this has been helpful. xD