Experience sharing from senior students reflecting on the “Mistakes” made in First Year

Facing adjustment difficulties during the transition period is very common among first-year students. Leveraging on the power of peer advising, our signature workshop, “Mistakes I Made in My First Year” (2022) was held via ZOOM on September 21, 2022.

In the first part of the workshop, an interactive quiz game (with real time polling) tested and enhanced new students’ understanding of some university regulations that would guide their academic planning. We were very happy to see that majority of the students are quite knowledgeable in this area which is a great start. Next, we quoted and clarified a few myths and misconceptions regarding course selection, major / minor exploration, study load and coursework workload planning to avoid pitfalls that might induce hiccups and undesirable consequences to their academic journey.

The main session was followed by 13 concurrent breakout sessions grouped under a wide range of faculties and progammes. 42 enthusiastic senior students representing a variety of majors/ minors presented their “Dos and Don’ts” recommendations articulated from their first-hand experiences. Close to a hundred first-year students enjoyed the small group Q&A session where their doubts and concerns were addressed by their peer’s collective wisdom.