Formspring Q: Being a Psych Major

Q: How many psych classes have you taken at smcvt so far? Did you sit in on a class or talk to a current psych major or prof before deciding on smcvt? Do you have a track? Sorry for all the questions, just got accepted and want to be really thorough lol!

I took General Psych for my first semester, and I was unable to get into a psych class for my next semester. I was freaking out a bit that it would affect my overall major schedule, but it turns out that it's common to not have a Psych class for the spring semester. My advisor told me that if I were to get into a psych class spring semester, that I would actually be ahead in the program. I was aiming to get into Research Methods I, but my advisor told me students usually take that sophomore year so they can take Research Methods I fall semester and Research Methods II spring semester.

As for how I decided on SMC, I went on a tour at first to see the campus. I immediately felt like I could see myself going here, so I applied and continued to research the school more. After finding out that I was accepted, I was soon invited to an Accepted Students Day. The schedule involved breakfast, a tour, a panel with current students, and an opportunity to meet professors in your potential major. Susan Kuntz, a faculty member of the Psych department, was informing us about the major requirements, minor requirements, and the rest of the faculty. Right away, I was impressed with how in depth the courses appeared to be, and also how willing Kuntz was to answer any questions. She seemed passionate about teaching students. Compared to other schools I got accepted to, the course selection was the most thorough.  With the course selection, I was also given more of a chance to test out other options in the Psych field such as clinical, social, physiological, developmental, and cognitive to see where I really wanted to go with my degree.  As of right now, I'm interested in going on the track of doing something with Clinical/Social psychology so I'm planning to take courses such as Abnormal Psychology, Sports Psychology, and Social Psychology.

I also was a very active reader of the student blogs when I was looking into Saint Mike's. I read Alex's blog, and noticed that she was a Psych major. It was ironic because at the time, I was deciding between Assumption College and Saint Michael's, the same two schools Alex was stuck between also. I asked her questions about the differences between the colleges and the programs. She did an awesome job at helping me gain a better insight on everything.

Congratulations on your acceptance and feel free to ask questions if you have any more!

Preparing for Christmas

It's crazy to think that Christmas is only 5 days away. Christmas is one of those holidays that I usually am totally prepared for, but this year, I found myself doing a lot of last minute shopping and decorating. I originally just bought my parents and my brother clothes from the Saint Mike's bookstore, but as soon I got home, I was sent on a mission to buy some other presents for some of my other relatives. I think after shopping on Black Friday this year from midnight-5am, I've grown to like shopping when the stores are crowded. I know, I know, it sounds weird, but it just makes me even more determined to shop and get things crossed off of the list. Along with shopping, there were many other things that my family and I had to cross off the preparation list to make sure we are going to be ready for Christmas Day.

Final result from shopping.

Shopping for family and friends. 

As mentioned above, that was definitely a success. My friend, Kelsi, and I went shopping at the mall for four hours on Saturday. You would think that would be enough time to complete all of the shopping, but I had to go back to the mall again on Sunday.

Wrapping the presents.

Putting up the tree and decorating it

A couple of years ago, I won a tree at the Festival of Trees, an event that takes place in Massachusetts where Christmas trees are decorated and people have the chance of winning them through a raffle. My tree had a Santa theme to it. Ever since I won that tree, my family has continued to use the fake tree each year. To switch things up, my brother, his girlfriend, and I went to go on the hunt for a real tree on Sunday.  It may have been a little bit last minute getting a tree when Christmas is only a week away, but in my dad's words, "Well, at least we don't have to worry about the tree dying"

                                                 

I can't wait until Christmas Eve because my family is going to Connecticut to exchange gifts with the rest of my extended family. It's going to be a great time, as will Christmas, which I spend at my house with my family. Until next time, tweet or formspring!

F.I.N.A.L.S



Getting reiki done

Finals week. It's a week full of stress because all of the studying to do, a week full of anticipating when finals will end, and a week full of excitement because once it's all over, we get to be home for a month to get a break from schoolwork.  Here are some of the things I've been doing to help me through this week:
Free Massages at Stress Free Knight
At Stress Free Knight, there were the options to get free massages, henna, and reiki to relieve some stress from studying.
Initiating study groups
It's always good to start a study group with people in your class, especially if you aren't understanding the material that well.  That way, people in the group can help you better understand it, and vice versa.

Notecards
I'm not crazy about making notecards, but I've recently learned that making notecards works best for memorizing vocab.  I used some for my midterms and I plan to for my finals too.
Alliot food breaks
You can't study forever in the library or in your dorm room. Study breaks are definitely needed, so it's good to head over to the dining hall, Alliot, to get dinner and some snacks to help keep you getting through the day.
Library sessions

When I need to study or get any work done, I go to the cubicles (picture of one above) that are in the basement in the library. 
Staying away from Facebook

This last one is hard because it's tempting to go on Facebook to talk to people or to use it as a distraction from studying.  I struggle with doing this myself, but I've been trying to get a little bit better with it since I have two of my hardest finals on Thursday.

Any questions about finals week or anything else? tweet or formspring me!

Why Bloggers Chose SMC

With the second Early Action deadline over, it only leaves the final deadline to apply, which is February 12th. So, to backtrack a little bit, I thought I would show you the perspectives of other bloggers from all of the classes on why they chose SMC. You can also read mine by clicking here. It was tough finding almost everyone's "Why I Chose SMC" post, so bloggers, if you aren't there let me know! :)

Click on the names below and it will bring you to the person's post! :)
Class of 2015
Tarah 
Alex 
Ben 
Sarah 
Juliana 

Class of 2014
Kayley
Jose 
Alex 
Lisa 


Class of 2013
Liz 

Class of 2012
Michaela
Beth

All of the other blogs have other valuable tips about college and Saint Mike's, so check those out too!

Also, another thing to check out is the last Knightchat of the semester that is happening tomorrow night from 7:30-9:00pm. It's a great chance to ask any questions to SMC students to gain a better understanding of what Saint Mike's is like.

For now, I'm off to do some more homework, but stay tuned for my next blog post on finals week!

25 Days of Christmas!

Happy December everyone! Along with that, it's also the start of ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas! Here are some of my favorite movies shown throughout the 25 days with some added video clips:

Dr. Seuss's: The Grinch Stole Christmas




The Harry Potter Movies




Home Alone




Polar Express




Santa Claus is Comin' to Town



The Year Without Santa Claus