Studying: A question of attitude?

What is the goal?

1. First of all, you should enjoy your studies. Because only if it's fun will you overcome the challenges and learn.
2. Gaining (life) experience is definitely an important thing. In your studies you start a new phase of your life and can enjoy new freedom with your own apartment, parties during the week and maybe your first real working student job. But with that also comes the responsibility to use some hours of your day to study on your own initiative. After all, you have to...
3. ...pass exams. You can't do without that. Twice a year, at the end of each semester, there is an exam period. This means no more classes, but one thing above all: study, study, study! And then you should also find out how to prepare yourself most effectively for the respective exam, because not only a lot of time, but also a lot of concentrated work and practice is required to fight your way through the formula jungle at a speed sufficient for the exam. You will find out how to do this during the semester.
4. The big goal at the end should be to become an engineer. The hard work during your studies will be rewarded at the end with a decent salary and an interesting and challenging job. If this may sound far away at first, it is okay. Experiences and friends can be reason enough at the beginning to get motivated for the subject.

On these pages and in the orientateering week we want to give you strategies to reach these four goals! Because if you are on track and studying is a challenging activity without being overwhelming, it will be fun: Dopamine rewards your brain for learning. Always remember "diligence beats talent when talent doesn't practice ;)"

If you realize that your goal might be a bit too high, we will be happy to advise you! Either contact us directly or check out our compilation here for all sorts of advice on university. There is also an annual information event for those who have doubts about studying.

Studying completely on your own is very hard, which is why study groups are usually formed at the beginning of the semester to help you with your studies. You can get to know your fellow students especially well during our orientateering week. Learning together (or discussing results, if you prefer to calculate alone) and motivating each other are the most important tasks of the study group. So, at best, find people who can motivate you if you can't do it yourself. You should also have a similar level, so that you face similar challenges that you discuss together. It is essential to solve all tasks independently, because this is the best way to prepare for the exam.

In addition, you should build up a network over time so that you are always kept up to date about internship registrations, information about the exam, etc. Due to the many chairs and institutions, it is difficult to bundle all information centrally and keep it up to date. Even if you cannot solve the problem with your study group, it may be possible to ask another study group how they solved it. You can also exchange experiences - "How was the exam for you?", "When did you take care of the bachelor thesis?" - contact with students from higher semesters can be very helpful. During the orientation week, you can meet mentors who will guide you around the campus.

The right mindset doesn't really exist at uni. Here are a few ideas about which mindset will help you at the beginning:

• In your studies you will be trained as an engineer: This has less to do with the job as an electrician. Also big tinkering is then rather in the spare time the case, if you are interested in it.
• Operating instructions, cooking recipes? No way. You will become an engineer and one day you will help to find solutions for the big problems of our time. Accordingly, it may be a bit abstract at the beginning, but it doesn't work without basics - the interesting application subjects are mainly located in the master's program.
• Study = party? Well. You will certainly find some time to party and, if you study smartly and distribute the exams, you will have quite some time off. You can enjoy that. So, yes, you can party, but only in your free time, which can be rarer in engineering studies than in other courses: But this way, your chances afterwards might be higher.
• There are credit points for all courses in the degree program. One CP corresponds to about 25 to 30 hours of work. This makes the study program a 40-hour week, which you can divide up freely within a semester, with the exception of the few compulsory courses. In the next chapter you will find some more information about this.
• The study program deals with the application of mathematics, so there will be a lot of that.
• Self-reliance is the most important thing in your studies: The professors don't care if you personally pass your exams. Accordingly, you have to motivate yourself!
• Asking questions is very important! There are many opportunities to do so in lectures, exercises and tutorials. Use them! It is best to write down questions and answers separately. If you are able to ask a question, you have already understood a lot and that is great!