About this Course

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College can be confusing and intimidating, but U101 can help. If you were just admitted to college and are nervous about what the next step in life might look like, this course is for you. If you are the parent of a newly admitted college student and curious about what college life is like, this course is also for you. 
While your specific college will, no doubt, provide additional orientation material, we wanted to give some basic information about what life might be like at a large American University. You might be years away from college or enrolled right now; either way, U101 has some excellent advice from college students, professors, administrators, and staff.

At the conclusion of the course, learners should:
1. Understand the basics of how colleges and universities operate. 
2. Identify and describe what faculty are looking for in college-level academic work. 
3. List some effective study strategies. 
4. Identify some strategies for exploring and selecting a major. 
5. Identify the various types of grants and scholarships available and describe the steps involved in applying to these.
6. Discuss the college life, with special attention to the benefits/limitations of living on or off campus. 
7. Identify some strategies for getting the most out of campus life activities (investigating student clubs, fraternities, sororities, etc.).

The course is divided into 4 weeks/8 lessons, which provide an overview of the different aspects of college life. If you were just watching the videos and looking at some of the links, the whole course would take about 4-5 hours. 

Week 1
Lesson 1. Welcome to U101!
Lesson 2. Understanding the Nature of College

Week 2
Lesson 3. Succeeding as a Student
Lesson 4. Building Your Major

Week 3
Lesson 5. Financing Your Education
Lesson 6. Living On and Off Campus

Week 4
Lesson 7. Getting Involved in Campus Life
Lesson 8. Conclusion

Please join us for a short exploration of modern American Colleges. Hopefully, this course can help demystify your upcoming college experience.

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Approx. 10 hours to complete

English

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Approx. 10 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructors

Instructor rating

4.67/5 (87 Ratings)

Dr. Matt McGarrity

Teaching Professor

UW Department of Communication

747,482 Learners

8 Courses

First Year Programs

13,335 Learners

1 Course

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(1,611 ratings)

Week1

Week 1

1 hour to complete

Welcome to U101!

1 hour to complete

2 videos (Total 4 min), 3 readings

2 hours to complete

Understanding the Nature of College

Now that we have discussed the basic approach in this course, we can dive into the material. A good place to start would be understanding how the university operates. Modern universities are large, complex organizations employing thousands of different teaching and researching faculty, all of who have slightly different roles. College isn’t simply larger than high school, it is structured differently.

2 hours to complete

3 videos (Total 14 min), 3 readings, 2 quizzes

Week2

Week 2

2 hours to complete

Succeeding as a Student

You’re coming to college to get an education. Classes will take up a significant amount of your time, so we should discuss some strategies for success. As discussed in the last module, high school differs significantly from college. Incoming freshmen are often most worried about the classes. You have much more flexible time, but that time needs to be filled with self-directed study. In this unit, we’ll talk a bit about how understanding these classes and studying effectively for them.

2 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 16 min), 3 readings, 2 quizzes

2 hours to complete

Building Your Education

2 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 19 min), 3 readings, 2 quizzes

Week3

Week 3

2 hours to complete

Financing Your Education

Paying for college is a challenge. This module will talk about some strategies for budgeting your money while at college and all the options available to you for funding. There are so many different resources out there to help you pay for college. Regrettably, these are so broad that students remain unaware of them. This module should direct you to some of the most fruitful areas for finding funding.

2 hours to complete

2 videos (Total 9 min), 3 readings, 2 quizzes

1 hour to complete

Living On and Off Campus

Are you going to live on-campus or off? There are strengths and benefits to doing both. This module will talk to some students about their experiences living on and off campus. Wherever you live while at college, odds are that you will experience homesickness at some point. This is entirely natural. We’ll talk a bit about why this happens and identify a few strategies for effectively dealing with homesickness.

1 hour to complete

3 videos (Total 9 min), 2 readings, 2 quizzes

Week4

Week 4

2 hours to complete

Getting Involved in Campus Life

Going to your classes is probably the most important thing you’ll do during your time here. But it won’t be the only thing. Campus clubs and groups offer you a great opportunity to experience new things and ideas during your time here. They can introduce you to lifelong friends and enrich your education in untold ways. This module will talk about some options for getting involved in campus life.

2 hours to complete

2 videos (Total 5 min), 4 readings, 2 quizzes

2 minutes to complete

Conclusion

2 minutes to complete

1 video (Total 2 min)

Reviews

4.6

135 reviews

5 stars
75.44%
4 stars
16.29%
3 stars
4.91%
2 stars
0.89%
1 star
2.45%

TOP REVIEWS FROM U101: UNDERSTANDING COLLEGE AND COLLEGE LIFE

by SSJun 29, 2021

Really! This is an excellent course for future college students. It helped so much and I hope that it will help you out too.

by KHFeb 15, 2017

Great course for those looking to go to college or those who are looking to help individuals go to college! I'll be recommending this course to all of my college prep students this summer!

by SKJan 7, 2018

This is very interesting course for me because before that I don't know about US education system. Now I know how to live on campus and off campus and many more.

by WTDec 23, 2015

Very much Helpfull for New comers in College or who gonna admitted in college and trying to start their undergrad life . Thanks for this Course .

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

U101: Understanding College and College Life

U101: Understanding College and College Life

About this Course