Carleton University Speciality : Computer Science
programme: Computer Systems Engineering

I spent my first year in residence, however, all of my classes were online. This proved increasingly challenging, as accessing extra help from teachers always took a lengthy amount of time. While the courses were set up fairly well, I found my program to be extremely challenging. Carleton provided PASS extra help, where an upper-year student would host meetings to help students with the material. I enjoyed these workshops and did find them helpful. Although, I do think certain teachers had unrealistic deadlines and weren’t as flexible, considering the online nature of each class. I also spent much more time watching lectures than I would have if they were in person. Many professors would assign way more than the designated slot for lecture time and it was difficult to keep up. As for on-campus life, most events and clubs weren’t running due to COVID-19 and so it is hard to fully review its campus environment. However, the facilities were quite nice, including the gym and the ice house. Overall, my first year at Carleton was a challenging one and I do think some improvements could be made. This includes easier and faster access to professors, possibly even short zoom meetings to clarify certain topics from the lectures. I also think that they could provide more resources such as volunteer one-on-one tutors. University can be demanding but it is important to cater more for the students and aid them on their journey through their degrees.