University

[michi]

Recently, I've been doing major research on higher education, as some high school juniors (in the US) are apt too. It's all going over my head. So much criteria to consider, so many choices!

I'm interested in how you guys handled the load, or rather didn't handle it. How and why did you pick the college you did? And oh yes, what university/college do you or did you attend?

 

[Winter]

My first college in San Francisco, I didnt handle very well at all. I wasnt ready for the work load *16 hour days right off the bat* and eventually started partying too much. Dropped out, and went to another school; same thing happened, dropped out, and have only recently re-attended college. This will be my last semester, as I've come to the realization that college is just not for some people; and I am some of those people its not for.

Sorry if that didnt help you much.

 

[kirei_na_me]

I didn't handle it at all. I went to a college my mom wanted me to go to and I wasn't ready for the responsibility. After being smothered by her for 6 years(she was a teacher at my middle school then moved with me to high school), having her make sure I did everything I was supposed to do, I got to college and did only what I wanted to do. I only barely made it through one year. I'm surprised I made it that far knowing what all I was doing at the time. I really wish I would've waited a couple of years before starting college. By then, I would've known how to appreciate it more and would've taken full advantage of it.

And I went to Sweet Briar College. It's a private women's liberal arts college here, in Virginia. It's about a $28,000+/year school. BUT...lots of wealthy snobs there wearing pearls with t-shirts, very isolated, all women(which might be a problem if you're completely hetero).

 

[Mandylion]

We all have slightly different approaches to college and some people get started later, take longer, or make some changes part way through. Some decide college doesn't fit. Nothing wrong with that. Going to college or not doesn't make a person what they are. But for your questions-

I picked the university I did because it was the smallest one I got into (some 2,700 students). Sounds kind of dumb, but the prospect of going to school that had more students than my hometown did not sound good. Nor did I want to be in a huge city. In the end I just got lucky and loved college life. But you can always transfer and lots of people do. No shame in it. I really had no idea about the school I as going to. My grandparents told me about it and I went in with half a mind to transfer to a better school later on.

Freshman year was tough - lots of work. But it got easier as I got used to the load. Kind of like with exercise. Most teachers were understanding too and could cut you slack if you needed it for a good reason.

Making it can come down to your own study style. I never did really well in high school - I think I graduated with a 3.2 or something like that. But university really challenged me. There was also the fact that unlike public school, I had a choice in being there. One of my bigger faults in high school was being passive-aggressive. If you don't give me a choice, even if it turns out to be a lot of fun/good for me to do, I will (at least initially) hate doing it.

In college I also hung out with kind of a brainy crowd, so staying in at nights to study when study needed to be done was not looked down on. In a sense it made the parties we threw much more intense. It is all about balance.

In university I had a choice (more as the years went on) in what to study and how to go about it. I handled the workload by just doing it. I know that doesn't help much. I scheduled my time and tried to plan out what needed to be done by when and tried to apply myself towards meeting those deadlines. After being in a few months I got a feeling for what types of things took me longer or shorter to do and planned around those.

Looking back though I would say look at a school based on a number of factors. Academic offerings being one, location, student body, cost, alumni support and all the rest. Visit the school if possible. Most places have and undergrad office devoted to getting people to come to their school (private more often than public) and they can usually set you up with staff or students who are there to help (or trick ) students decide where to go. Keep in mind you can always transfer.

If you want to talk more about specific school feel free to PM me.

 

[Keiichi]

I'm attending University of Hawaii. It's close to home. But hey, I get to learn Japanese, talk to Japanese people, try to get my BS degree and a certificate in Japanese language, so I'm happy. I'm on financial aid paying a couple hundred bucks for a 17 credit load, and have a small part-time job at the Uni. And I'm just dilly-dallying around and all laid back when I should be studying for an exam I have tommorow. o_o But hey, it's Hawaii!

 

[jeisan]

keiichi, did you live in hawaii before attending UH and how easy/hard was it to get in?

 

[Keiichi]

Yes, I was born and bred in Hawaii.
It's quite easy to get in. Supposedly you need 500+ for each English and Math SATs, but I know a lot of people (oh, what the heck, stupid people) with way lower scores that got in. I don't think you need letters, clubs, or any of that stuff. For non-residents, though, can be quite expensive... over $5,000 for a semester, whereas residents are about $1,700.
http://www.hawaii.edu/admrec/tuition.html

 

[michi]

I've come to the realization that college is just not for some people

hmm. What kind of people?

And I went to Sweet Briar College. It's a private women's liberal arts college here, in Virginia. It's about a $28,000+/year school. BUT...lots of wealthy snobs there wearing pearls with t-shirts, very isolated, all women(which might be a problem if you're completely hetero).

guess it wasn't too pleasant for you.
i need to be in contact with both guys and girls.

There was also the fact that unlike public school, I had a choice in being there. One of my bigger faults in high school was being passive-aggressive. If you don't give me a choice, even if it turns out to be a lot of fun/good for me to do, I will (at least initially) hate doing it.

same with me. I'm disgustingly lazy. If going to class wasn't mandatory in highschool, I probably wouldn't go half the time. Hopefully come college, i'll change. I need motivation, and I don't have any. I don't have any major or career in mind. I really have no goals for my future. So, sometimes I feel as though there's no point. you know?

It's quite easy to get in. Supposedly you need 500+ for each English and Math SATs, but I know a lot of people (oh, what the heck, stupid people) with way lower scores that got in. I don't think you need letters, clubs, or any of that stuff.

i heard that around 90% of applicants are accepted into the University of Hawaii. true stats come close?

 

[Keiichi]

I don't know the stats, but it probably is. I think they just want the money and weed out all the really bad people (then again, those people have no interest in going to school and getting a degree anyway). Not exactly a top-notch school (or so it seems, but I haven't been to any other), but there's a lot of degrees, especially if you're interested in the bio-plant whatever related fields since Hawaii is starting to become the center of this kind of stuff.

There's a course catalog here: http://www.catalog.hawaii.edu/courses/listing.htm
I'm mostly interested in the Japanese language stuff. I'm a Computer Science major, but we all know Hawaii isn't the best place to do this kind of stuff. I just thought a degree would be useful, and computers is something I can do.

 

[Elizabeth]

And I went to Sweet Briar College. It's a private women's liberal arts college here, in Virginia. It's about a $28,000+/year school. BUT...lots of wealthy snobs there wearing pearls with t-shirts, very isolated, all women(which might be a problem if you're completely hetero).

Sweet Briar, eh? My grandmother actually went there, and this description pretty much fits to a tee although her flair was always for costume jewelry with sportswear. Of course the isolation and snobbishness would have been much more expected in the '30's, nowadays, like Deb girls and coming out parties, it just seems freakish and annoying.

 

[neko_girl22]

I didn't get to go to college for various reasons (mainly health) and it's one of those things that makes me sad if I think about it too much. I guess I always knew what I wanted to do and then not being able to go through with it is pretty devestating. I can always go later if things improve, I guess.

but I did dislike the fact that you were expected to go and those who weren't moving on to college were looked down on. In a world that's so PC we should really learn to respect others choices regarding higher education.

 

[kirei_na_me]

Wow, Elizabeth, I'm surprised you didn't get pushed into going. A lot of the girls I knew there were practically forced into going there by their mothers and grandmothers who had been there before them.

 

[kirei_na_me]

but I did dislike the fact that you were expected to go and those who weren't moving on to college were looked down on. In a world that's so PC we should really learn to respect others choices regarding higher education.

I couldn't agree with you more, nzueda.

 

[Elizabeth]

Wow, Elizabeth, I'm surprised you didn't get pushed into going. A lot of the girls I knew there were practically forced into going there by their mothers and grandmothers who had been there before them.

Fortunately for me in this case I think my mother pretty much reacted against hers and Her main interest for me was always to start a family before a career. Probably a good thing she isn't privy to my current lifestyle.

 

[Elizabeth]

I couldn't agree with you more, nzueda.

Yeah, my sister is a soon to be expectant mother and they're naturally already thinking of college savings plans and investing in certain state funds for the kid's future etc. Possibly a trade or associates degree would be acceptable as an alternative but nothing short of that. At least right now.....hopefully things will work out for everyone concerned. And of course you as well nzueda....

 

[neko_girl22]

hopefully things will work out for everyone concerned. And of course you as well nzueda....

thank you Elizabeth!

Maybe college was something I wanted to do, but I've found hapiness in other avenues and anyway living in Japan is a learning experience in itself!

(by the way, I got my 3 year visa yesterday - yippee for me!!)

 

[Keiichi]

This one time, when my brother took his SATs, he put, CalTech, I think, as one of the colleges to send the SAT stores to. Later, it seems on the paper where he got his SAT score on, that CalTech was no longer on the list of colleges that he chose to send the scores to, but Mill's College was there.
Couple of weeks later, he got a letter from Mill's College stating something like: Thank you for your interest in our college, but Mill's College is a womens only college, blah blah blah.
Man, I cracked up looking at that.

 

[mudball]

i am at uni now for 4 years and i have to say the first few years are really the toughest. The amount you need to learn at my uni is nowhere near the amount i had to learn on highschool...high school here was very easy for me and i easy passed high school with ease. Uni was a big chunk to bite....i am still on uni though

 

[michi]

Currently, I'm thinking of majoring in education.

Some colleges/universities I'm interested in are:

McGill University -- in Montreal. I love that place.
Boston University
University of Chicago
University of Connecticut
NYU

I'm looking for the competitive colleges, not too competitive, but fairly well known. Preferably in the northeast of U.S. And I'd like the college to offer study abroad programs. Big variety of majors. In the city. affordable.

If worse comes to worse, I'll attend New Jersey's state college, Rutgers University. It's not bad. It's pretty good. Just that a large portion of the students in my highschool end up going there, too close to home.

 

[Jean-Francois]

McGill University -- in Montreal. I love that place.
Boston University
University of Chicago
University of Connecticut
NYU

In coincidence, I've known friends who graduated from all of the above colleges. The one who's making the most dough was an economic major at University of Chicago. He got hired by JP Morgan in Wall Street right after he graduated.

Connecticut College is more presitigious than UConn which accepts almost any resident of Connecticut but you can use it as a back-up just in case... In the last ten years, Connecticut had changed a lot. Several big casinos were built, so if you get bored of visiting Mystic Village ...you can try your hand at Foxwood ...just kidding .

In my personal opinion, NYU is overrated and expensive but hey, it is in Greenwhich Village! And there are a lot of part-time job opportunities in New York. However, for undergraduate program, I would prefer Columbia to NYU.

For Canadian students, McGill is still difficult to get in although its ranking has been dropping in recent years. But I know almost every university has different standard for international students.

Actually, two of my high school buddies from Connecticut who went to Smith College (Massachusetts?), stayed at McGill for one year as exchange students. I think that was a very good deal. Maybe you should check out the exchange programs of different colleges before you make the final decision.

 

[Jean-Francois]

Forgot to mention Boston University. I had two friends who went there. Like University of Connecticut, it was easy to get in (Each of them had SAT scores under 1000 and they did not join a lot of extracurricular activities at high school). One of them studied English and she liked her program although she only graduated with mediocre grades. The other one studied accounting and was getting good grades but hated Boston (said it was full of snobs from Havard, MIT, Turf, Wellesley who thought they were better and blah, blah, blah). She eventually got her accounting degree from SUNY at Binghamton where she highly recommended. I guess it had a lot to do with the person's background and what kind of people they bumped into in the new environment.

In making the decision, knowing yourself and what you really want from a university education helps a lot. e.g. To make money in New York City, to rub elbows with scholars from Ivy Leagues, to speak French in Montreal, just to stay away from mom & etc. If your answer is to learn, I guess any university can serve the purpose.

 

[michi]

wow, thanks for the info Jean-Francois!

UCONN and Boston are that lenient?

I'm going to attend a information session on The University Of Chicago in New York April 25.

Dammit, i missed the information session for Columbia, which was held March 20. Now to look up open house dates.

NYU overrated? how so?

I used to live in Montreal, and many of my friends got into McGill, so I thought it'd be pretty easy to be accepted. Then again, they were all number one in their classes. I don't know if the international student treatment would apply for me, because I'm still a Canadian citizen, but I believe (well, i think) I'm a permanent resident of the U.S. I have a H4, whatever that is.

Oh yes, I've also got to consider dorms. I don't want to end up living in a garbage dump.

Beh, now to look up open house dates.

aiya ma.

 

[Jean-Francois]

NYU overrated? how so?

Its purely personal observance. In the 90s a lot of my friends went there and they all had SAT scores between 1000 and 1200. All of them chose NYU because they couldn't get into any Ivy League except one got accepted by Cornell without any scholarship but NYU gave her full scholarship.

NYU's tuition was in the range of Columbia and some programs were even more expensive. The dormitory at NYU was cleaner and better facilitated than Columbia's. It's a school had a large student body of international students from all over the world, especially from south-east Asia and western Europe. Some of my friends who went there had rich parents back home, loved New York City and spent a lot of time partying but still graduated with a solid B. (They weren't especially smart. I think it depended on the major too but most of them were business majors which did not fall into the "easy major" category. Or maybe NYU needed this client base so that they could use the resources these people contributed to recruit other talents from US. Say, giving intelligent local students full scholarships).

Therefore, the reason I think it's overrated is strictly personal. It just seemed to me that the undergraduates I met from Columbia were more serious students than those I met from NYU. However, when it comes to graduate schools, both have very diligent students. (At least the ones I know are very diligent).

 

[michi]

It's been awhile...

I'll fill you in (not that anyone cares, but oh well) on how it's going right now...and it's not going well.

So, as if today, I'm in the process of or plan on applying to

Rutgers University
New York University
University of Virginia
University of Chicago
Cornell University
McGill University
University of Toronto
Queen's University

potential...
(Columbia Univeristy)
(Boston University)
(University of Vancouver)
(The College of New Jersey)

My top choices have changed. It used to be Chicago, but I realize that I don't want to stray from the East coast. I attended an info session on some Canadian universities, and Queen's really caught my attention. It has a wonderful curriculum, environment, diversity, and it's set in Kingston. Rutgers doesn't have a great reputation hereabouts because it's too close to home, but it's ranked one of the top public state universities; and I'm sure to be accepted. Oh yeah, UVA looks very promising, so I'm definitely considering that.

It's all fine and dandy when I think about being accepted to these colleges, but the actual process is causing me so much unnecessary stress, mainly because I'm a huge procrastinator. These damn essays are so strenuous. I can't write about myself..it's tough. Teacher recommendations are causing strain too. I don't know of any teacher's who know me well enough to write a decent recommendation for me. So I'm hesistant to ask them.

Also, my grades this year are going down drastically. Bad case of senioritis, perhaps. But moreso, I didn't give a chit about them. Now that I know I should've, it's too late. My worst fear would be that I don't get into the colleges I want to. My transcript isn't stellar, far from it, and I feel I'm just an average student.

When I created this thread, I didn't have any majors in mind. Now, I'm leaning towards Education and Art History. Maybe I'll major in Education and minor in Art History, because I can't think of many career options with a Art History major. But I don't know what kind of teacher I'd be with an Education major. Oh, maybe I'd be a Art History teacher. hahaha. Well, I guess it'll all be clear in the next couple of years.

University, here I come! I think.

 

[Duo]

I know University of Boston has a study abroad program with the Vesalius College here in Brussels. Ummmmm, maybe you should take a look at schools abroad as well, University of Richmond in London, accredited in both countries btw , American University in Paris, and hmmm Holland is reputed to have good schools, and Belgium has nice Graduate schools such as the university of Leuven, since the 1400's. I think also in Italy the John Hopkins university, althought that mite only be graduate as well.

Then you also have England full of Universities, and good ones as well sometimes. So hmmmm, I donna what can I say, but from what I have noticed it seems 2 me that the University life here is not as crazy as in the US. People here have been aquinted with alcohol and partying earlier and potentially sex as well, so they mite not turn into party animals as readily as some kids who have been repressed in the US. From your list, i'd pic McGill, plus it's canadian so,