I'm Going to College!

[BRC]

I just got it in the mail today. I got into Knox College with an $11,500 Per year scholarship (I applied early action).

Mind you, I havn't decided where I'm going yet, I've got other schools to apply to, however, I now know that even if I don't get in anywhere else, I'll get to go somewhere (A place I'm really intrested in on top of that!).


So yeah, I'm pretty pumped.

[Dragonrider]

I just got it in the mail today. I got into Knox College with an $11,500 Per year scholarship (I applied early action).

Mind you, I havn't decided where I'm going yet, I've got other schools to apply to, however, I now know that even if I don't get in anywhere else, I'll get to go somewhere (A place I'm really intrested in on top of that!).


So yeah, I'm pretty pumped.

Early action must be different from early decision. :smalltongue:

I applied to Whitman College early decision II and I won't hear back till Jan. 23...but if I get in I'm not allowed to go anywhere else or finish any other applications.

But congratulations! :smallbiggrin:

[BRC]

Early action must be different from early decision. :smalltongue:

I applied to Whitman College early decision II and I won't hear back till Jan. 23...but if I get in I'm not allowed to go anywhere else or finish any other applications.

Early Action is just you send your application in early, and they tell you if you got in earlier, but you don't have to decide till the regular time.

[Winter_Wolf]

College is overrated.

...What?

Seriously, though, that is awesome. That's a pretty big scholarship, too! Congratulations.

[Don Julio Anejo]

Wow, nice... Congratulations :smile:

[Dragon555]

Congratulations! Getting accepted to a college you like feels really nice, mmm? :smallbiggrin:

At this point, I'd heard back from 3 of the colleges I've sent applications to. The college I really want to attend is the one that I won't hear from until mid-Spring, but that's how it goes. :smalltongue:

[The Extinguisher]

That's crazy. I wish it worked like that here.

I applied for university, I had to pay them, and I'm not even guarenteed a spot until I can send in my transcripts.

Not to mention I'll never get a good scholarship just be applying to the university. The best ones are hidden away.

Bleh.

[RS14]

Congratulations.

Looking over their wikipedia page, it sounds like a good school. The honor code, particularly with how they handle exams, sounds a lot like what my college does, and it's a nice system.

Good luck when it comes to make the decision. :smallsmile:

[SurlySeraph]

Congratulations! Go get drunk and slack off and never have to worry about what your parents think responsibly pursue an advanced education!

[Dallas-Dakota]

Woot!

Now set campus on fire!:smallbiggrin::smalltongue:

[Mauve Shirt]

Kickass! Congratulations!
Remember this happy feeling of achievement, it will help you get through the first semester.

[Thiel]

Congratulation.
On a related note: How hard is it actually to get into college? There's no equivalent here in Denmark and I've always wondered.

[Don Julio Anejo]

Congratulation.
On a related note: How hard is it actually to get into college? There's no equivalent here in Denmark and I've always wondered.
Depends on your marks, your financial resources and the college you're applying to.

For most State U's getting B's on average is usually enough to get in. For some of the more competitive ones (e.g. University of British Columbia, University of California - Berkeley, University of Texas) you need to get pretty much all A's to get into more competitive programs like sciences, business and engineering.

Higher end non State-U's like Northwestern or Stanford also tend to care quite a bit about your extracurriculars (like student council) and cost more on average. They're also quite a bit harder to get in, at least if you want to go to a particular one.

Ivy League... Unless you're at the top of your class, the student council president, volunteered to help orphans in Africa and your dad is an alumni, don't bother. They're very, very elitist and in majority of cases they're after ambitious overachievers rather than great students.

[Thiel]

Wow, Danish universities works entirely differently.
First of all, they are, with a few exceptions, free*. I have to buy my own books and stuff but the education itself is paid by the state. As an added bonus, if you're above the age of 18 you're guaranteed a scholarship.
There is a minimum grade to get accepted, but it varies from education to education an it's mostly decided by the popularity of the given education. IE. one year it takes an average of 7 to get in, the next a 6 because fewer people applied.

*Well, we pay a lot more tax in return.

[Flickerdart]

That's an insane scholarship. How'd you get it?

[WalkingTarget]

Congrats, BRC! I'll give you the same advice my older brother gave me and I gave to my younger brother.

1. Go to class.

2. Don't play poker for money.

That's exceedingly awesome that you've gotten an answer already so that you don't have to worry about getting accepted in general. Good luck.

[SurlySeraph]

Ivy League... Unless you're at the top of your class, the student council president, volunteered to help orphans in Africa and your dad is an alumni, don't bother. They're very, very elitist and in majority of cases they're after ambitious overachievers rather than great students.

:smallamused:

Sorry. I just... A average! Perfect SAT! Several perfect SAT-IIs! 5s on all 8 of my APs! Over 90% of applicants were rejected, but I get accepted on the condition that I take a year off first! I still wasn't quite good enough, but I'm good enough for next year's class!

Sorry. I'm not sure whether a normal person can be simultaneously gleeful and bitter, but that's what the Harvard application process did to me.

[Felixaar]

Sucked in!

Oh, wait, you people like this...

Congratulations!

[RS14]

Wow, Danish universities works entirely differently.
First of all, they are, with a few exceptions, free*. I have to buy my own books and stuff but the education itself is paid by the state. As an added bonus, if you're above the age of 18 you're guaranteed a scholarship.
There is a minimum grade to get accepted, but it varies from education to education an it's mostly decided by the popularity of the given education. IE. one year it takes an average of 7 to get in, the next a 6 because fewer people applied.

*Well, we pay a lot more tax in return.

Sounds awesome. My home state (Georgia, USA) is at least generous with their scholarships. Stay in state and attend a public college, and they'll pay full tuition. They have a GPA requirement, though, and I really wanted to go elsewhere. I'm still glad I did, but it's expensive. :smallsigh:

Are your textbook costs as high as they are here? Most books are $100-$150 (500-800 kr) when new.


:smallamused:

Sorry. I just... A average! Perfect SAT! Several perfect SAT-IIs! 5s on all 8 of my APs! Over 90% of applicants were rejected, but I get accepted on the condition that I take a year off first! I still wasn't quite good enough, but I'm good enough for next year's class!

Sorry. I'm not sure whether a normal person can be simultaneously gleeful and bitter, but that's what the Harvard application process did to me.

Getting in there at all is impressive. I know where you're coming from, though. I felt like I hadn't done enough community service and extracurriculars, and it was a pain to try to appear like a well rounded person.


Brown Interviewer: So, why do you want to come to Brown?
Me: Well, you've got a really good math program. One of my teachers recommended it highly.
Brown Interviewer: Why else?
Me: ???

[RTGoodman]

:smallamused:

Sorry. I just... A average! Perfect SAT! Several perfect SAT-IIs! 5s on all 8 of my APs! Over 90% of applicants were rejected, but I get accepted on the condition that I take a year off first! I still wasn't quite good enough, but I'm good enough for next year's class!

Sorry. I'm not sure whether a normal person can be simultaneously gleeful and bitter, but that's what the Harvard application process did to me.


...man, I wish I hadn't read that, now. I'm getting ready to send in my grad school application to Harvard tomorrow, for the Celtic Languages & Literatures program. :smallfrown: Oh, well... there's always my other 4-5 grad school choices just in case...


Anyway, congrats, guys! I had a blast in college WITHOUT going out getting drunk or partying all the time, so I think it's safe to say that ANY can have a good time there.

[skywalker]

That's an insane scholarship. How'd you get it?

Please note, Knox is a College, not a University, it's a small private liberal arts college with an enrollment under 1500 and Veritas as its motto. The official website lists the total cost for BRC's likely first year as $31,575. So he just got about a 3rd of the cost paid.


Sounds awesome. My home state (Georgia, USA) is at least generous with their scholarships. Stay in state and attend a public college, and they'll pay full tuition. They have a GPA requirement, though, and I really wanted to go elsewhere. I'm still glad I did, but it's expensive. :smallsigh:

Are your textbook costs as high as they are here? Most books are $100-$150 (500-800 kr) when new. Those are some damned cheap books. Mine are at least $150. Where did you wind up going?


Getting in there at all is impressive. I know where you're coming from, though. I felt like I hadn't done enough community service and extracurriculars, and it was a pain to try to appear like a well rounded person.

My girlfriend applied at Brown. It remains to be seen whether or not she'll get in. I would want to go to Brown for how freakin' pretty Rhode Island is. Also fairly close to NYC.

A guy I know is going to Harvard. He was student body president and obviously destined for greatness, *** laude, but not the greatest student. It's more about what kinda person you are in the IL. Whether or not you want to be that person is up to you.

[Lord_Butters_I]

Congradulations, you may now commense spending an ungodly fortune, acruing a debt that will take decades to pay off so that you may attend an institution devoted to stifling creativity and jamming acceptance of establishment down your throat. You can go to classes of hundreds of students overseen by professors who would never even consider finding out who you are so that you might learn things that have no application to your life at all. You can write needlessly long essays, spend 10 hours on a project that is looked at for 2 minutes if you're lucky, and study for tests that measure just how good you are at cheating and memorizing.

You can live in a glorified closet and eat salmanella ridden food, attend countless gatherings of hedonistic madness from which you leave permanantly brain damaged and preparing to engage in cold, emotionless sex. You can join a group dedicated to some abstract goal or another, and in persuit of whatever idealistic fantasy you've chosen the best way of achieving it is obviously to hand out fliers that are promptly thrown away and create petitions that are completely ignored by whatever authority they are meant for.

In four years you will emerge from this mockery of nature we call education with your mind solidly wiped clean of all vestiges of free thought and imagination, thus indoctrinated and ready to enter the workforce.

College. Is. Overrated.

[Thiel]

Sounds awesome. My home state (Georgia, USA) is at least generous with their scholarships. Stay in state and attend a public college, and they'll pay full tuition. They have a GPA requirement, though, and I really wanted to go elsewhere. I'm still glad I did, but it's expensive. :smallsigh:
We get a basic stipend of approx. $1000 per month. If you have kids you get more and if you live at home it gets cut in half.

Are your textbook costs as high as they are here? Most books are $100-$150 (500-800 kr) when new.
Depends on the education. You can usually get them for cheap from last years students.
A new book can easily cost as much as $200 if it has been translated to Danish. Luckily, for me at least, most institutions use materials written in English.

[Coplantor]

Hey! Groovey, good for you, congratulations!


Wow, Danish universities works entirely differently.
First of all, they are, with a few exceptions, free*. I have to buy my own books and stuff but the education itself is paid by the state. As an added bonus, if you're above the age of 18 you're guaranteed a scholarship.
There is a minimum grade to get accepted, but it varies from education to education an it's mostly decided by the popularity of the given education. IE. one year it takes an average of 7 to get in, the next a 6 because fewer people applied.

*Well, we pay a lot more tax in return.

Here in Uruguay universities are also free, and with almost no requirements to get in other than having finished highschool (most of them). There are no minimum grades to enter other than the minimum to finish highschool. This means that the first years of college are overpopulated, starting from the third year or so, people start to leave because they just cant keep up with it. This would all be solved if there were admission tests, but students syndicates says that if there are admission tests then college wouldnt be public because some person would'nt be able to enter.

Besides, if you are a student of a public college you get your bus tickets at half price.

I'm on a private college though and with a scholarship of 45% yearly.

[Linkavitch]

Wow, so will I!

In, like four years.

[Thes Hunter]

Congrats BRC!

@SurlySerph - Congrats... and taking a year off and working your butt off to save up some spending money is good.

I know after working going back to school is a little easier for a while, because I still consider 8 to 6 a normal work day. :smallwink:

[Eldan]

Heh. Sounds complicated. I remember my university application: print out a form on the web, fill it out (name, birth date, parent's occupation, that's about it), put it in an envelope together with a copy of your marks (just so they see you passed, the actual marks don't count) and you're accepted.
Of course, since passing school is actually too easy if you ask our top universities, and they are required by the state to let everyone in, they just kick out 50% of all people during the first exams.

Oh, and books are about 180 franks (that should be about 150$) in english and about 200 franks in german. Good thing no one bothers with the german ones.

[KnightDisciple]

Congradulations, you may now commense spending an ungodly fortune, acruing a debt that will take decades to pay off so that you may attend an institution devoted to stifling creativity and jamming acceptance of establishment down your throat. You can go to classes of hundreds of students overseen by professors who would never even consider finding out who you are so that you might learn things that have no application to your life at all. You can write needlessly long essays, spend 10 hours on a project that is looked at for 2 minutes if you're lucky, and study for tests that measure just how good you are at cheating and memorizing.

You can live in a glorified closet and eat salmanella ridden food, attend countless gatherings of hedonistic madness from which you leave permanantly brain damaged and preparing to engage in cold, emotionless sex. You can join a group dedicated to some abstract goal or another, and in persuit of whatever idealistic fantasy you've chosen the best way of achieving it is obviously to hand out fliers that are promptly thrown away and create petitions that are completely ignored by whatever authority they are meant for.

In four years you will emerge from this mockery of nature we call education with your mind solidly wiped clean of all vestiges of free thought and imagination, thus indoctrinated and ready to enter the workforce.

College. Is. Overrated.

So's antiestablishmentarianism. :smallwink:

[KindaChang]

Nah, that's a pretty accurate summary of what happens at modern colleges and universities in the US.

[RS14]

Those are some damned cheap books. Mine are at least $150. Where did you wind up going?

Campus bookstore and half.com. I didn't buy much new, except for the chem textbook. I guess that was a bit over $150, while my math textbooks were smaller and cheaper. I think it's just the books we used, though.


Congradulations, you may now commense spending an ungodly fortune, acruing a debt that will take decades to pay off so that you may attend an institution devoted to stifling creativity and jamming acceptance of establishment down your throat. You can go to classes of hundreds of students overseen by professors who would never even consider finding out who you are so that you might learn things that have no application to your life at all. You can write needlessly long essays, spend 10 hours on a project that is looked at for 2 minutes if you're lucky, and study for tests that measure just how good you are at cheating and memorizing.

You can live in a glorified closet and eat salmanella ridden food, attend countless gatherings of hedonistic madness from which you leave permanantly brain damaged and preparing to engage in cold, emotionless sex. You can join a group dedicated to some abstract goal or another, and in persuit of whatever idealistic fantasy you've chosen the best way of achieving it is obviously to hand out fliers that are promptly thrown away and create petitions that are completely ignored by whatever authority they are meant for.

In four years you will emerge from this mockery of nature we call education with your mind solidly wiped clean of all vestiges of free thought and imagination, thus indoctrinated and ready to enter the workforce.

College. Is. Overrated.

There is some truth in your complaints. I don't agree entirely, though. For some things---Math, Science, other technical fields---higher education really is necessary. Could it be done better? Sure. I'd really prefer something more like grad school right about now. Throw out the irrelevant material and pile on the stuff I want to learn. I know what I'm at college for, now teach me it.

Some of your complaints aren't really relevant though. My classmates are drunken fools. What of it? I've not cared for my classmates in years, and I'm not about to start now. It's sort of like the smog: it's an unfortunate consequence of living where I am, but I don't really blame the school for it.

Go into it with a plan and ready to work. Don't cheat, don't party, take it seriously, and read outside of class. I'm really not sure of a better way to get an education in certain fields.

[skywalker]

Congradulations, you may now commense spending an ungodly fortune, acruing a debt that will take decades to pay off so that you may attend an institution devoted to stifling creativity and jamming acceptance of establishment down your throat. You can go to classes of hundreds of students overseen by professors who would never even consider finding out who you are so that you might learn things that have no application to your life at all. You can write needlessly long essays, spend 10 hours on a project that is looked at for 2 minutes if you're lucky, and study for tests that measure just how good you are at cheating and memorizing.

You can live in a glorified closet and eat salmanella ridden food, attend countless gatherings of hedonistic madness from which you leave permanantly brain damaged and preparing to engage in cold, emotionless sex. You can join a group dedicated to some abstract goal or another, and in persuit of whatever idealistic fantasy you've chosen the best way of achieving it is obviously to hand out fliers that are promptly thrown away and create petitions that are completely ignored by whatever authority they are meant for.

In four years you will emerge from this mockery of nature we call education with your mind solidly wiped clean of all vestiges of free thought and imagination, thus indoctrinated and ready to enter the workforce.

College. Is. Overrated.

What do you recommend instead?

[Thiel]

Go into it with a plan and ready to work. Don't cheat, don't party, take it seriously, and read outside of class. I'm really not sure of a better way to get an education in certain fields.
Don't listen to him. Partying and having fun in general is absolutely vital. If you don't you're never going to make it through.

What do you recommend instead?
There's always vocational school.

[WalkingTarget]

Don't listen to him. Partying and having fun in general is absolutely vital. If you don't you're never going to make it through.

I agree with "having fun in general" but "partying" is not vital in the least. The majority of my college buddies didn't party much, if at all. It's not like the terms are synonymous (although it's hard to tell with some people).


There's always vocational school.

Damn right. If what you want to do for a living doesn't require college-level instruction and you're just going to kill time/because it's expected of you, then forget it.

[Thiel]

Damn right. If what you want to do for a living doesn't require college-level instruction and you're just going to kill time/because it's expected of you, then forget it.

The US system must be different than it is here. If you want to work as a carpenter or any other type of craftsman you have to go to a vocational school.
It is possible to get a job with only primary education, but you'll have a hard time finding one and you'll probably be paid less for it.

[Don Julio Anejo]

I agree with "having fun in general" but "partying" is not vital in the least. The majority of my college buddies didn't party much, if at all. It's not like the terms are synonymous.
Yes. Yes it is vital. It's also quite synonymous. So don't listen to all the people that tell you otherwise. When else can you make a drunk ass out of yourself and everyone else actually like you more for it? :biggrin:

[RS14]

Don't listen to him. Partying and having fun in general is absolutely vital. If you don't you're never going to make it through.

I'm not listening to him---that's the attitude I've had since I started. I've had fun, mostly with outdoor and aviation activities, but the parties haven't really appealed to me. I'll concede that they're a fine thing if you're social, so long as they're not negatively affecting your education.

[Thiel]

I'm not listening to him---that's the attitude I've had since I started. I've had fun, mostly with outdoor and aviation activities, but the parties haven't really appealed to me. I'll concede that they're a fine thing if you're social, so long as they're not negatively affecting your education.

True true, everything in moderation.

[WalkingTarget]

The US system must be different than it is here. If you want to work as a carpenter or any other type of craftsman you have to go to a vocational school.
It is possible to get a job with only primary education, but you'll have a hard time finding one and you'll probably be paid less for it.

I've not really looked into it, but I think that equivalent experience might cover that need here. Vocational schools exist, and might give you a running start at a crafting-type job, but I don't know if they're required or not to become licensed. It sounds like you misunderstood me (my wording was slightly ambiguous now that I look at it). I'm in favor of vocational schools as an alternative if university is unnecessary for what you want to do.

[Mr._Blinky]

Um, hey this is weird, because I'm probably going to Knox too. :smallconfused: Congrats on getting in.:smallcool:

I applied Priority though, so I actually found out I'd been admitted about a month ago. I'm currently 2 for 2 on colleges, waiting to hear back from another 5, but Knox is my top choice since I want to do writing.

[Lord_Butters_I]

If you just want to party then just do it, don't bother with college. If you want to learn something complicated like chemestry, physics, whatever then go to a specialized college where you don't have to bother with the worthless "general studies" crap. If you want to do something that isn't academic then teach yourself.

However, you can't do that in America because nobody will hire anyone for anything unless they've gone through the stupid f***ing pointless education system.

[Thiel]

However, you can't do that in America because nobody will hire anyone for anything unless they've gone through the stupid f***ing pointless education system.

I wouldn't hire someone without an education either. If I did, I'd have to educate him myself and that costs money thus reducing my profits.

Edit: It's like that in every first world country.

[Thes Hunter]

Gotta say general studies are never worthless.


My anthro class has helped me more than many of my other classes. And literature enriches your experience and helps you better understand and deal with people who are different than you.


It also helps you with metaphorical and allegorical language. This helps communicate with people outside of your field... which you will have to do more often than you might believe.

[Thiel]

Indeed. After all, it's the guy in the suit, not the one in the labcoat who pays the bills.

[Don Julio Anejo]

I wouldn't hire someone without an education either. If I did, I'd have to educate him myself and that costs money thus reducing my profits.

Edit: It's like that in every first world country.
The problem is not that you need an education. It's that they won't hire you even if you know everything there is to know on the subject. For example, your dad is a contractor, you've been helping him out since you were 10ish, but they won't hire you as a carpenter because you don't have a piece of paper saying you wasted two years of your life and $25000 on a vocational school. Happened to my cousin.

[Thiel]

The problem is not that you need an education. It's that they won't hire you even if you know everything there is to know on the subject. For example, your dad is a contractor, you've been helping him out since you were 10ish, but they won't hire you as a carpenter because you don't have a piece of paper saying you wasted two years of your life and $25000 on a vocational school. Happened to my cousin.

Even if you know everything there is to know, your not certified in neither quality control, ISO, security or anything. That means that you can't sign a single piece of paper and in many cases you can't get into a union, meaning that your employer can't pay you by union accord.
Hiring workers off the accord, ironically, tends to make unions mad and believe me, as an employer, you don't want any union to be mad at you.

Another thing is that since you don't have any papers, the employer doesn't have any way of knowing if you're any good other than hearsay. This is all well and good if your looking for work in your home town or the next town over, but if you happen to move to another state, you're screwed.

[Berserk Monk]

Congratulations BRC. A little advice to you:

Being a freshman is like joining a frat: you have to eat a lot of metaphoric crap. However, once you become an upperclassman, you get to eat the good crap, the premium crap.

Also, freshman year does change you in some way. Be it the work load, classes, teachers, environment, or people you met, freshman year of college does change you.

[Lord_Butters_I]

I joined a frat when I wasted four years of my life, and honestly it was fun as hell. Very few actually haze pledges because doing so opens them up to lawsuits, and depending on the school it can get them kicked out.

[skywalker]

Even if you know everything there is to know, your not certified in neither quality control, ISO, security or anything. That means that you can't sign a single piece of paper and in many cases you can't get into a union, meaning that your employer can't pay you by union accord.
Hiring workers off the accord, ironically, tends to make unions mad and believe me, as an employer, you don't want any union to be mad at you.

I hate unions.

Anyway, I will chime in that the college experience educates you in a number of ways that would be hard to acquire otherwise. When you get into a dorm room your freshman year and you're completely unsure of how to live on your own, with another person (often something of a stranger), that's ok, because you're in a building with hundreds of other kids in the same situation. So there's no real embarrassment, you know? Then, later in life, when you move into an apartment, you already have those co-habitation skills and stuff you need. College has a big impact on social development, I think. My mind has been significantly advanced by my time there and I think that's a good thing.

[BRC]

My brother gave me a dorm-sized hot pot, along with a very amusing list of ways to hide it when it's against fire code.

[Flame of Anor]

Congrats Blod--dang it, I mean BRC. :smallwink: Also, congrats Surly!

I also applied early-action this year, and I got accepted to the University of Chicago. (Everyone thinks I mean UIC, but I don't.) So I'll start next fall or the fall after that (they don't mind that). Mostly, nobody's heard of the U of C, but it's in the top ten world colleges according to most lists. Everyone there thinks it should be at the top of the list, though, because everyone there is really focused on academics and they really want to learn. I heard a quote that said that in a teacher's lounge at Harvard or Yale, the teachers would be discussing who had the best parking space, but at U of C they would be debating Aristotle. So yeah, I think it's pretty awesome. And the architecture is a copy of Oxford's, which couldn't be any cooler. :smallsmile:

...not that Harvard and Knox aren't great schools, of course. :smallwink:


EDIT: P.S. I'd love to see that hot pot hiding list, Bloddy.

[BRC]

EDIT: P.S. I'd love to see that hot pot hiding list, Bloddy.

Instructions for Hiding a Hotpot in Dorm Rooms Where It Is Against Fire Code:

1. To ensure concealment strategically place hotpot-sized piles of clothes, books, spare computer parts, used chopsticks, and other materials around floor, bed, and table surfaces.
1. Rotate hotpot between piles to ensure maximum concealment.
2. Avoid piles of flammable items, such as clothes and books when the hotpot has been used recently.
2. Keep hotpot under bed.
3. Keep hotpot in massive stack of ramen noodles. When you can see the hotpot it's time for more noodles.
4. Build hotpot into CPU. Run it on excess CPU heat.
5. Befriend art history major. Have her make hotpot visible only when standing on top of the bed and looking down and to the left.
6. Befriend english major. Have him deconstruct hotpot until it is unrecognizable. Heat ramen with resulting paper.
7. Befriend theatre major. Heat ramen with fire of raw emotion.
8. Befriend dance major. When fire inspection arrives, have him take hotpot and flee elegantly.
9. Befriend sociology major. Have her distribute the ownership of the hotpot to the people, who can unite against fire inspection.
10. Befriend medieval studies major. Ask him to be your roommate. Fear will keep fire inspectors at bay.
11. Befriend psychology major. Have her erase memory of fire inspectors. Suddenly wonder what other memories she's erased. Be somewhat disturbed.
12. Befriend earth sciences major. Heat ramen with in-room volcano.
13. Befriend business major. Have him bribe fire inspectors.
14. Befriend chemistry major. Heat ramen with explosions.
15. Become architecture major. Dorm room will be obsolete. Keep hotpot in design studio, chained to drafting table.
16. Befriend biology major. Genetically engineer ramen which heats itself and reproduces exponentially. Flee.
17. Befriend physics major. Have her hide hotpot in Hilbert space.
18. Befriend Philosophy Major. Have them question existence of Hotpot.
19. Become math major. Eat ramen raw.

[skywalker]

Congrats Blod--dang it, I mean BRC. :smallwink: Also, congrats Surly!

I also applied early-action this year, and I got accepted to the University of Chicago. (Everyone thinks I mean UIC, but I don't.) So I'll start next fall or the fall after that (they don't mind that). Mostly, nobody's heard of the U of C, but it's in the top ten world colleges according to most lists.

I've heard of it. I wouldn't touch the place except for their school of economics.

Anyway, that's great you got in there. I feel so sheepish for going to the state-school in my backyard :smallfrown:

[Eldan]

Just a side question:
I'm slightly confused. I always thought that college over there was equivalent to university over here, but now you're telling me there's general studies, i.e. lectures not spent on your main subject? I mean, I study biology, and we had a few math and physics lectures and a ton of chemistry, but apart from that? 20 fields of biology and nothing else. So, am I wrong in assuming that college is equivalent to university?

[Killersquid]

Congrats man, I just finished my first semester (did Ok in everything but math...D...better next semester) and I will tell you, you will get DESTROYED if you're not prepared. Do not take morning classes. Ever.

[WalkingTarget]

Just a side question:
I'm slightly confused. I always thought that college over there was equivalent to university over here, but now you're telling me there's general studies, i.e. lectures not spent on your main subject? I mean, I study biology, and we had a few math and physics lectures and a ton of chemistry, but apart from that? 20 fields of biology and nothing else. So, am I wrong in assuming that college is equivalent to university?

It's sort of confusing. If one says "I'm going to college" or a similarly-constructed phrase it just means that you're going somewhere after high-school ("university" is almost never used in phrases like this, at least in the part of the country I grew up in).

Personal example as I don't know if this is always true: I went to the University of Illinois. Within the University itself there are several Colleges (College of Engineering, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Agriculture, etc). Which College you belong to determines the extent of the out-of-major requirements you have to fill (I was in the College of Engineering's Computer Science program and I didn't have to take a foreign language, friends in the LAS version of the program didn't have to take as much physics as I did but had to take more high-level math, stuff like that). However, all courses of study had requirements for things outside of the major. You got a lot of choices on what to study, and you never really had to delve too deeply into the subjects, but you had to take them (so many credits of "sciences", so many of "humanities", etc). You had to take courses that counted as "composition" but that could range from a history class that had extra papers to write, to a Speech class, to a business-writing course (the class I took to fill the "advanced composition" requirement was on Nuclear Arms and Arms Control taught by two physics professors, it was fun). The classes directly tied to my major took up the bulk of my time, but there was still plenty of other stuff to pick up along the way. I didn't mind this as I like learning in general (being graded not so much, but learning is awesome) but I can see how this would annoy some people.

I don't know if all other Universities have similar setups, but it wouldn't surprise me. There are a lot of smaller Colleges that offer mostly 2-year programs (for Associate's Degrees), but there are larger ones that offer Bachelor's Degree programs. I don't know how they deal with non-major requirements though.

[Eldan]

It just surprised me. I mean, I went to school for a total of ... 15 years before university (Kindergarten included :smallwink:), and I think we pretty much covered the general stuff there. So, in the bachelor programme, you only cover what you really need.

[Dallas-Dakota]

Don't start me on how complicated the dutch education system is......You guys have it easy...

[Eldan]

Phh. Let me just say that after 2 years kindergarten and 9 years of normal school (of which there are several kinds) you either get a job, as most people do, or choose one of the two dozen different types of schools you can go to afterward. Of course, only one of those kinds of schools allows you to go to university directly, so my path was set anyway. Of course, every canton is allowed to do it's own school system, for the first X years, so some don't even have those nine years.

[Thiel]

In Denmark we have between eight and ten years of elementary school. After that You can choose between vocational training or Gymnasium.
There's currently four different variants of gymnasiums to choose from, all of which gives access to university. Student Examination Programme (STX), Higher Preparatory Examination Programme (HF), Higher Commercial Examination Programme (HHX) and Higher Technical Examination Programme (HTX).

STX is the oldest programme and is considered the standard. It takes three years and gives you a solid basis in a wide variety of courses. Expect to see a lot of hippies and other holdovers from ages gone by.

HF takes two years and is the shortest secondary education. Usually taken by people aspiring to higher educations not offered by the university, it trades it trades broadness and level for a shorter duration. Unlike the other alternatives, HF isn't only for youths, classmates twice your age isn't outside the norm.

HHX (as the name implies) is intended for those who want to work in the commerce and administration. It sacrifices a number of general courses (Such as Latin and Clasical Studies) in order to introduce specialized courses of it's own (Economy and Basic Marketing) Also home to a lot of talking suits.

HTX is the geek of the Gymnasial family. Not only does it, HHX, sacrifice a number of courses and substitutes them with it's own, it also raises the level. This makes it, from a purely theoretical standpoint, the hardest secondary education.

After gymnasium you can either continue on to university or to one of the numerous other educations that requires that you've passed course x on level y

[TigerHunter]

I feel like such a lazy bum for not having finished my applications yet.

Most of them are due January 1st. :smalleek:

[skywalker]

It just surprised me. I mean, I went to school for a total of ... 15 years before university (Kindergarten included :smallwink:), and I think we pretty much covered the general stuff there. So, in the bachelor programme, you only cover what you really need.

They're trying to make us more well-rounded individuals. It doesn't usually work, people usually barely pass the requirements outside the major, and do really well in their major.

But specifically, in the US, like WT alluded to, we have Colleges and Universities. Universities are made up of several Colleges, altho in a different context from what I'm about to describe. BRC actually got into Knox College. When a post-secondary institution in the US has "College" and not "University" for its name, it usually gives only liberal arts(English, History, etc.) and occasionally sciences degrees. No engineering, business, etc. Most Colleges have a rather limited number of programs offered, and these days tend to be smaller and private. I don't think I know of a public College. Note that back in the day, most of these places were Colleges, not Universities, before they expanded.

[BRC]

In other news, I got into Beloit today! Now I need to stop wasting time and finish up my Macalester and Kenyon applications.

[Cristo Meyers]

In other news, I got into Beloit today! Now I need to stop wasting time and finish up my Macalester and Kenyon applications.

Cool! Beloit was actually one of my choices way back when, but monetary limitations kinda put a stop to that.

[Dragonrider]

The colleges to which I have applied:

Whitman College
Mount Holyoke College
University of Idaho
University of Oregon.

Am waiting to hear back from all of the above.

Now I have to write a stupid scholarship essay on "what I have done to benefit my family or positively affect my community". :smallyuk:

[Banjoist333]

Congratulation!

This whole thread is making me feel underachieved... I'm going to a really small statue universtiy. They'll take pretty much anyone with a 3.0 GPA or over.

If you plan on living on-campus, KNOW YOUR ROOMATES! This is the voice of experience speaking here. I decide to be paired with a random student; it was the worst decison I ever made. (Well, at least in the to 50 of stupid decisions. I've made a lot.)

@^: I know this is off-topic, but it's been bugging me: I noticed the Don't Forget to Be Awesome and couldn't help but ask if you were a nerdfighter.

[Dragonrider]

@^: I know this is off-topic, but it's been bugging me: I noticed the Don't Forget to Be Awesome and couldn't help but ask if you were a nerdfighter.

YES! :smallbiggrin:

I put that in my sig a YEAR ago and you're the first person who's recognized it!

*happy dance* :smallwink:

[RS14]

If you plan on living on-campus, KNOW YOUR ROOMATES! This is the voice of experience speaking here. I decide to be paired with a random student; it was the worst decison I ever made. (Well, at least in the to 50 of stupid decisions. I've made a lot.)

Well, I got a random roommate and it worked out fine. They had us fill out a survey to pair us with roommates, though; I'm not clear if you did this as well.

[Flame of Anor]

I've heard of it. I wouldn't touch the place except for their school of economics.

Aw, what do you have against it? :smallfrown:


Instructions for Hiding a Hotpot in Dorm Rooms Where It Is Against Fire Code:

1. To ensure concealment strategically place hotpot-sized piles of clothes, books, spare computer parts, used chopsticks, and other materials around floor, bed, and table surfaces.

...

19. Become math major. Eat ramen raw.

Those are awesome. Ahem:

20. Befriend Logic major (if only there were such a thing). Have him convince the fire inspector that even the existence of the dorm itself is in doubt, much less the hot pot.
21. Befriend Archaeology major. Have her explain to the fire inspector that if the hot pot artifact is excavated without proper study, it will lose its archaeological context and become worthless to science.
22. Befriend Economics major. Have him analyze the hot pot and tell the fire inspector that it urgently needs a bailout, not removal.
23. Befriend Kneenibble. Have him shock the fire inspector into feelings of worthlessness at his (the inspector's) inferior grasp of language.
24. ????
25. PROFIT!!!!

Alternatively, befriend a University of Chicago student. Any one of them could do all of these things, which is one of the reasons why I'm so psyched about going there.