Class of 2011: now it's your turn to freak out about college

class of 2011: what are you thinking about for after graduation?

Straight into the workforce	6.0%	[ 4 ]
Military	6.0%	[ 4 ]
Community college	6.0%	[ 4 ]
4-year college	37.3%	[ 25 ]
Oh hell I don't know	14.9%	[ 10 ]
Something else	3.0%	[ 2 ]
I'm not class of 2011	26.9%	[ 18 ]
Total Votes:			[ 67 ]

[SuperMae]

I was thinking about UC Berkeley because of their amazing engineering program

[J.P. Chartreuse]

SuperMae

I was thinking about UC Berkeley because of their amazing engineering program

Tons of schools have amazing engineering programs - and how certain are you that you want to be an engineer? A lot of people discover they don't like it. And what sort of engineering?

UC Berkeley is a pretty outstanding school, but I'd be wary of California state schools, were I you. The budgets are tanking.

[J.P. Chartreuse]

Scritch

G'luck, class of 2011. The competition is pretty brutal.
I spent my whole senior year in various levels of tired or zoned out, which didn't help my somewhat spotty record in terms of getting into an interesting college. I probably couldn't have gone out of state anyway, so I'm attending a massive local university. At least aiming low got me some scholarships.

What state are you in, if I may ask? (I hope I'm not supposed to remember. D: )

And I'm sort of in grad school mode, and I gotta say, it's amazing how little undergrad institutions have to do with where people get into grad. d: A lot depends on how much individual effort you put in and the initiative you take. Undergrad matters, for sure, but it isn't the end-all and be-all.

[Scritch]

J.P. Chartreuse

Scritch

G'luck, class of 2011. The competition is pretty brutal.
I spent my whole senior year in various levels of tired or zoned out, which didn't help my somewhat spotty record in terms of getting into an interesting college. I probably couldn't have gone out of state anyway, so I'm attending a massive local university. At least aiming low got me some scholarships.

What state are you in, if I may ask? (I hope I'm not supposed to remember. D: )

And I'm sort of in grad school mode, and I gotta say, it's amazing how little undergrad institutions have to do with where people get into grad. d: A lot depends on how much individual effort you put in and the initiative you take. Undergrad matters, for sure, but it isn't the end-all and be-all.

Oregon~. I've only ever lived in the hippy parts, ie west of the Cascades.

I've been hearing as much from the adults around me. My worry is the same things that made me lackluster in high school will keep on being a problem. I also have extreme dislike of the general populace of the university. In a city that thrives on anarchists, druggies, hippies and protesters, they're all so mainstream America normal.

[J.P. Chartreuse]

Scritch

J.P. Chartreuse

Scritch

G'luck, class of 2011. The competition is pretty brutal.
I spent my whole senior year in various levels of tired or zoned out, which didn't help my somewhat spotty record in terms of getting into an interesting college. I probably couldn't have gone out of state anyway, so I'm attending a massive local university. At least aiming low got me some scholarships.

What state are you in, if I may ask? (I hope I'm not supposed to remember. D: )

And I'm sort of in grad school mode, and I gotta say, it's amazing how little undergrad institutions have to do with where people get into grad. d: A lot depends on how much individual effort you put in and the initiative you take. Undergrad matters, for sure, but it isn't the end-all and be-all.

Oregon~. I've only ever lived in the hippy parts, ie west of the Cascades.

I've been hearing as much from the adults around me. My worry is the same things that made me lackluster in high school will keep on being a problem. I also have extreme dislike of the general populace of the university. In a city that thrives on anarchists, druggies, hippies and protesters, they're all so mainstream America normal.

Well that's gross, but there have got to be lots of chances to get out "into the community," so to speak, and do things more up your alley. d: Every campus has some good old-fashioned oddballs. I mean, something like 40% of the undergrads at my school are so loaded they get no financial aid whatsoever (and my university has DEEP pockets to give aid to those who need it), but I haven't let that brand of elitism get to me.

[J.P. Chartreuse]

. . . and dare I ask if you applied to Reed?

[Scritch]

J.P. Chartreuse

Scritch

J.P. Chartreuse

Scritch

G'luck, class of 2011. The competition is pretty brutal.
I spent my whole senior year in various levels of tired or zoned out, which didn't help my somewhat spotty record in terms of getting into an interesting college. I probably couldn't have gone out of state anyway, so I'm attending a massive local university. At least aiming low got me some scholarships.

What state are you in, if I may ask? (I hope I'm not supposed to remember. D: )

And I'm sort of in grad school mode, and I gotta say, it's amazing how little undergrad institutions have to do with where people get into grad. d: A lot depends on how much individual effort you put in and the initiative you take. Undergrad matters, for sure, but it isn't the end-all and be-all.

Oregon~. I've only ever lived in the hippy parts, ie west of the Cascades.

I've been hearing as much from the adults around me. My worry is the same things that made me lackluster in high school will keep on being a problem. I also have extreme dislike of the general populace of the university. In a city that thrives on anarchists, druggies, hippies and protesters, they're all so mainstream America normal.

Well that's gross, but there have got to be lots of chances to get out "into the community," so to speak, and do things more up your alley. d: Every campus has some good old-fashioned oddballs. I mean, something like 40% of the undergrads at my school are so loaded they get no financial aid whatsoever (and my university has DEEP pockets to give aid to those who need it), but I haven't let that brand of elitism get to me.

Whoops, wandered off. >>

I really have no excuses for not finding the parts of the community I do like, so I'll work something out.

I didn't apply to Reed. With reason, even! (Beyond being sick as a dog when it was time to do apps, which was not conducive to creating the highly-polished essays they look for.) I would never be able to get enough financial aid for Reed ever, and I don't have the physical and mental fortitude. I have no desire to be part of Reed's extraordinary mental breakdown rate.

[HennesyXO]

J.P. Chartreuse

my dragonsies: let me show you them. (click bitte?)

Hm. Well, I went to a medium-sized, high-powered American university, and in general the teaching has been quite good. And we have precepts, which are small classes, to discuss material or go over more details than in the big lectures. Plus, professors and teaching assistants hold office hours and sometimes review sessions to make sure everyone can get their concepts straight. So I haven't experienced those problems much.

I do get the impression that the educational system in Europe is way more brutal than in the U.S., at least in some ways. I know high school in France is a nightmare.

I've been finding the system at my school good too. The teachers here explain you the theory on the classroom, but when it comes to practice, that's where you do have to do the work by yourself. Sometimes the teachers help if this is a class where they know the students have lots of trouble (e.g. the programming 101 teacher might help you with a code, or the CPUs 101 teacher could help you with your circuit), but usually, you have to figure out what to do by yourself.

I find it good... you learn more if you figure things on your own after all ^^

[Miss Mo3]

Honestly, I have no clue. I've been thinking about college for months now.
There is apart of me that wants to go to college, but another part of me that wants to be totally done with schooling period!

...But if I were to go to a college, I want to study art. Like become a cartoonist, anime artist, or maybe even become an animator.

[Take It Down Elizabeth]

xSakuaex

In reply to the title of this topic: yes, and it's driving us insane. :/

It happens.

I knew I had a problem when I had constructed my own spreadsheet of the acceptance rates, populations, locations, SAT ranges, etc. of 40 schools I was interested in. It was extremely excessive. I wasted a disgusting amount of time worrying about it, and the worrying did not help me in any way.

[Take It Down Elizabeth]

xXDark_Beauty_Mo3Xx

Honestly, I have no clue. I've been thinking about college for months now.
There is apart of me that wants to go to college, but another part of me that wants to be totally done with schooling period!

...But if I were to go to a college, I want to study art. Like become a cartoonist, anime artist, or maybe even become an animator.

Cool! Art school is wicked expensive, though, and their financial aid usually isn't that great. You might be better off going to a more general university or college that's cheaper.

[Miss Mo3]

Take It Down Elizabeth

xXDark_Beauty_Mo3Xx

Honestly, I have no clue. I've been thinking about college for months now.
There is apart of me that wants to go to college, but another part of me that wants to be totally done with schooling period!

...But if I were to go to a college, I want to study art. Like become a cartoonist, anime artist, or maybe even become an animator.

Cool! Art school is wicked expensive, though, and their financial aid usually isn't that great. You might be better off going to a more general university or college that's cheaper.

Good point. Well, I have a long time to think about it, so hopefully I'll be able to find a college that's right for me. Thanks a lot =]

[Take It Down Elizabeth]

xXDark_Beauty_Mo3Xx

Take It Down Elizabeth

xXDark_Beauty_Mo3Xx

Honestly, I have no clue. I've been thinking about college for months now.
There is apart of me that wants to go to college, but another part of me that wants to be totally done with schooling period!

...But if I were to go to a college, I want to study art. Like become a cartoonist, anime artist, or maybe even become an animator.

Cool! Art school is wicked expensive, though, and their financial aid usually isn't that great. You might be better off going to a more general university or college that's cheaper.

Good point. Well, I have a long time to think about it, so hopefully I'll be able to find a college that's right for me. Thanks a lot =]

No prob! My former co-worker when to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (or something like that) which is supposed to be really prestigious, but it cost her so much that she had to drop out. Now she's going to a state university on a full scholarship, and wishes that's what she had done in the first place.

Good luck!

[Miss Mo3]

Take It Down Elizabeth

xXDark_Beauty_Mo3Xx

Take It Down Elizabeth

xXDark_Beauty_Mo3Xx

Honestly, I have no clue. I've been thinking about college for months now.
There is apart of me that wants to go to college, but another part of me that wants to be totally done with schooling period!

...But if I were to go to a college, I want to study art. Like become a cartoonist, anime artist, or maybe even become an animator.

Cool! Art school is wicked expensive, though, and their financial aid usually isn't that great. You might be better off going to a more general university or college that's cheaper.

Good point. Well, I have a long time to think about it, so hopefully I'll be able to find a college that's right for me. Thanks a lot =]

No prob! My former co-worker when to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (or something like that) which is supposed to be really prestigious, but it cost her so much that she had to drop out. Now she's going to a state university on a full scholarship, and wishes that's what she had done in the first place.

Good luck!

Oh that must have been hard for her, but I'm glad she's doing well for herself now. I'm sure she is very happy she went to the state university.
And thanks a lot! biggrin