# College Experience?



## Matrix Agent (Feb 4, 2002)

I know there are a lot of people on the boards who are still in HS, so I figure this will interest you too.

I want to state from the start that I'm not talking about partying here, I'm talking about the overall college experience. Since I'm a Junior in HS I'm beginning to look around at where I want to go. I've been looking through the course listings, and its just so exciting. To be able to go any study things that interest you, to do something that opens the world for you, to live on a campus, free of rules, free to make your own decisions, living with people with the same interests, and working as a team to do new and fascinating things. In other words, this is going to be the best time ever.

Everyone out there? How was your college XPerience?  

Anyone know of soem good places for CS, which possibly allow double majoring, a good reputation, and somewhere around the northeast.

Thanks tons. And admiral, if you don't respond to this thread, I'm not going to let you DJ my birthday party at the bar.


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## rinse (Feb 4, 2002)

On topic, but not the geographic region you were looking for.

I graduated from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois in 1999. I went there intially because I was offered a full scholarship becuase I managed to be a National Merit Scholar.

I have a major in Graphic Design, a Minor in Art history and Multimedia and also took some CS courses while there.

The multimedia program is fantastic, with stellar Quicktime and Authoring / DV labs to boot. The business college there is also top notch and there is a national champion forensic team as well.

Beyond that, the social scene is largely Greek, however as an art major I had loads of fun. Sure, Peoria is not as hip as LA, NYC or Chicago, but it's not like being in Utah, either.... the bars close at 4 AM, there are plenty of parties and it's not hard to do naughty things (if you know what i mean  ).

P.S. the women there are prety nice too, i married one of 'em.


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## chemistry_geek (Feb 4, 2002)

Go to a school that has a good reputation for your intended major.  I'm not talking about Ivy League schools; it would be nice to go there, but then there's reality.  You have to score VERY well on your SAT's.  Take as many practive tests as you can to get comfortable with the test format.  Studying is useless, these tests (such as the GRE) are now administered on computers that are ADAPTIVE, i.e. You answer correctly, the next question is more difficult.  Answer incorrectly, the next question is easier, and believe me, you will know when you get the wrong answer.

I came from a middle class background in which education was not stressed.  No one told me how to pick a good school as I was the first person in my immediate family to go to college.  I started out at the University of Toledo where I had a HORRIBLE experience with the instructors there (could NOT speak English), the parking was a freakin' joke.  The Parking Services Department sold more parking permits than there were parking places.  The administration literally treated everyone as a number, more so than the usual treatment everyone hears about.  Word has gotten out about these bad experiences not just from me but other students as well.  When I finally transferred to Bowling Green State University where life was MUCH BETTER, people were flocking out of UT in droves to other schools and continue to do so today.  UT has some serious issues that the Ohio Board of Reagents are actively investigating.  I think UT is one of the few schools in OH that has a continuly declining trend in student enrollment.

THIS IS IMPORTANT:  there are books available at the library that have all sorts of stats on schools, such as national ranking, what percentage of entering freshman move to sophomore status, what percentage of students graduate, how long it takes them to graduate, how many of them find jobs after graduating, whether or not the schools assists in job placement, etc...  Then there is U.S. News & World Report's Annual College ranking.

I'm currently getting my masters degree, but if all goes well very soon, I'll be going to a very reputable private school in the fall that does NOT have a football team!  If I get the good news, I'll share it with everyone.  If I get the bad news, I'll cower in embarrassment for even thinking I had a snowball's chance in hell in getting in there, and will promptly start looking for a job at Walmart stocking shelves.  But I'll "working in my field" as I'll be stocking shelves with detergents, paints, and other "chemicals".  This is getting funny (wierd).

Just make sure you do the research for the schools you really want to go to.  Regarding your new found FREEDOM, I hope you are focused and well disciplined, you will need this to survive in college.  Don't eat a lot of junk food, you are what you eat.  Don't go out drinkin' with the boys, you'll get in trouble, believe me, THIS WILL HAPPEN.

A general truth:  The reputation of the school you graduate from will determine to a degree, your future jobs.

The best advice my advisor at BGSU gave me was that it does not matter from which university one gets a masters degree, but IT MATTERS A GREAT DEAL FROM WHICH UNIVERSITY ONE GETS A PH.D.  If you plan on getting an advanced degree, go to the best schools you can get into.  Beg, borrow, and steal money to get there if you have to.  It will be worth it.  Example:  In the back of "Chemical and Engineering News" there are job listings available to chemists from all the big chemical and drug companies.  The Ivy League schools graduate more than enough chemists every year to fill those positions.  If I were to get a  Ph.D. from my current school which will remain nameless, I would be competing for the same jobs as those Ph.D.'s from the Ivy Leagues, and we all know who's going to get the job.  I would be there to make the other candidates look better.

Good luck


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## simX (Feb 5, 2002)

After being at college for 1.5 quarters now, I have to say that it is infinitely better than being at high school.  I have to say that I'm kind of a special case, because I was particularly unhappy at my high school -- very limiting in math classes and flexibility, which really made it not fun.  I have to admit that junior/senior year was much better than freshman and sophomore year, but even then I wasn't completely satisfied.  I actually graduated a year early because of this -- I thought that college would be a much better experience because I was not limited to the selection of classes offered at high school.

And my expectations were not at all let down; I'm going to Stanford University, and while it is hella expensive, it's definitely worth it to go to a school with such resources as a very extensive library system, great teachers, intelligent people and peers, as well as an excellent support system and a broad range of classes.  I am much happier because it's not nearly as much work as I did in my last year of high school, mainly because I lumped my last 2 years of high school into one, but even more because I get to live with the people I go to class with, which allows you to get to know them much better.  It makes so much of a difference.  You can study with people at any time of the night, and you can just chat to someone or talk to who you feel comfortable with about any problems you might have.  It's a much more personable environment, and it's a much better living experience.

I really enjoy, as well, that I have so much flexibility in my classes.  Before I basically had to go to school from 8 AM to 3 PM (in my last year, from _7_ AM to 3 PM).  Now I can choose what time I want my classes to be, and I can choose what kind of classes I want to go with much greater flexibility.  Whereas my last math class in high school (Statistics AP -- nothing was offered after Calculus BC besides this) was really boring and unchallenging, my new math class is so damned hard I wouldn't believe that I actually placed in the class.  I love the challenge of understanding all of these new concepts, even if it does mean staying up until 2 PM on Thursday nights to complete the problem set.  I also have a much better choice of languages -- instead of being limited to French, Latin, German, Spanish and Japanese in high school, you can fulfill your language requirement here at Stanford with Italian, Russian, and many other languages, including sign language!   I'm taking Italian because my father's Italian, and while I can understand most of the language, I can hardly speak or write it -- and the class is so much fun because I'm doing a language that I'm genuinely interested in.  Instead of kind of being forced to take French (I got disenchanted with it after about 3 years), I am able to take what I want.  And even though there are some required classes, I even get a choice in those!  The humanities and writing classes that you are required to take actually offer about 10 different classes per quarter, because there is no standard reading list or anything like that.  And I got to take a fun geology/biology class during the first quarter that was so incredibly specific (Early Life on Earth -- dealing with the origin of life and the solar system and all that fun stuff), I would never have learned so much in-depth at high school, even if I studied on my own.  College has really been a godsend for me.

One thing that I have to say though is what my parents always say.  Education does not exist to prepare you for a job.  Education exists to make you a good citizen; to become an informed person who loves to explore his own interests; to become someone who is fairly well-versed in many areas, including math, biology, writing, and foreign languages.  Job training prepares you for your job, not education.  And if you think of it in that way, you open yourself up to a world of possibilities; instead of pursuing something that you think will land you a good job, you can pursue something you are genuinely interested in, and it is much more rewarding, even after 1.5 quarters of college, let me tell you.  And there is always a job in no matter what field you decide to study; the world is a huge place.

Matrix Agent:  The best thing I can advise you in your college search is to find a college that:

 is generally well-balanced in all fields of study.  It's much better to get a balanced education than one where you get an awesome education in a specific subject and lackluster education in other areas, like the humanities.  After all, there *is* graduate school. 

 has good education in where you think you might be interested.  Remember, though, that your interests can totally change; I thought I was going to be a math major -- after taking math last and this quarter (even though I love the challenge), I'm kind of thinking I don't think that would be the place for me; I'm thinking more in geology/biology, after taking that class the first quarter.  So again, the first point is probably more important.

 is going to make you happy to be a student there.  Stanford has sure done this for me.  Visit the campus many times (in my case it was nice because I lived right near the campus and basically knew it) in order to get a feel for the place and see if you could imagine yourself living there for 4 years.  In the end, it doesn't really matter whether you're far from home or close to home, on the East coast of the United States or on the West coast of Europe; just make sure you like the place!

I hope this helps.

Oh, and let me say this: I would LOVE to slap the person who said that the high school years are the best years of your life.  Anybody want to come out and admit their mistake?


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## Matrix Agent (Feb 5, 2002)

SimX, when you find this person, tell me where he/she is, I want to say a few words too. Whoever said that was focusing a little too hard on the social aspect of high school, and problably couldn't rememberwriting any essays.


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## AdmiralAK (Feb 5, 2002)

Well... I can only speak from my XPerience at my university (UMass @ Boston).

The Math department is weak.  Some good people in terms of character but instruction wise I have had my share of problems.  Some professors are also some foreign (mostly from india) math professors which makes it kinda hard to understand sometimes.

Math is a part of CS so you need to do it.  The CS department is tough and demanding but good.  There are some guys that I dont like (or got off on the wrong foot -- like my current CS professor) but all in all there are some great people in the department that I admire because they know their stuff and they are able to communicate their knowledge effectivelly.

As for double majoring.  This uni doesnt offer something in terms of graphic arts (I dont think) -- I am minoring in Italian and German (also taking some Russian on the side), so I have had a lot of interaction with the Modern Languages department and I can say for a fact that all the professors that I have dealt with are just great.

Being close to the end of my BA (one more year) I have rethought where I want to go with my education. I like computer science, but I also like graphic/audio arts (playing around with photoshop, FCP,so music software and so on) and foreign languages so doing a strict CS Masters might not be what I want to do.  Something to look forward sorting out lol.


All in all my university is not bad, but it is a commuter school, so no dorms here, better find an appartment he he he 

Admiral


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## tagliatelle (Feb 10, 2002)

I own a graduate informatics.


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## BlingBling 3k12 (Feb 10, 2002)

I'm a Freshman in HS and have a question...

When I go to college, do I have to take Math, English, History, etc. or do I just take classes that interest me like Graphic Design, Computers, Multimedia, etc.

Or do I just go to tech school to do that (sorta like Ivy Tech or Art Institute of San Francisco)

This is a question that has been bothering me for some time!


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## tagliatelle (Feb 10, 2002)

Graphic Design is COOL.


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## chemistry_geek (Feb 10, 2002)

*Posted by BlingBling:*


> I'm a Freshman in HS and have a question...
> 
> When I go to college, do I have to take Math, English, History, etc. or do I just take classes that interest me like Graphic Design, Computers, Multimedia, etc.
> 
> ...



BlingBling:

For your Bachelors degree you will receive a "well-rounded education", meaning you be be taking English, mathematics, history, politics, a sports class (like jogging for fun), and all sorts of classes you may think are not relevant to your life.  If you pursue a graduate degree, you will take between 6 and 8 classes that are specific to your major.  Law school may (probably) requires more classes than 6 to 8.


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## BlingBling 3k12 (Feb 10, 2002)

how long for a bachelors... how long for a graduate...

i hate english, math, and science now, how am i going to do it later!

thanks for your reply!


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## AdmiralAK (Feb 10, 2002)

I hate that about teh BA.
It is a complete and total waste of time.  I still need to take 2 art classes and 1 Social Sciences class, which have nothing to do with neither my CS major, nor my language minors


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## tagliatelle (Feb 10, 2002)

3 jears can be enough for a graduate in informatics. There you can make your own games and the more IT is playable the more points you get.


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## Jadey (Feb 10, 2002)

My university  experience was blemished by the fact that the professors went on strike for 53 days right in the last semester of my final year. We lived on campus and had to cross the picket line & listen to their bullshit every time we wanted to go off campus for anything. We finally decided it was going to take a long time, and flew back home. That day, the strike ended, and we had to fly back to write exams. The strike result? The profs got a 1% pay raise over the next few years. They outright told the students that they used us as a means to their end. 

I'd recommend going to a union-free school.  

A interesting tidbit: universities and colleges are very different things here in Canada, but similar in the U.S.. Here you only get a diploma from a college and a degree from a university. You can't go to a college, then go on to a masters or PhD.

One question: how do Americans afford university? Tuition is INSANE compared to Canada. If you all get student loans - how do you ever pay them off?


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## BlingBling 3k12 (Feb 10, 2002)

We don't... we die first! 

Either that or we do something like... really high-paying jobs!

I'm lucky, at least I have $40k set up in some mutal fund for college... i dunno how far that will go though...


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## tagliatelle (Feb 10, 2002)

I wanted to go @ the "open universiteit Nederland" for informatics and they have decided that I must study to be an engineer in "Technische Informatica".


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## chemistry_geek (Feb 10, 2002)

*Posted by BlingBling:*


> how long for a bachelors... how long for a graduate...



It can take as long as you like.  I spent 10 years going to college part-time getting my Bachelors degree while working full-time to finance my school.  I would not recommend going this route.  It sets your life back by freakin' years.  In one aspect it did not; I do have a sizeable nest egg I've built up along the way.  If you've got money saved up, and it sounds like $40K is a really good start, just don't blow it by screwing around in school.  Stay focused and do well in your studies, and go to the best school you can get into.  Schools like their students to graduate in 4 to 5 years.  Masters degree is 2 years, 2.5 years max, then they kick you out.  Ph.D. is typically 4 to 6, with 6 being on the long end of things.  People have gotten a Ph.D. in 3 years by really bustin' ass.

I did take out student loans the last 2 years in college and I lived off of the interest/returns on my investments.  My student loans are not a lot by any means compared to financing an entire college education by today's standards, but they are enough for concern that getting a high paying job is certainly a must if I want to retire with a positive net worth.


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## BlingBling 3k12 (Feb 10, 2002)

So if I go to college for a Graduate Degree, I can study just my major and not take alot of "Basic" classes like Math, Science, etc.?

I'm just making sure I understand correctly!


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## tagliatelle (Feb 10, 2002)

They would do seriously about stupid games!
Enjoy IT! (in theory)
It depends of you are following school all the day or that you are studying and working(or doing nothing = the same).


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## tagliatelle (Feb 10, 2002)

They will do


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## chemistry_geek (Feb 10, 2002)

*Posted by BlingBling*


> So if I go to college for a Graduate Degree, I can study just my major and not take alot of "Basic" classes like Math, Science, etc.?



That's right.  You only take ADVANCED classes in your subject area.  In my case, I take classes relevant to Inorganic/Organometallic Chemistry, NO Bull$#!T classes.  Those kinds of classes are long gone.  But graduate school moves about 2 to 4 times faster than undergraduate school.  You can cover several chapters in one class period, or you can go into unspeakable detail just about one area of a subject or chapter.  Graduate school, especially Ph.D. programs, teach you how to think independently.  There is no degree higher than a Ph.D.  Once you get one, you've reached the end of the line in attaining an advanced degree in education.  A Ph.D. is even higher than an M.D. degree.


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## Red Phoenix (Feb 10, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Jadey _
> *One question: how do Americans afford university? Tuition is INSANE compared to Canada. If you all get student loans - how do you ever pay them off? *



I went to Lafayette College which was great, but tuition was over $30,000 a year when I graduated (this past May). Fortunately, Lafayette was great when it came to scholarships, so very few people ever had to pay that much. In fact, the only people who actually did were the kind of people who could afford it anyway.

As for how long it takes, that definitely depends on where you're going. If you were a full-time student at Lafayette and taking longer than four years, it generally meant you were double-majoring and would stay for a semester or two more. I'm at OSU for graduate school, and it's not unusual for undergraduates here to take six years. Actually over five is the majority.

And yeah, in graduate school, you mostly just concentrate on your field. You can take other classes of course, but here it seems to be a little rare.


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## edX (Feb 10, 2002)

Go Buckeyes!!

phil - i will add my thoughts to this thread eventually, i just want to clarrify something here.

BB - understand that to go for a graduate degree you must complete an undergraduate degree first. There is no getting around a well balanced education to reach that point. You may not see it now, but this 'general education' will serve you well in life. keep in mind that in college you get your choice of the types of classes you take to fulfill these requirements. for instance, i completed my math requirement by taking Logic. which was the single most useful class i have ever taken. For history, you can practically choose who's history and during what epic you want to study. none of this US History type of thing. the range of science classes is equally as broad.  I think it was simx who talked about this earlier.
the only way to just study a particular discipline is to attend a trade school. You seem much too smart to settle for that route.


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## AdmiralAK (Feb 10, 2002)

One of the common misconceptions is that in graduate school you need to continue with what you did for your BA   I thought like this till 3 weeks ago 

I met a professor which did his BA in CS, and then in graduate school did an MbA and then a PhD in economics.  If you have absolutelly NO experience in the subject matter in the masters program they require you to take *some* of the courses at the udnergrad level before you take teh gradute courses, but not all undergrad courses 


I am thinking of doing an Italian lit masters at some point (maybe even before my CS masters lol ) -- My university doesnt have a MA in CS per se, it has a PhD program which you can "leave" after xxx amount of credits with an MA.  I am thinking of going to MA route cause if I fail teh exams after the "MA level" then all my work was for nothing, so I will probably get my MA, graduate and see if I can go back and "resume" having "saved" my previous work lol ;-)


as for tuition, I am a lucky B@st@rd  --- I work full time for the university I go to so as a perk I get to go for free hehehe ;-).  Tuition is a problem though, it does cost too much.  Basically what I would recommend is going to a cheaper one for you BA, a good name but cheaper, and then go to a really good one and one that has even more of a name recognition for your MA or PhD for the simple reason that employers dont generally look at where you got your undergrad education.



Admiral


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## BlingBling 3k12 (Feb 10, 2002)

So... let's see...

I go to Undergraduate for 2 years and then Graduate for 4 years? That's 6 years! Oh No!


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## tagliatelle (Feb 10, 2002)

If you don't have studied enough before you must passed a test as I. In this case I'm one of the exceptions.


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## chemistry_geek (Feb 10, 2002)

Admiral AK made a good point about graduate school.  You don't always need to get a masters or Ph.D. in a particular field with a Bachelors degree from the same field.  This is not always true for some majors/subjects.  I would not recommend an art major apply for a Ph.D. in Physics or vice versa.  People generally tend to gravitate towards careers that mesh well with their abilities/personalities.  Ed can verify this, I'm sure.  For example, one the chemistry professors in our department sounds like a salesman, infact, his undergraduate education is in Psychology, but he got his Ph.D. in Chemistry.  Now the school I attend (Chemistry Department) will take people from different backgrounds other than chemistry if that major has some similar course requirements, like calculus, i.e., "thinking-oriented" classes.  But the Polymer program (an entirely separate department) at my school is one of the best in the nation, and it only takes people with the best chemistry backgrounds.

Admiral AK's point is very true for people wanting to enter law school, and to some degree medical school.  Law schools only require a Bachelors degree from an accredited university/college, and decent LSAT scores to enter the program.  Medical school is an entirely different beast -  I won't go there - it would take to long to explain.


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## .dev.lqd (Feb 10, 2002)

I'm halfway through my third year at Rochester Institute of Technology.

RIT is a lot of what you make it to be. You can come here and go through the motions, or you can bust your ass a little and get some more out of it. The best way to go is to do a little of both. 

General advice...consider going to a community college to take care of liberal arts... BUT ONLY IF YOU HAVE THE MOTIVATION TO KEEP GOING. Doing this lets you keep options open in terms of major and school, but you need to have a plan and check out everything from the beginning- especially how transferring credits works, the course requirements for the programs (majors) you're considering, etc. You have to be a real soldier to do all this...

The other thing- find out about the procedure for signing into a course. At rit- you can take up to 18 hours every quarter... so remember that you're paying for those credits anyways... all I have to do to get into ANY course is track down the professor and ask him to let me in (sometimes this flies, other times it doesn't). Just because a course isn't required doesn't mean you can't just take it... you don't need to double major or any of that crap. 

You can get a lot out of most of the programs at RIT... although I'd not reccomend going here for ANY liberal arts programs... (economics, criminal justice, etc. etc. maybe philosophy though... that dept. is strong) there are just stronger schools for that. RIT also has excellent facilities available... as will other colleges. Make use of them while you can.


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## symphonix (Feb 10, 2002)

Thanks for the input, guys. I am currently applying to Universities here in Australia for my Bachelors, and appreciate the comments. I am glad I am not in the US, as I wouldn't be able to afford one week at a Uni there!
Here our student loans are based on an interest free tax-debt that you pay off according to your income. I would have to be earning a certain amount of money before I have to make any payments, and even then they are reasonable.
The impression I get is that for a Bachelors you do, in any semester, 4 units related to your major - or core subject, and 1 unit from an unrelated elective. EG: for a BA of I.T., you would do 4 I.T. subjects and 1 other, perhaps business or graphic design.
I'll let you know how it goes.


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## edX (Feb 11, 2002)

> _originally posted by my bud BlingBling_
> I go to Undergraduate for 2 years and then Graduate for 4 years? That's 6 years! Oh No!



wellno, not quite. an undergraduate degree (an B.A. or B.S. - Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science) takes a minimum of 4 years as a rule. Many people divide it up into junior college (1-2 years) and then finish at a University. In a round about way, that is how i did it.  As Red Phoenix mentioned earlier, it is not unusual to take 5-6 year getting finished with this part.  It took me about 8 yr in 2 seperate stints.
now graduate school can be anywhere from a year to another 7 or 8. it depends on the area of study and the particular requirements of individual schools. I think it is a little early for you guys to be worrying too much about grad schools. But one rule of thumb about the whole process - the better grades you get at one level, the more likely you are to get into a better school at the next level. To get into a decent college it helps to have at least a B average in high school.  to get into a decent grad school it helps to have a B+ averge or better. again, depending on the school. You must also do well on your standardized tests like the SAT. for grad school it is generally the GRE. 

Chemistry_geek made some good points that are worth noting as well. But i think in general that grad schools are more accepting of diverse undergrad degrees when the person has gotten some life experience in between the 2 phases of their education.


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## AdmiralAK (Feb 11, 2002)

I was thinking about my PhD about a year ago and then I realized that it was too soon for me to be thnking about that now lol.  Let me just focus on surviving this semester ;-)

If you think about it before you enter a university its a pain because you think it will take you forever.  This is my 4th year (one more to go for my BA) and it seems like yesterday that I entered into my university life... wow!


so who can see me as an italian PhD... Professore AK hehehe ;-)


Admiral


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## themacko (Feb 11, 2002)

Here's a few tips I've picked up from the past 3 years of college:

Move out early, get into the dorms if you can.
Apply to as many colleges as you can, even if you don't necessarily intend on going to them.
Do not overload your schedule your freshman year.
Do not schedule your classes too early, 9 am at the earliest.

Those are my tips for the pros.  A good college for CS majors is Stanford, but that's on the opposite corner of the U.S. as you.


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## Klink (Feb 11, 2002)

My college experience evokes mix emotions. I started my freshman semester at New York Institute of Technology in the middle of the Reagan years. The Reagan machine was pushing institutions to crank out more Engineers at the time and I fell prey to the influences of my high school counselors to do so. This seemed like a natural selection for a major as I was interested in electronics, had a natural inclination to engineer things as a young boy, was accepted by my parents and society as a noble profession and was thought to bring better than fair monetary rewards. I should note I was very active as a musician during high school but was influenced not to pursue such a career by counselors because of it's inherent instability. Of coarse my parents agreed as did I, reluctantly.

Back to freshman year. Before the actual start of classes I was asked to take a math placement test in order to properly place myself at the correct level. Well it was more than a year since I've seen an complex algebra problem due to taking statistics in my senior year in high school. You could imagine I scored rather poorly. To make matters worse, none of my high school math credits transfered over as was staunchly stated by my HS counselors that they would be. I was devastated as I knew this was a large part of an EE major and I was always very adept at math in general throughout my prior schooling. I felt I had to make a quick decision at this point to choose another major. The choice was Communications Arts. In retrospect this must have been a decision based on my suppressed desire to be involved in the entertainment business. Onward with my re-registration of classes for CA.

The NYIT campus I went to was in Westbury, Long Island in New York. There was a very large percentage of exchange students that attended (50ish%). I felt this factor, the lack of organized sports,  the lack of expression in the arts and the lack of a strong student body added to the air of isolation. Not conducive to a positive college experience at all. None the less I happily went through the next 4 semesters sampling all that CA had to offer; Television, Film, Radio and Advertising in hopes of narrowing down my decision for a vocation after graduation. During this time I decided I wanted to 'be' an Audio Engineer and work with artists making music. My college counselors were of no help here. A little research as to how one attains these positions lead me to the realization that a college degree was not mandatory to enter this work force. Actually, I saw it as a detriment because by the time I would finish and have a degree, I could be seen as somewhat old to start in this profession. This profession is one of the few left that still adhere to the practice of apprenticing. Armed with this information, I decided to drop out of NYIT (a very difficult decision) and attended a Department of Education accredited school for Audio Engineering called Audio Recording Institute of Technology (one of the only accredited schools at that time). I finished those courses and landed a job after a year of knocking on Recording Studio doors. I should mention education for the entertainment business is very different today. Schools like Boston's Berkeley now offer majors in music production and have professional quality equipment in which to teach students. This did not exist in my day. 

What I remember most of my college experience was the freedom of how much effort one can place on a particular field of study one is interested in. It's really up to the individual how much she/he wants to learn. There is also something to be said of higher education through self learning. I believe in this strongly. I am always in a state of learning even after I have established myself in my career. Without progressive learning one becomes placid and eventually unhappy.


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## Matrix Agent (Feb 11, 2002)

Wow! What an overwhelming response! Thanks everyone for sharing this, its really nice to see what people have gone through.

If there's anything else....keep it coming!


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## dlookus (Feb 11, 2002)

Matrix,

I went to graduate school at RIT, and I agree with pretty much everything .dev.lqd had to say. I think it's a great place if your self motivated. They have good facilities and there are some great professors, but more importantly a good community of smart students. I won't go into the social aspects of RIT since I'm from Rochester and I didn't live a real college life while I was there. I will say that I got the kind of job I wanted when I left (I was in Computer Graphics.) I did not receive much help from my department when it came time to find a job, however.

For undergraduate school I went to Binghamton University. I was pretty cynical about the place while I was there, but in hindsite it was pretty good. I went there because it was cheap and I didn't know what I wanted to do. They have pretty solid Engineering, CS and Accounting schools (from what I gathered.) I was an Art student there and surprisingly they had some great professors. It's not really known for art. The art schools computer facilities were lacking to say the least. Now, socially, the city of Binghamton is a bit depressed and there's not much to do. There's quite a bit of drinking. It's a pretty laid back town and has a pretty interesting music scene. Many of the Students are from NYC. It's also a very diverse place. Anyone, no matter how strange, will have a good group of friends.


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## rinse (Feb 11, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Ed Spruiell _
> *Go Buckeyes!!
> 
> phil - i will add my thoughts to this thread eventually, i just want to clarrify something here.
> ...



Ed, you seem to missing something here.... it is quite possible to get a degree in design, art or soemthing like that at a Art school and go for a master's degree in it somewhere else. (I.E. Getting a design degree at MIAD or Art academy and going to Yale for Information design)... Also, while getting a degree at a "trade" school may be seen to be a cop out to the acadmeic.... you often times can get a much superior trainging in your desired area than is typically available at a 4 year university.


Sorry to rant, but I always got good grades in "smart" type classes, was an artist, and your argurment against specialized schools doesn't hold water IMHO. Many "smart" people are better suited to go to a specialized school where they dont need to risk failure due to lack of focus or boredom.


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## edX (Feb 11, 2002)

rinse - 1st, i will admit to not being aware that it was possible to continue on in higher education after attending a specialized school. and i knew as soon as i posted it i would offend somebody by my remark.

so let me clarrify - i was particularly thinking of places like DeVry and their sort. they are dead end programs. I have serious doubts that any devry grads are going on to any respected graduate program. But of course there are many excellent art and graphics schools that do a great job of preparing one for a career in those fields that i was overlooking in my statement.  Your point about staying focused is a good one as well. I might have been better off to start my own advanced training in such a way. you will understand more of what i mean when i get around to posting my college experience - the official guide to how not to do it 

I would still argue, from the point in life i have reached, that a good broad education is a very valuable thing to get at some point. I will also agree with klink that one doesn't have to attend a school to get that. But there is added value in studying in an environment where ideas and disagreements can be thrown around for discussion. this kind of education may or may not add to one's career possibilities. But it will certainly enrich one's life in many other ways.


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## BlingBling 3k12 (Feb 11, 2002)

What are some good schools for what I like to do and what I will do in the future...

I like dealing with computers, graphics, video, and especially the internet.

i do web sites now, which includes everything from the graphics to the implementation and pretty much everything inbetween. i love my job. it's excellent!

i am also extremely interested in video and it's production. i love all aspects of it. my friends think i'm crazy when I have to have a shot and element perfect... (like when I was in a 6th grade movie... see it at http://svcs.k12.in.us/svms/avid.htm . I am playing Dick Clark and the guy hosting the Y2K Show. yes, it was stupid beyond belief, but it got 4th place in state competition)

i love making graphics... they've got to be perfect... advertising and marketing are things that I'd like to do... I'm very creative...

i love making websites... again, i like being involved with everything that has to be done with it.

any schools that relate to all of that? lol...

how many years (estimated)

thanks everyone... you've made everything easier than my guidance counselor

BTW... my school allows us to go to Ohio University Eastern during our Junior and Senior year if they feel it would be a good experience. I could earn college credits there and use them at a college in the future.

BTW (part 2)... there is something our county has, a special thing with a technical college, where you go half the day to regular classes like math and english and history and then the other half you go to a specialized class like Information Technology, Web Design, Cisco Certified Networking, Graphic Design, etc. 

Do you suggest any of those alternatives too?


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## homer (Feb 11, 2002)

Thought I'd throw in my two cents on the subject of being in school.  From a HS perspective, I can imagine that the prospect of many more years of school is quite daunting.  But never fear!  After a while one tends to become firmly entrenched in school, and the idea of actually being out of school becomes quite a novel idea.  It's the green light at the end of the dock that year by year recedes before us.  

That said, I want this to be encouraging.  School's not that bad.  Avoid the real world!!!  

Sorry, but I have no advice on what schools to look at (unless you're looking for neuroscience advice. . . .)


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## Izzy (Feb 11, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Ed Spruiell _
> *wellno, not quite. an undergraduate degree (an B.A. or B.S. - Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science) takes a minimum of 4 years as a rule. Many people divide it up into junior college (1-2 years) and then finish at a University. In a round about way, that is how i did it.  As Red Phoenix mentioned earlier, it is not unusual to take 5-6 year getting finished with this part.  It took me about 8 yr in 2 seperate stints. *



Not in my experience...I did my all of my undergrad work in 2 years and even managed to get a minor (BS in Bio and minor in chem.)...it's not easy, but it is doable...I'm currently in med school right now, so if anyone has any questions or wants any tips to go this route of study just drop me a line here through PM...

As for paying off my student loans...I will be quite old when that gets done...I had full scholarships for undergrad, but here in med school scholarships are few and far between, and we are talking 27,000+ per year...yikes...good thing doctors are well paid, although when I finally start practicing I'll in essence have two mortgage payments...


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## dsnyder (Feb 19, 2002)

I went to Brown.  It has a great CS program, is very easy to double major, is in the Northeast, and since it's an Ivy the reputation is good.  And you don't have to take any bullshit classes.  There is no core curriculum, which means the only required classes are the ones in your major(s).  Everything else is up to you.  Getting in is not easy, but if you've got the grades and the scores, you should definitely check it out.


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