The College Thread

[Emmzee]

Yesterday, I got a letter saying I was accepted to University of North Carolina at Wilmington (not my target school, but it's still great), and I'm waiting for 3 other colleges to accept/deny me.

So where are you guys going to go to college, or where are you going to college, and what for?

[n00b1n8R]

you forgot to say what your going for.

also yay for you! :D

[Zeph]

I'm at East Tennessee State University studying digital media. I really suggest anyone in the area that's interested in the subject come here for it. Compared to other programs that are in SIGGRAPH, ours has one of the highest budgets of the country.

We started up a productions class this semester, so there'll be a lot of high-end stuff coming out from now on.

[Emmzee]

you forgot to say what your going for.

also yay for you! :D
Information Technology/Computer Sciences.

[Aerowyn]

I'm a Graphics Design major at Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Yep.

LOOK GUYS, ART:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c183/Lady-Aerowyn/PinkFlowerVert.jpg

HURR. Sorry. D: I'm just scared of the gallery thread cos they don't like me much in there. T___T; *slinks away*

[TheGhost]

I'm at Cornell University for Electrical & Computer Engineering

[flibitijibibo]

Trying to get into Florida State's college-a music. Commercial music FTW.

Post 15^2 FTEW.

[paladin]

University of Washington, Architecture and Construction Management.

[El Lobo]

University of Illinois - Business major

[Atty]

Due to family problems I really can't go anywhere, I'm doing a two year associates at the local Community college then probably transferring to University of South Florida for a Computer Science major.

[OmegaDragon]

Going for University of Florida, if I don't make it in the first time, I will go into SFCC, then transfer.

[Atty]

Wait, Omega, you are in Florida? What, get out ma state.

[Kornman00]

What, get out ma state.
n, I was here first, u

Cochise College

[Tweek]

ugh, college. did a year of that, and i was busy teaching the teachers.
and they STILL made me pay for it.

i gtfo because i wanted to learn, and spent my time teaching instead

[Rob Oplawar]

University of Colorado at Boulder. Computer Science with a possibility of an Electrical Engineering minor or maybe a double major.

@Tweek: yeah freshman year was a joke- I hardly learned anything, so I basically took it as my time to be lazy and party, seeing as my parents paid for that year. But now I'm paying for the rest, and I have to say I've learned a hell of a lot this semester. Who'd have thought I'd learn so much in college?

[Tweek]

i was teaching the teachers. FOR REAL.

i was teachign them things they never knew, in subjects they were supposed to be teaching. if THEY don't even know basic stuff, do you really thing they can teach the advanced stuff?

[CN3089]

maybe you shouldn't have gone to the south harmon institute of technology

[nooBBooze]

ima probably going for some lawyeresque facutly but i would consider studying something around ecological farming. [not only because it would allow me to spend some months at a hippie-like (+led) commune wich would be awsome.]so obviously i ddint really settle for anything yet cause over here in ol europe most folks dont attend college before theyre 19+.
D:

[Random]

I don't know where I am going to go. Got my first acceptance letter from University of Pittsburgh's school of engineering today, but I am using that school as a backup. Rather go to Carnegie Mellon.

[STLRamsFan]

Yesterday, I got a letter saying I was accepted to University of North Carolina at Wilmington (not my target school, but it's still great), and I'm waiting for 3 other colleges to accept/deny me.

So where are you guys going to go to college, or where are you going to college, and what for?

I actually know a friend that goes to UNC, but it's at Chapel Hill. She really likes it a lot though.

At the moment I'm attending Northern Virginia Community College but hope to transfer into George Mason for a degree in exercise science. Should be pretty interesting to study. :)

[thehoodedsmack]

Today was the deadline for University Applications in my province. While you guys may not have heard of the schools, I've applied to the Computer Science programs at the University of Waterloo, and Wilfred Laurier University, as well as some back-up programs like Arts and Business.

[Sever]

@Rams: One of my good friends did the same thing kinda, but from PVCC (down here at Charlotteaville) and for finance. I've heard nothing but good reviews from him. It took him a while to really get into it, but he found the right group of friends and Northern Virginia is now his 'home away from home'. I hope you get accepted and enjoy it there!

[Llama Juice]

I go to Full Sail. Winter Park FL.

Computer Animation.

[legionaire45]

I plan on going to Digipen or if I can't go there, Full Sail (not my second school of choice but it still is one of them). I have a list of a few other colleges I was toying with the idea of, but I honestly need to do more research (right now I'm half way through 11th).

I want to get either a B.A in Real Time Interactive Simulation (at Digipen) or something to that effect (some kind of programming degree).

[Kybo_Ren]

CS major at UCR

[Bodzilla]

CS major at UCR
Go Counter-Strike bro \m/

also i never went to college, but nearly all my friends did, sure i wish i had as much holidays as you guys, that is until i realise how much pain suffering and late nights you guys suffer :P

[Kybo_Ren]

actually my classes are super easy: I have over half the CS homework done for this quarter already (started 3 days ago).

[odseraphim]

Wait, Omega, you are in Florida? What, get out ma state.
You get out of OUR state, atakist!

I go to ITT-Tech in Tampa, in the Game Design program. I already took all my english/math classes, so now I have just game design classes till I graduate! WOOT!

[Bad Waffle]

I'm a Graphics Design major at Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Yep.

LOOK GUYS, ART:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c183/Lady-Aerowyn/PinkFlowerVert.jpg

HURR. Sorry. D: I'm just scared of the gallery thread cos they don't like me much in there. T___T; *slinks away*

thats preeeety...and if anybody tells you that you arent welcome i'll slap em in the face with my dick (because you cant)

I'm going to be attending UAT (University of Advancing Technologies) in maybe a year or two. Gotta finish junior year, senior year, and then get my gen ed credits out of the way at my community college. Really expensive, but well worth it. I went to the campus and it was literally a game dev studio mixed with a school, completely wired with a huge intranet and multiple rooms of tech goodies. Etc Etc.

[PlasbianX]

I planned killing myself before I ever get to college. I just dont wanna deal with the real world. :smithicide: Lies! :P prbly some art school near Cleveland.

[Limited]

Southampton :D:D

What do I study? Right now nothing, its just 24/7 partying baby...

Well sorta, first year I only need to pass, not go overboard :D

[Mr Buckshot]

I live in Vancouver and I attend the IB program in high school. I will grad in 2009 and I hope to get into an Ivy league university...if not, I'm going for the University of Toronto, the top university in Canada (and it's also located in a good province). I doubt I can qualify for Harvard since my predicted IB score is around 39 or so (42 maximum plus 3 bonus points). But I'm going to try for the heck of it.

Even if I get into an American university (aiming for Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, etc) I'm not sure if I want to live in the States a second time.

community colleges (i.e. Langara and BCIT in Vancouver, or De Anza in California) are for losers.

[Emmzee]

Stop making me look stupid.
<:mad:>

[Mr Buckshot]

I'm Asian. I studied in the States before, and now I'm in Canada. My job is to make the locals of either country feel inadequate. Mwahaha.

Like everyone else, I'd very much like to achieve 45 points for my final IB results, but I don't think I can, and so Harvard probably won't accept my application.

But UNC is still a good university. It's just not located in a convenient or well-known state.

[DaneO'Roo]

Lmao, Lismore TAFE Campus, IT Certificate 4 in Multimedia

[Con]

I planned killing myself before I ever get to college. I just dont wanna deal with the real world. :smithicide:
whoa, you sound like terror a bit there

[Mr Buckshot]

I'm at Cornell University for Electrical & Computer Engineering

Yay Cornell. I know two people there named Sophia Lu and Shine Guo. You know them?

I'm only in 11th grade (IB Year One), but wherever I end up, I will likely major in biology and medical science. My original goal was computer engineering, but medicine is cooler than all my computer stuff.

My fall back post-secondary will be UBC (University of British Columbia), the second best university in Canada and also the only university that I can attend and stay at home at the same time (I live in Vancouver and UBC is located there ^^). I already know I can easily qualify for UBC, so if I end up getting rejected from all the Ivy League universities, I'll go to UBC.

I'm sometimes confused by the American use of the word "college." In Canada, there is a strong distinction between "college" and "university." Generally, colleges suck and are for losers who barely passed high school. To put it in perspective, Langara College in Vancouver is about the same as De Anza College in San Jose. If a Canadian post-secondary school has the word "College" in its name, it SUCKS. However, I realize that "college" may mean the same thing as university in American terms.

[Kybo_Ren]

In America, a college is an institution of higher learning that does not offer graduate or post-graduate degrees. A university is one that does.

[Limited]

In America, a college is an institution of higher learning that does not offer graduate or post-graduate degrees. A university is one that does.

Same in UK/ So when people talk about college in US. They mean just getting some qualification, not an actual degree? Ahh thanks for clearing it up

[dg]

Going to go to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Doing ROTC in college and then try to go into the Marines as an officer.

[Kybo_Ren]

Same in UK/ So when people talk about college in US. They mean just getting some qualification, not an actual degree? Ahh thanks for clearing it up
No, in the UK college is equivalent to the US's high school.

[Mr Buckshot]

So in the states, the word "college" doesn't carry all sorts of negative connotations with it right? Up here, we IB nerds laugh at those who can only qualify for local colleges after finishing high school. We revere those who can get into UBC or better. Anyway not everyone can afford to travel abroad, so most IB students in my city end up at UBC.

I do know a few people who managed to skip 11th and 12th grade and go straight to a Canadian local college after 10th grade. They graduate a year later than high school students do, but they have the advantage in that if they don't get into a university right after, they still have a college degree to use when applying for jobs.

Hmm, TheGhost is the only member here who attends an Ivy League university.

Other possibilities for me are applying for Cambridge/Oxford because England is cool, but it's expensive to live in Europe and be supported by Canadian dollars since the Euro and Pound values are bloody high.

[Emmzee]

Dear ******:
Congratulations on your acceptance to UNC Charlotte! We welcome you and your entire family to your new campus community. If you have not already received it, an official acceptance letter under separate cover is also being sent to you.
I know where I'm going next year.

[Siliconmaster]

I'm still deciding where to go to college. I've gotten into all the ones I've applied to so far: Penn State, Fairleigh-Dickinson University, Emerson College, and my safety school, Keene State. I would like to go to Emerson in Boston, but it's upwards of 40 grand a year. On the other hand, Fairleigh-Dickinson offered me a $20,000 per year scholarship for no apparent reason, so I may go there.

[Limited]

No, in the UK college is equivalent to the US's high school.
US high school is not optional, where as UK college IS optional. Plus we get GCSE's at secondary school, which is equilivent to your high school.

[Emmzee]

US high school is not optional
Wrong. If you're 16 or over and enrolled in a public US high school, you can drop out.

[Mr Buckshot]

Wrong. If you're 16 or over and enrolled in a public US high school, you can drop out.

Hey, same here in Canada. But we're so bloody socialist that no one really needs to drop out unless they do drugs or something.

In my city, if you tell your friends that you're going to a college after graduating, you're saying "Hey look at me my grades are barely enough to graduate and I suck and mock me please."

and lulz, if I get into a top-level university, my dad says he'll buy me a nice car or at least let me drive his, lol.

[Limited]

Wrong. If you're 16 or over and enrolled in a public US high school, you can drop out.
Please read what I said.
"US high school is not optional"
You HAVE to go, until your 16. Dropping out just means you can give up, you still HAVE to go to high school. College UK is COMPLETELY optional.

[STLRamsFan]

If you're 16 or over and enrolled in a public US high school, you can drop out.

Why is it now that I learn this. :v

But seriously, when I hear the word "college" I usually think of a community college or university. That's why I usually ask where the person is going to get an idea. As I said before, I'm going to a community college before I transfer into George Mason University. While I'm not all that keen on attending a community college, the fact that I'm saving money to get my basics out of the way is something I keep in mind.

[Emmzee]

Please read what I said.
"US high school is not optional"
Yeah, that implies that it is never optional. Please read what you said.

[n00b1n8R]

I'm still deciding where to go to college. I've gotten into all the ones I've applied to so far: Penn State, Fairleigh-Dickinson University, Emerson College, and my safety school, Keene State. I would like to go to Emerson in Boston, but it's upwards of 40 grand a year. On the other hand, Fairleigh-Dickinson offered me a $20,000 per year scholarship for no apparent reason, so I may go there.
if they want to give you $20,000 a year, that sounds like a good option O_o

also, what course are you taking that would cost 40K a year?

[Emmzee]

also, what course are you taking that would cost 40K a year?
In the United States, private universities cost a lot more than public ones. Using two universities nearby as examples:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (public): $3705 annual tuition.
Duke University (private): $35,512.
Both are extremely credible schools. Discuss.

[n00b1n8R]

one is for people with more dollars than sense?

[Emmzee]

one is for people with more dollars than sense?
Congratulations! You've won a big prize!

http://lauramartinez.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/big-prize.gif

[Random]

In the United States, private universities cost a lot more than public ones. Using two universities nearby as examples:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (public): $3705 annual tuition.
Both are extremely credible schools. Discuss.

Only because you are instate though. Changes things when it comes to costs.

[Emmzee]

Only because you are instate though. Changes things when it comes to costs.
I know. I'm comparing in-state tuitions. Out-of-state tuitions increase more for public universities, but it's still much lower than in-state for private universities.

[Varmint260]

Generally, colleges suck and are for losers who barely passed high school.

...if you tell your friends that you're going to a college after graduating, you're saying "Hey look at me my grades are barely enough to graduate and I suck and mock me please."

I am deeply offended by your comments, sir! I happen to go to a Canadian college and I will state right now that I am learning loads and I am enjoying what I am learning, and also that I am NOT there because I barely passed high school. Under my belt I have 5 provincial exam grades high enough to launch me into UBC. However, there is one section of learning that colleges tend to teach that universities overlook, and that would be the TRADES.

Anyways, I have met many people who believe that you are not getting a "real" education if you aren't getting a university degree. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone here, but that is simply NOT the case. In this context, the university graduate tends to look down at tradesmen as dumb under-achievers who dropped out of high school and are generally not of the same caliber. In the case of most of these people, they take their car into the dealer to get the brakes on their car repaired. So, they are entrusting the safety of every person within the vicinity of that car to the "dumb, under-achieving" mechanic that just installed new brake shoes.

Anyways...

I go to North Island College and I am currently in the pre-Apprenticeship program for Heavy-Duty/Commercial Transport Mechanics.

[Terror(NO)More]

I'm waiting on letters back from the Art Institute Of Pittsburgh, Washington, Tampa, Detroit, and Illinois Accept/Deny & for tours.

[Bodzilla]

I am deeply offended by your comments, sir! I happen to go to a Canadian college and I will state right now that I am learning loads and I am enjoying what I am learning, and also that I am NOT there because I barely passed high school. Under my belt I have 5 provincial exam grades high enough to launch me into UBC. However, there is one section of learning that colleges tend to teach that universities overlook, and that would be the TRADES.

Anyways, I have met many people who believe that you are not getting a "real" education if you aren't getting a university degree. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone here, but that is simply NOT the case. In this context, the university graduate tends to look down at tradesmen as dumb under-achievers who dropped out of high school and are generally not of the same caliber. In the case of most of these people, they take their car into the dealer to get the brakes on their car repaired. So, they are entrusting the safety of every person within the vicinity of that car to the "dumb, under-achieving" mechanic that just installed new brake shoes.

Anyways...

I go to North Island College and I am currently in the pre-Apprenticeship program for Heavy-Duty/Commercial Transport Mechanics.
This man Speaks the undeniable truth.

I myself Scored very well at school yet i've decided to take up an apprenticeship instead of going to Uni.
Trades are essential and Unless you want to Start swimming in your own shit, not have a car and not have any electricity you better start giving them the respect they deserve.

fucking ignorant self-obsessed douche bags i swear to god....

[Emmzee]

This man Speaks the undeniable truth.

I myself Scored very well at school yet i've decided to take up an apprenticeship instead of going to Uni.
Trades are essential and Unless you want to Start swimming in your own shit, not have a car and not have any electricity you better start giving them the respect they deserve.

fucking ignorant self-obsessed douche bags i swear to god....
IAWTP. I have this one friend who's going to be an auto mechanic and is currently enrolled in community college classes in auto mechanics/repair to get certified. He'll probably end up making more money if he owns his own shop (likely as he's also taking buisness/managment classes) than 70% of the people who go to universities, and he'll have a more rewarding job than 95% of them.

Although, I wouldn't know anything about apprenticeships/trade degrees as I'm going to uni myself. :-3

[Mr Buckshot]

Under my belt I have 5 provincial exam grades high enough to launch me into UBC.

You've earned my admiration. I'm not being sarcastic. I am quite surprised that you are passionate about the trades though. For me, I know I can get into UBC without any troubles, so I'm actually using UBC as a fallback - that is, if I get rejected from University of Toronto or the American universities, I go to UBC, 'nuff said.

Where I was born (Singapore, then spent a good chunk of my childhood in China), the people working in the trades don't entirely do so by choice - it's because they just weren't good enough for anything higher. I come from a very pragmatic society that is all anti-socialist.

It is true that we need these blue-collar workers to support the snobbier ones like me and my nerdy I.B. friends. However, I've rarely heard of people who work in such jobs because they want to do so. Gas station attendants, waiters/waitresses, cashiers, clerks, etc never seem too enthusiastic about their jobs here in Vancouver. The garbage men, whom I constantly bitch at for not putting back my can properly (they just leave it on its side with the lid off), definitely aren't too happy.

Good luck, sir, and I hope you really know what you want to do after college. All the best.

[Bodzilla]

Lets put it this way when it comes to Tradys.

i started work nearly a year ago to the date at a joinery. in that time I've seen my boss for 6 weeks Max. The rest of the time he's been touring Around australia on 6 month and 3 month holidays Living it up and he still gains a massive profit.

I reckon the Joinery makes about 2-3 k a Day and all of it goes straight to his bank account.
You do the math.

[Varmint260]

However, I've rarely heard of people who work in such jobs because they want to do so. Gas station attendants, waiters/waitresses, cashiers, clerks, etc

Good luck, sir, and I hope you really know what you want to do after college. All the best.

Thanks for the good luck. However, of those jobs you have outlined, I see few that require a trades education. Any one of us still in high school can pump gas, work a cash register, serve meals at a restaurant (okay okay, you need a week in a FoodSafe course for that one), etc. I'm not talking about jobs that you can learn everything about in a day or two.

The trades I refer to are millwrights, automotive, heavy-duty and commercial transport mechanics, electricians, carpenters, gas fitters... heck, even hairdressing is considered to be a trade. A person who is lazy or stupid cannot get very far in any of these fields. For example, in my class, there are fifteen of us. One of them is your typical slacker from high school who figures taking a trade is the easy way out. I'm 90&#37; sure that he will fail the course because we're over half way through the first year and he has projects overdue going back four months. Most high school dropouts and slackers end up this way. The other fourteen are fairly knowledgeable guys with a good work ethic and a lot of common sense and who enjoy the work. Plus they enjoy the fact that instead of being a hundred grand in debt after getting a pHD, they'll be paying off their school payments of $3,500 after the first year is completed.

And why do I want to do this instead of learning Chemistry or getting a degree in Computer Sciences (though that would be enjoyable too)? I personally find it very appealing to say that instead of working on my lab report today, I took parts of the hydraulic system out of a 264,000lb Caterpillar 793B Hauler to perform repairs. Doing mechanical work on heavy equipment is a lot of fun and gives you a good workout.

http://www.mining-technology.com/projects/bajo/images/bajo5.jpg

Just remember that blue collar does not necessarily mean gas station attendants and cashiers. ;)

EDIT: Oh, by the way; I WOULD give heck to those garbage truck drivers. Everyone knows the proper way to place an empty can is upside down with the lid next to it, not on its side!

[Bodzilla]

^i reckon i'm in the Same boat as you.

I became a Trady because at the end of the day you have a product that you can see, touch, rather then something like accounting where you can work for years and all you have to show for it is Pieces of paper.

For me there is nothing better then Building a Grand wooden kitchen with Stone bench tops and a hole heap of other cool stuff and then going out on Site and seeing the product all fitted together and finished.

I reckon Trades give you a greater sense of accomplishment then any other industry.

[Varmint260]

I could not have said it better myself. However, on that last sentence... I bet a person would also get a pretty big sense of accomplishment working in the medical profession too, right? That's definitely more of a University's territory.

Anyways, to Emmzee: I apologize for turning your thread into a College vs. University discussion. I just wanted to make people understand that the trades education has just as many merits as the university degree. Hope you understand :)

[Bodzilla]

^
o/

[Mr Buckshot]

Very good points Varmint/Zilla.

I myself enjoy working with crafts on my own time, and I even carved and painted a replica of my dad's car for his birthday once. It's fun, but not something that motivates me during post-secondary

Yeah, I plan to study medicine, at Harvard if humanly possible. Whether it really helps me or not, it does make me look and feel good.

So Varmint, what's the name of your college? You are on Vancouver Island right?

As for me, I currently go to a mainland Vancouver high school, which offers both an I.B. program and a regular program, the latter of which is dead easy. I am in I.B., and my friends and I tend to feel superior to most of the regular students. Fact is, most of the regular students are lazy slackers who are like that one guy Varmint mentioned. Some of them are smart and achieve good grades, but they won't be recognized the way the high-achieving I.B. students are. Not to say that I think the regular students are totally inferior, as I have many good friends who aren't in I.B.

[Varmint260]

I go to North Island College

Yeah, I'm on Vancouver Island. 'Round about the middle currently, though once I complete my first year pre-app course, I may move up the island or onto the mainland and into northern BC.