Tell me about College

[Meakel]

Everything about college. Applying, how you can make sure you choose what's right for you, the experience.

[Arra]

I just wrote like 5 huge paragraphs and my browser fucked up and decided to delete it all, now I have to start over. I'll be more brief than the first time and it will not have as much heart. I think I was writing for over half an hour. I live in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The experience of college might be different in other places. I'll contrast high school and college experiences. Something I used to hear a lot while in high school was that college workloads were huge compared to high school, stuff like having to read an entire textbook in a day. But I think those myths were probably started because high school teachers want their students to take their work more seriously. In reality, it depends on what classes you take, but the work load for college is in general lighter than it was in high school, for me. Teachers will usually ask for one assignment to be turned in per week. College professors tend to be a lot more lenient than high school teachers are. High school teachers often hate their jobs as they feel they are half babysitting rude students who don't want to be there. College teachers know that their students are mostly mature adults who want to be there and are often paying to be there. They are more likely to joke around. In high school for me there were a lot more class 'activities'. In college, almost all classes involve taking down notes while being lectured. There are some teachers who like to make students do class activities, but it's rare in my experience. The exception is Lab classes. If you take any science, like Biology or Physics, your schedule will probably consist of a few hours of lecture, and a couple hours of lab, which takes place in a separate classroom with a special lab instructor. In high school the lectures and labs were usually molded into one. In high school it was kind of like, "okay class today we're going to have a lab," but in college the lab part is like an entirely separate mini-class you're taking. In my experience, in high school exams usually consisted of many short questions, while in college they tend to be made up of maybe 5-10 long questions. If you are signing up for courses and are given a choice between a few professors, take advantage of the popular website ratemyprofessors.com. I think about every college is listed on there, and every teacher who has taught before. You get teacher ratings in different categories from students who have had that teacher before, along with comments. The website has saved me in the past from getting some terrible professors, and for me it means a lot. The difference between a bad and good professor can seroiusly mean the difference between a C- and an A for me. When you get to higher level courses, though, you often don't have a choice.

[Seanchaidh]

Hehe. I'll be going to college in a couple of weeks and all I can really say is that it's a good opportunity for anyone to take. Mainly because it improves your education and it gives you great chances for making new friends and having fun! The enrollment process can be lengthy and you need to fill out a lot of stuff and once your there you have to find out where your classes are, clubs, toilets etc.. It can also be really intimidating going to college and the work load can be pretty heavy but other than that it's great. As for choosing a course that's right for you...well, I don't know :/ I guess you wont know if it's right for you until you try it (or at least talked to someone who's taken the course in the past). Hope I helped. Bye! :3

[Xox]

College will be (hopefully) one of the best experiences you're ever going to have in your life. I'll break it down. -Applying I'd say apply to AT LEAST 3 schools. I know a lot of people decide to apply to like, 5 or 10. But paying $60 for every school adds up. Not to even mention the different personal statements. I have no idea what grade you're in, but an extracurricular activity that you've been dedicated to looks great. Try not to join every other club, choose one or two you like and do lots with them. Or just stay an active member for the majority of HS. Volunteer work hours looks great. GPA and class standing go without saying. If your GPA isn't too hot, make up for it by making excellent SAT scores. Vice versa. Take the SAT at least twice - once in 11th grade and once in 12th. Don't worry if you fucked up early on in HS, an improvement in grades is something counselors look for. Make sure your senior year schedule is tough. Too many seniors take a slacker schedule - office work doesn't look good neither does interior design or something. Unless, of course, it relates to what you're planning to do. One of the most important things is the personal statement/essay. You need to stand out. The topic doesn't matter - no matter how cliche it is, it's the WAY you write and present it. Your writing needs to be mature, articulate, attention-grabbing. blah blah. Make the best English teacher in your school proofread it as many times as necessary. - how you can make sure you choose what's right for you I assume you mean college. Well first of all, narrow it down by region if it matters. Do you want to go far away, close to home, or in between? I can tell ya right now, no matter how far you go, dorm. You are totally not getting the real college experience if you don't. That said, out of state tuition is a bitch. Hopefully your state is big. btw don't be afraid to go to a huge college far away where you'll know no one. I did that, and it's been amazing. If it's a big college, no one will know anyone and everyone wants to make friends. There will be a lot of people like you. In college, people are mature. and friendly. Then you can narrow it down by environment - do you want to be close to a city, want a busy college town, or a big school in the middle of nowhere. Whatever. That matters a lot. You have to do research. Wiki the college town/city/etc. Find out what it's about. The most important thing, however, is how your college accommodates your major. Make sure you go to a school that has a good reputation for your major. Don't go to a tech school if you want to study art history. Common sense. Even more important than all of the above is visiting the school. That is the only true way to get a feel for it's environment/atmosphere. You have to go there, look around, and ask yourself, "Do I want to live here for the next four years of my life?" It's a big decision. Go where it feels right. Don't do it hastily. Transferring isn't fun and it's also a waste of money usually. - the experience I don't know what to tell you, if you can be more specific that'd be great. In general, college is fucking awesome. I have tons of advice for all kinds of different aspects. Just ask.

[tommo]

Can I just ask, is college the same as university? Like do you have 12 years of school then go to college? Or 10 years and then college?

[Darkmatters]

Yeppers. 1-8 is called grade school in the US. In some parts they break it up, the later grades are called middle school, but I didn't go to a school like that, everything up to 8th grade was just called grade school, so I don't know which grades would be middle school. (EDIT - ok, it makes sense 5-8 would be middle school... broken up into 4 year chunks) Then 9-12 is called high school. After that it's college. Personally I'm curious what Gymnasium equates with, Unelias (Finand) mentioned it in a recent post. Might as well mention the college I went to while I'm in here - it was what's known as a community college - less expensive than a 'real' college and often considered little more than "high school with ash trays". Well, back when I went that's what they called them anyway... doubt there are ashtrays indoors anymore!! But yeah, it was a really cool laid-back atmosphere, the students mostly wanted to be there and there was nothing like the rebellious attitudes so prevalent in high school (so called because most all the kids there are high I think! ) Grade schools are basically like day care centers with a little edumacatin' going on, high schools are like juvie hall, mostly to corral and control unruly teenagers, but college, even at a community college, is a very different experience. You're expected to be responsible for yourself a lot more, rather than controlled by staff, and if you're tardy a lot or have a bad attitude or something you'll basically just get dropped from that class real quick. None of this "no student left behind" crap. You're adults now and treated like it, and expected to act like it. You encounter a lot of really interesting people there... a lot of the teachers are real intellectuals or eccentrics, as opposed to my high school teachers who were more like harried and stressed office workers. It can be a very intellectually stimulating growing experience. And it's pretty much what you make of it... the effort and work you put in determines what you get out. One nice thing - when I went I just signed up for the classes I wanted and then decided on a lark to try for financial aid. I didn't think I'd get it, but I did! They gave me a Pell grant that paid for tuition and books plus some extra living money, so rather than having to pay, they actually paid ME to go to school! I imagine in today's economy it's a lot harder to get financial aid though? Not sure.

[tommo]

Yeppers. 1-8 is called grade school in the US. In some parts they break it up, the later grades are called middle school, but I didn't go to a school like that, everything up to 8th grade was just called grade school, so I don't know which grades would be middle school. Then 9-12 is called high school. After that it's college. Personally I'm curious what Gymnasium equates with, Unelias (Finand) mentioned it in a recent post. Lol wut? Gymnasium = gym. Like a building with exercise equipment, basketball court and stuff.

[Darkmatters]

Lol wut? Gymnasium = gym. Like a building with exercise equipment, basketball court and stuff. Oh I know, that's what it means here too, but apparently in some European countries it's used in a different way, Unelias definitely said something about "when he graduated from gymnasum". And I've heard it used that way elsewhere too. Or maybe it's more of a physical training type of school? I know he's into martial arts etc. Lol maybe I should have just asked him huh? Derp

[tommo]

oh haha yeah I just read that now. I looked it up coz I realised I was wrong just from the way he said it lol Gymnasium (school) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Darkmatters]

Lol Ok, I was just coming n to paste in the PM Unelias sent me about it, but I see you have it covered Tommo!

[Unelias]

Yeh I don't have much to add what I discussed with Darkmatters in pm. A good point is that although many of European schools are called gymnasiums there are many differences. The Lukio, which we have in Finland is actually quite demanding depending how succesful you want to be. You can easily graduate from it by taking the minimum amount of courses, but naturally your papers are really inferior to the one who has put effort to it. At the end of the final year (3-4 years usually ) there are the main exams and everyone has to complete 4 studies in order to pass. Finnish language is mandatory as is one foreign language ( usually English) and two others are free to choose. Myself I wrote seven subjects ( English, Swedish, Finnish, Math, History, Psychology and Life studies ). Some people completed ten but that is pretty much the limit with time unless you want to sacrifice another year for exams. But gymnasium pretty much covers all common knowledge subjects and I think it is good regardless what you'll aspire later. Of course, some people know right away that they want to be a car mechanic or then they are not qualified enough to enter gymnasium. "There is only one good - knowledge and only one bad - ignorance" Spoiler for My response to Darkmatters: Yes, it is somehow comparable to your high school but it is not same. As you said, it is common in European countries, mostly because it originates from ancient Greece. In Finland you have complusory education from age 7 to age 16. After that you usually choose either gymnasium, polytechnic or trade school ( I think those are the terms ). Gymnasium is like little version or preparation to university because traditionally you go first to gymnasium then to university. So in short it is place where you learn a lot different things ( math, biology, psychology, geography, pe, chemistry, physics, literature etc etc) but you get no profession after finishing it. It lasts generally 3 years but it varies depending on how much courses you choose to complete. At the end of last year there are these grand examinations called "ylioppilaskirjoitukset". They are graded and after that you get the graduation hat.

[Darkmatters]

I'm glad you came in and posted that - the wikipedia article is dry and uninteresting, it's better to hear about it from a real person who's been there.

[Soldier]

I've been in college for about 2 weeks now and to sum it up, I dont wanna go home lol. I personally have met alot of cool people, made some good friends so far and really havnt run into too many assholes. the homework load is lighter i quess in what you turn in compared to highschool but the studying is much harder, best described as a switch from quantity to quality. Cant put shit off becuase then you simply cant turn it in late. the amount of attractive women here leaves me in aw everyday. I dont know what you like to do but i bet you'll meet people like you. my twin brother longboards and now has quite a few longboarding friends while i enjoy toking and have run into ALOT of awesome stoners. i quess it depends on who you are that'll decide wether you'll like college or not, Ill tell you right now its awesome.

[Unelias]

In my experience, in high school exams usually consisted of many short questions, while in college they tend to be made up of maybe 5-10 long questions. I re-read your text and noticed this. Just for comparison when I was back school 95% exam answers were essays ( usually 2-4 A4 pages of text). Standard exam was to answer 4 question out of 6-8. So it was basically 16 pages at best. Generally I had 2 exams per day. Morning for ie. history, lunchbreak then rest of the day for psychology. There was 5 chapters per term and exam week was at the end of every chapter. Naturally, the grand exams were a lot more difficult and lengthy. This is pretty good wikipedia article for everyone who is still interested to compare systems Abitur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Requiem]

assess your career goals and decide if you even have to go. its not really worth the money. everything you do in college can still be done without being an official student.

[tommo]

Yeah, depends whether you want a job out of it or not.

[Black_Eagle]

I've been in college for 3 weeks so far. Have made several friends, but I'm very picky about who I spend time with and am still getting established. I don't think I'm experiencing as much amazement at the freedom as many of my fellow freshmen are, considering I went to a highschool for three years that only lasted for 4 hours a day with no homework. However, I have seen that there is much opportunity here for shenanigans and diabolical deeds. This place is essentially a playground for young adults.

[SpaceCowboyDave]

What is a decent act score and GPA?

[louie54]

assess your career goals and decide if you even have to go. its not really worth the money. everything you do in college can still be done without being an official student. How about becoming a doctor?

[Requiem]

How about becoming a doctor? i suppose my point is this: in the USA at least, we're just sort of expected to go to college. but if you don't know what you want out of life then you are better off just hunkering down, living frugally, and saving money. don't just go and hope it will all mesh together. it might. but if it doesn't, you'll be down thousands of dollars.

[ThePreserver]

Difference between a college and university: Colleges are primarily for undergrads (bachelor's degree). Universities can provide masters and doctorates, at least in the United States that's the general idea. But we just call them all "college." I recommend applying everywhere that you think you'd WANT to study, even if it's out of your price range. I ended up settling for an affordable school rather than my dream school, because I don't want an extra $40,000 in loans when I graduate. I enjoy the style of each class only being 2-3 days a week and staggered, but I'm what's usually known as a "good student" (nerd who likes to learn) so some people may not enjoy the challenges of college as much as I do! I like writing essays, unlike many of my classmates. For me, money was basically the deciding factor, but I'm OK with that because I like where I'm going now!