College

[DarthTofu]

So, uh, yeah, this is the summer after my Junior year, and I'm looking at colleges right now. I'm probably going to do a few visits soon, but I figured I might as well ask a group of (mostly) college grads: What questions do you wish you'd asked on the tours when you were visiting campuses? I'm visiting Georgia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, and Rochest Institute of Technology in the next few weeks, and while I'm going to work on a few things I want to hear about, there's no substitute for people who have already done the college search... and borked it up.

 

Tex is exempt from answering this, seeing as there were no colleges back in 3 BC when he turned eighteen.

[Darth_Rob]

Hmmm...one of the most important things probably is to inquire about your subject field. Maybe ask to talk to a student or professor from that department and make sure that their department will be suitable for you. For example, lets say went to college expecting to study Russian history. I'd want to talk to someone from there and make sure there is in fact an emphasis at the school on Russian history. Maybe talk to or e-mail a professor for a course syllabus for the more advanced courses.

 

To me, thats one of the most important things. I mean, depending on your situation, tuition and location could also be a factor. When I decided to go back to school for history, I had three schools lined up. One ended up being way out of my price range. With the second one, I did not like their department as much. Their history program was very limited. The school I ended up going to had an awesome history department. There are professors there who major in Russian, Middle Eastern, African, Latin American, Ancient Empires and whatnot. The head of the department specialized in Canadian and British history.

 

So yeah, to me the most important thing is to talk to someone and get a feel for what the program you're interested in is offering, and if you feel that it will be the best for you.

 

Edit:

Did you mean the Rochester Institute of Tech, which is located in NY???

[DarthTofu]

Umm, yeah.... Cornell is also in NY, I'm pretty sure... why do you ask?

[Darth_Rob]

Just asking since its so far from your home. Also, it gets mighty cold in upstate NY.

[DarthTofu]

lol- so I've been warned. I'm looking at schools up north in the rust belt, but right now I think my top school is Georgia Tech. I'm visiting Tech some time in the next two weeks, and I'll see if it's as good as the books and other people say it is.

 

Call me nuts, but I don't want to stay in-state when I go to college. I'm interested in getting out and seeing the world as much as possible.

[Darth_Rob]

Thats a very good idea. My first college experience was at the local community college, so I stayed home for quite some time before going away.

 

What is your major again? Was it robotics or engineering?

[DarthTofu]

Engineering. I'm looking into doing work in the automotive field, with an emphasis on alternative energy. If I could get a job working on better hydrogen fuel cell cars, it would be a dream come true... despite the fact that my experience working with cars is relatively limited. I figure that's what college is for, you know?

 

Other people are free to post in this thread, by the way. I feel like I'm spamming with just Rob and me in here. (Not that spamming has ever stopped me from making a lot of posts in the past, but still)

[Darth_Rob]

I kind of felt the same way about us spamming this up. But we are staying on topic and whatnot.

 

Alternative energy is a really good field to go into right now. The age of oil is over, and we should be making way for something else. So yeah, if I were you, I would inquire about that kind of course work when you take a tour of the campuses. I dont know much about Engineering and whatnot, but maybe some schools offer at least a course or two on researching and developing alternative fuels that would help you when you hit the job market after graduation.

[Adm_Ace]

Have you looked at Southern Polytechnic State University. It is in Marietta, GA. they offer a strong reputation as an engineering school. they started as a division of Georgia Tech. The tuition is lower that GT and the education is more hands on and less theory. An the best part, courses that GT doesn't offer. I'm getting my associates at the nearby community college and the taking Mechatronics at Southern Poly.

[DarthTex]

Tex is exempt from answering this, seeing as there were no colleges back in 3 BC when he turned eighteen.

Not as they are structured today, but there were "higher levels" of education available. But, that doesn't mean I don't have some sagely advice for young whimper-snappers

 

Check to see if any of the colleges you selected offer co-oping (co-operative education). Basically, you "work" for a quarter/semester for a company doing actual work in your field and receive course credit; then the next quarter/semester it's back to the books. Working then school, over and over until your final school year. You get some hands on training with real experience, and the company gets some temporary cheap labor. Usually, if the students are hard working and intelligent (and don't cause trouble, Tofu), the company's offer full time jobs to their former co-op students. You're already trained by them in their procedures and stuff, and it's practically a guranteed job; usually. And you actually find out if that is the job you want, or maybe it was a different one in the same company, or not what you want to do at all. But, having real world experience (not typical college jobs) on your resume' looks good to potential employers

 

Good Luck Tofu!

 

 

PS Engineering is difficult. The first year or two are giant classes (practically all of the budding engineers) with the "core" (boring) classes meant to "weed out" those without the "true resolve". The later years hit on the "meat" of the curriculum. Study hard, do all of the homework and sample problems for each section, don't hesitate to ask questions (there are no stupid questions; well, you might have some Tofu) and things should work out.

[SOCL]

Engineering, eh? Why not a field so noble as, say, history?

 

I think GA Tech is a good idea. Look at Virginia Tech, too.

 

In general, Tofu, I would suggest against going to a small university. The fact is, going to a small university, as fun and exciting as it may sound ( ) is not going to fulfill much of the college experience that you'll want, and I don't just mean parties. I know I regret going to a small university my first two years and even now regret going to George Mason because it, too, is rather small, so the opportunities are limited. I'm spending the summer studying Latin at the University of Virginia and wish I had applied here. So for your undergrad, stay away from the community colleges and the small state colleges and just go to a large one. Besides, if you think you might get a Masters later, then you're more than likely to end up at a smaller, more specialized school, or at a large one but in a small department so it feels like a small school.

 

Sounds superficial, but trust me on this one.

[DarthTofu]

If you say so. My safety school is UF (If anybody wants to give me a dirty look: They consider a 3.5 weighted competitive. Seeing as I had a 4.45 last I checked, I can get in in my sleep), which is a large school, probably more to your liking, SOCL. It's, like, number one or two party school in the nation.

 

My high school is pretty small already, and I like that. What sort of college opportunities do you think you missed out on because you were in a small school (besides parties)?

 

@Tex: Oh, boy, have I been checking into co-op programs. Good advice, all the same. I'm actually considering the University of Delaware right now, because they're getting so many grants in alternative energy stuff... 'cept then I noticed that it was all for chemical engineering majors.

[Darth_Rob]

I have to agree with SOCL as to the dangers of a local community college. They do not prepare you at all for college-related work. My three years at the community college (I got two degrees out of it) were all like 13th grade. Its horrible. I was in for a real shock my first semester at Oneonta, but I survived.

[SOCL]

You may have missed my point, Tofu. I wasn't advocating a large college for the sake of a large college. When I started applying for my undergrad studies, I also applied to UF and I'm absolutely happy I did not go there. Yes, it's a big school, but the first qualifier has to be that it has a program suitable to your interests and studies. UF is not a power-house of ancient history, to say the least, though, if I recall, it has decent environmental studies, agriculture, and engineering programs, which may be up your alley. Let me reiterate: find a school which is both large and has a good program, not just large or the other.

[DarthTofu]

Psst, SOCL: I'm going into mechanical engineering, not ancient culture. I'm the only young non-history major on the site, remember?

 

You said that a small college would have me missing out on some stuff that a larger college would grant me- were you talking programs? My first factor was whether or not the schools had engineering fields, dude.

[SOCL]

What I'm saying is to find a school that both has your program and is large. You're not looking for the very best program in the world because then you're liable to pay far more for far less than you expected. Undergrad isn't the end of the world and where you studied often matters little so a good program but at a large school where you can make good contacts in your field and have many, many more opportunities to study and excel, something you won't often, if at all, find at the smaller level.

[Moribundus]

If you're more academically biased, I'd suggest checking out research opportunities at your university. Some unis (faculties) allow even undergrads to participate in research projects and give them access to some of the more expensive equipment. This probably won't count as much for your future employer, but it will give you some personal experience (and make the study less dull).

 

Also go for the best quality and try to get as far from your parents as possible. I didn't and I'm slowly going crazy at home.

 

My two cents

[DarthTofu]

so I checked out Georgia Tech, and I equal parts loved and hated it. There seems to be almost no support for students, but at the se time it has tons internship opportunities, which is cool. I'm cheap, and I found that I'm too suburban to like the city, but Atlanta is full of job opportunities. It's very conflicting. I'll say more when I have a legitimate keyboard to type on.

[DarthTex]

Did you get a chance to go eat at the Varsity? Just down the street there's a little bar called Cricket's, or at least there used to be I wonder if it's still there?

[Evaders99]

You definitely develop a love/hate relationship with Tech. Most of the programs aren't easy... you will learn to 'sink or swim' fast.

 

That being said, there is more support developing for students (at least more then there was 5 years ago). There is a big push to help freshman out,, to raise our perception of a low 'freshman retention rate'. Numerous tutoring opportunities... at least for the bigger engineering classes that everyone has to take. Some of the professors do actually help (there is mandatory 'office hours' for them), but most are still focused on their research. They don't care so much whether you learn the material... I hear some actually fail enough students to be put on probation a semester to focus on their research.

 

There are lots of opportunities around Tech. Atlanta is a big metro area, you can find lots to-do that isn't in your typical collage town.

 

Aside: Varsity. blah. Eat it once, then you can say you have and never go there again. For less greasy, better food... I recommend Junior's. Great chicken tenders.

[DarthTex]

Aside: Varsity. blah. Eat it once, then you can say you have and never go there again. For less greasy, better food... I recommend Junior's. Great chicken tenders.

A GT grad E or citizen of Hot-lanta (Cheetha's )? Is Junior's down by the county courthouse?

[Evaders99]

Both. Junior's is on Tech campus right by Tech Tower

[Darth_Rob]

Back to school! Back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool! I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight! Ohhhh, back to school! Back to school! Back to school!

[DarthTofu]

Indeed, it is... I suppose we can turn this thread into a place where students can b*** about their classes as needed.

 

Personally, I'm not caring too much for my AP MacroEconomics and AP Lit classes right now. AP Macro is one that I hate for the class- the teacher asks nothing but easy, simplistic questions, like "what is the point of diminishing returns when you're eating dinner?" or something like that, and I'm the only person who will answer! There's no hand raising involved... the class is just full of sheep.

 

If I'm willing to allow a good solid minute or two (literal minute or two, not exaggerated or expression) someone in the class might grow the cahones to whimper an answer that's usually right, but it takes so long that it annoys the crap out of me!

 

AP Lit actually hasn't been that bad yet. Why do I hate it? Because I had that teacher last year. She is made of evil! You think I'm kidding/exaggerating. This teacher has called individual students idiots on several occasions, and has also called the entire class a collection of idiots! Oh, and did I mention that 100 percent of us "idiots" got a passing grade on the AP Exam last year? As in, we were competent enough to get at least a C or higher in college-level courses, and most of us got a grade of a 4 (equivalent of a B).

 

So, yeah, that's my whining all done, now. Anyone else care to let loose?

[Darth_Rob]

Yeah man, I decided to steal this topic into a more general-school topic.

 

I had my first two classes today. My history class doesnt seem like it will be as bad as I anticipated. He grades based on four tests and a research paper. The paper has to be 6,000 words, but my last one ended up being 8,000 so it wont be as bad.

 

As for my first education class, I have to meet up with another dude in my class and we have to pick apart New York State's Economics Curriculum. So we have to give a 20 minute presentation on what the goals of the Economics class are, what the students need to do in order to succeed, and then what our criticism of the course overview is. This is due next Tuesday (the class meets once a week, on Tuesdays). So that will be fun.