<div class="quote_poster">thedude9990 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">what if she has herpies??? i have one more year left in high school i can't wait for college. and Shape my cousin went to a JC and after 2 years transfered to WVU and they only accepted 1/2 her credits and made her re take some classes.</div> Yeah it happens, which is why you need to work with your counselor and maximize the units you can carry over to the University you wanted to end up at. JC's work with all the major schools, and your counselor can put you on the right program to get you where you want to be.
I never knew why they were so adamant on producing "well-rounded students," but that explanation makes a lot of sense. Distribution requirements (what they call it at my uni) are the most retarded things, though. I had to take this b.s. science course last year to fullfill that. It ended up messing my GPA a little, because professor knew the class was a waste of time and totally mailed it in.
<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah it happens, which is why you need to work with your counselor and maximize the units you can carry over to the University you wanted to end up at. JC's work with all the major schools, and your counselor can put you on the right program to get you where you want to be.</div> Yeah the California JC's have some awesome programs to get kids into some very good colleges. I know a guy who's going to UCLA this year after being at Skyline College (community college generally regarded as the shittiest of all the ones on the BA peninsula) for his freshman and sophomore years. Also, dunno if this is true of public schools but my sister got a bunch of "rules" changed just by constantly bitching every day to whoever controls certain things. i.e. she went to USF last year as a freshman and wanted to be roommates with one of her friends for her sophomore year but they had some regulation about how they couldn't do it. She just kept going to the office that runs those things and bitching every day and they allowed her to do it just to get her to STFU. Sort of did the same thing with transferring her credits to Loyola Marymount, at first they didn't accept the credits but she kept appealing it and they finally just accepted them. So, thedude, you should tell your friend to bitch them out constantly and see if they change anything, its worth a shot. Also, for you college guys do you think its better to go to a school thats got a better reputation academically or somewhere where you think you'd fit better? Obviously if you can go to a top notch school you'd take it but what if its the difference between like UC Davis and Long Beach State and you like the atmosphere, location, etc. of LBSU more. Would it be better to go to the place you like better or go where you'll, theoretically, get the better education? Also, am I right in assuming once you get into college its pretty much all the same (academically)? Again, obviously there will be a difference if you're going to Stanford, Berkeley, Ivy League, etc. but if its a mid-range UC compared to a high level CSU is there much difference? Obviously the UCs are harder to get into but does that actually make what they teach better or is it just that they have a better reputation?
<div class="quote_poster">Run BJM Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah the California JC's have some awesome programs to get kids into some very good colleges. I know a guy who's going to UCLA this year after being at Skyline College (community college generally regarded as the shittiest of all the ones on the BA peninsula) for his freshman and sophomore years. Also, dunno if this is true of public schools but my sister got a bunch of "rules" changed just by constantly bitching every day to whoever controls certain things. i.e. she went to USF last year as a freshman and wanted to be roommates with one of her friends for her sophomore year but they had some regulation about how they couldn't do it. She just kept going to the office that runs those things and bitching every day and they allowed her to do it just to get her to STFU. Sort of did the same thing with transferring her credits to Loyola Marymount, at first they didn't accept the credits but she kept appealing it and they finally just accepted them. So, thedude, you should tell your friend to bitch them out constantly and see if they change anything, its worth a shot. Also, for you college guys do you think its better to go to a school thats got a better reputation academically or somewhere where you think you'd fit better? Obviously if you can go to a top notch school you'd take it but what if its the difference between like UC Davis and Long Beach State and you like the atmosphere, location, etc. of LBSU more. Would it be better to go to the place you like better or go where you'll, theoretically, get the better education? Also, am I right in assuming once you get into college its pretty much all the same (academically)? Again, obviously there will be a difference if you're going to Stanford, Berkeley, Ivy League, etc. but if its a mid-range UC compared to a high level CSU is there much difference? Obviously the UCs are harder to get into but does that actually make what they teach better or is it just that they have a better reputation?</div> It really depends on the two schools you are considering. Personally I went for the college I felt I'd benefit the most from. I got accepted to both Cal Berkley and Cal Poly SLO business schools. I was very familiar with Cal's campus, because a lot of my friends went there already. These two colleges were complete contrasts and in the end I chose Cal Poly SLO. 1. The business college was brand new and they had recruited a lot of well respected professors from all over the world. 2. They built one of the top three computer science departments (at the time) and really pushed technology on the students. 3. The class size ratios were a lot better, 30 to 1 in a class versus Cal auditoriums with a couple hundred students. 4. They stressed working with groups and hands on learning by doing real life projects. I'm a lot better in this type of environment versus memorizing a text book and passing scantron tests. 5. Less distractions 6. They had a strong finance department, which was linked with a lot of the investment banks for internships. The only drawback was after I graduated, because there was still a stigma attached with Cal Poly SLO as a business-agriculture school. The school hadn't done a good job of marketing the business school to the banking industry, I heard it's really improved now though. I got passed up on a few promotions because of the college I went to. There's a lot of corporate "window dressing" especially in banking and finance. Even if you're more qualified than someone who graduated from Stanford or Princeton, they will give the benefit of the doubt them because of the college name. I'd research how companies you might potentially work for view the college of your choice. I know Long Beach State is recognized for their sports medicine and physical therapy. If you wanted to go into that field, LBC would be a smart choice.
College freshman don't need any advice. They'll scurry around like little hamsters for a year before realizing that the most important thing is having fun. And having fun doesn't mean partying all the time at the expense of your grades.
Well, my problem has always been finding a balance between school and fun. I'm a pretty good student, but when I start slacking off, I get into a pretty deep state of slacking, and it takes a while for me to get back into form. I don't think I can afford to **** up my GPA in my first year so for me, my first year is going to be the one where I have to focus the most because I'm trying to get into a co-op program. I'm not even going to lie, I'm pretty damn excited about the whole experience. And to be honest, it's the girls that I'm looking forward to more then anything else. In highschool, I was always very picky about girls and only went out with a couple because I didn't wanna waste my time being with someone whom I wouldn't last more than 2 weeks with. At this point, I really don't care. One of my friends (she's a girl) would like me to not turn into a manwhore during University, but I'm really looking to be quite experimental during my first 2-3 years in University. I'm not going to get back being 18-22 again, so might as well have fun with it because once I do my grad school, I won't have time to be experimenting. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> * Do not register for any classes before 10am. You might be thinking "well in High School I started class at 7:45am...I'm sure I could handle an 8am class in college." Don't do it! There will be too much going on (especially in the dorms) for you to do your homework and be in bed by midnight. </div> I have ONE class before 10, and it's intro to philosophy. That was the only timeslot left over that fit in with the rest of my schedule. It's at 8:30 to 9:50 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Just a general question, which types of classes do you guys perfer/reccomend more, the ones that are split over the week in shorter segments (i.e- Intro to Philosophy Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30-9:50) or the 3 hour long lectures? Every single one of my classes are split segments because I will probably end up getting zoned out during a 3 hour lecture, so I'd rather have it like this. Anyways, great tips and I'm loving this thread. I'm pretty stoked about moving in and what not, but I'm in a double room (even though I'm with with a friend I went to HS with) when I wanted to be in a suite style. I got more than enough money on loan from OSAP, I'm saving up some money over the break, and I have a thousand dollar scholarship in addition to around 2000 in RESP. I think that should cover everything for first year. Oh, and my most important question for you guys. I don't know if you guys in the States work the same way (probably do), but you guys have meal plans there as well right? I got the lightest meal option (which was still $1500 per semester!), and I'm worried that won't be enough to fill me for the whole semester. The reason I picked a lighter option was because my friends dad works near my Uni so he said we can just get food from his store.
<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Most important tip. Don't be in a rush to graduate and start working. College is one of the pinnacles of your lifetime so make the most of it. Don't put pressure on yourself to graduate in 4 years. Also don't get involved in any serious relationships in college until maybe your senior year.</div> But what if you get involved with a really hot girl that you get along well with (I always aim for this btw)? I don't see the point in ending that kind of serious relationship; one can't really find a better scenario. As for choosing professors, I can handle almost any kind of professor. I only worry about the time my classes start at, not the professor (I'm going to be a sophomore in college btw). I'm also a morning person so I can be in school as early as 9:00 am on a daily basis (maybe 8). I recall that in the last half of my freshmen year, I always started school at 11:00 am and that was such a waste of time.
<div class="quote_poster">MrJ Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I know you and Shape went to California, right? That's a pretty good school; how did you manage to stay on top of your classes and have time to party, play sports, and chill?</div> I went to Cal Poly Pomona and graduated in 6 years. I pretty much wasted my first couple years there just screwing around and getting into the "F it!" mentality. It wasn't until I got academically disqualified that I finally buckled down, got back into Cal Poly and started acing my classes. I used to think that I had ADD and I would use that as a scapegoat. But when I got academically disqualified (aka kicked out), I realized I just had myself open to too many distractions, like a loud ass text message ringtone and being IMed on AIM while I'm doing homework. I learned to turn that stuff off and take myself away from distractions so I could focus. It all came down to discipline and motivation. My motivation was to get myself out of the hole without my dad finding out I pissed away 2 years of tuition. <div class="quote_poster">MrJ Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Public Speaking</div> I LOVED my public speaking class. I delayed that class as long as I could because I was too shy....but in final year I realized, "damn, there's a lot of FOBs in this class that can barely speak english. All I have to do is go up and speak english properly and I'll already better than half of the class." The class was cake once I realized that. And a whole lot of fun too. <div class="quote_poster">Locke Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Any tips on what to bring and what not to bring to res?</div> A microwave. The communal microwaves in the dorms are freakin NASTY. Oh, and shower shoes too....lotsa lonely college guys do lotsa things in the showers... <div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Most important tip. Don't be in a rush to graduate and start working. College is one of the pinnacles of your lifetime so make the most of it. Don't put pressure on yourself to graduate in 4 years. </div> Like I said earlier, I spent 6 years in college to graduate with just one degree. Two years were wasted but I needed that lesson of failure to reassess my priorities. Ultimately, I succeeded because I learned from my failures. Absolutely no regrets. <div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Seriously, college is a time of fun and experimentation, but don't let yourself become addicted to anything. I don't advocate the regular use of marijuana (for everyone at least), because a lot of people just can't handle it. It's not uncommon to get really lazy and lethargic on it. Yes, the health risks are not half as bad as the government propaganda would have you believe, but the truth is, it impairs your judgement and can just make you very comfortable with sitting around and not doing anything all day. You don't want to be reclusive and unproductive in the most important time of your life as far as both social networking and education go. You need to find a balance between work and play from the start.</div> Whatever you do, you can do it responsibly. It's all about moderation and realizing there's a time & place for everything. If you're gonna experiment on things, do it in college. I'm not gonna lie...I've done my fair share of that kinda stuff, but I've put my college days behind me and moved on. <div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Most of you are probably anxious right now, and that's really common. Pretty much everyone else is just as anxious and as eager to make first impressions. Again, it's all about the mindset. You can get rid of social anxiety just by approaching it from a different perspective.</div> Remember, there are tons of freshmen that will feel lost, homesick and anxious just like you. Once you realize that, its real easy to meet people. Most of the guys I know were from the basketball court or from the dorms. Living in the same location and having the same interests is enough to make a lot of friends. <div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">You can always go to a JC for two years, finish all the b.s. general ed classes, figure out what you REALLY want to do and then finish your major at a University.</div> One of my friends struggled in high school and barely got into college. He worked his butt off in JC and is in route to graduate from UCLA (which is the college that rejected quite a few of the top students in my high school class). My dad graduated from a meh college in the Philippines and he turned out GREAT in the end. Basically what I'm trying to get at is you can go to a meh college/JC but you can still be very successful later on in life.
<div class="quote_poster">huevonkiller Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">But what if you get involved with a really hot girl that you get along well with (I always aim for this btw)? I don't see the point in ending that kind of serious relationship; one can't really find a better scenario. As for choosing professors, I can handle almost any kind of professor. I only worry about the time my classes start at, not the professor (I'm going to be a sophomore in college btw). I'm also a morning person so I can be in school as early as 9:00 am on a daily basis (maybe 8). I recall that in the last half of my freshmen year, I always started school at 11:00 am and that was such a waste of time.</div> How do you know about love at only 19, how do you know what you really want unless you experience as much as possible? Finding a hot girl who has similar interests as you is fantastic, but why get into a serious relationship at such a young age? You're not even 21 yet and even if partying and going to clubs or bars doesn't interest you now, you will go through a stage in your life when partying is priority #1. There's no real formula to it, but I've seen it all and experienced a lot myself. I'm just trying to point out common pitfalls people make in college. College should be a time for you to be selfish, enjoy a complete sense of freedom, and indulge yourself. Once you figure out what makes you happy and you accept who you are, then you'll be able to find the "right" girl without any regrets.
<div class="quote_poster">Karma Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Just a general question, which types of classes do you guys perfer/reccomend more, the ones that are split over the week in shorter segments (i.e- Intro to Philosophy Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30-9:50) or the 3 hour long lectures? Every single one of my classes are split segments because I will probably end up getting zoned out during a 3 hour lecture, so I'd rather have it like this.</div> At Cal Poly Pomona we had some 4 hour, once-a-week classes. I dreaded the idea of doing this but one quarter it was my only option...and honestly it wasn't all that bad. To be fair, it might've been because my professors were great and the subject matter was something that fascinated me (Web Development, Enterprise Resource Planning, Internet Law). If it was something like US History or Psychology, I'm sure I would've died. Web Dev and ERP were set up to be like 1.5 - 2 hours of lecture, then 1 - 2 hours of "group work." (Sidenote: Internet Law was a fun class because it was dominated by guys sharing their hacker stories.) All of my professors excused us earlier than 4 hours because they were able to go thru the all of the material faster. So anyways, to answer your question....it depends. If the subject matter and/or your professor sucks, then 3 hours will seem like an eternity. If the class is fun, 3 hours will go by real quick.
<div class="quote_poster">shapecity Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">How do you know about love at only 19, how do you know what you really want unless you experience as much as possible? Finding a hot girl who has similar interests as you is fantastic, but why get into a serious relationship at such a young age? You're not even 21 yet and even if partying and going to clubs or bars doesn't interest you now, you will go through a stage in your life when partying is priority #1. There's no real formula to it, but I've seen it all and experienced a lot myself. I'm just trying to point out common pitfalls people make in college. College should be a time for you to be selfish, enjoy a complete sense of freedom, and indulge yourself. Once you figure out what makes you happy and you accept who you are, then you'll be able to find the "right" girl without any regrets.</div> Well you bring up a fair point, and that is that your advice applies to a lot of people. However, I must be in the minority on this issue, because my number one priority is not partying and it never has been. I also think some people might regret partying so much (and missing out on someone special in their early college years). I didn't believe in a serious relationship in highschool, but after a year in college one is ready for the real world.
Oh yeah, I forgot a good one: get a laptop! From my college experience, we had a ton of group projects and group meetings. It helps a ton to have a laptop with you for researching/writing group papers at the library, a friends house, at the student union...wherever. Plus, Wi-Fi is pretty much standard at all colleges these days. Also if you have the funds for it, get an external monitor to have on the side. With a dual monitor setup you can research on one screen and have Microsoft Word on the other. I promise you, once you've worked on a dual monitor setup, you'll never want to go back to single monitor.
A lot of schools actually require laptops these days. When Villanova was recruiting me, they said that laptops were going to be included in tuition soon (and this was like three years ago, so they probably are by now). If you think you can get by in college without one though, Mel's right, they're a must.
OT: What's a good laptop these days you can use for hours without having to worry about it over heating?
Yeah... practically... laptops are amazing these days... I'm on mine 24/7... anywhere in the country I can get the internet...
<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah... practically... laptops are amazing these days... I'm on mine 24/7... anywhere in the country I can get the internet...</div> How's the internet? Fast?
<div class="quote_poster">Kidd Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">How's the internet? Fast?</div> Yeah. I don't even notice a difference, and I've been all over America on this thing.
My brother actually works in IT, so I usually get dibs on a lot of free computer stuff (my hardrive, mouse and keyboard were all free from his workplace, and my speakers were his old speakers), and it's good that he knows a lot of computers so if I invest in a laptop I won't be ripped off. Anyway, he's giving me his old laptop (that he bought not even a year ago) for like $300 or something (the original price was well over a thousand) and it has pretty much everything on it, so I'm more than satisfied. I'm also gonna buy a mini-fridge while going there because I need a place to stash drinks (alchohol and otherwise). The thing I'm kind of worried about is my roomate is a total pothead, and he doesn't really care about school as much as he should (don't ask how he got in). He's my friend and all, but I don't want him getting booked and booking me in the process or something. I'm sure a lot of college kids smoke pot, but do the rez people check your dorms for that kind of stuff?
