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Anybody Applying to College?

rasmasyean said:
What the hell? Did you even go to college? Or were you like one of the disgruntled drop-outs?
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um yes i did
Not everyone knows their major right out of high school and needs some time to explore a bit more while they take core req courses. College is a good place because you can ask professors and advisors and other “pros” about what you want to do with your life before you commit to a program.
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so sit in on classes while not being a student....yes, it's possible

why pay for classes that dont have an end goal?

take a year out if need be and just sit in on various classes when you arent paying for it to see if you have an interest in it or not.

to pay 10,20, 30, 40 thousand a year for classes that arent working towards something is silly:cool:

you DO NOT have to be a student paying for expensive college to find your interests and what you want to do. There are many alternative ways that do not cost a small fortune...
Because sometimes the state school doesn’t have your program…or isn’t as good? And maybe once you graduate, the extra bit of loans are pretty immaterial compared to your education?
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Like what? Most programs are in state schools

If the program isn't at the school then don't go, but if it is, at least consider state school. I know so many people who didnt even consider it because of teh sole fact it was a state school....

I know too many people dead set od ivy league or out of state for no particular reason other than the name....

to me, thats silly from a financial point of view

show me someone who likes paying back school loans....its something to consider
What is this? Sour grapes? Ivy league schools contain Ivy league people. These are the best of the best and where you will find some of the most ambitious and competitive people who really care about the future and often care about making an impact with their lives. And this environment also rubs off on “young minds” as well. This is assuming you have the right material for this level of schooling and don’t fail out, of course. In contrast, going to a party school can make kids think that life is a party.
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Thats utter BS

I have met VERY ambitious people at state schools who are now at these ivy league schools for grad school:rolleyes:

I have met VERY many people that have BETTER credentials out of hs than those that go to "ivy league"

whats your point again....

And graduate programs aren’t always the best in Ivy league schools. And industry pros at that level know which schools (can be state university) and specific programs to hire from to get good ppl without having to rely solely on “name”.
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Obviously there are exceptions

However, it is known that some programs like engineering are more "prestigious" at say MIT or law at Harvard
And when you transfer for a decent school you will find out that they don’t count classes from “community colleges”. Most community colleges are for people at the low ends on the academic scale and those who just entered the country. So their “worth” is also treated that way.
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You are VERY misinformed. Also please stop with the "elitist" attitude. everyone's circumstances are different and by NO means are CC's on the low end of the academic scale or reserved for immigrants

Take his advice if you want to ruin your life. :rolleyes:
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Hardly:cool:
 
It's funny how threads discussing college will eventually spiral down into essentially nothing more than a d*** measuring contest.

One school does not fit all, or even most. This is true regardless of the ambition or work ethic of the student. Everyone's situation is different.
 
iOrlando said:
I know people who went to Ivy league schools and they are unemployed. Cant find work.

I know people who went to community college and they started their own businesses and have done quite well.

anyone on here trying to generalize that one type is this and that or means this or that is full of $%(#.
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Yeah, and what’s your point? Famous drop-outs change the world…even in “highly skilled” arenas. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell.

You can drop out of high school and bake the best tasting cookies ever and become a millionaire before your peers graduate.

The talk is about getting an education. As was mentioned already, it’s not always about a monetary cost/profit analysis. If that’s your ultimate goal, go play the stock market. Why even bother with learning to begin with.

Whether you believe it or not, higher end schools give a higher end education with higher end students in there on average. Does that matter to you? If you’re so much of a “self-starter”, drop out and put Mark Zuckerberg in his place. Why bother with college to begin with?
 
This thread is rather off-topic. Rather then H.S. seniors posting where they are applying, a bunch of graduates are yelling at each other over what the "right" path is...

If it helps to the OP, I'm a Freshman in college, last year I applied to:
Chapman University
Occidental College
University of Southern California
Wake Forest University
The College of William & Mary
 
Schools I applied to back in the day (2002)

1) University of Kansas
2) University of Colorado
3) Duke University
4) Colorado State University
5) Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Prescott Campus
6) Georgia Tech


Got accepted into all of them, but decided on #4 due to my circumstances at the time
 
chstr said:
berkely UVA Michigan Wisconsin etc are often considered better than Ivy's nowadays FYI
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Capt Crunch said:
In what?
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wisconsin's engineering and biotech programs are considered some of the best in the world. Michigan is considered a top 5 university in the world along with uva and berk. These schools are what many refer to as "public Ivys"
 
chstr said:
Umm, take it with a grain of salt if you like. But from someone with a bachelors and 2 masters degrees and having taught at an Ivy league school I think I have a little more experience than someone who hasn't graduated college yet :p Engineering undergrads have the MOST options after graduating, and the reason I said to minor in an art of somekind is that we will see that you are smart and multi-facilitated when applying for grad work.
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I get it, you're an engineer. But don't suggest the field to everyone going to college. I'd have dropped out if I was goaded to go into engineering, because it seems like the least interesting/most miserable way I could have spent my time in college. Your appeal to authority doesn't do anything to sway my opinion (mostly because I'm sure you're lying).

I still insist that people should study whatever they want - do not let others talk you into a certain field.
 
chstr said:
wisconsin's engineering and biotech programs are considered some of the best in the world. Michigan is considered a top 5 university in the world along with uva and berk. These schools are what many refer to as "public Ivys"
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So if Michigan, UVa and Berkeley are top 5, what other two schools in that halo?
 
dmr727 said:
It's funny how threads discussing college will eventually spiral down into essentially nothing more than a d*** measuring contest.

One school does not fit all, or even most. This is true regardless of the ambition or work ethic of the student. Everyone's situation is different.
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Maybe. But as you said, one school does not fit all for a reason - because schools are different. A person who says that Local State U is the same as Highly Prestigious University Y isn't being honest, either with himself or his audience.

This is not the first time I've attempted correct Dukebound on his educational misconceptions, particularly those having to do with funding. For someone who is relatively fresh out of college with his personal higher educational experience more or less limited to one school as an undergrad to present his opinions as unvarnished truth is irresponsible.
 
Signal-11 said:
A person who says that Local State U is the same as Highly Prestigious University Y isn't being honest, either with himself or his audience.
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That's true, but there can be a myriad reasons why Local State U is a better choice than Highly Prestigious University for a given person, even if he/she could get in to both schools. That's all I was trying to say.
 
Signal-11 said:
Maybe. But as you said, one school does not fit all for a reason - because schools are different. A person who says that Local State U is the same as Highly Prestigious University Y isn't being honest, either with himself or his audience.
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I never said that:cool:

I said it's worth considering a local school and potentially save a ton of money over a ivy school.

I also said that if you do not know what you want to do major wise, why pay the high price to figure it out when there are much cheaper ways to do this?

I also know that attending grad school at an ivy school is where it matters more than a local state school as opposed to a undergrad degree

This is not the first time I've attempted correct Dukebound on his educational misconceptions, particularly those having to do with funding. For someone who is relatively fresh out of college with his personal higher educational experience more or less limited to one school as an undergrad to present his opinions as unvarnished truth is irresponsible.
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All I have stated is that local schools are more affordable and should be considered. I know so many peers in hs that automatically thought they were above a state school:rolleyes:

It is financially irresponsible to spend time figuring out your interests and not work towards anything at a school where tuition is 40k a year.

Nobody likes to be in debt and I have no idea why you are so adamant on disagreeing with me.

I am not saying ivy leagues are bad, and if thats what you want to do great. I just said its really unwise to only consider ivy leagues or private schools

Also, you do not know me and my background so don't try and pass off what I have learned as worthless while proclaiming your own "opinion" as somewhat superior:cool:

dmr727 said:
That's true, but there can be a myriad reasons why Local State U is a better choice than Highly Prestigious University for a given person, even if he/she could get in to both schools. That's all I was trying to say.
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I agree
 
dukebound85 said:
reason i said that is because "ivy" is usually meant for US schools

There are schools in China, India,etc that rival our ivy schools yet i do not see them on your list lol
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I have yet to work with an IIT guy who wasn't extremely competent and they'd like to think IIT rivals CalTech or MIT but the reality is that they're in completely different leagues based on money and money alone. Look at research expenditures - the schools and departments that have piles of money every year are going to be the ones that have plenty of loose change for undergraduate projects as well.
 
dukebound85 said:
I never said that:cool:
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What you said was:

3) Don't think an undergrad at an ivy league is special.....get your undergrad at an instate school and then go for grad school at an ivy league if you can
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Taken in context with the rest of what you've said and with the tone with which you've said it, your implications are quite clear.

I said it's worth considering a local school and potentially save a ton of money over a ivy school

I also know that attending grad school at an ivy school is where it matters more than a local state school as opposed to a undergrad degree

All I have stated is that local schools are more affordable and should be considered. I know so many that automatically think they are above a state school:rolleyes:

It is financially irresponsible to spend time figuring out your interests and not work towards anything at a school where tuition is 40k a year.

Nobody likes to be in debt and I have no idea why you are so adament on disagreeing with me.

I am not saying ivy leagues are bad, and if thats what you want to do great. I just said its really unwise to only consider ivy leagues or private schools

Also, you do not know me and my background so don't try and pass off what I have learned as worthless while proclaiming your own "opinion" as somewhat superior:cool:
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Again, you are wrong and you are refusing to listen or be corrected, which is a pattern I'm picking up from you on this thread.

You're right about my not really knowing you or your background, but I know enough from what you've said about yourself to know that it's narrow, especially compared to some others who may be posting here. Am I wrong in stating that your experience with tertiary education has been at a single institution?

The reason I don't like what you're saying is because your opinion is not fully considered and is full of repeated misconceptions.

You constantly keep harping on cost without any consideration that almost any and every Ivy (as well as schools in that sphere) are 1.) need blind and 2.) meet 100% of demonstrated financial need.

What this means is that the poorer you or your family are, the better the deal is for you. For those coming from the lower income tax brackets, you'd actually pay more at a state school than at an Ivy.

The only people who pay the full $40k at an Ivy are the ones who can afford it and those are generally a relatively small slice of the total student population. In general, a student coming from a family an income totaling ~$100k with one kid already in college can expect the school to cover 45-75% of the cost of school, (which includes room, board, books and fees) depending on several factors, including the region from where the student is coming. The overwhelming majority of students are generally on one form of financial aid or another, including many from upper-middle class families. The slice of people who "make too much for financial aid, not enough to afford" is so small as to be a myth. The only people I knew who fell into this hole were generally kids who didn't fill out their financial aid forms properly.

So by no means is this a simple matter of Ivy = $$$$$ and State U = $.
 
chstr said:
wisconsin's engineering and biotech programs are considered some of the best in the world. Michigan is considered a top 5 university in the world along with uva and berk. These schools are what many refer to as "public Ivys"
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dukebound85 said:
reason i said that is because "ivy" is usually meant for US schools

There are schools in China, India,etc that rival our ivy schools yet i do not see them on your list lol
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I sorta pre-empted your next comment with "and some others"

Ivy refers to Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Yale, Penn, Harvard, Cornell and Princeton. Some arguments are made regarding schools that are of the same quality, but it seems to be understood that those schools are it.

The reason why I suggested those was because it was a response to a comment regarding about chstr above. Which portion of that confused you?
 
Signal-11 said:
I have yet to work with an IIT guy who wasn't extremely competent and they'd like to think IIT rivals CalTech or MIT but the reality is that they're in completely different leagues based on money and money alone. Look at research expenditures - the schools and departments that have piles of money every year are going to be the ones that have plenty of loose change for undergraduate projects as well.
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Well that’s also part of the equation. If you were the Secretary of Defense, who are you more willing to allocate $10 million to work on the next missile defense system? Unless there’s like some super duper famous rocket scientist at IIT, you’d prolly give it to MIT…where there are already pretty famous scientists as well as top-tier alumni who have ripped a hole into conventional technology wisdom and won nobel prizes, etc.
 
it5five said:
I get it, you're an engineer. But don't suggest the field to everyone going to college. I'd have dropped out if I was goaded to go into engineering, because it seems like the least interesting/most miserable way I could have spent my time in college. Your appeal to authority doesn't do anything to sway my opinion (mostly because I'm sure you're lying).

I still insist that people should study whatever they want - do not let others talk you into a certain field.
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wrong again. I am a teacher. If I could do it again I would study engineering so I could never have to worry about the economy dictating my chances of survival in the job market(I also find the discipline fascinating). I'm not trying to goad anyone towards a discipline, just making a friendly suggestion based on my observances. But you're young, you have plenty of time to find out on your own... ;)

btw. I have seen too many young people major in music at college that really don't have a clue what they are getting into and later learn it was the biggest mistake of their life. But hey, they studied whatever they wanted to right? (I'm not saying music isn't a great thing to study, I'm just saying some people should really consider their talent before they bet their career on it.
 
Signal-11 said:
What you said was:



Taken in context with the rest of what you've said and with the tone with which you've said it, your implications are quite clear.
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You mis interpreted what I am trying to say then or I am not conveying it well enough


Again, you are wrong and you are refusing to listen or be corrected, which is a pattern I'm picking up from you on this thread.

You're right about my not really knowing you or your background, but I know enough from what you've said about yourself to know that it's narrow, especially compared to some others who may be posting here. Am I wrong in stating that your experience with tertiary education has been at a single institution?
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You are wrong
The reason I don't like what you're saying is because your opinion is not fully considered and is full of repeated misconceptions.

You constantly keep harping on cost without any consideration that almost any and every Ivy (as well as schools in that sphere) are 1.) need blind and 2.) meet 100% of demonstrated financial need.

What this means is that the poorer you or your family are, the better the deal is for you. For those coming from the lower income tax brackets, you'd actually pay more at a state school than at an Ivy.

The only people who pay the full $40k at an Ivy are the ones who can afford it and those are generally a relatively small slice of the total student population. In general, a student coming from a family an income totaling ~$100k with one kid already in college can expect the school to cover 45-75% of the cost of school, (which includes room, board, books and fees) depending on several factors, including the region from where the student is coming. The overwhelming majority of students are generally on one form of financial aid or another, including many from upper-middle class families. The slice of people who "make too much for financial aid, not enough to afford" is so small as to be a myth. The only people I knew who fell into this hole were generally kids who didn't fill out their financial aid forms properly.

So by no means is this a simple matter of Ivy = $$$$$ and State U = $.
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Christ, all I said is people should consider it

Many students who do well think that they are above state schools if they do well in hs. If they do not have to pay for it great, but if they do and they blindly go to these expensive schools, not knowing what they want to do and what not, it was foolish not to consider a cheaper alternative up front

Never did I say you shouldnt go to an ivy league if you want. I just said that people should consider the state universities:rolleyes:

I am just relaying what I have learned from my experiences. It was posted with the best intentions as I know alot of people who dink around taking classes and raking up debt with nothing to show for it because the norm in our society is that one is expected to go to college right after hs.

I merely advise wait until you know what you want to do before you get in a system where you are paying tens of thousands a year

Thats really the heart of what I am trying to say and I really don't know why you and some others say this "advice" is ill conceived and whatnot...

rasmasyean said:
Well that’s also part of the equation. If you were the Secretary of Defense, who are you more willing to allocate $10 million to work on the next missile defense system? Unless there’s like some super duper famous rocket scientist at IIT, you’d prolly give it to MIT…where there are already pretty famous scientists as well as top-tier alumni who have ripped a hole into conventional technology wisdom and won nobel prizes, etc.
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Or they contract it out to a defense contractor and not a university....
 
Signal-11 said:
So if Michigan, UVa and Berkeley are top 5, what other two schools in that halo?
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well, I mean they are really top 5ish lol. There are fantastic universities in Europe that also compete and of course there are the American Ivys along with Oxford etc. Again... top 5ish ;)

In the end it's all really just..... academic anyway :p
 
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