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college?

Antimony

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You will be fine. You are on the perfect track for college, and your decision is what it is.

Go college!
 

Nonsensical

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COLLLLLEEEGEEEEE, FUCK YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!
college-degree.jpg
 

Antimony

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and HERE is where I hide!


:peepwall:
 

Aquarelle

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bolded= That makes me even more motivated and proud to go to a Public University. I was trying to say that earlier, but it wasn't as clear as you put it. Halla gets it. :nice::nice:
I agree - private schools are overrated! As long as you got to a good public school, you'll get just as good an education or better, for much less money.

And coincidentally, I am applying to Santa Fe. You should be familiar, halla? Not a CC anymore, but still. I'd probably do what most other students do and transfer to the U. But that's my second plan. My first plan in the U of Minnesota.
I like that plan. :) :)
 

Nonsensical

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I agree - private schools are overrated! As long as you got to a good public school, you'll get just as good an education or better, for much less money.


I like that plan. :) :)

i got a call from the U the other day! for a split second, i thought of you :D
 

Nonsensical

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Obviously, it was some dude from admissions. pretty chill bro, I must say. and if he is in any way reflective of the rest of you out in the land of a quadrillion lakes, then count me in :cheers:
 

Scott N Denver

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Fwiw, I went to two private schools, 1 public one, oh and one military one.

The worst school, by far, imo was the public one. Even though it was a top tier tech school. Worst equipment, worst setup, dumbest paperwork, etc. Had lots of good profs though, and some REALLY shoddy ones. All my schools had lots of good profs.

Both my private schools were pricey and largely full of well-to-do kids. Think entitlement, expensive cars, "I like to drink, a LOT!!!". Some were really good students, others weren't. The best students I ever had were the hard-working well-to-do students at my second school. My public school, I was utterly appalled by some of the students there [who, I'm sure, if things were merit-based would never have gotten in in the first place], as well as my first school. "Why study when you can party" right??? Especially if it is all on mommy and daddy's pennies anyways/

I think anywhere you go there'll be rich/elitist/snobby/self-centered people, but well-to-do schools do probably have more of them. Entitlement was a big issue at both of my schools, "How DARE you give me a B on this lab report!!!" I think I got cussed out by a student once about that. Even though it was a physics lab, where answers are generally very black or white. Several of my students swore at me actually...

Fwiw, and good luck getting into one, the best school may very well have been the military one. Its not really a fair comparison since that one was ONLY a grad school, but man those people are thorough and have their shit together. Plus they have resources that would make others gasp in ahh. My tech school didn't have squat on the military one. nd its military culture, so you'll see MUCH less bitchiness, entitlement, self-centeredness, "I'm only here to get drunk" etc.



On another note, something I was told way back in the day, and having been to many schools [including just visiting] I really see it more now in hindsight, its very important to actually go and visit any school you are interested, and get a sense of its "feel". "Feel" can very TREMENDOUSLY from one school to another. UK, the University of Kentucky at Lexington, had a very different feel from any of my schools, CU Boulder [Colorado], and OU [Ohio University Athens OH] actually all were kinda similar to each other, well to do rich white athletic/fit people who wanted to have a good time. Very different from the drunken revelry of my undergrad, the "most of us drive BMW's/Lexus/Jaguar our parents bought us when we turned 16 and go skiing every weekend" socially-conscious-volunteering of my 2nd school, or the "people line up 5 or more deep to offer you a job before you graduate, but there are few women and were all basically nerds here" tech school I went to. The military school was, surprise surprise, almost all military officers, plus a few civilians who happened to live in that area.

Alright, just some of my thoughts, hopefully they are helpful for something.

Oh, one more thought, maybe the biggest thing that made me inclined to a private school was avg class size. I knew I would major in math, and didn't wanna end up in some hard class with a prof who didn't care and who didn't know me, and that was too busy for me to ask questions or get help from. Doing the private school, I had small class sizes, and never had issues going to see a prof if need be. To me that was worth a lot.
 

Amethyst

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Well, here's some important advice I heard from a number of people.

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU GO! GO WHERE YOU ARE MOST HAPPY AND ABLE TO GET THE MAJOR AND EDUCATION YOU WANT!

Of course, that is null and void if they don't offer the major you want, or their program is the worst in the country or they're not an accredited school, and for several other minor reasons, such as it matters where you are happy at.

When I was looking for colleges, I was very, very confused...I applied to 20 colleges, and I hated how it sounded like everyone was trying to 'sell' me their school, because I wasn't getting how the school really felt. One very small private college (which no one should go to, unless you're I to the extreme) did things to interest me differently, and I never heard the 'small private college entrapment' thing before...or anything else, so I decided to go there, because I felt like I could relate to people there, plus they had one of the top pre-med programs in the country...sadly though, even though it was impossibly tough for me, I could've gotten the same classes done elsewhere much easier just to get to medical school.

I didn't. It was possibly one of the most terrible year of my life.

Don't listen to people who tell you 'College is all the same.' because that is utter bullshit. That's all I heard at my old school, and when they said that it made me remember that I'm living around a bunch of psychotic crazy fucks. Like every person, every college is unique and different, when you visit a college, try to observe how you would react to certain situations (aka rooming with people in certain dorms, how big classes are, how difficult do you want your classes to be, does this place offer a decent social life to students etc.).

Although you want to be happy and enjoy college, getting your degree and doing well in classes is the most important thing, but you probably already know that.

Ivy Leagues and small private colleges aren't all what they're cracked up to be, so look elsewhere, maybe a big state school is for you, maybe a middle sized private college, just see what you're more comfortable with.
 

swordpath

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I'm going where I want to (location wise), and there just so happens to be community colleges and a couple of solid Universities there. Score. I'm going to start at North Seattle CC... If it sucks, I'll go college hopping come the next semester. I just want that piece of paper that says "Such and such degree", tbh.
 

La de Longe

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Fair enough, Antimony.

LOL. Assholes are unavoidable anywhere you go. But there's a higher percentage of them, the "better" and more private the school is.

I have to ask whether this is coming from experience or just perception, because I disagree.

I really don't think you can generalize private schools like most people here seem to be doing. I definitely agree that a lot of the lesser name ones are not worth it, since among other things, they're more expensive, offer limited opportunities, are filled with insufferable people, and are not any more impressive on a resume, but if you can get into an "elite" school and come out with little debt I think it's definitely worth it, and this is coming from personal experience.

Compared to a well-respected public school I actually DON'T think that the quality of education at a high profile private university or liberal arts college is that much better, but the overall intellectual life on campus might be heightened, since *on average* I would venture to say that the typical student is smarter, more ambitious, and focused. And this is NOT to say that students at public schools are lazy and stupid or that those at elite privates are inherently superior, but only that there is a reason why elite schools attract and accept certain students, and it really isn't because they're all entitled rich kids who can buy their way in, at least not most of them anyway.

I graduated from an "elite" private university a few months ago, and there were definitely a lot of douche-bags going into financial consulting or what have you, but I also knew a lot of down-to-earth people going into education, non-profit work, environmental work, etc.

But as it's already been said it doesn't matter at all where you go. Different people are going to prefer and excel in different environments, and what you DO with your education is much more important than where you get it. I just feel like to assume that private schools are only for entitled assholes is to have a skewed perception of some of the best private schools.
 

Nonsensical

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I'm going where I want to (location wise), and there just so happens to be community colleges and a couple of solid Universities there. Score. I'm going to start at North Seattle CC... If it sucks, I'll go college hopping come the next semester. I just want that piece of paper that says "Such and such degree", tbh.

Nice, Seattle. I like that. If I could go to school anywhere in the US, it'd be Seattle. Nice pickin, bro.
 

The_Liquid_Laser

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alright then I'm on the right path.

the university of minnesota has a $16,000 out of state tuition. that's about all I can afford. I don't want to go to school in NYS.

Where is that money coming from? If it's your parents then this is what I'd recommend.

a) Go to a 2 year college and get an associates as Kyueii and Halla have recommended. Then go to a 4 year in-state school to complete your bachellor's.

b) Before you pick your school go to your parents and negotiate. Say, "Instead of paying $16,000 a year at an expensive university, could you put $8000 a year in a savings account toward a downpayment on my future house?" This way they save money, you get a good education, and you have $32,000 after college to put toward a house.

c) Get a 5 or 10 year mortgage on a house, and you'll build wealth in a short amount of time. Most people in their 30's (and later) would love to have their house already paid off.

Having a degree from an expensive college and a load of debt is not nearly as good as having a degee from a state school and a totally paid off mortgage.
 

neptunesnet

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Ivy Leagues and small private colleges aren't all what they're cracked up to be [...]

They are when they offer the kind of rigorous curriculum you want/feel you need but your closest state school doesn't have. Seriously. If he's looking for a challenge, he needs to go to whatever college he thinks can best provide that for him. I'm speaking from personal experience. I wasted so much of my time & money on courses in college that didn't equip me for the kind of work I wanted to do. They were easy A's, sure, but it kind of defeated the purpose of getting an education. Plus I really wasn't happy with where I was.
 

Amethyst

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They are when they offer the kind of rigorous curriculum you want/feel you need but your closest state school doesn't have. Seriously. If he's looking for a challenge, he needs to go to whatever college he thinks can best provide that for him. I'm speaking from personal experience. I wasted so much of my time & money on courses in college that didn't equip me for the kind of work I wanted to do. They were easy A's, sure, but it kind of defeated the purpose of getting an education. Plus I really wasn't happy with where I was.

Well, if he wants that, then he should go for it.
I thought I wanted it, but then I felt like I was being forced to learn everything I didn't give two shits about knowing, but even when I tried my hardest in class and out of class, it still wasn't enough. Maybe I thought I was smarter than I actually am, but either way, it was very unrewarding for me. Even if I got good grades and felt like I have learned something, I felt like there was no reward, like going out and having fun.
 

Blown Ghost

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They are when they offer the kind of rigorous curriculum you want/feel you need but your closest state school doesn't have. Seriously. If he's looking for a challenge, he needs to go to whatever college he thinks can best provide that for him. I'm speaking from personal experience. I wasted so much of my time & money on courses in college that didn't equip me for the kind of work I wanted to do. They were easy A's, sure, but it kind of defeated the purpose of getting an education. Plus I really wasn't happy with where I was.

Hate to break it to you but college isn't for preparing you to do a job. Most of the things a person needs to know at any given job are too specific to teach everyone, which is why a person is still only considered "entry level" once they finish a degree. For that matter, many people end up in a field completely different from what they studied in college. There are those seeking a niche who graduate from Ivy league schools, but even then the chances of them being satisfied in their selection of work isn't terribly high.

To the first poster: It's best to approach college with an open mind about the purpose of it and don't overthink it. People often attach a lot of stigmata to the type and size of college one attends, as if magical fairies are going to make you a more successful person because you attended a school with the best reputation :rolleyes: These people have little real world experience and common sense and you should ignore them. Community college is a great place to start because it is cost effective, the classes are often small which helps you develop study habits, and you will be exposed to a wider variety of people in a low pressure environment. This allows you to get a sense of the lifetime potential behind your college experience rather than only grinding out a degree in a competitive university.
 
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