Topic: University/College (Read 494786 times)

tania · « **Reply #150 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 09:45 »

actually in hindsight i am in no place to judge when it comes to useless degrees because in april i graduated with an honour's degree in sociology and social psychology intending to find some sort of career in the criminal justice system and so far i have not one but TWO potential minimum wage retail employers look at my resume and issue the following comment - "oh wow, your sociology degree makes you just perfect for a job as a sales associate here".

Bastardous Bassist · « **Reply #151 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 13:14 »

Quote from: Barmymoo on 04 Oct 2009, 02:17

I just arrived at uni and although my room is huge and has the best view (I picked the prettiest college and my window looks right out over the nicest gardens), there is no sink. It isn't a major problem because the bathroom is a couple doors one way and the kitchen a couple the other way, but it's kind of annoying to have to find my keys and go out the room just to wash my hands.

This setup is fairly common (in my experience). I would have been surprised if there were a sink in your room. Sounds much better than my room my first year, though. I had a great view of the next building over.

Quote from: tania on 04 Oct 2009, 08:46

all judgments aside though, philosophy really is pretty tough and good preparation for a lot of other areas of study. just don't make plans to get a dang phd in it with your parent's money before you have at least some idea of what you want to do with your life.

PhD's tend to not cost any money out-of-pocket. Also, you get a stipend. The humanities tend to have a smaler stipend, though (in my school, my program has the biggest stipend, which is awesome!).

calenlass · « **Reply #152 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 18:29 »

Christophe, what do you mean you are trying to figure out how to not stay in your dorm all day? Kelvingrove Park is right there. And the museum! And the Stand comedy club and the Uisge Beatha are not that far, and there are cool little hippie places like the Tchai-Ovna Tea House and museum of modern art and shit too! I mean if you are desperate go to the student union and get pissed on piss-beer. I have been to Glasgow all of four times in my life and I remember all this. If you can't come up with more shit to do than this I think maybe you are blind!

MrBlu · « **Reply #153 on:** 04 Oct 2009, 23:02 »

... I really hate this. I'm back in school and I'm up late doing homework. Except I'm procrastinating... Just like High School.

Anyways, I need to finish this because I love colleeeeeeeeeege but I'm going back to sleep, cuz' I have class at the beginning of the week... -_-

Christophe · « **Reply #154 on:** 05 Oct 2009, 00:46 »

Katie I think it's more of trying to find people with whom I can do hanging-out stuff with. There's a show at the 13th Note I want to go to, but man that's like on the opposite end of town and most likely I'll need to find dudes with whom I could split a cab ride.

scarred · « **Reply #155 on:** 05 Oct 2009, 00:52 »

Urrrrgh fall quarter starts tomorrow, and I have a morning class (8am). Meaning, since I bike and take the ferry over to the city, that I have to wake up around 5:30 am. It's 1 right now. I may or may not sleep tonight.

Gemmwah · « **Reply #156 on:** 05 Oct 2009, 03:05 »

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! My first real class is in just under an hour, and cheerleading tryouts are tomorrow and Thursday, and I have to skip a class in my first week to make tryouts, but I really don't care because the uniform is purple and sparkly and made of so much awesome I am mad excited!

Tyler · « **Reply #157 on:** 05 Oct 2009, 18:43 »

Quote from: Dliessmgg on 03 Oct 2009, 06:49

Quote from: ummmkay on 03 Oct 2009, 05:54
Someone said they had 29 or something- is that the way the university measures it, or your calculation of actual hours spent doing work? That number just seems absurdly high to me!
It's supposed to be 45min-lessons, but they're rebels.

Most I ever did was 25 in a semester when I was majoring in Biomedical Engineering. Just about all of my classes were 4 credit monstrosities plus all these extra labs and the ethics of building bridges that won't fall and kill people 1 credit seminars. Now that I am in liberal arts, I am much better at planning homework over the course of a semester. For the grad classes I am taking, it is almost unthinkable not to not only be up on all of the readings, but to have done extra outside research on the topics at hand. However, for the grad classes, it is entirely conceivable to not do any readings until the week of an assignment or exam, and just cram it, exam it, forget it.

Reed · « **Reply #158 on:** 05 Oct 2009, 19:16 »

Tyler, I really want you to show up to Ted's on friday with that face paint.

phooey · « **Reply #159 on:** 05 Oct 2009, 19:17 »

Quote from: supersheep on 04 Oct 2009, 09:40

what i learned from my three years of philosophy:
a) you can basically never go to class and still get a 2.1

Did you learn this from experience? Tsk tsk.

Bastardous Bassist · « **Reply #160 on:** 05 Oct 2009, 20:12 »

I took 22 one semester and that was enough. Of course, that included senior recital and senior research project. I also had a long-distance relationship at the time. I didn't even cut down on work that semester.

Reed · « **Reply #161 on:** 05 Oct 2009, 20:13 »

Ummm....I spent an extra year at WSU because I never bothered to maintain the average 15 credits/semester that you needed to in order to graduate on time.

Some would call me a winner?

Barmymoo · « **Reply #162 on:** 06 Oct 2009, 02:36 »

Lots of the rooms here have a sink in them, but at the moment it is an issue dwarfed by the fact that there is NO HOT WATER IN THE WHOLE BUILDING and there hasn't been since yesterday morning.

Took a tour of the law library this morning. So many books! So much space to read! So many hours to spend there! I'm mad excited about using the enormous library.

Christophe · « **Reply #163 on:** 06 Oct 2009, 03:48 »

Class got canceled today. Now I basically have nothing to do!

Woo?

supersheep · « **Reply #164 on:** 06 Oct 2009, 08:45 »

Quote from: phooey on 05 Oct 2009, 19:17

Did you learn this from experience? Tsk tsk.

hell yeah

i mean i was not as bad as my mate who missed 85% of classes in second year and still got a 2.1 (better than me too the bastard) but yeah that was largely my experience of philosophy.

also may you are extremely lucky that you go somewhere with a deposit library (or whatever they are called) because you basically have ALL the books.

apparently there are still around a hundred copies of the first edition of shakespeare's first folio still kicking around, which is quite a lot for a four hundred year old book

Dliessmgg · « **Reply #165 on:** 06 Oct 2009, 13:35 »

Quote from: Tyler on 05 Oct 2009, 18:43

Just about all of my classes were 4 credit monstrosities

Only 4? The average of mine is 5.5 (6.2 if you don't count the completely non-math stuff). The biggest is analysis with 10. Is this that much or is it a different system?

Bastardous Bassist · « **Reply #166 on:** 06 Oct 2009, 14:26 »

That must be a different system. The maximum number of credit hours I've seen for any class has been 4, and his system seems to be the same as mine.

nobo · « **Reply #167 on:** 06 Oct 2009, 15:32 »

credit hours = hours/week in class usually. so a MWF 1 hour class = TTh 1.5 hour class = 3 credit hours. MTWTh 1 hr class = TTH 2hr class = 4 credit hours.

Bastardous Bassist · « **Reply #168 on:** 06 Oct 2009, 16:11 »

Or, a MWF 1hr OR TTh 1.5hr + 3 hr lab = 4 hours

BlakeJustBlake · « **Reply #169 on:** 06 Oct 2009, 23:40 »

So yeah, I've pretty much failed college this semester and life. I haven't turned in any homework so far and took a test that I couldn't answer a single question on.

Dliessmgg · « **Reply #170 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 02:40 »

Quote from: nobo on 06 Oct 2009, 15:32

credit hours = hours/week in class usually.

That's the same with mine, but some courses have one additional point for homework.

Bastardous Bassist · « **Reply #171 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 07:55 »

I've only ever encountered one class that has had more credits than the number of hours the class met per week and that was music lessons, but since I had to work at least two hours a day on practice for that class, I was okay with that. Usually, the credits are fewer than the number of hours met per week (ensemble classes, also labs as I mentioned above).

look out! Ninjas! · « **Reply #172 on:** 13 Oct 2009, 05:25 »

Quote from: Barmymoo on 06 Oct 2009, 02:36

Took a tour of the law library this morning. So many books! So much space to read! So many hours to spend there! I'm mad excited about using the enormous library.

This is the thing that disappointed me most about my uni. A few minutes by foot down the road is the main Adelaide university (called, unexpectedly, Adelaide Uni) and they have a separate law library. The law library at my uni is a small section of one of four floors and is not very impressive to look at, even though it has far more than I will ever need to use and it's all online anyway.

And it is not that quiet.

Plus there is almost no greenery at my uni, just pavement and red light district.

Allybee · « **Reply #173 on:** 13 Oct 2009, 09:44 »

the people who ring the chapel bells at my school just played the lord of things music!!!! I must be the biggest nerd because this makes me so happy

Allybee · « **Reply #174 on:** 13 Oct 2009, 09:56 »

they just did the harry potter theme and now they're doing the ducktails song (from the cartoon)
yaaaay college

StaedlerMars · « **Reply #175 on:** 13 Oct 2009, 12:36 »

I was once up until five in the morning with a lady watching duck tales smoking pot after having gone to a breakcore/hardcore club night.

True story.

University is awesome when you don't have assignments due in.

Oh hey 15 page report due on Thursday, how are you?

Barmymoo · « **Reply #176 on:** 14 Oct 2009, 06:04 »

Funny things that have happened in lectures this week:

These guys burst into the first criminal law lecture and sang a song, before high-fiving the lecturer and walking out
Our eldery, very well-spoken tort law professor yelled "YOU'RE A TIT!" in order to illustrate a point about puinitive damages
We were informed that the defence "I was just urinating and the sheep backed onto me" is not a valid defence

I'm enjoying this! Although our lecture halls are ridiculously warm and therefore wonderful breeding grounds for all the germs that are going around. Almost everyone is ill.

Last night was the law society cocktail party and it was awesome. I ended up walking back with three second-year lawyers from my college and one of their boyfriends, and all four of them at some point fell down (in the case of one girl, three times in a row). I hate to think what kind of state they were in during their nine o'clock lectures.

tania · « **Reply #177 on:** 14 Oct 2009, 07:22 »

i am having an incredibly hard time getting in touch with one of my professors in order to get a letter of reference because i think she has disappeared from the face of the earth for the next few months for maternity leave, and it's probably hell of rude for me to keep trying to contact her but i need her recommendation so bad because she's the professor who taught the course basically completely 100% related to what i want to do my thesis on and also i did really fantastic in that course and it would be immensely helpful to me to have her say good things about me pretty much.

should i just give up and leave her alone or keep trying to find a way to get in touch with her?

Barmymoo · « **Reply #178 on:** 14 Oct 2009, 08:06 »

Providing she isn't actually hanging up the phone when you ring her, I think you're probably ok to keep attempting to contact her. What have you tried? If she isn't responding to a work email address is there any way you can get alternative contact details from somewhere? Maybe try writing to her; it's less invasive but more formal so might elicit an answer. Good luck!

Pee ess I have written fewer than 1000 words and I have run out of intelligent things to say, exhausted my ridiculously under-informed opinions about things I do not understand and am beginning to consider concocting an elaborate conspiracy theory about the influence of the praetor in the development of the civil law, involving dragons and chalices of poison.

supersheep · « **Reply #179 on:** 14 Oct 2009, 16:38 »

from what i remember of first year that is probably enough to get you a good two-one, maybe a first if you draw pictures of dragons in the margins

Gemmwah · « **Reply #180 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 02:22 »

I'm transferring to Computer Science hell yeah!

BlakeJustBlake · « **Reply #181 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 02:40 »

don't do it, just be a math major.

Dliessmgg · « **Reply #182 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 02:41 »

Quote from: BlakeJustBlake on 15 Oct 2009, 02:40

don't do it, just be a math major.

StaedlerMars · « **Reply #183 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 02:51 »

Quote from: Gemmwah on 15 Oct 2009, 02:22

I'm transferring to Computer Science hell yeah!

Computer Science is good times. Don't listen to nay sayers.

Puki · « **Reply #184 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 02:55 »

I have to agree - I transferred from maths to computer science, and now I'm having much more fun.

Gemmwah · « **Reply #185 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 03:13 »

I don't like maths. Fortunately I only have to do one unit of maths so that's all good. Plus, Computer Science has 3D rendering and programming hell yes.

Barmymoo · « **Reply #186 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 03:43 »

Just had my first supervision (kind of scary) and it ran over almost half an hour so we've missed a lecture. Hopefully this won't happen every time or we will be missing a fair number of constitutional law lectures.

Nodaisho · « **Reply #187 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 03:59 »

Last semester I took the first computer science class, it was easy, didn't need to study, and I got kind of lazy with the homework. Now I'm finding that two days really isn't enough time to do my java projects, especially when I have no goddamn idea how I am going to do what the teacher is asking. Why do good study habits have to be so much harder to get into than out of? Probably doesn't help that the language is just different enough from C++ that I can't remember what is supposed to be different for Java and what isn't.

BlakeJustBlake · « **Reply #188 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 04:37 »

I moved to math from computer science because I learned a lot more computer science in math than I did in computer science. you'll learn a whole lot more about three dimensions in linear algebra/multivariable calculus/vector calculus than in any of your computer science classes. All you need to know about from those computer science classes is learning APIs. So, want to work as a software developer/game programmer or something, that's fine I suppose, be a computer science major. But all you need to learn is how to work with APIs and those design patterns and stuff. But if you want to be a real computer scientist then it's all in the math.

Gemmwah · « **Reply #189 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 07:21 »

Quote from: BlakeJustBlake on 15 Oct 2009, 04:37

So, want to work as a software developer/game programmer or something, that's fine I suppose, be a computer science major...

BINGO!

I'm so excited, even though my first class is monday at 9am and i have class from 9am-6pm on mondays

still, EXCITING.

StaedlerMars · « **Reply #190 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 09:27 »

Quote from: BlakeJustBlake on 15 Oct 2009, 04:37

I moved to math from computer science because I learned a lot more computer science in math than I did in computer science. you'll learn a whole lot more about three dimensions in linear algebra/multivariable calculus/vector calculus than in any of your computer science classes. All you need to know about from those computer science classes is learning APIs. So, want to work as a software developer/game programmer or something, that's fine I suppose, be a computer science major. But all you need to learn is how to work with APIs and those design patterns and stuff. But if you want to be a real computer scientist then it's all in the math.

Man, that's not true at all. Maybe not where you studied, but here I've had pretty intensive courses on algorithms, all the maths you mentioned, and computer theory in general as opposed to 'just learning the API'. I'm pretty good friends with some of the maths students here, and they've been shocked by the amounts of maths we have to do.

If your course is just learning the API however, then yeah, you'll probably not learn much, but this doesn't hold for the way Computer Science is taught around the world. With us, you're already expected to know the API.

Also, we usually do a shit load more writing than most Humanities courses at our University. Both analytical and reports.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, with Computer Science you're going to be learning a lot. Maths, how to write formally, how to deal with clients, team management, requirements analysis, effective algorithm solving, plus whatever else that you choose to study including the 3D animation. Of course, I guess this is all dependent on the way that your CS department decides to teach.

jhocking · « **Reply #191 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 09:32 »

Quote from: Gemmwah on 15 Oct 2009, 02:22

I'm transferring to Computer Science hell yeah!

What from? The closest thing I have to a regret about a past decision is not studying computer science or art as an undergrad, and even that I don't really regret because I like biology.

Gemmwah · « **Reply #192 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 09:37 »

From Entertainment Technology, which is like loads of different kinds of media production. Not what I wanted at all.

jhocking · « **Reply #193 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 10:04 »

Ah, that's pretty much what I meant by "art" actually, media production courses. Since that's what I teach now, it makes it ironic that I never took classes in that stuff.

Bastardous Bassist · « **Reply #194 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 12:06 »

Quote from: StaedlerMars on 15 Oct 2009, 09:27

I guess what I'm trying to say is, with Computer Science you're going to be learning a lot. Maths, how to write formally, how to deal with clients, team management, requirements analysis, effective algorithm solving, plus whatever else that you choose to study including the 3D animation. Of course, I guess this is all dependent on the way that your CS department decides to teach.

Some places teach it in preparation for people becoming code monkeys (which, let's face it, is the most likely job that people who graduate with their degree will get), but good places basically do turn it into something of an applied math degree. Either way, it's extremely important to understand at least linear algebra and logic extremely well if you're actually going to be able to think critically about what you're doing, because that's how computers do things. I have to write a lot of code, and the fact that I didn't give a shit about linear algebra (because the only reason physicists ever have to take that class is the concept of eigenvalues and eigenvectors) is really coming to bite me in the ass, because though what I'm doing is rather simple, I have to design and carry out all of my programs myself (even if I did trust real programmers with what I was trying to do with my program, I'm at the dead bottom of the heap here as a grad student. Even undergrads take precedence over me).

Jimmy the Squid · « **Reply #195 on:** 15 Oct 2009, 21:20 »

Yeah I pretty much feel that way. I am now trying to get into this post-grad course for the third year running. I didn't get in the first year because I didn't have the marks, I didn't get in the second year because I was told the wrong closing date for the applications and if I don't get in this year then I'm just going to try and get a job in a book shop, do a business course at TAFE (kind of like a community college kind of thing I guess but they do apprenticeships and stuff as well) and open up a comic shop maybe?

Try speaking to the other professors that you know, see what you can drum up. No reason to stop trying until you've exhausted all your options (or you stop caring, either one).

BlakeJustBlake · « **Reply #196 on:** 16 Oct 2009, 01:40 »

Quote from: StaedlerMars on 15 Oct 2009, 09:27

Man, that's not true at all. Maybe not where you studied, but here I've had pretty intensive courses on algorithms, all the maths you mentioned, and computer theory in general as opposed to 'just learning the API'. I'm pretty good friends with some of the maths students here, and they've been shocked by the amounts of maths we have to do.

ok, what I was trying to say is that if you just want to be a software developer then all you need to learn is how to use APIs. your job will probably not involve some intense tree counting algorithm that you learned in your algorithms and data structures class.

What I'm saying is that if you're really interested in things like tree counting algorithms and the actual computer science bit of it, then really math is a more direct way to it and, as far as I've experienced, has given me more to build off of to make my own algorithms better.

pwhodges · « **Reply #197 on:** 16 Oct 2009, 02:06 »

Quote from: BlakeJustBlake on 16 Oct 2009, 01:40

if you just want to be a software developer then all you need to learn is how to use APIs.

This also explains why so much software these days is complete crap. Good programming requires understanding, guys!

And now Tommy's requirement, in an appropriately explanatory form:

Barmymoo · « **Reply #198 on:** 16 Oct 2009, 04:20 »

Did you just happen to have that lying around in your computer, on the off-chance that it might come in handy?

Gemmwah · « **Reply #199 on:** 16 Oct 2009, 05:55 »

If the answer is no I will be thoroughly disappointed.

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: University/College (Read 494786 times)