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Author Topic: University/College  (Read 435648 times)

Liz

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Re: University/College
« Reply #750 on: 15 May 2011, 09:47 »

Moving out for college was great. I had never moved anywhere as a kid unless you count moving from bedroom A to bedroom B in my parents house when I was probably about two years old. It's exciting! It costs a lot of money because you have to pay for everything that your parents used to buy but I very much enjoyed becoming an adult. And, a few years later, becoming an actual adult (bills, bills, bills, work, work, work).
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Tom

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Re: University/College
« Reply #751 on: 16 May 2011, 17:30 »

Enrollments opened like an hour ago and everyone swooped down like magpies and stole all the really shiny class times. I've had to shift a few classes and send out a polite email but hopefully, I'll still get my day off.
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snalin

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Re: University/College
« Reply #752 on: 17 May 2011, 05:05 »

Got my first out of three exams this Friday - discrete maths. It's probably gonna be supah easy (compared to maths from last year where I got a D :c, gotta take that one again before I finish my BA), but I'm still a bit nervous. It's pretty fun to work with, and I've set aside the entire day for tomorrow and Thursday to crank out some exams, so it'll probably be great.

I'm considering changing my BA, though, from Informatics to, well, Informatics, dropping some low level programming (a course about assembly and shell scripts and OSs) in favor of more maths. Probably gonna have 80% of the same courses when I'm finished, but is this a good idea? What do I need most as a prospective programmer, low level operating system knowledge, or more relevant Maths?
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pwhodges

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Re: University/College
« Reply #753 on: 17 May 2011, 05:18 »

Go with what you enjoy most (and thus presumably expect to do better at).  I would say that maths is universal, whereas coding and low-level OS is more likely to be ad hoc  stuff you can get from manuals as required - but of course there's lots of underlying theory for OS operation which it is also good to have.  I'm sufficiently out of touch with IT education (let alone the details of yours) to judge how theoretical, and hence useful (in my book!), the low-level OS stuff in your course actually is, though.  But even so, make the most of what you do best, and you can cram the rest as required by real lifeTM
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Re: University/College
« Reply #754 on: 19 May 2011, 17:31 »

I've avoided having a Facebook all through high school and now I'm forced to do it so I can choose a roommate. What's worse is that it demands that I actually make an effort to make a page since I'll probably be judged from there.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #755 on: 22 May 2011, 07:20 »

Facebook isn't that bad. It's worth having for university, because it makes you work on having an established network.

So I'm almost positive that I'm going to end up in Germany next year. I got rejected from 9 universities for PhD places, which kind of sucks. I got into New Mexico, but that's not funded. I tentatively got into Auckland, but I missed the deadline because their site was wrong, so I won't know until too late. I got into to MScs in Edinburgh, where I live, but they're hella expensive and just not really an option for me, financially. So it looks like I'm moving to Saarbrücken for a year, and then Malta for a year, because I got a scholarship to do computational linguistics there in a double masters. I can reapply to PhDs after that, and it's fully funded, so...

Still going to California for August. Ain't no way I'm missing that.
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Metope

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Re: University/College
« Reply #756 on: 22 May 2011, 13:31 »

Why is my school so lazy? This was my last week of this academic year, I don't start again until late September. That's 4 months of no school! 1/3 of the entire year! No wonder a BA takes 4 years here, my last one was 3 years and even then I felt like I had a lot of spare time.
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Method of Madness

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Re: University/College
« Reply #757 on: 22 May 2011, 14:47 »

That seems pretty standard.  The exams at my school usually start early-to-mid May, and then nothing until after Labor Day.  Also, 4 years is standard in the States (not sure where you're from).
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Metope

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Re: University/College
« Reply #758 on: 22 May 2011, 14:52 »

The standard for the rest of Europe (and for the UK except Scotland) is 3 years. I'm from Norway, and the summer break usually started in early June and ended in mid-August. 4 months is pretty insane I think, can't believe the year is over already.
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Tom

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Re: University/College
« Reply #759 on: 22 May 2011, 14:55 »

How's yr Winter break, mines barely a month but my Summer is roughly 4 months. I've noticed that a number of the Uni's that do that have a summer semester.
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Metope

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Re: University/College
« Reply #760 on: 22 May 2011, 14:58 »

There's a 3-4ish week Christmas break and a 3 week Spring break as well, plus a million Bank Holidays spread out over the year. My conclusion is that Scotland is lazy.
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Method of Madness

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Re: University/College
« Reply #761 on: 22 May 2011, 15:05 »

How's yr Winter break, mines barely a month but my Summer is roughly 4 months. I've noticed that a number of the Uni's that do that have a summer semester.
Yeah, my school has a summer semester, but generally you just take 1 or 2 classes at a time for a few weeks each, and it's considered optional (and usually it's if you're a few credits behind)
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schimmy

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Re: University/College
« Reply #762 on: 22 May 2011, 15:13 »

(Wrote this before MoM replied) It's pretty much the same in England, except we have three year degrees. A friend of mine from high school is at Oxford at the moment - terms are crazy there, he has more days holiday than he has days at home than he does at uni.

I have finished my second year! I have also done my last exam EVER! All of my assesments next year are through my dissertation and essays. This is SO GOOD! However, I do need to do enough reading over the summer to figure out what I want to do my dissertation on, so I can have it approved in september.
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nufan

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Re: University/College
« Reply #763 on: 22 May 2011, 15:18 »

Got my first out of three exams this Friday - discrete maths. It's probably gonna be supah easy (compared to maths from last year where I got a D :c, gotta take that one again before I finish my BA), but I'm still a bit nervous. It's pretty fun to work with, and I've set aside the entire day for tomorrow and Thursday to crank out some exams, so it'll probably be great.

I'm considering changing my BA, though, from Informatics to, well, Informatics, dropping some low level programming (a course about assembly and shell scripts and OSs) in favor of more maths. Probably gonna have 80% of the same courses when I'm finished, but is this a good idea? What do I need most as a prospective programmer, low level operating system knowledge, or more relevant Maths?

I'd say Maths. When I was researching what degree to take (I wanted to be a website designer) I quickly found that no matter what profession I wanted to choose, general knowledge trumped speciality any time. Hence I chose straight Comp Sci over and Web based degrees.

This theory was pretty much confirmed when in my first week of comp sci we had a talk from a games manufacturer (can't remember exactly which one but it was a pretty major one - they did the Scarface game which I won for asking a question about something or other). They said straight up that they don't take people who do a "Games Design" degree as they prefer students who have a broader knowledge.
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Method of Madness

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Re: University/College
« Reply #764 on: 22 May 2011, 15:44 »

So they're making the masters take twice as long?  What're they changing?
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Barmymoo

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Re: University/College
« Reply #765 on: 22 May 2011, 23:59 »

The standard for the rest of Europe (and for the UK except Scotland) is 3 years. I'm from Norway, and the summer break usually started in early June and ended in mid-August. 4 months is pretty insane I think, can't believe the year is over already.

The standard for the UK is to finish in June and start again in September, but Oxbridge as Schimmy mentioned have very short terms - I only have about twenty weeks of classes, and then four weeks with revision lessons and exams. We start in October and finish at the end of May, so holidays are all very long.

Oh and you get awarded an MA seven years after matriculation purely for staying out of trouble. Very stupid.
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StaedlerMars

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Re: University/College
« Reply #766 on: 23 May 2011, 01:44 »

I've always suspected that Oxford just did the whole "set really high admission standards and then do fuck all once you get there" thing. Sounds like I was right!
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pwhodges

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Re: University/College
« Reply #767 on: 23 May 2011, 02:01 »

Of course, it's never as simple as that.  Even when I was there as a student (Oxford, that is), "full term" (3x 8 weeks) was simply the period within which lectures and tutorials fell - but there was plenty of stuff that was required to be done outside those dates.  The weeks in full term are referred to as "1st week" - "8th week" (rather obviously), but these days calendars routinely have references to "0th week", "-2th week", "10th week" and suchlike;  and some schools now have formal "extended term" dates, with stipulations of the minimum number of weeks to be spent up each year (e.g. 38 for the first degree in chemistry).  And medics have crazy timetables.

The number of years varies.  My Engineering degree (a BA) took three years; but the same department now offers a four-year degree (M Eng) as the minimum available option. 

As for the MA - since I never went to a degree ceremony to be awarded my BA, I don't officially have it - and so the MA didn't follow either (both the degree ceremony and the subsequent MA involve paying fees, of course).
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Tom

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Re: University/College
« Reply #768 on: 23 May 2011, 03:31 »

13 wk semester plus for us plebs with a midsem break somewhere in between (Easter pushed the current one after the 8th week). This is followed by 1-2 weeks of stuvac and then 2-3 weeks of finals. Summer and Medicine remain weird.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #769 on: 24 May 2011, 05:57 »

ten week semesters, with two weeks for exams, three times a year
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Lines

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Re: University/College
« Reply #770 on: 24 May 2011, 11:05 »

Why is my school so lazy? This was my last week of this academic year, I don't start again until late September. That's 4 months of no school! 1/3 of the entire year! No wonder a BA takes 4 years here, my last one was 3 years and even then I felt like I had a lot of spare time.

Man what. I am glad for a long break. I can work and save money and also it keeps me from wanting to kill myself because I'm so stressed out. The only reason I completed my bachelors in 4 years is because I took a few classes ever summer, but there's no way in hell I'm taking classes this summer. I need a break before my head explodes. And next year will actually be worse than this year.
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Method of Madness

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Re: University/College
« Reply #771 on: 27 May 2011, 14:27 »

My semester ended a couple weeks ago, which is good, because I can sub every day until the end of the public school year (which is the end of June).  After that, I'll have two months free (hopefully working part time if I can find something) until student teaching in the fall.
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LTK

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Re: University/College
« Reply #772 on: 12 Jun 2011, 16:11 »

Huh. I think my uni's Professional Ethics course is having exactly the opposite effect that was intended. Here I am studying up on the self-worth of humans, animals, and yes, even plants, and it's just getting me existentialistic. All I can think of is that every living thing on the planet is nothing but the result of a series of coincidences that happened to self-perpetrate, and the only reason that we know this and yet not all kill ourselves is because of the evolutionary discouragement of which we're all slaves.

So we are meant to care for humans because humans have feelings and desires like ours, and we are meant to care for animals because they are able to experience pain and pleasure like we do, and we are meant to care for plants because they are living things like we are. But the only thing that drives this caring for others is the feeling of empathy, and this feeling happened to be beneficial to our species by, again, pure coincidence. In fact, you owe nothing to no one, not to other living things, not to other humans, and no, not even to yourself. There, isn't that comforting?

They ought to put a warning label on this coursebook. 'Caution: May cause existential crises.'
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Jimmy the Squid

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Re: University/College
« Reply #773 on: 12 Jun 2011, 18:23 »

I don't know about comforting but it's certainly cool as hell.

And who cares if this kind of thing is the result of evolution? Doesn't make the feelings and experiences any less real to the people feeling and experiencing them? Also again, cool as hell.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #774 on: 12 Jun 2011, 18:44 »

Well put, Mr. the Squid.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #775 on: 14 Jun 2011, 04:09 »

Failing my first year. Probably should have stopped partying like it's Freshers when Freshers finished.

Still, I can pass by handing in work I've already got typed up in a months time, so I guess I'm not really failing. It's a really weird system.
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Radical AC

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Re: University/College
« Reply #776 on: 14 Jun 2011, 17:01 »

I've never had to take ethics. Does it try to instill a proper system of treatment regarding others, or is there a lot of relative thought?  I'm pretty sure they do that for business ethics at least. </rimshot>

My computer science teacher tried to recruit me to his research lab when I went and asked about advising today.  I'm getting a CS minor and a poly sci degree next spring.  I started off as biochem and have that listed as my other major still, but want to finish it up somewhere else (better chance of getting into medschool).  He wants me there because of my chem experience.  I'm probably a little rusty in chem at this point, and am more worried about finishing up at this point, but you can never have too much research experience, right?
« Last Edit: 14 Jun 2011, 17:06 by Radical AC »
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Re: University/College
« Reply #777 on: 14 Jun 2011, 18:50 »

I just had my orientation. I've never been so excited for something. I loved the campus, the people I met, and the stuff there'll be to do next year. I was really reluctant to make the five hour drive back.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #778 on: 15 Jun 2011, 02:48 »

it's actually astounding how impractical and utterly divorced from any sort of real world usage half of the shit they teach at university is
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LTK

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Re: University/College
« Reply #779 on: 15 Jun 2011, 12:22 »

I've never had to take ethics. Does it try to instill a proper system of treatment regarding others, or is there a lot of relative thought?  I'm pretty sure they do that for business ethics at least. </rimshot>

Well, it's certainly not about learning a set of rules by which to live. We basically have to learn about the most notable schools of thought regarding consequentialism and deontology, worldviews, intrinsic and extrinsic value and self-worth of things and how they relate to the laws in place about animal and human experimenting and genetic modification of plants. It's a life science approach, after all.

Here's an interesting fact: In the Netherlands, some degree of experimentation on human embryos is allowed, in cases of abortions with the mother's consent. Any form of experiment on primate embryos, however, is banned. Unconditionally. On the other hand, there are no regulations whatsoever regarding the use of non-primate embryos for experiments. You're given free rein as long as the ethics committee approves your use of the parent animals. That's just a big mess.

And there's a lot of discussion involved in the assignments. A lot. I think I've said more words on the subject of the work at hand to my fellow students in this course than in the rest of the year combined.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #780 on: 26 Jul 2011, 12:01 »

I hope no one gets upset about me bumping this back, I need somewhere to rant considering this is driving me nuts.

I'm going to a community college, I'm 22, and live in South Carolina. I can't possibly afford more than one class currently because I do not qualify for FAFSA, or Pell Grants. I scheduled a appoint for the youth program a few months ago to meet with someone about some form of financial aid through the school, only to be stopped in the middle of my meeting and hear, "Oh.... you're 22? The cut off is at 21. We have an adult program at the unemployment office though!" I go today to meet with someone, only to be told "Ohhhh.... we work with UNEMPLOYED adults, the first step we do is find them a job... and then we help with their schooling." I just looked at the girls dropped a "f" bomb and said "I guess I'ma have to bite the bullet and apply for student loans."

The problem with FAFSA's is I'm classified by the government as dependent upon my parents until I'm 24, unless I'm emancipated or my parents are deceased. There is no way around that, they do not give a damn that I am living in another state, paying my own bills, and receive nothing from my family. My parents make "too much" money in the governments eyes, but never mind the fact that they are struggling to keep their heads above the water with their own bills. I just feel that the system is way to screwed up, preventing honest hard working people such as myself from actually bettering myself. All I want to do is to go to school and do better with my life. I don't want to be that bitter old woman stuck making sandwiches in a restaurant, I just want a good career, and to live as comfortably as possible.

I'm paying $480 completely out of my own pocket plus some for books for this one class per semester, and I'm getting scared because the program I want to go into has general studies I can knock out while on the waiting list, and it's over 10 classes. I have to either hope I maintain this one class per semester thing catching up, and then when I hit 24 hope that fafsa can help considerably so I can knock out all the general studies quick enough to finish before my name is at the top of the list for clinical so that I get at least one year off from school so I can work full time during that small break in school. I want to save a considerable amount of money so that I can become a full time student and quit my job while doing my clinical, I just have to make sure that I have at least a 3 month cushion to fall back on in my savings in case of a emergency with bills.

I really dislike the rules of financial aid. I think the only other way around FAFSA with my parents is if I get married, they then base it off of my spouses income. But my boyfriend and I are wanting to wait until after we're both through school to do that, and we really want to do it the right way.

Lots of rambling, my mind is in a ton of different places right now. So if my sentences are formed poorly, I really am sorry. I just came home a couple hours ago after my running around in the student services building being turned away, and told all this stuff.. and I just cried. I just want to be able to go to damn school. I don't need the financial aid department to be rude and cut me off in the middle of my sentences, I just want one damn person to be able to answer all of my questions. I don't want someone to cut me off and say "You're in the wrong department, go here." and when I go to that department they say "Now why did they send you to me? Go here." I'm tired of the chase and not getting results. Also, the class I'm taking now, I paid $160 for the book, only to be told later on "OH, you don't need the book." but the bookstore would not refund it. I'm just.... knjdksnjlsdkjkj dklsjf. It's a special edition book exclusively for that school only so I can't really even throw it up for sale for other people elsewhere... and NONE of the instructors in the college I attend actually use this book as I was being told by other students so trying to sell it locally is a joke.

I'm just frustrated, and this is the the college thread... and maybe just maybe some of my fellow American buddies can give me some advice on something if they've run into a similar situation.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #781 on: 26 Jul 2011, 12:44 »

That sounds like an awful situation :( We have a similar problem in the UK but it is not as bad because the student finance situation isn't as bad. I thought I had read something about a way of being declared independent of your parents (it sounded complex but worth it in a situation like yours) but sadly I can't find it again. What does "emancipated" mean?

I can't really suggest anything helpful, but have you considered taking the route that the unemployment office want you to take - as in, find a job (part time) and then get the help? Or does it have to be full time work for some reason?
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Re: University/College
« Reply #782 on: 26 Jul 2011, 13:55 »

Emancipated is declaring yourself free of your parents. I think you can only do that if you have a horrible living situation, and in order to emancipate yourself you have to prove that you are capable of living on your own. Which I do, its just I know my dad, if he got a paper like that in the mail he would be absolutely infuriated, he would take it personal and not see it as a logical thing that I'm doing to help myself. That is, if you can emancipate yourself without coming from a abusive home or the likes. I don't, I just come from a normal middle class home.

Edit: Thing is, I'm working full time at a place that is more than willing to work with my school schedule. Sorry I didn't edit this in sooner I had class and was in a rush and missed the last bit you said. I also need to add, the unemployment rate is high out here in my area, definitely not a risk I'm willing to take.
« Last Edit: 26 Jul 2011, 16:57 by Doctor Online »
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Jimor

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Re: University/College
« Reply #783 on: 26 Jul 2011, 23:39 »

I think school financial aid must be the first circle of hell leaking out into the real world. The catch 22 I had to deal with years ago during my first go around was that the aide came after the enrollment period, but it would only pay the school directly. So if you paid the school yourself to enroll, you were shit out of luck on getting your money back. So you could wait for the aid, but miss enrollment and have to add all your classes. Which some professors would drag their feet forever, which was a pain because you had to turn in the add forms all at once, not piecemeal. So one time a professor waited 4 weeks to add me, which meant I had to go to each dept dean and get a waiver for the extra late adds. The math dean had the nerve to tell me I was attending class "illegally". The stare I gave him must have scared him shitless, because after about 30 seconds, he signed the form.
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Nodaisho

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Re: University/College
« Reply #784 on: 02 Aug 2011, 01:31 »

Finally got signed up for classes for the fall. I missed one orientation day's registration by a few days, and had to wait nearly an extra month. Then I find out that contrary to what the guy on the phone had told me, it is possible to make an appointment to speak with an advisor independent of the orientation day. So most of the sections are full, and I have a hell of a time finding classes that I can make it to and need for my degree.

And somehow, I seem to have still managed to get into a good schedule. Most of my classes are around the same time (easy to schedule for work), none of them are red-eye early, and I've got a day that is completely free after one 5-week class is over. Feeling pretty damn good about that.

I'm definitely making sure to sign up for classes early this semester, though. I signed up for classes at my old college in April, but that's pretty much out the window since I decided to transfer in May.
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Radical AC

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Re: University/College
« Reply #785 on: 02 Oct 2011, 01:30 »

Once you are 18 it has much more to do with declaring yourself an independent tax wise.  Emancipation is for minors in bad parental situations.  Your parents can no longer claim you on taxes if you are independent.  It helps with financial aid, but you may be able to get more help from your parents if you don't.  Once you hit either 23 or 24 it no longer matters as you don't have to give out any parental information on financial aid.

I could use some help with a question of my own. Anyone have experience applying to an undergrad program at a different uni after finishing up a BA/BS in a different field? Do I apply as a transfer student? Should I take the GRE and use that? My google fu seems week on this subject and my adviser isn't much help.
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dr. nervioso

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Re: University/College
« Reply #786 on: 03 Oct 2011, 19:25 »

So I will be studying biology and education I think. I am planning to go to a college in the US just so you guys know the culture/other location stuff.

Can any of you tell me what to expect?
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TRVA123

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Re: University/College
« Reply #787 on: 03 Oct 2011, 23:36 »

Radical AC: I think you apply as a transfer. Undergrad generally doesn't care about GRE. They might care about SAT/ACT.

Dr. nervioso: I went to a small liberal arts college. Their biology program was extremely difficult and meant to weed out students who weren't serious about medical school. There was insane amounts of studying involved. No guaranteeing other schools programs are that cutthroat, but it might be worth talking with students at the school about the program. On one hand, a good program will give you a leg up for grad school in an economy where any advantage should be taken, on the other hand, you could spend four years in the school library, occasionally venturing out into the sunlight.
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dr. nervioso

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Re: University/College
« Reply #788 on: 04 Oct 2011, 14:41 »

I do not intend to go into medicine. I intend to teach genetics or some other field of biology while doing research in my extra time
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Carl-E

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Re: University/College
« Reply #789 on: 04 Oct 2011, 17:18 »

I do not intend to go into medicine. I intend to teach genetics or some other field of biology...

You'd have it easier in medicine.

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... while doing research in my extra time

 :laugh: :roll: :laugh:
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TRVA123

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Re: University/College
« Reply #790 on: 04 Oct 2011, 22:13 »

again, this is just the university I attended, the pre-med and those who planned to get a phd/masters in biology went through the same undergraduate program.

all I'm saying is to talk with the students in the program you're applying for. See how intense the program is.
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benji

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Re: University/College
« Reply #791 on: 05 Oct 2011, 11:06 »

I do not intend to go into medicine. I intend to teach genetics or some other field of biology while doing research in my extra time

I'm a bit confused, do you mean become a professor of genetics? As in teach college/university students? Or do you mean become a teacher, as in teach highschool/secondary school students?

I get the impression that you don't live in the US but are planning on going to school here, so you should probably check what I'm about to say with someone from where you live (assuming you are not planning to permanently move to the US).

In the US, teaching at the High School level and teaching at the College Level and above are completely different fields. To do the former, you will want to do as you describe, study both Biology and Education. Depending on a lot of specifics, you will then be able to either start teaching or enter a masters program in education. If you go this rout, do not expect a lot of time or resources to do research. Research is conducted at the college and university level. High Schools do not have the resources to fund research, nor will they be particularly interested in freeing up your schedule so that you can do research. Also, biology teachers at this level do not specialize as much. Unless they want to include it as an elective, you probably won't teach a "genetics" class. Most of what you teach will probably be general biology.

If you want to be a professor (that is, teach college students and graduate students), things look very different. You will still want to get your bachelors in Biology, but you can drop Education. After you earn your BA, you are going to want to get a Masters degree and then a PhD. You can take some break between these, but don't wait too long (more then a year or two). The longer you wait the more likely you are to fall behind current research and the natural sciences tend to move quickly (this is completely different if you study other things. If you're a lit major, for example, they generally don't mind if you take several years off before pursuing a masters because major theories of literature don't change that quickly). Once you are working on grad degrees, you may well start teaching in some capacity (usually as an assistant to a professor) and you will start doing research. Once you're done with school (usually when you've earned a PhD or have finished everything but your dissertation), you will look for a professorship. Depending on the job you end up with, you may end up teaching a lot with only a little time to do research, or teaching only a little bit with lots of time to do research. You will also likely be able to specialize a little more and teach more classes in your specific field (genetics, say) though depending on the size of the program, you may have less opportunities to teach in your specialty. If there are only two biologists at the school, for example, you are probably going to have to take turns teaching the general classes.

So in summery, only take education if (a) you are interested in it or (b) you think there's a good chance you'll end up teaching high school. If you are serious about doing research, you should probably be aiming more for the higher education rout and planning on at least getting your masters in Biology.

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Barmymoo

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Re: University/College
« Reply #792 on: 02 Nov 2011, 17:40 »

OK so things were going really well earlier in term. It's now exactly the middle of term (term starts on a Thursday and lasts for 8 weeks so today is the midpoint) and I am starting to struggle. Probably a big issue is that I've slipped from getting up early, getting to bed early and working hard all day, to spending a lot of time talking to the Boy on facebook. Stupid how easily something so small can take over. Time to reassess and get my priorities back in order.

Also, this fortnight has been a mess in terms of my schedule. Two of my supervisions were moved (one was moved three times and then cancelled - now it's been rescheduled so we're two weeks behind) and I had an essay due three days after the supervision, which ate into my time to get started on the next week's work as I was still on the last week's one doing the essay.

ARGH. I know it will return to a balance but it's very frustrating at the moment.
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Jimmy the Squid

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Re: University/College
« Reply #793 on: 03 Nov 2011, 02:57 »

Augh I am having a little trouble. I'm writing my last Master's application and it's basically the only one which actually requires more than just filling out the form. They want a curriculum vitae (which I only just realised is what CV stands for) which shouldn't be too hard but they also want a statement of why I want to go there and what research experience I've had and what my strengths and weaknesses are. Man I don't know what my strengths and weaknesses are? This is basically the only thing I'm having trouble with. Why can't they just look at my marks and be done with it?
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Barmymoo

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Re: University/College
« Reply #794 on: 03 Nov 2011, 04:15 »

One of your weaknesses is probably a tendency to get fully absorbed in your work, occasionally to the detriment of your social life. Another is your inability to leave a job only partially done, or done to a poor standard. Also maybe throw in something like "my greatest weakness is also my greatest strength: a reluctance to let anyone down". They'll lap that shit up.
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LTK

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Re: University/College
« Reply #795 on: 03 Nov 2011, 05:48 »

There are applications that actually ask you about your weaknesses? I'm surprised. But why would whoever is reading those things be more impressed by thinly veiled inversions of postitive traits than by someone who is honestly introspective of their flawed character?

Or maybe I'm expecting too much from master's application assessors and they just don't care that much.
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Carl-E

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Re: University/College
« Reply #796 on: 03 Nov 2011, 07:52 »

There are applications that actually ask you about your weaknesses? I'm surprised. But why would whoever is reading those things be more impressed by thinly veiled inversions of postitive traits than by someone who is honestly introspective of their flawed character?

Maybe, but if your greatest weakness is "difficulty in forming personal relationships and maintaining a social life", then you'll fit right in...

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Or maybe I'm expecting too much from master's application assessors and they just don't care that much.

Depends, but this option's the most likely. 
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Barmymoo

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Re: University/College
« Reply #797 on: 03 Nov 2011, 08:15 »

That's the thing about that question. No one in their right minds will answer with something like "I'm almost entirely incapable of arriving on time" or "I can't spell simple words" or "I get pissed off by idiots". So unless it's a moron-screening question, it serves no purpose except to see how inventive you can be.
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Zingoleb

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Re: University/College
« Reply #798 on: 03 Nov 2011, 14:08 »

"My biggest weakness is my inability to answer what my biggest weakness is."
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Barmymoo

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Re: University/College
« Reply #799 on: 03 Nov 2011, 14:12 »

Or as I hear someone saying somewhere, "My biggest weakness is my intolerance for stupid quesitons".
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