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Author Topic: University/College  (Read 435886 times)

Alex C

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Re: University/College
« Reply #250 on: 20 Oct 2009, 15:04 »

Not really a big fan of universities due to some of the things Jhocking just mentioned, to be perfectly honest.
« Last Edit: 20 Oct 2009, 15:06 by Alex C »
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Re: University/College
« Reply #251 on: 20 Oct 2009, 15:06 »

Quote from: jho
University study is not about job training and more about things like developing your breadth of knowledge and enriching how good you are at thinking and reasoning.

And time management!
Nicely worded, Hocking.
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jhocking

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Re: University/College
« Reply #252 on: 20 Oct 2009, 15:09 »

I would say I'm good at answering that question because I actually teach in college, but the fact is that an alarmingly large number of my colleagues would not be able to come up with an answer to that question other than "shut up, I'm the teacher, do what I tell you!"

Drill King

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Re: University/College
« Reply #253 on: 20 Oct 2009, 15:12 »

This is a subject that has come up a lot lately because people always ask me what I plan on doing WITH my Art Degree. I really dislike the idea that most people only go to university for the following reasons: Job/career, they're expected to, party, or fear of not doing it. I would elaborate on what I mean, Joe has explained most of it but there's a few other things that I think are important to bring up.

But I am just too tired from ALL THE LEARNING
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Re: University/College
« Reply #254 on: 20 Oct 2009, 15:28 »

Doing my UCAS application wheee.
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Alex C

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Re: University/College
« Reply #255 on: 20 Oct 2009, 15:54 »

In a vacuum I'd be a bigger proponent of learning for learning's sake, but when you add in the level of bureaucracy and stress that is part and parcel of the university experience I become a bit more critical of it, particularly since society does expect people to work and there's some real social consequences attached to the cost of attaining the credentials needed to do so. In all honesty, I wouldn't really be enthusiastic about my kid wanting to go to art school with the world being what it is. I also believe that it wouldn't really be my call, and that I'd wish them well, but it's not really a path I'd recommend if you have a passion for other fields. Then again, you can't always choose what you love, I guess.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #256 on: 20 Oct 2009, 15:56 »

This is a subject that has come up a lot lately because people always ask me what I plan on doing WITH my Art Degree. I really dislike the idea that most people only go to university for the following reasons: Job/career, they're expected to, party, or fear of not doing it. I would elaborate on what I mean, Joe has explained most of it but there's a few other things that I think are important to bring up.

But I am just too tired from ALL THE LEARNING

College is such a huge financial burden on most people that they (rightly) expect it to pay off monetarily down the road. Some majors appear to certain people to be less likely to afford them that monetary security, so they wonder why people choose that major. If you realize that a lot of students spend 12 YEARS paying off the debt from their schooling, you can understand why that aspect of their education is more pressing  than personal growth.
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calenlass

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Re: University/College
« Reply #257 on: 20 Oct 2009, 16:09 »

The way universities and colleges are set up in the US, I would never want to be a career student, even if it were free. I do not want to go for a grade and a piece of paper, either, but that is what they want. Those grades and pieces of paper are apparently necessary to get a job (even unrelated to my degree, but that is a different can of worms), so I am doing that to get a job so I can pursue studies in my own fields of interest without all the administrative and bureaucratic bullshit getting in the way.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #258 on: 20 Oct 2009, 16:21 »

Dear Uni/College thread,
...rant...
Poop.

This sounds a lot like my freshman year in college, the way I have finally decided to deal with it after 3 years is to quit college.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #259 on: 20 Oct 2009, 16:22 »

This is a subject that has come up a lot lately because people always ask me what I plan on doing WITH my Art Degree. I really dislike the idea that most people only go to university for the following reasons: Job/career, they're expected to, party, or fear of not doing it. I would elaborate on what I mean, Joe has explained most of it but there's a few other things that I think are important to bring up.

But I am just too tired from ALL THE LEARNING

College is such a huge financial burden on most people that they (rightly) expect it to pay off monetarily down the road. Some majors appear to certain people to be less likely to afford them that monetary security, so they wonder why people choose that major. If you realize that a lot of students spend 12 YEARS paying off the debt from their schooling, you can understand why that aspect of their education is more pressing  than personal growth.

Personally I find the idea of money taking precedence over humanity/learning in any case revolting, whether it's by choice or circumstance. It's fair to want to pay off your debts(I should know, I will probably take about 25 ears), and it's fair to want a stable job, but I think that universities are too focused on the career/money aspect of education lately, it makes it very shallow. When you focus on the career/aftermath/monetary cost of your education more than actually what's going on you lose out on a lot.

This makes no sense right now, I might come back later.
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Alex C

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Re: University/College
« Reply #260 on: 20 Oct 2009, 16:38 »

Knowledge is a beautiful thing and all, but people have families to feed and a lot of universities run in part off of public funds. That some people value education enough to decide that they are within their rights to require people to cover multiple areas of study despite primarily being interested in the pursuit of a specific degree and field hits me as frankly rather arrogant. I don't mean to come off as the defender of ignorance here, but I question whether it's really the best way to help the most people.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #261 on: 20 Oct 2009, 16:53 »

Go to Germany and be railroaded into your field of study in 6th grade, then.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #262 on: 20 Oct 2009, 16:55 »

I think that was one of the major issues I had when I was at uni, and why I got less and less enthusiastic about it. I was essentially going there for the sake of learning, because it was a degree that probably wouldn't get me a good job anywhere, so I could choose things that interested me, and that seemed great! But the reality of it was that I was unemployed and had very little money and going to uni to jump through hoops to get a piece of paper made me not care about any of the subjects. I had to do a certain amount of specific subjects to get my majors, so I ended up doing classes I didn't want to, which also didn't help, and I ultimately felt like I had to go to uni, rather than wanting to be there, and it was just going to result in my having a fairly large debt on my shoulders.

Talking to fatty about it she said something which made a lot of sense to my head, which was "You seem to be interested in these things, it's just the way uni went about teaching it isn't good for you." And she was right. All the time I felt like I had to rush through topics that interested me to do assignments that didn't interest me; I just wanted to go back and learn more about the little parts of it. I think if I do something like Open Universities here (it's a correspondence course, that you can do one subject at a time if you want) then I might not feel so incredibly stressed to try and get everything done at once, because I have left everything to the last minute because I just don't care.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #263 on: 20 Oct 2009, 17:06 »

One of the things I need to look into is whether I'm just going to get a technical certificate in TV production at this community college, or if I want to try for the AA. IF I can transfer the majority of my general education classes from many years ago when I attempted physics at university, I may go for the AA since I might only need to fill in a couple of general ed classes. If I can't, then there's no way I'm sitting through all that again. The chances are good since both are state schools here.

I must say, I did mostly enjoy the general ed classes the first time around, and I really do think they helped me understand more about the world, but right now I have more immediate goals in obtaining a job out of all this.
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Alex C

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Re: University/College
« Reply #264 on: 20 Oct 2009, 17:09 »

Go to Germany and be railroaded into your field of study in 6th grade, then.

False dilemma.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #265 on: 20 Oct 2009, 17:24 »

I think y'all need to get more friendly with your profs, most of them do what they do for the love of knowledge. They tend to hate the monetary and bureaucratic bullcrap as much as students, but the bullcrap is necessary to make the education system work. Is the whole education system busted? Maybe, but that's a whole other debate. If you're in university fighting the stress, and insane workloads, and finding yourself totally unmotivated for things that you should be loving, spending time with your profs can really help pick you up. Profs are people too, students in a lecture tend to be faceless, but one on one you can connect with people on another level. Get a faculty bar night going! Go into their office for help with a problem and turn it into a larger conversation about your field of study and life and whatever. Forget about the grades and the piece of paper you're working for, it's the smart people you meet and get to know along the way that really give you the skills you need in life and your profession, whatever it ends up being.
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Drill King

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Re: University/College
« Reply #266 on: 20 Oct 2009, 17:51 »

(Or swooning at how handsome they are in their Sonic Youth Tee)
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jhocking

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Re: University/College
« Reply #267 on: 20 Oct 2009, 17:54 »

note to self: buy sonic youth tee

Drill King

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Re: University/College
« Reply #268 on: 20 Oct 2009, 18:00 »

Joe I would probably have a crush on you if you taught my Video Class too.

You'd need more tattoos though. Work on that.

(I have always been hot for teacher, I seem to keep getting at least one attractive teacher a year. Yeaah.)
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Jimmy the Squid

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Re: University/College
« Reply #269 on: 20 Oct 2009, 18:06 »

I went to a boys school for junior high school. Any female teacher who was not a complete uggo was automatically an attractive teacher on account of the fact that they were the only women we'd come into regular contact with.

So far with uni I just tend to get crushes on the hot goth chicks I see around campus.
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Drill King

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Re: University/College
« Reply #270 on: 20 Oct 2009, 18:17 »

I get crushes at least 10 times a day.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #271 on: 20 Oct 2009, 18:35 »

quit hogging all the crushes andy
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Re: University/College
« Reply #272 on: 20 Oct 2009, 18:38 »

(I have always been hot for teacher, I seem to keep getting at least one attractive teacher a year. Yeaah.)

I have yet to have a teacher I have found attractive, and that's extremely likely to continue.  There was one history teacher who wasn't completely unattractive, but that's it (there were a number of attractive teachers at my undergrad institution, just none of them taught my classes).

On the subject of Universities, I have an interesting point of view.  I got two undergraduate degrees: physics and music.  Neither is particularly useful for a job, but both teach things that are useful to get a job.  I've made a living for several years applying what I learned in music school and now I am going to graduate school for a PhD using knowledge acquired from my physics education.

Now, I also had general education requirements.  My college had more than the average, because they called themselves a "liberal arts" school.  Why should I pay money to take classes that have no value when it comes to getting a job?  Well, my general education classes help me be a person who can have an intelligent conversation about multiple subjects.  They also help me be an informed voter when it comes time to cast my ballot.  Both of these result in me having a life that is more enriched, which has value to me.

Now on to my PhD.  I am not going into academia.  I am going into industry.  "Why are you getting a PhD?  That's just going to help you do research!" I hear you exclaim.  Actually, it teaches me to solve problems in my area of expertise.  It teaches me to think fundamentally, so that I know what sort of results I'm getting.  It also teaches me the fundamentals so that I can apply them in a way different from just "attach these things together and this happens because that's what I was told."  Both of these combine to result in making me able to do things.  As a result, people with PhD's are given more responsibility and cooler assignments than people with only a bachelor's or even with a master's.
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Alex C

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Re: University/College
« Reply #273 on: 20 Oct 2009, 19:42 »

I just wish there was more middle ground between votechs, community colleges and universities, that's all.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #274 on: 20 Oct 2009, 19:43 »

I quite liked my old history teacher. She read Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman books, and had half naked photos of herself on Facebook. We also went out drinking with her when we finished the school year!
Pretty sure she couldn't get a job in the states if she had photos like that on public domain.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #275 on: 20 Oct 2009, 19:46 »

Depends on the district. They won't check for shit like that in a low-income district, but for middle class and up there is no chance she would have been hired.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #276 on: 20 Oct 2009, 20:02 »

Go to Germany and be railroaded into your field of study in 6th grade, then.

False dilemma.


Ok, sorry. Go to Germany and take an aptitude test in 6th grade, then be placed by what you're like and what you're good at at 13 or 14 and possibly be working an apprenticeship in your career by 15 or 16. Do I need to go through Hauptschule and Realschule and Gymnasium and cross-overs individually? I am pretty sure that would be boring for most people.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #277 on: 20 Oct 2009, 20:05 »

Pretty sure she couldn't get a job in the states if she had photos like that on public domain.

That's because America is ridiculous. It's naked skin, which is less than ten seconds away on google whenever you're seated at a computer with an internet connection.

Yes, but we Americans like to think that if you are willing to show a little skin online you have no problem having sex with all of your students!
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Re: University/College
« Reply #278 on: 20 Oct 2009, 20:13 »

I really dislike the idea that most people only go to university for the following reasons: Job/career

I know I'm a bit late to the game here... but why else go to college if not to further your future career?
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Re: University/College
« Reply #279 on: 20 Oct 2009, 20:16 »

To add value to your life?  Important points to remember about college:

1)  A large percentage of people get a job completely unrelated to their degree.

2)  Just having a degree makes someone more employable.

3)  There are some degrees that people actually enjoy working their asses off to complete (I got a music degree despite the fact that there is really no conceivable tangible benefit for me to complete that degree).
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Alex C

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Re: University/College
« Reply #280 on: 20 Oct 2009, 20:24 »

I wasn't questioning your statement, Calenlass, I just don't care about the German system. Changing the model employed by US universities doesn't mean that we must adopt Germany's model, which is why I shrugged off the comment with the admittedly dismissive "false dilemma" post. My issue with the German system actually stems from my same central complaint about the US model: the curriculum is more rigid than I would like to see. The German system tends to funnel people into a narrow career trajectory at a young age. On a personal note, I was a troubled child in many ways; I'm sure they would have found a nice McDonald's for me to flip burgers in, since what little potential I have certainly wasn't on display back in junior high. I wouldn't have been very happy with that setup either. But the US alternative of having to take a broad array of course work at great financial cost isn't a good for fit everyone and in some cases isn't even financially plausible. As Jhocking pointed out, this is mitigated somewhat by vocational schools and affordable community colleges, but over all I still think it'd be nice to do some tweaking here and there. I'm not really against universities, I'm just of a rather progressive bent, that's all. I always want to saw off some rough edges.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #281 on: 20 Oct 2009, 20:42 »

I am graduating in March.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #282 on: 20 Oct 2009, 20:44 »

As far as universities go, there are usually need-based and merit-based scholarships to help defray the cost to a large extent.  My family made enough to not qualify for need-based, but were unwilling to pay enough for me to go to anything but a state school with the aid of scholarships.  One place I actually turned down offered me an education for just the cost of food and books (I can't remember if I needed to pay dorm costs), but their physics program was kind of a joke.  Plus they'd given that large a merit-based scholarship to me, which didn't reflect well on them.

One of my friends qualified for need-based scholarships.  They paid for his tuition, living arrangements, books and meal plan.  He ended up losing them because he couldn't be bothered to actually work on anything that would result in him getting halfway decent grades, but the fact remains that they exist for state schools.

Furthermore, I have a few friends who have done ROTC.  They get their degree, and also valuable (CV-wise) experience as officers in the military.  Both of them ended up with terrible jobs, but one of them actually wanted that job (nuclear submariner).  This provides another option, and only requires a four-year commitment after school.

Sure, most people who go to college end up paying large amounts of money (either immediately or through loans) but just having a college degree usually makes up for the costs.  Plus, at least people who go to college have experienced a culture of learning.  Whether they have actually absorbed anything really depends on what they were hoping to get out of it.

I strongly believe that enough value has been added to my life to justify the expenditure and work that went into earning my degrees, but you're right in that this result is not experienced by all consumers of higher education.  I've met people who have earned a degree who went on to work in an industry that would have treated them exactly the same way without a degree (one of my friends works in the hospitality industry, and another one is likely to work in a kitchen).  I think both of them enjoyed their college experience, but whether they got enough value out of it to justify the large expenditure of money is certainly open for debate.

That said, I agree with the sentiment about how ridiculous it's gotten about how you have to go to college these days.  It seems that you either go to college or are considered a failure by much of society.  Two of the smartest people I've met have actually never gone to college, and didn't need to, but they'll always have that social stigma.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #283 on: 20 Oct 2009, 20:54 »


1)  A large percentage of people get a job completely unrelated to their degree.

2)  Just having a degree makes someone more employable.

3)  There are some degrees that people actually enjoy working their asses off to complete (I got a music degree despite the fact that there is really no conceivable tangible benefit for me to complete that degree).

1) Maybe in liberal arts. The vast majority of people that I know who have studied engineering and the sciences have gone into their field, or a related field. The only one I can think of right now that didn't was a girl who studied PoliSci and Spanish, but used that degree to get into Law School aka further her career.

2) This point just confirms my original statement, that going to college furthers your career by helping you stand out among people looking for jobs. Maybe its in an unrelated field, but the critical thinking skills and life experience you get through college def. helps later on in the job market.

3) I would hope that most people study what they enjoy. I did it a bit differently, I studied what I was good at (engineering design) and as a minor studied what I enjoyed (psychology).

Anyway, I just don't understand why someone would go through the trouble of going to college if it wasn't going to help them with their career in some way later on, be it life experience or actual vocational experience.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #284 on: 20 Oct 2009, 21:06 »

My point was that people don't only go to college to further their career.  That was the point you seemed to be unhappy with.
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Alex C

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Re: University/College
« Reply #285 on: 20 Oct 2009, 21:32 »

Yeah, see, I want to give college an extended try again, but only for my career. It's rather too bad that I'm wildly uneducated too; that doesn't really help much in the scholarship area. At the end of the day it just runs counter to virtually everything else I want to actually do with my life.
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Re: University/College
« Reply #286 on: 20 Oct 2009, 21:39 »

So is anyone doing it right? Is there anywhere we know of where people are going to uni for personal enrichment and it is actually beneficial to their lives, or maybe sometimes fun?
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Re: University/College
« Reply #287 on: 20 Oct 2009, 21:45 »

Oh, I'm sure there's people for whom the current system fits like a glove. That doesn't mean they are the only ones who should be catered to, however. After all, many colleges openly consider it a point of honor that they drag you kicking and screaming into becoming their definition of a more well-rounded person.
« Last Edit: 20 Oct 2009, 21:47 by Alex C »
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StaedlerMars

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Re: University/College
« Reply #288 on: 21 Oct 2009, 02:47 »

I like going to uni, and if I could study for the rest of my life I would be extremely happy.

Learning stuff without having to worry too much about income is great, and I honestly think it's a real shame that won't go on forever.

But to me going to Uni isn't just about learning textbooks or code, it's also about learning and exploring the rest of the world. I'm loving being a part of the student radio station, and recording podcasts, and constantly meeting new people and hanging out with people I like outside of class. I think all of these are learning experiences, and I'm afraid that they'll go away once I have to enter the 'real world'.
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nobo

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Re: University/College
« Reply #289 on: 21 Oct 2009, 04:21 »

My point was that people don't only go to college to further their career.  That was the point you seemed to be unhappy with.

No, I'm not unhappy with it, I was just confused by Andy's original statement. I always thought of college as a career move, the experiences and fulfillment that come with it are an added perk that come with the territory.
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Well yes but (sorry andy) she doesn't look half as fucking bad ass as this motherfucker in Poland.

Dude is hardcore.

Barmymoo

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Re: University/College
« Reply #290 on: 21 Oct 2009, 05:46 »

For my part, my motivations to be here are as follows:

  • Study the law (I am interested in it, but do not want to be a lawyer)
  • Learn to be independent whilst still having the safety net of my college to help out if I trip up
  • Get the chance to try new things (ice hockey, ballet, stage management) that simply wouldn't be available elsewhere

I suppose I am also here because it is necessary in order to get a decent job, but I'm not concerned about my career at the moment. I assume (possibly arrogantly and incorrectly) that I will have very little difficulty getting a job once I've graduated providing I do reasonably well in my degree. True, there are a lot of graduates and not many jobs, but I'm at one of the world's top unis doing one of the hardest courses so if I come through it I'll be very employable.

But to be honest I've always wanted to go to university because I've always wanted to be in an environment where interest in studying is encouraged and normal. I love that I can have a conversation with someone in the kitchen and use words like "antithesis" or "cathartic" or whatever without worrying that the person will think I'm a pompous ass. I'm not saying that there is no other place in the world where this can happen but my automatic presumption is that everyone here accepts that everyone else is smart and also everyone acknowledges that we're here to study and learn.
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There's this really handy "other thing" I'm going to write as a footnote to my abstract that I can probably explore these issues in. I think I'll call it my "dissertation."

ackblom12

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Re: University/College
« Reply #291 on: 21 Oct 2009, 05:55 »

So is anyone doing it right? Is there anywhere we know of where people are going to uni for personal enrichment and it is actually beneficial to their lives, or maybe sometimes fun?

Not since degrees started becoming a requirement for jobs and opened up to the more common folk, who go into crippling debt and need to pay it off, has this been a luxury for most.

Not to say it isn't something that is a nice part of going to Uni when you go, but I don't think I've ever known a single person who wanted to go to Uni for just personal growth and fun. There are plenty of other things you can do for personal growth and fun that don't involve going tens of thousands of dollars into debt if that's actually something you want to do as long as you are okay with not being in the Uni environment.
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Drill King

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Re: University/College
« Reply #292 on: 21 Oct 2009, 17:18 »

I am at university fully expecting to get a job that is not in my field of study. I am at university studying exactly this because it is what I am passionate about, what I love, and will help me improve, however the reality is that Arts isn't a big field to get into and if I wanted University As A Career Move, I'd be doing nursing or engineering.

My original point is basically that I really dislike that university is more focused on the piece of paper/the job you get afterwards, rather than a place for academia and growth.

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ackblom12

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Re: University/College
« Reply #293 on: 21 Oct 2009, 17:42 »

Fair enough, I know one person.
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Social Bacon

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Re: University/College
« Reply #294 on: 21 Oct 2009, 20:02 »

My original point is basically that I really dislike that university is more focused on the piece of paper/the job you get afterwards, rather than a place for academia and growth.

Bull. Sure the administration and bureaucrats focus on the paper and the bottom line, but that's not what the people are about (well, some students only focus on their career goals, but screw 'em. There's lots of students just looking to learn.) University is what you make of it, most profs love having the oppourtunity to share what they're passionate about, but you have to be the one to initiate it. A prof can't look at a lecture hall full of 200 people and be able to tell apart the students that are just there for their future job and those that are there because they're passionate. If you're the one that approaches the prof you'll find more academia and growth potential than you can possibly imagine. People need to stop bitching about the system and just dive in, take what they want from it and ignore the rest.
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Bastardous Bassist

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Re: University/College
« Reply #295 on: 21 Oct 2009, 20:13 »

From her previous statements, I'd guess that she's not bitching about the system (she seems to be enjoying all of the stuff she's learning) but rather the people involved in the system.  All of the people who just go through the motions at university so that they get a pretty piece of paper at the end that will help them find a job.  I don't think very many people would argue that it's tough to learn at a university.  It's just not really required.
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Drill King

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Re: University/College
« Reply #296 on: 21 Oct 2009, 20:25 »

Yeah more like that.

Also, Social Bacon, part of it is that when you have people who are there that aren't actually there to learn it dilutes the system and generally waters down the education. Most profs will admit to not being able to spend as much time as they would like with every student(at least the good ones). I would rather be in a class of passionate individuals who care about the course and will be able to help the class and the community thrive and make progress in the ideas developed in the class. Contributing rather than just leeching and copying to memorize the information just to pass the course.

(I am lucky because this is what my classes are generally like)
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Bastardous Bassist

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Re: University/College
« Reply #297 on: 21 Oct 2009, 20:36 »

In graduate school, this is also how it is, especially for a doctorate.  Classes don't really matter, so the only reason to go is to learn and furthermore, the only reason to get a doctorate is to learn, because at least in technical fields, it's been shown that a master's degree nets you more money across your entire career.

Also, probably in most artistic programs (in my music department it was, except the vocal people didn't give a fuck), because those degrees have very little value career-wise, and you have to work far too hard to choose it as a degree in "Anything."
« Last Edit: 21 Oct 2009, 20:38 by Bastardous Bassist »
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Social Bacon

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Re: University/College
« Reply #298 on: 21 Oct 2009, 20:53 »

Sorry, my post wasn't really meant to be a personal attack on Andy. I know it kind of came off that way, I just get a little frustrated when I start talking about uni and tend to rant. I really agree with you on all counts, but the point I'm trying to get at is that it's impossible to knock the leechers out of the system. It's their prerogative to leech if they so choose. As such, for those of us who are passionate about our studies, we have to work with what we have. I'm saying that we can cut ourselves apart from the losers with no real interest in learning and get the full value from our profs and the time we spend there. I don't think focusing on the problems and inept individuals is really useful when there's so much to be pleased with. (Again, this is not meant to be an attack on you, but this thread has spent forever talking about these issues.)
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Nodaisho

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Re: University/College
« Reply #299 on: 21 Oct 2009, 21:21 »

Most profs will admit to not being able to spend as much time as they would like with every student(at least the good ones).
This is what I love about my community college. My computer science classes have ten or eleven people in them, the basic one last semester had more like 20, but that is probably what a lot of people that just need to fill an elective and think it will be interesting take, the teacher has plenty of time to help the students. My biggest class has had probably 25 people in it, honestly it is going to be a pain in the ass going from this to crowded lecture halls, hopefully I can transfer enough of my computer science classes over to the university I go to that I will be able to skip a lot of the more crowded classes.

Also, I just got a program back that I had handed in not working, and I couldn't figure out why. I was filling an array with names, and instead of sending the names to the array, I messed up and just assigned them all to the variable name. I don't feel quite so bad about not catching that, though, it took my teacher forever to find it as well. I wasn't even looking in the right spot. I should probably stop rushing the assignments, just because I could do them in one afternoon last semester.
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