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Heroes Community > Other Side of the Monitor > Thread: I'm finally done filling out my college applications!
Thread: I'm finally done filling out my college applications! This thread is 11 pages long: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 · NEXT»
mvassilev
mvassilev


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posted December 23, 2008 12:36 AM

I'm finally done filling out my college applications!

Well, mostly. I still have to apply to my two safety schools. But their deadlines are much later and their applications are much easier. But I've filled out the 8 big ones!

Seriously, some of the questions they ask are stupid. And their essays... blah.

At least that's over with.
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winterfate
winterfate


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posted December 23, 2008 12:42 AM

Congrats!

Then you go to college.

I'm in my third year of Microbiology. There will come the day you rue going into college. That's when you have to sit down and make sure that what you're studying is actually what you want to do. If it is, then you'll be ok.
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Elvin
Elvin


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posted December 23, 2008 12:55 AM

Sounds great. I'm kinda envious in the sense that you have a new beginning, make the best out of it
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mvassilev
mvassilev


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posted December 23, 2008 02:07 AM

I'm going to major in Political Science. But I'm thinking of majoring in Economics instead - I haven't decided whether to switch, and I haven't even entered college yet! On one hand, economics is the aspect of political science that's been interesting me the most, but it involves a lot of math... and I'm not always great at that.
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winterfate
winterfate


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posted December 23, 2008 02:11 AM

Well good luck with that...I know I wouldn't be able to study that (bores me to death).

I have to take 2 semesters of Social Sciences and it's driving me mad...so boring...
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mvassilev
mvassilev


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posted December 23, 2008 02:15 AM

Political science - boring? Nah, it's microbiology that's boring.
Actually, if I didn't major in Political Science or Economics, I'd major in History - and, if I didn't major in that, then I'd probably major is some branch of biology.
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winterfate
winterfate


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posted December 23, 2008 02:16 AM
Edited by winterfate at 02:17, 23 Dec 2008.

Lol.

It is true what they say about studying what you enjoy. I say the same thing to chemists all of the time and they give me the same response:

"Dude, why are you studying Microbiology? Biology sucks."


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Asheera
Asheera


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posted December 23, 2008 07:09 PM

Congrats mvass
Quote:
Seriously, some of the questions they ask are stupid. And their essays... blah.
100% agreed. That's why I didn't solve them (didn't even WANT to learn by rote and try, not that I failed) and didn't go to college at all.

(please don't start a discussion about this now)
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mvassilev
mvassilev


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posted December 23, 2008 07:13 PM

YOU DIDN'T GO TO COLLEGE!?!?!



Then what do you do?

But essays are anything but rote. And of course it depends on where you go to college.
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Doomforge
Doomforge


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posted December 23, 2008 09:10 PM
Edited by Doomforge at 21:12, 23 Dec 2008.

college, yay.. wait, what is college ? The US school system gives me a headache.

I guess it's the place you go after high school?

Do you get any titles when you finish it? In Poland we get the engineer/licentiate (depends, techs = engineer, universities = either you head straight to magistrate or get licentiate in between), then magistrate..

and can continue on to get doctorate.. then work on a postdoctoral degree, and finally, after publishing many books, you can become a professor..

not worth it, though..

engineer/licentiate: 3 years
magistrate: 2 years
doctorate: at least 3 years (pretty impossible, tho..)
postdoctoral degree: another few years
professor: well, depends on your activity ;P To get the title before age of 40, you need to be as active in the scientific environment as Asheera is on HC
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Lord_Woock
Lord_Woock


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posted December 23, 2008 09:18 PM

Quote:
studying what you enjoy
That's why I study philosophy
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Doomforge
Doomforge


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posted December 23, 2008 09:40 PM

That's pretty cool, but you don't live in Poland any more, do you, Woock..
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Lord_Woock
Lord_Woock


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posted December 23, 2008 10:07 PM

I still do! Why wouldn't I?
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mvassilev
mvassilev


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posted December 23, 2008 10:09 PM bonus applied by pandora on 28 Dec 2008.
Edited by mvassilev at 22:11, 23 Dec 2008.

Woock:
So what are you going to do with that degree in philosophy?

Doomforge (and anyone else who is interested):
Okay, let me try to explain the US education system as best I can. It's a complicated thing - especially considering that it varies from state to state and from school district to school district.

Basically, there are usually 3 schools - Elementary, which covers Kindergarten to 5th grade (although, in my district, it covers Kindergarten to 4th grade), Middle, which covers 6th to 8th grade (although in my case it's 5th to 7th), and High, which covers 9th to 12th grade. Although in my district, there is a Mid-High (sometimes called the Junior High) school, which covers 8th and 9th grade, and the High School, which covers 10th through 12th. The two schools are on the same campus, but their classes are mostly separated.

Now, regarding the classes. I don't really know how it is in other schools in the US, so, unless otherwise noted, everything from here onwards describes how things work at my school district. Anyway, K-4th, the kids are in one classroom most of the day, and are taught most of the subjects by one teacher. The exceptions are gym and music (music is mostly listening and singing, not playing), who are taught by different teachers.

Then, from 5th grade onwards, students start to have individual schedules. There are seven class periods, and each student has an individual schedule, (i.e., one 5th grader might have English first hour, and Math second, and another might have Math first hour and English second). Most schools have something called block scheduling, in which students have different classes every day, like Math on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and some other class at that time on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but because I go to a backwards and barbaric school district , we don't have block scheduling and have the same classes every day.

Anyway, continuing about the classes after elementary school. There are two groups of classes: core (Math, English, Social Studies, Science, and Reading [although Reading stops being a core class in 7th grade]) and elective (a whole bunch of different stuff). Everyone starts out in the same core classes (5th grade Math, English, Reading, etc.), but later begin to branch into less and more advanced classes (7th grade Math vs. Pre-Algebra, English I vs. Pre-AP English I, etc.). Math is the first subject to branch, in 7th grade. Other subjects branch later, in high school. As for the electives, in 5th grade, we have a choice between only two electives (Fine Arts vs. Band), but later, in High School, there are a lot more different electives (ranging between subjects as diverse as AutoCAD and Speech and Drama).

In high school, classes that are taken and passed count as credits (a few Mid-High classes count as credits too). In Oklahoma, one needs 24 credits to graduate, with a certain number of credits from each core class, and more (plus 2 credits of a foreign language) if one wants to graduate with a Diploma of Distinction (basically for everyone who wants to go to college).

AP classes. At the high school level, in the junior (11th) and senior (12th) years, those that are taking the advanced class path take AP classes. AP classes are no different from regular high school classes - except in difficulty - (and except to get valedictorian, more on which later) except for one thing: they are preparing the student to take the AP test in that subject. If the student passes the AP test for that subject, he or she will not have to take a beginning class in that area in college. But the AP class has no bearing on whether the student actually passes the class. Nor does passing the class have any bearing on whether the student gets college credit or not.

Valedictorian. To become a valedictorian is the highest academic honor of the school. To become valedictorian, a student has to have a 4.0 GPA (get As in all classes that are worth credits) and take a certain number of AP classes. At graduation, all valedictorians graduating give a speech. I am not on track to being a valedictorian, as I ruined my chances the first semester of 8th grade, getting a B in Algebra I (that was not to be my last B, either). But my friend is.

Extracurricular activities. Extracurricular activities can be divided into three categories - Sport, Student Council, and Other. Sports are highly revered here (unfortunately for me), and they have a separate class period in which to practice - although their practices are not limited to that class period. The sports teams are affiliated with the school, and have coaches that are also teachers (most coach teachers, regardless of whether they are good coaches, are terrible teachers). Student Council is an organization of "student government", which really means they help organize pep assemblies and raise school spirit. The Other category includes most everything else, including Academic Team (of which I am a proud member) and various clubs (Environmental Club, Spanish Club, Science Club, etc). The clubs occasionally hold field trips and meet at lunch, and that's basically it.

Dropping out and GED. At 16, students may drop out of high school. Some of them, instead of dropping out, take the Graduate Equivalent Diploma (GED) test, which, if they pass, they get a GED, which is as if they had graduated high school - although it really isn't as good as an actual diploma.

Standardized tests. Standardized tests are mainly for colleges to know how well a student can do stuff on the test. The two main tests are the SAT and ACT, which have many similarities. Their differences are fairly minor, and are mostly those of geography (people living on the east coast tend to take the SAT, everybody else takes the ACT). Also, there are AP tests, which I have already described.

Private and Charter schools. Instead of going to public school, some people go to private schools. In many of them, the quality of education is higher. But they cost money to attend, although poor kids can get scholarships to go to them. Charter schools are public schools, but are generally for advanced students interested in going to them. They are usually free, but, unlike public schools, are not for people in their community but for people throughout the state, and who can pass the admission process.

And that's just school. I haven't even started on college yet.

College is a generic term for post-high school education, although properly "college" means "educational facility that cannot give any degree above a Bachelor's". After high school, if people wish to further their education, they may go to a vocational technology center (vo-tech), and get some vocational education and become certified to practice whatever they studied (be it welding, cooking, etc). Other people go to community colleges, which are two-year institutions, where they get their Associate's Degree and then may go to an actual university, where they get their Bachelor's. Others go to four-year colleges, which are like two-year colleges but are four years long and give Bachelor's degrees. Most four-year colleges are terrible, but there are a few prestigious and well-known ones, such as those in the Claremont university system.

But the best students tend to go to actual universities. Most go to their state universities in their state, although some go to various religious or other private ones. Some go to the prestigious universities, most of which are private - and expensive. After getting a Bachelor's, some may go on to postgraduate education (whether med school or vet school or law school or just postgrad) at the same or different university, where they may get a Master's, Ph.D, or other degree.

As for the various degrees, here's how it goes:
2 years - Associate's
4 years - Bachelor's
6 years - Master's
8 years - Ph.D/M.D./etc.

As for becoming a professor, as I intend to, that is an even longer process that I won't go into yet.


Other people familiar with the system may add on to my description. And how does it work in other countries?
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Lord_Woock
Lord_Woock


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posted December 23, 2008 10:16 PM
Edited by Lord_Woock at 22:17, 23 Dec 2008.

Quote:
Woock:
So what are you going to do with that degree in philosophy?
I don't know yet, I only just started. I'm studying philosophy to learn what to do with the degree

From what my friend told me, the couple of months already significantly changed the way I speak. I fear what I'll turn to over the next years
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Yolk and God bless.
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The_Gootch
The_Gootch


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Kneel Before Me Sons of HC!!
posted December 23, 2008 10:20 PM

Undergrad just might be your last opportunity to learn just for the sake of learning.  Don't screw it up.  And don't worry about how you're going to apply your degree.  

Do well, learn to network, and opportunities will make themselves available to you.
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mvassilev
mvassilev


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posted December 23, 2008 10:21 PM
Edited by mvassilev at 00:24, 24 Dec 2008.

I haven't even started university, but I already know what I'm aiming for in general. It's a good idea to have a plan.

And I haven't noticed any real change in your posting style. Then again, you haven't been posting enough.

Quote:
don't worry about how you're going to apply your degree
If it was in some very marketable area (chemistry, engineering, etc.), then I'd agree with this statement. Philosophy, however...
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TheDeath
TheDeath


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posted December 24, 2008 02:30 AM

Quote:
It is true what they say about studying what you enjoy. I say the same thing to chemists all of the time and they give me the same response:

"Dude, why are you studying Microbiology? Biology sucks."


Chemistry sucks but Biology sucks even more. Chemistry sucks because you have to learn by rote all kinds of 'exceptions' which make no sense, I wonder if there's even logic all there with all the exceptions for reactions etc... It seems like there are too many exceptions to the rule unlike in physics or math.

Good thing you don't need a stupid doctorate or professor or whatever degree to program software.
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mvassilev
mvassilev


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posted December 24, 2008 03:14 AM

Who knows? For you it may seem like rote, but some people enjoy that kind of stuff.

We call them crazies. But seriously, I would rather study biology and pursue a career in that than program computers. Still, Political Science > both of them.
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Doomforge
Doomforge


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posted December 24, 2008 10:52 AM

Quote:
Anyway, continuing about the classes after elementary school. There are two groups of classes: core (Math, English, Social Studies, Science, and Reading [although Reading stops being a core class in 7th grade]) and elective (a whole bunch of different stuff). Everyone starts out in the same core classes (5th grade Math, English, Reading, etc.), but later begin to branch into less and more advanced classes (7th grade Math vs. Pre-Algebra, English I vs. Pre-AP English I, etc.). Math is the first subject to branch, in 7th grade. Other subjects branch later, in high school. As for the electives, in 5th grade, we have a choice between only two electives (Fine Arts vs. Band), but later, in High School, there are a lot more different electives (ranging between subjects as diverse as AutoCAD and Speech and Drama).


That is pretty awesome. In Poland, you have to learn everything, until the very end of high school.. unless you went to technical college, giving you extra vocational subjects.

Quote:
College is a generic term for post-high school education, although properly "college" means "educational facility that cannot give any degree above a Bachelor's". After high school, if people wish to further their education, they may go to a vocational technology center (vo-tech), and get some vocational education and become certified to practice whatever they studied (be it welding, cooking, etc).


So even a welder finishes high school? Cool.. in Poland you can go to vocational school right after junior high school  


Quote:
And how does it work in other countries?


In Poland you have non mandatory kindergarten, 6 years of primary school afterwards, which is overloaded, but less than the rest of our education The number of hours per day starts at 4, but quickly reaches 8 hours per day, which, combined with tons of homework all teachers tend to give, takes away most of your childhood unless you're talented or simply ignore it and get bad grades. I was pretty talented as a kid, achieving the average of 5.3 (6.0 being the highest), which was best of my school, so I didn't have to spend a lot of time on learning by rote and doing homework, as it seemed pretty easy to me.

After primary school, you go to junior high school, which takes three years and is more or less pointless, since it focuses on rememorizing what you have learned past the last three years, with a bit of new stuff.. it's a pretty fun place, depending on the teachers of course, but if they are humane, you have a bit more time for yourself.

Afterwards, you can choose between high school, vocational college and vocational school. The first two don't vary much, both end with a exam called "matura", which, if passed, gives you "secondary education", although the latter also includes vocational subjects i.e. maintaining the network or assembling computers. Vocational school doesn't end with "matura" and gives you "vocational education", and it grooms you for a physical job like welding.

That concludes mandatory education. Those with secondary education can continue, attending to something like a US college: universities, techs and such. From there, it's just as I explained above. You get your licentiate/engineer/magistrate when you finish those, considered as "higher education".

Attending to those places is pretty boring and requires learning outrageous amounts of stuff by rote. Also, the people are very childish most of the time, and their only hobby in between learning sessions is drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and partying. Since I dislike both, thus my "student's life" is nearly nonexistent, but I hardly miss it, since it is shallow and boring ;p
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