Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: WMCoolmon on November 26, 2004, 02:56:22 am
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Any advice to offer a weary traveler on his way to colleges?
At the moment, I've done not a whole lot of research - I've looked through a few in-state Colleges and actually said "no" to one, so my track record so far isn't very good. (Year-round 3-year technical school sounded like a recipe for disaster in my case.)
I know it's a bit, erg, odd to just sort of ask this out of the blue - but before I stopped frequenting around here people seemed to know a lot about the almighty 'uni' (seeing as a lot of said persons were IN said 'uni')
What's sounded most applicable has been going to a local college, which I have VERY good chances of admission, for a couple years - giving me time to figure out what to major in while burning some of the required classes that are general to most schools. But - I'd also like to move out, get out into the world - that sort of thing. Going out of state with such little research seems pretty risky though, but housing/apartment prices around here are pretty high. It's a little late to start earlier though... (Unless someone has a time machine)
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Is this US 'college', then? Because I don't understand the US system atall.
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Neither. Give me my beloved university. ;) A primer on where you're at in the education system would be handy. :)
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Drop out early and get a job! :p
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Originally posted by Clave
Drop out early and get a job! :p
Yeah, as "Sanitation Specialist". :p
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God, no - that's worst thing you can do, get a job. Stay on late, that's what i say.
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Originally posted by Styxx
Yeah, as "Sanitation Specialist". :p
Yeah, or a Relish Application Engineer.... :D:yes:
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Or, you could join the Air Force and run through the higher level Tech training 13 month course (effectively accelerated promotion) and finish training by scooping 4 out of the 5 available commendations for outstanding achievement....:nod:
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4 out of 5? Pfff - you missed one.
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Actually, I did want to stay at college, but I sucked at calculus, so only stayed a year. I really wish I'd have jumped ship from Technical to Art, but that's ancient history, no going back now, but the good side is having money to burn having been in this job a while now....:nod:
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In the US, a university is an institute of higher education which has multiple schools. It will have a four-year college (which is what you go to after high school) and other schools (like law school, medical school, etc).
A college is just for people coming from high school. Colleges don't have grad schools. So...people are educated at universities, but they go to college after high school.
And that's the way the wonderful American system works. Using multiple words for things that they don't really describe. As usual. :D
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So college is just another name for (a part of the) university in the US, then?
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Yeah, basically. It's where the undergraduate part of the student body is.
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Ah....... never did understand that whole thing.
In the Uk, colleges are essentially a 'lower' tier than universities; they offer shorter length diplomas, etc - essentially can be used as a stepping stone to university or for a non-degree based qualification.
Basically the Uk goes something like;
7 years of primary school (I believe the Us kindergarten + grade school is equivalent); roughly ages 5-12
6 years of secondary school (can leave after 4th year, though; 3rd+4th years are spent earning 'standard grade' qualifications, 5th is 'Higher' and 6th is either higher or Advanced Higher; English names for these qualifications are different, though); roughly ages 12-18
Then, you can go to either University or College. If you go to College, then you can proceed from there into uni (it's a common process to go to college first if you don't have the qualifications for admission to the uni course you want)
NB: Scottish BSc courses are 4 years long, where the last year is the 'honours' segment (which is graded on 3rd, 2:2, 2:1, 1st scale). i think english courses are a year shorter; I presume the honours part is incorporated with their degree qualification or something.
NB2: Actually, i might go back and do a PhD myself.......
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I'm starting to work on my applications and get recommendation letters from my teachers. It's so confusing it's driving me bonkers.
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Originally posted by Setekh
Neither. Give me my beloved university.
We have universities here too. Colleges are divided into two parts, there's colleges that fall under universities (for example, University of Texas has a college of medicine, college of business, a college of law, etc.) and then there's community colleges, where at most you can get an associates (2-year) degree in courses such as nursing, etc. A lot of people (myself included) go to community colleges to get their "core" required classes out of the way (classes such as English, History, Government, Calculus, etc.) and then transfer to a university to get their bachelors (4 year) degree.
But yeah, we have Universities... Rice University, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, Harvard, and all the rest of the ivy-league schools, and almost every major city has its own university too... University of Houston, University of Chicago, etc. etc. etc.
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[q]NB2: Actually, i might go back and do a PhD myself.......[/q]
You already done Masters?
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aldo: That sounds like the Scottish system specifically. The UK still uses A and O levels, right?
As for uni's, I'm looking around myself, but then in Holland. What I look it is how enthousiastic the students are, and how the teachers present themselves. It's more the feeling of a uni I go to check out then the exact curriculum contents. And with feeling, I don't mean the kinds of beer they sell. I'm looking at wheter people are simply keeping seats warm, or try to do something constructive.
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[color=66ff00]I'm in a rather nice position; next year I can venture off to do placement in Germany and study at the same time.
The result is that if I get a good degree when I finish my final year the year after I get a BSc Honours in Biomedical engineering and a BSc degree in static medical practices with a diploma to top it all off.
As a bonus I get to hang out in Germany and travel a bit.
Nice package. :nod:
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If I manage to survive this year I'm going to get the admins to change my nick to "vyper BSc(hons)"
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Originally posted by vyper
[q]NB2: Actually, i might go back and do a PhD myself.......[/q]
You already done Masters?
No. But the funding on a PhD is well better for one thing, and the course should be more comprehensive. I'm hoping to do something in the multimedia area or whatnot (I think Edinburgh do this in particular...or is it Glasgow?); it's an area I'm not massively experienced in, so I kind of want a longer time to learn it.
I did actually consider also doing a PhD at the ISLI before I started work, also was outright offered a funded opportunity to do a PhD on biometrics...
Basically, what I want to do is move into a more interesting field than what I am working on (enterprise network programming) justnow; figure this is the best way to develop a specialism.
It is mainly the higher PhD funding that sways me over it rather than an MSc, though.
Originally posted by vyper
If I manage to survive this year I'm going to get the admins to change my nick to "vyper BSc(hons)"
Dammit. I should have thought of that last summer.......
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Suggestion: Know what you're going to be taking/getting. If you haven't decided, it might not be a good idea to go since you'll probably end up like me. Bored and annoyed. :p
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Well, I don't know how comfortable I'd be - I've never been that great at meeting people outside of school (or, hell, inside of school either :p), and probably feel left behind. Unless I've got something to do, beyond a job, I'll feel like I'm wasting my life away. (And if I'm not going to college, I'm sure my dad will make sure to imply that as many ways as he can)
I'm not yet 21 either, which hinders the meeting-people thing.
And yes, I am talking about American college, which is education after secondary schooling. :p
Or, you could join the Air Force and run through the higher level Tech training 13 month course (effectively accelerated promotion) and finish training by scooping 4 out of the 5 available commendations for outstanding achievement....
I don't want to enlist in the military. Period. I'm not very big on the risking-your-neck-for-others thing, and I just don't really trust the current administration of the country. Yeah, it's selfish, but it's my choice.
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[q]a PhD on biometrics...[/q]
My honours project is going to be on Biometric security, and the interfaces to use a biometric security system. Hopefully getting the thumb scanners, et al.
It's supposedly the best project idea Caley has had in a while. I'm well chuffed!
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WMCoolman: My advice as a guy who just did the "looking at colleges" thing is to always make sure to visit any college you're thinking of applying to. I found this as my second choice turned out to be a rather massive and depressing place. So don't just make a decision on brochures and the internet.
Doesn't matter for me, though, as I've already applied early decision to a school I have a near-zero chance of being rejected by...
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Damn! looks like i'll be your janitor then :P
(avg. 'o' level results here)
I feel so stupid compared to you guys :( :Pq
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[color=66ff00]Doesn't matter a damn Singh, I did really average in my GCSE's, pretty poor in my A-levels (one A, one E and a U for 'ungradeable') but I know quite a lot about computers so they let me onto a higher national diploma in computer science.
That bored the piss out of me so I took a really good look around and found biomedical engineering; it's interesting and I'm good at it so I'm doing quite well. They let me in based on my experience even though the entry requirements were supposed to be three A-levels.
I suck at some things but I've managed to get somewhere doing the subjects I'm good at, same applies for everyone whether it's getting into uni or getting a job or whatever. :nod:
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