going to college?

[Jon325i]

In this era, technology is replacing unskilled labor and it is only fair to you to get as good as an education as possible. And people who are conceptual and intelligent and know a lot will have to do far less bitch work than those who can only answer phones or push paper, or push a broom. And leadership/interpersonal skillls are growingly important so join student organizations.

This is very, very true. Having worked in a professional organization (corporate law firm) for a number of years, one can not put enough emphasis on this. Being tech savy is important, but so is being able to convey professional competency. Public speaking/presentation skills, the ability to be an effective writer, and critical thinking cannot be taken lightly. If you aspire to settle into a professional setting with your work, having a solid foundation of these skill sets is a given. Pursuing a liberal arts degree will not give this kind of 'real world' preparation. Stick to the science and business majors....even if you plan to attend grad school.

Jon

[c0rnfl4k3]

If your school has a student branch of their alumni program join it, it is THE easiest way to meet the influential alumn's from your university.

[1991 318is]

College?

Did I go to college? Was I at Woodstock? Now I remember. It was 1965 and being a "hippie" was a growth industry. There were lots of opportunities for smoking pot, listening to music and screwin' your brains out. There were no STD's that couldn't be cured by antibiotics and freely available birth control; neither of which involved condoms! Sure beat preparing for a real job that you weren't going to do anyway. It's different now. You can piss it away with digital amusements and petro-toys.
I could have had class. I could have been a contender instead of a bum which is what I am.

[primo123]

Man, you guys are all going to big time universities, good job guys. I wasnt able to get into a big time college right off the bat, but i was able to get into Missouri Valley College. "MoVal" as we call it, is a very, very small college in the middle of fuck nowhere. Not much to do, but we make fun i suppose. We do our fair share of partying and socializing, but i promised myself to study just as hard. So thats what i had to realize, how to control and balance out my partying and my studies/classes/hw/test etc...

One thing i dont know if you guys do, but I am also an athlete. I wrestle heavyweights :P. So managing class and practice and tournements etc...does get stressfull.

But in any event, i am enjoying SOME of my classes, but then again i am taking all my GE classes. Still havent decided on a major, but i will soon. I hope one day to transfer to Cal State Fullerton in california where i am origanlly from. Anyways good luck with college ya'll, peace

-Travis

[PУCCKAЯ_e30ka]

whoever said take a big variety of classes is wrong! Focus on what you want to do.... to summarize all majors... eng, buss, law, med. Those will get you far in life.... the worg thing in taking a variety of classes is itself, you don't focus on one... you jump from one to another and end up barely graduating just because you simply need to focus and start living like a man.

I'm going to UTSA then transfer to UT... i had 1150 on sat and 3.2 gpa.. but UTA said i gotta go through CAP. I like san antonio.... it's gon be a good year if i'll go there. On the other hand I'm currently applying in Art Ins. in Pasadena Cali, and art school in Orage county (santa ana?) in design engineering. My two majors are: engineering(don't know which one yet), or design engineering.

[nkell09]

Freshmen year was crazy with some party memories. I miss it, and I still managed a 3.8... Classes were easier freshmen and sophomore year.

Now, I'm wrapping up my junior year and planning for senior scheduling. Its only beginning to sink in that my 5th year will really suck (150 credits for c.p.a. certification in MD). Toss in an internship and I don't have a life, well aside from browsing the forums (if you call it that).

good luck

[Charlie]

as long as you can....seriously working = overrated

A-fucking men.

I had way too much fun at college the first year ~year & a half, failed out with a 1.2 or something. I went back in '03 as a partial sophomore & graduated in 2 years averaging about a 3.6, it's amazing what sort of grades you can get when you actually go to class.

-Charlie

[Dave]

it's amazing what sort of grades you can get when you actually go to class.

-Charlie

Indeed. My Ffreshman year was a bit of a blur, but after that, I coasted on auto-pilot to bring the GPA up to 3.67.

And taking summer courses when I could helped immensely - watered down and easy to get an A.

[E30 Wagen]

College is good. I think i've gotten more out of one and half semesters of community college than I did during all of highschool. Then again, I was mostly just an insecure adolescent waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles who squandered everything during highschool...

[nkell09]

Second that.... learned more in one year than in 4 years of high school.

[BimmerToad]

College is what you make of it, and has a lot to do with your major. If you want to party, you can get a worthless degree and have a ball, or you can work your ass off with a difficult science/engineering and get a great feeling of accomplishment at the end. The trick is finding a balance. You also have to keep an eye out to see what fields look appealing for a career in. Now it seems just having a 4 year degree doesn't guarentee a well paying job ... far from it. It seems like in the 60-70s, the act of going to college meant you made it, but now graduate school is becoming much more common after undergrad.

For all the future freshmen, have a blast for the first year, you're allowed to screw up a few times, so make it count (just don't fail out) :D

As for me, I'm deciding between UCLA and UC Berkeley for a Masters in Mechanical Engineering.

[eurostyl e30]

yeah, in a bullshit liberal arts major... like psychology or something. what can you do with a bullshit liberal arts degree? (short of grad school and law or med), but really a BA in psych/soc/art history/poli sci alone... worthless.

there's only a thin line which is your weak degree seperating you from the unskilled high school graduates...

I can't wait to finish my worthless degree, and you know, write books and stuff. Fucking academia and its temptations.

[BIG$COTT]

Ive been accepted to Western Washington and Washington State.. anyone have pros and cons of these two schools?

what do you want to major in? both schools have their strentghs. and as always, if you can get in to washington...go there.

[Jordan325iC]

Unluckily, my declared major is a "bullshit major". It's really a shame I'm not interested in engineering or buisness, because apparently they're the only ones worth getting. Well, if there's any way to do a psychology major right, I'll find it.

[hamann318is]

Unluckily, my declared major is a "bullshit major". It's really a shame I'm not interested in engineering or buisness, because apparently they're the only ones worth getting. Well, if there's any way to do a psychology major right, I'll find it.

I wouldn't worry about it. I think Heeter was overstepping the bounds a bit. I think you should be able to find something in that feild, but it really only matters if you like what you're doing.

My logic - when it came to major choice - was that I might as well get something that people will find somewhat useful. I'm going out for finance right now, and I think I'll just stick with it. I have plenty of free time to do what I like to here.

Edit: In all seriousness, college is more about discovering what you're all about. Yes, this sounds emo and lame, but it's - for the most part - true. I'd reconmend that everyone looks at doing study abroad. This is the one thing about college that I can't wait for.

Going back to jobs... as long as your school's department is up to snuff, you should be able to find at least an intership into your feild of work, so try not to worry too much about the career stuff.