A place where people applying to college can ask questions of college attendees, and college students can ask questions about grad school.
Continued from v. 2011.
Patience, Please
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First post? I actually have things to post on this thread today, which is a little frightening.
I just saw my school’s college counselor, and she gave me a list of 22 colleges that I might potentially like to apply to. I’m supposed to pick out the ones that I love, write up my resume, and get back to her in two weeks.
The only thing that worries me is that there are only two in or near New York City, Sarah Lawrence College and NYU. (At least, I think Sarah Lawrence is near. Wikipedia informs me that it’s 15 miles north of Manhattan, so… I guess that’s near?)
I adore a lot what I’ve seen of Sarah Lawrence so far, which isn’t much. I know they’re in New York state, they’re near Manhattan, they have a great history with civil action and gay rights, they have an absolutely wonderful writing program, and their mascot is the gryphon. (Seriously, the gryphon. How cool is that?) They disregard SAT scores on their applications, though, and my SAT score is pretty much the strongest point of my whole application. I’m also worried that I won’t get much or any scholarship money, and if I don’t, it’ll probably be way too expensive to attend.
I haven’t looked at much of the others, but I’m half terrified and half really excited.
I’m not sure whether to squid or pie this, but I hope everything works out.
1- There are SO MANY places to apply–don’t feel limited by the list your advisor gave you! I went through HUNDREDS of brochures and letters and picked out 9 to apply to eventually–and even then I applied to the most schools among my friends. If you think you want to stay in New York, there are many great schools you can also look at!
That being said, don’t feel overwhelmed by the options. Think about what you want in terms of size, location, rural/urban, etc. Then only look at places that fall into those categories. Feel free to go outside those boundries though for a place you think you could really love!!
And reposted from last thread:
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I’d been planning on taking Paleontology next semester. Bio/geo course, counts towards both majors, really cool class. Lots of fieldworking stuff and areas that I’ll probably want to go into as a career if possible.
Then it was full (though I’d already asked to be put on the waitlist, and get super priority because I’m a major), but when I was just registering they *just* added an freshwater invertebrates class and oh my god I got in. There’s only 10 spots and it was by sheer luck it was put up right at my registration time. They haven’t ever offered this class before and who knows if they’ll offer it again.
So now I’m really torn between the two classes and I don’t know what I want! I’ve been planning on Paleo this coming fall for so long since I have to have my schedule worked out so far in advance to make sure I get everything required for both majors. But it’s conceivable I could take it in the fall of senior year, if they don’t change the time it’s offered at. Or the times of the other things I need to take. That would mean taking 3 geo classes my senior year, 2 one semester and 1 the other, when I’d been just planning to do two next semester. I already know that first semester senior year I need to take Cell & Molecular bio and one other bio class. And Cell&Molec is an exceedingly hard class, and I know I’m going to really struggle in it.
Second semester senior year I need to take GIS, and I really want to take Ornithology/behavioral ecology (whichever is offered, hopefully/probably ornithology). I also need to fit statistics and one other class in to get my distribution.
I thought senior year was supposed to be the easier one >.< How do all my senior friends have so little left that they need to graduate?? I guess maybe they weren’t locked out of all classes pertaining to their major one semester/going abroad for a semester… but still. Oof. I hope I can make this. I’m in 4 sciences next fall so I guess we’ll see how well I hold up.
Anyway so next fall I’ll be in:
Organismal Biology + Lab (Bio 100, the class my advisor told me I exempted out of but I didn’t and I am still so angry about this)
Optic Mineralogy and Crystallography (hard class is hard but required and useful)
Evolution
Freshwater Invertebrate Biology or Paleontology
Also… Time for new thread? Near year, new batch of college-bound musers, etc?
Another new thread? All right, Jadestone, if you insist…
ahhh hahaha. Forgot to take that off oops!
The colleges I want to apply to really are narrowed down by the whole writing thing, though. If I wanted to go into business, or engineering, or a common major like that, I’d probably be able to look at a lot more places. So few colleges have screenwriting, playwriting, or even decent creative writing programs at all that I have to consider almost every one that does.
It’s been my dream ever since I visited New York City for the first time to live there. My parents are worried because they feel like out-of-state colleges will be far more expensive than the UCs, but my college counselor says that I really can’t know until I see what kind of money I get from the ones I’m accepted to. (For sure, though, I won’t be able to go to big public schools outside of California. My counselor put University of Washington on the list, and Mom and I kind of had to dismiss it out of hand, because there’s no way we’d ever be able to pay.)
I wish I could go to a big school, but my best chances for that are USC and UCLA, and those are both definitely reaches, especially USC’s screenwriting program. Ultimately, I’d rather go to a small urban school than a large suburban or rural one, though large urban would be best of all.
omg this i CAN comment on, with tuition hikes at UC schools (and since they generally don’t offer much FA) it is actually sometimes more expensive to attend one than a small LAC. So, yeah I def agree with your counselor on that. This isn’t ALWAYS true but I just like to mention it since a lot of my teacher in high school had the idea that if you go to a private school you are paying the 50k+ out of pocket when that is almost never the case.
Hm, another school that comes to mind is Bard but I have heard they are somewhat insular (and they are def not urban, so)
Oh, Bard was definitely on the list! I think my parents like it more than I do. Here, I’ll just post the list:
Likely schools: UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, Chapman, Emerson, Loyola Marymount, U of Maryland at College Park, U of Oregon, Pitzer, SF State (apparently they have a competitive writing program), and DePaul.
Possible schools: Bard, Brandeis, UC San Diego, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Carnegie Mellon, Sarah Lawrence, and U of Washington.
Reach schools: UC Berkeley, UCLA, the Clark Honors college at U of Oregon, NYU, Northwestern, USC, and U of Virginia.
There’s also Elon University and U of Iowa, which my counselor says will care more about my writing samples than my grades, and the New School in New York, which I couldn’t find enough data on to sort into likely, possible, or reach.
It’s a lot of colleges, so in two weeks I’m supposed to pick out a few I really like and draw up my resume so she and I can start narrowing them down.
I live within an hour of Elon, and based on what I know of it and of you, I can’t see it ending up terribly high on your list. Take this with a grain (or several grains) of salt, as I don’t claim to know a lot about the school, but I’ve always gotten the impression that it’s on the more conservative side, and a little preppy. I think greek life is also pretty big there and I’ve never had the impression that it’s terribly diverse.
On the other hand, it’s supposed to be very friendly and the campus is beautiful!
so Bard is like an hour from home
and I toured there when I was college touring just for practice
and the overwhelming feeling I got was
-you have to write an essay there if you want to do anything (go through orientation, declare your major, etc.)
-and it’s very very liberal-artsy
I mean both those things could probably work for you really well, and if so that’s great
(but I found the emphasis on “look how /creative and artistic/ we are” to be offputting, personally, and I don’t like writing essays)
good luck!
1. Have you talked to the professors of both of the classes? That helps a lot to get a sense of the energy of the professor and what exactly you’ll be doing in the class. New classes are sometimes really exciting, but they’re also riskier because the professor won’t have a lot of experience with it to perfect the course, etc.
2. Yeah GIS! I hope to take that class at some point, too. AND OF COURSE YOU KNOW ALL ABOUT MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH ORNITHOLOGY YESYESYESYES.
cat’s eye — i was accepted to sarah lawrence and i am 100% certain that that means you will be (if you apply) too since you are a much better student than me. i just checked my FA spreadsheets from when I was making my decisions and I think they ended up being the more expensive option, but I didn’t try to apply to any outside/specific scholarships, just normal FAFSA stuff. so i wouldn’t rule it out!!
i think they’re about 30 miles(??) outside of NYC in a suburb-ish area but i never visited (sigh!!!!) so i can’t give much more insight on that.
but i definitely agree with what jade said!
I’ve heard 15 miles… it’s definitely manageable. My neighbor is going next year; she was visiting a few days ago.
It’s hard to believe I’m almost done with my freshman year of college, and with it my first year of being in an academic institution of any sort. Crazy stuff.
The power went out campus-wide the night I was supposed to register, so I ended up doing it the next morning, which honestly wasn’t that bad, because the way it’s done normally is at some ungodly hour of the night/morning and then because everyone goes on at once the server ALWAYS crashes and it’s just a mess.
The History of Modern Sexuality course was full, so I’m going to see about getting on the waitlist, which means I’ll probably be able to get in.
I registered for:
-Geology (which is at 8 in the morning, but it fulfills a gen ed and it sounds way more interesting than the other things that fulfill that gen ed)
-Documentary Photography (I’m excited about this one. I think it’ll be really interesting.)
-Applied Music Theory for Traditional Musicians (this is for my trad. music minor, and it’s basically what the title sounds like–music theory focusing on chord structures, modes, and things common to folk music. I am way beyond the acceptable level of excitement for a music theory class.)
-Archeological Field Methods (I might drop this one in favor of continuing fiddle lessons and having a somewhat more sane schedule, and then take it another time.)
Also just read the title of this thread again and realized with a shock that as an in-college muser, I’m apparently supposed to be giving out sage advice and stuff?
GEOLOGYYYYY
I took an intro geo course my first semester and really enjoyed it. The professors in geo here are all fabulous and funny though, which is part of what really attracted me to the department. But woo!
ARCHAEOLOGY!
(had to be enthusiastic like Jade)
I’m sorry, but I can’t see that in the recent comments bar without coming over to ask if you (or Fiddler, I guess) chose that course because you hope to meet a time lord.
Then again, all he’d do is point and laugh at you, right?
Heh. When I chose Archaeology River Song had only appeared in one episode and I hadn’t seen it yet.
Still better than the inevitable Indiana Jones jokes, though, right?
One of the advisors at my school told me that freshmen don’t get to pick their classes for first quarter – they’re just assigned. Is that the norm for most colleges? It worries me a little bit, because I have some core classes that I don’t have to take, and specific classes I’d like to take instead, and I’m afraid that I won’t get to take them.
My first semester I was required to take a first year seminar (that I got to choose from a list of different ones) and a college comp i class (again, that I got to choose from a larger list). The rest of the classes I took were ones that I wanted from whatever wasn’t full, since registration for classes goes by seniority.
Having all of your first semester classes assigned seems a little weird. Maybe check to clarify if it’s ALL the classes, or whether it’s just a handful that you’re required to take? Also, if you have some core classes that you don’t need you may be a special case and be able to work something out.
I had to take a first year seminar for my first block, but there was a list of about a dozen to choose from. I also had to take a writing course during the first year–I took it last block–but, again, there were several different choices. The rest of my classes I got to pick based on whatever was open and didn’t need prerequisites.
Definitely ask for clarification because it seems very strange that you wouldn’t have any control at all over your first quarter.
All my first semester classes were assigned, but depended on what level you had tested into. Also I got to choose my own gen eds. I go to a conservatory, though, so it’s probably a bit different – you basically have to take some level of the “core” classes no matter what.
At my school we picked an FYI (freshman seminar) from a list of 20 choices. Then we picked 2-3 more classes from the regular list.
I talked to the advisor some more, and she told me that you do get to fill out some preferences (if you don’t have to take certain classes), but otherwise they just give you two core classes and a class specific to your major randomly. And apparently you’re not allowed to take any classes that aren’t core or major requirements at all first quarter. No Arabic or Drama for me, I guess.
If anyone has questions about Beloit, I’d be happy to answer them!
UChicago expert over here!
Are there still people deciding? It can be very difficult.
Rooming with a friend. Good idea or bad idea?
I’ve seen both brilliant successes and disasters–and pretty much anything in between. I’d say that beforehand it’s a good idea to discuss expectations and ground rules. In particular it’s good to know about whether housekeeping styles and privacy requirements are reasonably compatible. Also, room size can sometimes bear on whether certain habits have lesser or greater impact.
I roomed with someone who was a friend from high school. He’s now a roommate, not really a friend, or at least not a good friend.
What is the situation? It really, really depends. LIke any roommate, you need to be able to communicate with each other. If you have a roommate who is too afraid of hurting their friend’s feelings and can’t tell their friend what may be annoying them, then the friend who is being annoyed might just end up really angry all the time. If you and your friend can get along really well and actually communicate, it might be excellent.
How long can you stay in each other’s presence?
We have been quite close since we were little, and I assume that if we went to the same school we’d probably be best friends. We’re great at communication, though, because we go to different schools and have to text or call to communicate because we don’t see each other often. We’re very good at communicating without hurting each others’ feelings. I tell her when I have a negative opinion on her habits and deicisions and she does the same for me, and I’ve never been offended by her telling me when to ‘shut up’ or when she thinks I’ve made a bad decision. We look out for each other, we have each other’s backs.
Plus, we’re both in between being neat freaks and slobs. She says that she can be messy until something absolutely must be clean, which is how I am, too. Plus we’re good at branching out and becoming close with other people, since we’ve done it all through high school. I’m not a terribly clingy person, and neither is she. I know she’d be a fun person to room with, but you can really never know for sure until it happens.
Rather, I assume that if we went to the same high school, we’d have been best friends. Oops!
(Luckily, I was far enough away to avoid being pulled into any and all drama that I know she had in high school, save for giving her advice, so that won’t be following us to college.)
It sounds like you guys would have a good chance of making it work out well. I’d be cautious of thinking that your friendship will stay the same after living together and/or going to college. It doesn’t have to be unhappy, but you need to accept that people change, and sometimes a Big Event like moving to college will make people change faster than usual and that can cause friendships to end or change in some way. But it sounds like you’re thinking about that, which is a Good Thing.
The only thing I’m concerned about is drama in high school that you hinted at….if she’s the type that attracts drama, be VERY CAREFUL about living with her, because you willbe thrown into it if it happens. There will be no escape. You will have sobbing roommate situations, you will have people who will avoid your room to avoid her, and there will be people who may avoid you because you’re associated with her. It sucks, but it’s a Thing That Happens.
Anyway, aside from that it sounds like you guys would have a good chance of making it work, so if both of you think you want to do it, then go for it and good luck.
Like Rebecca and Oxlin said, it depends. My first roommate I didn’t know at all beforehand, but we got along really well despite being super different.
My current roommate is one of my friends, and we chose to live together for various reasons, and it’s worked out really well.
We’re about the same level of messy, we have similar sleeping patterns, we have similar interests and are comfortable talking or completely ignoring each other, we have a lot of the same friends and hang with the same group (so we’re cool with the people who stop by to visit one or both of us), and we have an agreed-upon system of what we can do with each other’s stuff. (All dishes are common, spices and cocoa are shared, anyone can sit on anyone’s bed/chair, inexcusable messes can be dropkicked to appropriate side of the room, etc.)
It’s more important to think about whether you have similar living patterns more than whether you will have a constant party in your room. Also ask yourself if you’re comfortable with this person seeing you sleep. And seeing you naked. And seeing you when you are in a good mood and in a bad mood and stressed and sobbing or drunk and giggly, or whatever state you may find yourself in. Also ask yourself if you’re comfortable seeing them in any or all of those states.
Having serious roommate-talks before moving in is good too. Just because you already know each other doesn’t mean that all of the things that come with living together are instantly in place.
TL;DR
Maybe.
Very good points. I forgot about sleeping patterns, but you’re right, that’s important. No matter how well you get along otherwise, if one person is disrupting the other’s sleep, that’s bound to cause problems.
Not TL;DR at all! This was really helpful!
As were everyone’s responses. Thank you guys! I’ll let you know what happens.
Very bad. The girl I’m currently leasing an apartment with had been a friend. Not a close friend, more of a hang out and be friendly when we see each other friend (which, really, are the only kind I have).
We are very much *not* friends now, after having had it out in February, when I got pissed at her over some things and she turned it personal by insulting my relationship with Alan. Which quickly deteriorated the situation, because I sure as heck had some choice things to say about her “relationship” (read: manipulative [self-snip] “friendship”) with him.
To be fair, there were probably some extenuating circumstances in this case that made it much more likely to end poorly, and just overall be a bad idea to begin with.
I’d be inclined to say, the better of a friend she is, the worse an idea it is–because then if it does end badly, you’ll probably be rather upset. With my situation, I’m just as glad to be through with her, as anything else.
And the fact that Alan hasn’t spent anytime around her in the months since is definitely an added perk. (Jealously issues, yes, I have them sometimes, but only with *her*)
How do I only have a few more days of my first year of college what is this and how is it possible?!
In true form, I’m now doing the whole asrwaqw3afsdHuiograsWHAT DO I WRITE about a final paper that’s due tomorrow, and last night I ate ramen at 2am. That’s how it’s done, right?
Herp derp.
Fiddler–I still have a month left.
In other, more positive news, SCAV IS STARTING AAAAHHHH IT’S ONE OF THE REASONS I CAME TO THIS SCHOOL!!!
I’m sitting in my team’s headquarters right now… The list is officially released at midnight, but I’ve heard that it’s been leaked. Oh, well! I still have an hour and a half to wait, in any case.
GOOD LUCK!! My best friend from high school goes to UChicago, and her team won last year — so many crazy stories. Can’t wait to hear yours!
Haha yes I forgot that your friend lives in the dorm next to mine!
My team totally failed at Scav this year… we got seventh or eighth place out of ten or so. I really hope your friend’s dorm won, so Snell-Hitchcock didn’t win again!
My parents miraculously found an AOL floppy disk in our basement–it was worth 11 points! But because my team FAILS at getting information out, I had NO IDEA that Scav ended today! So my lovely floppy disk will come tomorrow, when it’s too late.
If I’m in any sort of Scav leadership position next year, I will seriously change the way things work around here.
1 AM SOUP
Test tomorrow. Well, Lab Practical. He points at plants outside around campus, we write down the specific name, he gives us other plants, we answer questions about the Family they are in.
x_x
This isn’t even my final. It’s just a test. Like the big quiz we had on tuesday. WHY.
At least we’re doing a pizza party tomorrow after lab… and we’re having a sleepover as a class (minus professor) on friday night… and going to the botanical garden as a class on saturday…
I think people have asked this before, but here goes: Have any of you guys taken a gap year or planned on taking one? If so, tell me everything!
Basically, I’m either going to go to *local college* or take a gap year and apply elsewhere, so I’m wondering what experiences MBers have had and how it affected admissions and whatnot. *insert indecision/future angst here*
I didn’t take one myself, but I think, my dear, that a gap year could do a lot of good for you. If you can scrape together some money, do a bit of traveling. Your sanity is what you need to focus on.
I’m not taking a gap year, but it seems like a really good idea to me.
Yes, I took a gap year. I went to Jordan for a year and studied Arabic. After my senior year, I hadn’t been accepted to any colleges, and it was pretty depressing. Going overseas gave me something to do, and I do think the experience helped prepare me for college better, and I felt much more mature after that extra year.
Regarding how it affected admissions–well, I wrote my essay on my experience in Jordan, and I did accepted to some universities, as opposed to, well, none, the first time around, so I think it did help me.
Basically, if you can, go for it. You’ll probably have a great time, and even if you don’t, well at least you’ve learned something about yourself then, and that’s always valuable.
Gap years always seemed really great if you find something cool to do. (I didn’t do one, but based on my friends who have.) Do you have any ideas of things to do for a gap year?
I would highly recommend it. I didn’t take one, but I think if I did I could’ve saved myself some grief. My younger brother is considering taking one.
I had heard that most colleges prefer that you apply, get accepted, and then defer for a year, but I’m not sue how true that is, especially outside of the US.
I didn’t, but my roommate did. There are actually a lot of programs you can look at that do things kind of targeted at people taking gap years! For instance, she did a navigational school and sailed all around Europe and got to visit many countries. She didn’t know anything about sailing beforehand besides being interested in it.
I’d say doing something through a specific program is a good idea, because it gives you some kind of structure to work with. There are lots of options though!
Here’s the plan: Survive three more years of high school. Get accepted to University of Auckland. Hop on plane to New Zealand. Work on farm for several months, since U of A’s school year starts in January. Get undergrad degree in modern history, focusing on Asia and the Middle-East. Then get accepted to Good School- pretty much anywhere, although hopefully with classes in English- for graduate degree in Journalism. Then life.
Here’s the problem: I DON’T KNOW HOW TO DO THIS. The smallest elements of this plan (I mean, I obviously don’t know if I’ll get into U of A; there are other universities in New Zealand, though). Like, for example, how the heck do I book a plane ticket? That aside, how the heck do I pay for a plane ticket? How do I go off and live on my own and not get swallowed by the enormous and scary and overpopulated and crushingly complicated world?
Ah, premature panic. Fun fun fun. Seriously, though, how do you grownupish people survive?
Are you planning to be a journalist? You can interview me when I’m famous! (That’s not happening.)
Any university would be extremely lucky to have you, and you have a few more years yet before you need to worry about applying and all that. You lead such an interesting life, I’m sure you’ll have lots to talk about in your application *coughmonkstorycough* however it works.
Booking plane tickets…money…the adult life seems a confusing and yes, complicated one. I don’t think I know anyone who isn’t at least a tiny bit worried about the future. The important thing is, I guess, to not panic and know that everyone on the verge of adulthood is probably worrying about the same things too. Your parents are/will be a huge source of support when the time comes, I expect. You’ll figure it out. We all will. It’s part of life!
If nothing works out (which it won’t), you can come and live with me! (That’s me assuming it’s all going to work out on my end…) Courage!
CO:
Once you’ve acquired a bank account and a credit card, booking tickets will be easy. People want to sell you things. By then you’ll probably just have to drop a hint to a supersmart holographic version of Siri, who will take care of all the details for you.
As for surviving in the world, never fear. You’re a Kokonspirator, remember? The world has every reason to be afraid of you.
Sel- Yes, I am! A famous and influential one (ha)! Anyway, you’re well on your way to being an important and beloved diplomat, so yes, I’ll feature you prominently. You’re more grown-up and, you know, responsible than most of the people I know. I’m sure you’ll be okay. And dibs on the couch in your future governmental mansion.
Robert- Right. Um. *intimidating face*
Sadly, my intimidating face bears a close resemblance to my this-food-tastes-wrong face. Thank you both.
You can have an entire floor of my mansion if you’d like, dear.
Accepting room and board from a source would constitute a journalistic conflict of interest, I’m afraid.
My mother is a journalist sometimes, and when she wrote about restaurants, they gave her free food. Why did no-one called that a conflict of interest?
Because you have to know what the food tastes like at a restaurant in order to rate it/write about it?
Whereas you don’t need to accept “room and board” from someone in order to produce a decent interview about them.
Oh, no, really? Well, I’ll do without the interview.
Nobody has to know…Does that mean I could get the couch? I mean, I’ve already made a sweet deal for some space under a bridge but just in case the whole global warming thing doesn’t work out and everything still floods in the spring.
You can also have a floor!
May I?
Of course!
Party at Sel’s place!
With grapes!I don’t get it.
I almost said that!Once you have a credit card and enough money, booking plane tickets is easy online.
As for packing, if there’s one thing I learned from People to People, it’s that rolling clothes saves more space than folding them.
I’m currently majoring in English, likely in the media track. I’m looking into a possible double major or a minor in a largely non-liberal arts subject, to help with possible job options later on and so my transcript is well-rounded. Any suggestions?
Do something you like, and that makes you happy. That should be your first criterion. Don’t take a bunch of courses you hate just so you can get a job doing something you hate.
I mean, personally, I love computers and I strongly believe that they are the future — by which I mean that a) there will always be jobs in computing and b) society will rely more and more on them as time goes by. So I’m majoring in computer science, and I think that if you’re looking for a non-liberal-arts subject it’s the one to go for.
But if you just aren’t good at or don’t like programming, that’s obviously not the field for you — every computer science course I’ve taken has either taught basic programming or required knowledge of it.
True true. The problem is that my interests are history, english, music…heavily liberal arts. The two sciences I am interested in are bio and psych, so those would possibly be good choices for a second major or minor.
If you’re looking for courses that might help you to get a job later, you might want to bite the bullet and take something computer-related. An undergraduate biology minor might land you a tedious job as a research technician, but it’s not a guaranteed stepping stone to anything exciting.
If I were a young person interested in history, I’d seriously consider a graduate program in archival library science, like the one at the University of Maryland. A lot of historical documents need to be digitized and preserved, and figuring out the best way to do that can present some interesting challenges. That might not be what you have in mind, but it might be perfect for some other MBer. And the Washington, D.C., area is one of the best places to find jobs right now.
Related: Opinions on library science grad school versus anthropology/archaeology/museum studies grad school for me? I feel like a library science degree could be applied to working at a museum’s archives, but I’m not sure which program to choose. I’d really want to combine museum studies and library science but the former is combined with the field you plan to work in (i.e. anthropology or history etc) and the latter isn’t combined with things? Maybe it is sometimes? Help?
This is my plan! (Well, probably!) That’s good to hear there are jobs in the field though, I’ve been reading some discouraging things about the library field in general and assumed it was even tougher in archives.
Oxlin– I think certain programs let you specialize in museum studies? But I agree, it’s really tough to know exactly what to go for. I’m conflicted about even going to grad school (thus the ‘probably’ up there, although obviously I will need to, sighs heavily!!!). I feel like an archives program would tend to be more inclusive of everything, but I’m also not sure exactly what a museum specific program/concentration entails (oops) so…hm. I defer to the wisdom of the GAPAs on this one since I am still trying to make sense of a lot of these programs myself.
Well the programs that let you specialize in museum studies are generally programs in a field like anthro or history or whatever not in library science because museum studies and library science are two ways of organizing information.
I wish I could make sense of these things. Well. I know how the programs are structured but I want one that is both! Mrr.
I know some librarians and archivists who might be able to help with this question. I’ll ask around.
Yay thank you! For future reference, I have a BA in anthropology with a minor in museum studies.
Hey Rebecca? Gotten any answers to my questions? I’m still trying to decide, though I think it is now more of a personal choice between the two. I did find a MA in anthropology/MLIS dual degree program at UW Milwaukee.
Oh god, I have nine days and a weekend left of my freshman year how did that happen?!
May I express my displeasure that POSOC did not come to visit LC? Not that I would have even known which would have been very upsetting. (And yes, I just searched the past two threads for “Lewis & Clark” to find out if anyone was coming here next year.)
I’m sorry. I was considering it for some time but UC Berkeley was the better option — financially, academically, and in terms of geographic location — and making the trip up to L&C would have eaten up a significant chunk of an already diminished vacation time.
UC BERKELEY
I am happydancing, in case you can’t see me or anything.
You might notice me trying a bake a celebratory pie somewhere in the background, in case you actually see Chok.
Yeah, I understand. It’s cool. Meow came to visit me so I have not been completely Muser-deprived. It would have been fun, though, we could have had like the tiniest kokon!
I WILL KOKON WITH YOU ALICE
I’m so sorry I’m just really excited that you’re here bluh
I am so here! in fact I am here like constantly (also very bored). But I am also no longer under my parent’s roof/supervision and consequently we may have trouble getting in contact with each other but you should totally come to Portland and we can go out to ice cream.
I will be in Portland at least once this summer! And probably in Bend for a weekend as well!
You two are both over 18, aren’t you? Shouldn’t that simplify getting in contact with each other?
Well, it might actually. I don’t know. GAPAs, if two people are over 18 and want to kokonvene, can you put them in contact with each other or will you not do that because it is not through our parents and we could be Nefarious Villains?
I think my parents would probably need to confirm with the GAPAs that I am, in fact, eighteen. Because I could be a Nefarious Villain! Under the false name of Kyra! Muahahahahaha!
No POSOC I will never be friends with you ever again because you did not travel hundreds of miles to visit a school you were not going to attend.
NOOOOOOO NOT BERKELEYJust kidding. Congratulations*!
* – but actually, we will pwn you guys at the Big Game.
UC Berkeley? Yesssssss!
Be sure to say hi to my friend Francesca, she’s going there too! (And yes, this does mean that I expect you to stop everyone you see whose name is Francesca and say that a girl you know from the Internet says hi.)
It shouldn’t be that hard to do. Baby-name statistics suggest that there probably aren’t more than three or four Francescas on campus.
I know a Francisca at my school! I think she might be the only one….
I’m the only (current) Fern at my school, but there was another girl who went by Fern (her given name was something else) who graduated just before I got there. The first few weeks everyone thought I was her. It was a good converstaion starter, though usually not the conversation people wanted to have. (“So tell me about your tree sit!” “Um, that’s not me, she graduated…” “Oh….uh, tell me about you, then!”)
You know what would be really confusing? If you went to a tree sit.Alice! Hi! It’s good to see you around here.
Re: being put in touch: at least for this Ancient One, I think that’s standard, especially if the over-18 person is traveling alone/attending the kokon alone (or with someone who’s not a guardian). Also assuming we can be relatively sure that said person actually is over 18, since these things are easy to lie about on teh interwebs. (I guess I’m thinking of the whole Faye Beauchamp thing here.)
As for college stuffs.
Ahaha what do I actually want to major in drama.
I’d thought history. That’s what shows up under my name in the student directory. I love history.
But…I also like anthropology a lot. Or at least I really have enjoyed everything I’ve learned relating to it.
And I’ve only taken one history course in college so far, and it was awful. Which I could overlook, except for the fact that the history department at my school is tiny, and if I’m going to be a history major I’d pretty much definitely need to take more classes from a teacher I hate. Which is No Good. So I’m seriously considering switching to anthropology, because I think the department might be better, and I want to stay at the same school instead of transferring, and I like the subject and I can still take lots of history classes, just not ones with the Awful Professor.
Thoughts?
Also as far as what I want to do, HAHAHAHAHA right.
I’ve always kind of thought working at a small living history museum somewhere would be great. I’d like to do that sort of thing, I think. Or ethnomusicology would be exciting too.
I don’t really even know at all. I just know I don’t want a boring job. I want to meet interesting people and do interesting things and learn stuff every day.
Glarg.
Regardless of my major, I’m minoring in traditional music. Which means old-time and bluegrass, because of where I go to school. But yeah. It’s fun.
I think anthropology would be a great major, especially with the way it links in to traditional music and enthomusicology. If you’re enjoying your anthro classes, and like the professors better, go for it!
I spent much of today going over college-related computer work. I got the information about my financial aid. I had to show it to my parents; they had to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure everything out. And then I ended up looking at things like textbooks and major requirements and placements tests for Intro Chem that I need to take before the school year starts.
I’m apparently going to be doing work-study next year. Has anyone here done it before? What’s it like?
I need to go and fill out the paperwork for that too. I’ve barely done anything today, except figure out what I needed to do.
My roommate did work-study, back in my first semester before I moved to a single. From what I can tell, there was a job board the university posted with on-campus jobs, and lots of the jobs you needed to have work-study for. Work-study didn’t guarantee you a job– you still had to apply and be qualified and interview and everything. But she did get a job from it, at the affiliated medical center across the street from campus. (I know this not because we were close but because she roller-skated there and left her skates in the middle of the room)
I had a couple friends who worked at the “corner store” in the dorms, and one who worked at University IT, I think those were work-study jobs too. I think they did 15-20 hours a week. The person who worked at IT seemed to enjoy it more than the people at the corner store, but that might just have been a personality thing (or maybe it was because one of the store people had a severe food allergy and her managers kept forcing her to work with that food)
I hope this helps a little, and that someone with more direct knowledge can help you with this.
WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE.
OH SWEET KOKO HELP ME.
This is pre-panic. I’ll panic for real when things start picking up.
Also this is the time when I for realz start figuring out what classes I Must Take for Some Major and then sucking it up and taking them instead of just doing whatever sounds interesting.
LIFE WHYYY?
Last night at home.
Pie? Squid? What’s running through your head right now?
I’m excited, but also terrified. Longer post later.
Does anyone know of a university where I could minor in Arabic and live in a dorm where I could cook my own food?
It’s 3am on a Friday night and I have a PSA for any collegebound students which hopefully will be deemed blog-appropriate, because I feel like it’s a Very Important Thing to know.
Tonight’s lesson is how to take care of drunk people.
If you’re going to college, you will be around alcohol. It will probably affect you at some point. Someone you know will get drunk, or you will end up drunk. It’s a thing that happens, and it’s okay. It can go from okay to very much not-okay, however, and this is how to make sure it doesn’t get to that point.
Alcohol is a toxin. If you drink too much, it will kill you. That isn’t to say you can’t drink, that isn’t to say you can’t drink to the point where you’re drunk, it’s just to remind you that that’s what it is and it’s actually serious business.
If you find a person who has drunk too much, the first step is to get them to stop drinking alcohol and start drinking water.
If someone is throwing up get them to a toilet. Hold their hair back. Remember that they are probably confused and embarrassed and probably quite angry at themselves, and act appropriately. Don’t be condescending, but be supportive. They’ll probably be even more embarrassed in the morning. Let them know that they are not the only one that’s ever thrown up because of alcohol, and tell them that this is not what people will remember. Let them know you’re taking care of them because you care.
Keep water nearby, and keep some paper towels or something similar on hand so they can wipe themselves off if they throw up. Cushions to sit on are really nice too, if you’re camped out in the bathroom for awhile. Eating something will help the body absorb and process the alcohol, so if you can get someone to eat something it’s a good thing (it also gives them something to throw up, because trying to throw up when you’ve already emptied your stomach is miserable).
Don’t let drunk people lie down on their backs, because if they throw up they can drown in their own vomit. Make sure if they’re lying down they’re on their side in the fetal position.
If at any point you feel like the person you’re taking care of has gotten to a point beyond what you’re comfortable supervising, LET SOMEONE KNOW. This is hugely important, guys. Alcohol poisoning is a very real and serious thing, and if you feel under-qualified to help someone make sure you get someone who knows what to do. Even if the person you’re taking care of is underage. Their safety is more important than whether they’re going to get in trouble for underage drinking.
If the person you’re taking care of becomes unresponsive, SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP. Immediately.
If you are the drunk person, hopefully there will be someone to take care of you. However, that doesn’t always happen, because sometimes you’re drunk around other drunk people, and they don’t realize that you need help. If you find yourself in such a position, ask for help form someone you feel is trustworthy and responsible. A sober person is, rather obviously, the best choice. Don’t feel bad about ruining heir night or whatever; your safety is more important than feeling guilty or getting in trouble for underage drinking. Unless someone is a total jerk they will be glad to help you and keep you safe, even though you might be terribly embarrassed. I promise.
Drink water. Eat food. Don’t ignore feelings of nausea. Don’t ignore what your body is telling you. Take breaks between drinks. If you feel yourself stumbling or having a hard time speaking, don’t keep drinking even if you feel fine. Most importantly, ASK FOR HELP IF YOU NEED IT. It’s embarrassing, it’s uncomfortable, it feels like the end of the world, but it isn’t. I promise you it isn’t.
Make sure you tell someone if you’re going to go to bed. Ask them to check up on you, even. Make sure you have people looking out for you.
Don’t worry about being a burden, because your safety is the most important thing.
And if you’re the one taking care of someone, realize that no matter how fun the rest of the party is, taking care of people is way more rewarding in the long run and it’s something that absolutely needs to be done, so do it, and if you need help, ask for it. If you see someone that needs help and you don’t feel up to it, get someone else to help immediately.
Above all, remember that safety comes first in these sorts of situations. I honestly can’t stress this enough. Even though people might seem to be drinking like fishes, pay attention to your body and keep an eye out for those who don’t.
Be careful guys, it’s a crazy world out there and I would really hate for you to get hurt from a totally preventable thing.
I agree with all of this, would just like to emphasize a few points:
If you are going to drink, eat something first. Also, with regards to “eating something will help the body absorb and process the alcohol, so if you can get someone to eat something it’s a good thing,” carbs carbs carbs. Bread is always a good thing here.
If someone is passed out, call 911. They need to go to the hospital. Please call even if you’re worried about getting in trouble or other people getting mad at you – their life is more important. This is also probably true if they’re throwing up repeatedly. These are signs of alcohol poisoning.
If you are feeling pressured to drink when you don’t want to, or to drink more than you want to, you are hanging out with the wrong people.
Oh, other thing that is important:
Don’t lose drunk people. They can wander off sometimes, and you need to keep them from doing that.
If someone seems like they’re not all together, but they say they’re going to go back to their room, or go to a different party or for a walk, go with them. Even if they say they’re fine. It can be hard to convince them that they may need some help and it’s generally pretty futile to argue with an intoxicated person about their motor skills, so try to avoid conflict and just chime in you’d like to join. If they get obstinate don’t back down. Get backups if needed.
The reason for this is that losing drunk friends is really, really scary, and can be really really dangerous for them.
Also re: embarrassment over getting too drunk: It happens. generally for a bunch of different reasons at once, and something it is important to know is that most of the reasons are not your fault. When you’re drunk you say and do things you don’t expect yourself to. Sometimes you won’t remember them, or you’ll just remember bits and pieces. Sometimes you throw up. Those are not shortcomings in you as a person. They are not things you can control, and to be embarrassed over things you cannot control is futile and unhealthy. The only fault is not knowing your body’s limits, and that is a hard thing to figure out because alcohol takes a bit of time to really start affecting you, and usually you’ll be taking one drink right after another, so they’ll all hit at once.
If you go over your body’s limit, take note of it. Try to figure out how many drinks you had how fast, and don’t do that again. Understand where you stopped feeling okay and how you felt before you got to that point and learn to recognize it so you know where to stop next time.
Everyone who drinks sometimes goes to far. That’s something that is not at all comforting, because no one wants to be everyone. No one wants to match the statistical data for their demographic. Something I heard a few times last night* was “I know this happens to everyone, but it doesn’t happen to me.” It does. Watch the vlogbrothers video about why no one is special (that sounds mean, but isn’t) and accept the fact that groups of people like Everyone and Them are made up entirely of people just like you and me.
*The reason I’m harping on all of this, in case you were wondering, is because last night went a bit awry and I ended up spending several hours in the bathroom with some of my friends. I was the one helping, but could have just as easily been on the other side of the situation.
I know that these things weren’t something I expected or had any idea about when I came here, and I know that if I hadn’t been roommates with a high-functioning alcoholic my first semester, I’d probably still not know. I’m putting this stuff out there so you all don’t need to have an alcoholic roommate to teach you what’s up. I want to make sure you guys are safe, because I know that kids are not going to suddenly change and start being more safe around alcohol. In an ideal world they would, but until that happens y’all need to know how to make an unsafe situation not become a disaster.
I agree with everything Lizze/Fern have said!
Just want to re-epmphasis that if you see someone lying down drunk (on a couch, the floor, a bed, whatever), lay them on their side with their knees bent.
Most people who pass out drunk and die do so becuase they’ve choked on their own vomit. Being on their side gives them space to throw up, and the knees bent/together makes it very difficult for them to move/roll over unless they’re conscious again.
I also recommend looking up the health services/safety and security numbers for your school and putting them in your phone. Before anything even has the chance to happen. It’s also worth checking out various policies–for instance, my college has one where if someone is drunk to the point you’re worried they’re in danger, you can invoke the policy where you can get them to the medical center for help and they won’t prosecute you for drinking/etc while underage, because safety is more important, and if people knew they were going to get in trouble many would take terrible risks. It can be worth checking to see if your school has something similar!
ALSO I just wanted to add that if for whatever reason you ARE being pressured by people to drink and don’t want to/don’t want to have to explain yourself to them, you can always tell them you’re on an antibiotic that reacts badly with alcohol. If it’s for health/medical reasons people will usually drop the subject right away and stop pressuring you.
This is something that’s actually true for me, although I also don’t drink in general (various reasons, predominately an addictive personality and a family history of alcoholism). Sometimes around people I’m not going to see much/don’t feel like explaining to, just bringing up the meds thing works better.
I’m sorry I’ve been absent from the blog for a week or so. That’s how long I’ve been here!
Mostly, it’s been really good. I’ve met so many interesting people, and they’re all really nice. I have some friends already and my classes seem like they’ll probably be really good. I definitely think I picked the right school. I wasn’t even homesick for a week.
But today I’ve been homesick. I think because it’s the weekend, and I’m less busy, and I don’t have any kind of schedule yet. I’m still second-guessing myself constantly in all these young friendships–trying to make sure I’m not being too clingy or too distant, too quiet or too talkative, too upbeat or too sad. I’ve never had a problem with being myself in friendships–that isn’t what this is. It’s just the uncertainty of not knowing what these friendships will or won’t become, and the desperation of not wanting to end up alone. And it’s that I hate that I can’t explain homesickness to people–“What do you miss about your parents?” for instance. It isn’t a specific thing. I miss hugs. I miss my room and my dog and the stain on my comforter. I miss my mom’s smile and my dad’s bad jokes and the way they give me big hugs and don’t let go until I want them to. I miss my sister’s silly velociraptor act and the way she’s always there. I just miss home. I’m homesick, and there isn’t a way to explain that.
I know it will end up being okay. My dad is coming up to give a talk in a week and a half and I’ll get to see him then. Family weekend is a month after that, Thanksgiving is a month after that, and winter break is a month after that. I feel good about that. I have friends and there has never been a situation where I’ve ended up with no friends. I feel good about that. I have mostly fun, interesting seeming classes. I feel good about that. Logically, I know that I’m in the best place I could be right now.
But my emotions have trouble catching up sometimes.
Don’t forget that many other students are feeling the same way; you don’t have to be able to explain.
Thanks, that helps. I don’t want to beg, but… I’d really appreciate some reassurance that I’m going to be okay.
You’re a brilliant, hard working creator, and anyone who doesn’t end up being your friend is missing out.
You will be fine — I would never say that if I didn’t believe it. You’re very likable, resourceful, and you genuinely like other people: that’s a winning combination for making friends. You’re just a little unsteady finding your way in an unfamiliar world that’s pretty far from home, so there may be a little culture shock to deal with, too. (I experienced culture shock just moving from Northern Virginia to North Carolina; you’ve traveled a much greater distance.) You’ll probably find you’ll settle in much more once the pace picks up with classes and other activities. In the meantime, you know you can stop by MuseBlog any time you need a familiar hangout.
By the way, as a general rule, college friendships allow you a lot more room for experiment, mistakes, and second chances than high school. I can add, now that the Internet has allowed me to become reacquainted with assorted people I knew only vaguely in college, I’ve been surprised to discover that more of them shared common interests than I thought. Now I’m sorry that I didn’t make more effort to know some of them back then.
Tess, I know you’re going to be okay because I know you. When we first met in real life, we fell into such an easy friendship that even though I haven’t seen you since, I smile when I think about you or when I teach somebody that a 4-dimensional cube actually has a name, and it’s called a Tesseract. You’re the kind of friend I want to brag to offline people about. I’m sure that college feels overwhelming right now, but you’ll make friends, you’ll make it through, and you’ll make college better just by being yourself.
Thank you. I love you guys!
I love you too!
A cool aspect of a university education: Today I learned that one of my Spanish professors was himself a student of Cesar Vallejo’s wife. How awesome is that?
Ah–that reminds me of how I can trace my piano heritage from teacher to grandteacher back to Beethoven. I could probably make a similar tree for my organ studies.
Well aren’t you a pretentious little pig. *secretly jealous though*
…Beethoven though? How can you even trace that?
My piano teacher was taught by a bunch of cool people too though, so there!
((oh my cake I am going to kill this computer. The “c” key isn’t working… yay for copy and paste! asdjflaskglksdfkldsaklsklajfksdfkjslkmslkmlkxkalsdf;ihsfijskfjdskfjl;adsjxxxx))
Those are really interesting and fun things to think about! I am glad you shared, Piggy.
Yeah, the music world is cool like that – you hit one big name, you’ve got them all. I think the farthest back I can go is Tartini
The study of music is a really neat thing to look at, isn’t it? It’s one of the few remnants of the artisan/apprentice model, for instance.
College non-freshmen: how long does it take college friendships to start feeling really stable and reliable?
Because I really like my friends here, but I keep worrying about them starting to spend all their time with other people and me fading into the background. A bunch of them do ballroom/swing dance, which I don’t have time to get into right now, and I have a lot of band stuff on the weekends. I miss having friends around where I can feel secure in the relationships, and not worry that I’m not being interesting enough/happy enough/whatever to make them still want to be friends with me.
I miss having friendships where I feel like I can tell the other person just about anything and have them not judge me. Where if they’re too busy to hang out, or are spending a lot of time with other people, I don’t worry that it’s because they don’t care about me anymore. Where I feel like I really know my friends and they know me.
How long does it take real, deep bonds to form?
I know it’s variable, that it depends on the situation and the person and the friends. But I’d really love to hear about the progression of some college friendships.
For me, I had a couple pretty solid-seeming friendships going by mid/late October. (one of these people I am still very close to. the other, every couple months when we see each other we say “we should talk more” and then never do) Others, with people I’d met around the same time, didn’t solidify until well into my second semester. I can say that pretty much everyone on my freshman hall got along well with pretty much everyone else on my freshman hall, and I felt very left out and not like I was close to anyone there.
I hope you feel less worried about your friendships soon ♥
I thought I replied, to this, but I guess I didn’t. Thank you.
It was helpful.
Okay, personal dilemma time.
As I’ve mentioned, this semester I added a music minor in organ to my studies. It’s not much–private organ lessons and choir for four semesters as well as two or three actual classes. My mom was very pleased that I was studying music again, as were my old organ and piano teachers. “It’s good for you to keep up your skills,” “I know you need music in your life,” that sort of thing. Okay.
But I’m not enjoying it. Not at all. Choir’s fun, but the actual organ work is giving me nothing but stress and clogging up my already tight schedule. When I entered college last year, I didn’t plan to study music because I thought I wouldn’t enjoy continuing to study it formally–and that’s exactly what’s happening now. Don’t get me wrong, I love music and I always will. But I’ve always studied and played music for myself, for my own enjoyment. When I have the house to myself, I make a beeline for the piano because I can play with absolute freedom. But playing for other people–in this case, playing for my professor once a week–has never been something enjoyable for me.
I think most people would see this as selfish, and I think it probably is. I have this talent, this gift, and (as most of the people in my life see it) I have some obligation to share it. But I don’t want to. I’ve never wanted to. For me, music is a hobby that I do for myself; I’ve never wanted it to become a duty or a profession or anything like that. Am I being selfish for not wanting to share what I have with others?
Those are mostly rhetorical questions, though. On the less philosophical side: should I keep going with the music minor? My reason for doing it in the first place was so I would be able to sign up for organ lessons. If I do drop it, how do I bring it up with my mom? with my professor? Should I give it another semester and see if things improve? I’m registering for next semester in a week, so I have to make these decisions soon.
I’m not exactly the best college advisor there is and I don’t know the scope of your talents, but if the lessons are just adding stress to your life and you don’t necessarily need them, I wouldn’t bother continuing them.
You can still pick up the lessons at some later point in your life if you feel like it then. I don’t know about your mom’s (or your professor’s) perspective, but if you explain that the lessons are basically just a burden for you, then I think they’d understand.
That is unless dropping the minor will cause you further problems (i.e., you have to choose another minor or you need it for your future career, or… sorry, I’m not too familiar with the system).
You don’t have to play for anyone else that you don’t want to, ever. If it gives you personal pleasure, that’s enough; you have no obligation to the rest of the world to share music that most people, sadly, don’t even really want to hear.
What I would do, though, in your position, is discuss it with your professor. Make sure both of you are on the same page as to your goals in playing; if all you want to do is play Bach, that’s perfectly fine, but you have to let him/her know so s/he doesn’t keep assigning you Messiaen. As an amateur musician (derived from amare), you have a freedom to choose what you play in a way that professionals don’t.
“I know you need music in your life” ???
I’m not sure how your mother came to this conclusion, but unless it was by you telling her “I need music in my life” it seems like a pretty condescending thing to say to someone, even meaning well.
I don’t think it’s selfish at all if you want to quit doing something you don’t like doing. I started taking private trombone lessons in my first semester here and dropped them after three weeks. I love playing trombone in ensembles, and still do, but I don’t feel the need to be a really dedicated musician who practices hours and hours a week and works at improving in little ways by playing pieces that I hate over and over. (not that there’s anything wrong with that if you like it)
As to how to break it to your parents/professors/etc:
What I did when I dropped them was, I told my lesson teacher “I’m sorry, but I don’t have the time to practice enough to meet your standards with all of my other coursework, and I don’t want to do poorly in lessons and waste both our time by not preparing for them, so unfortunately I think it’s best if I drop this course.” It seemed like a big deal at the time, but a year later it really wasn’t.
You’re getting some good advice that suggests a plan of attack: discuss with your professor first to see what, if any changes, might be made. Then, if you decide to drop the minor, your professor may be able to help you out with how to talk with your parents.
From my own experience, I had similar mixed feelings and dropped piano after my first semester and the music major after the second, but continued with voice lessons all four years. This allowed me to keep my practice room which was an extremely welcome hideaway for stress relief. Having that escape route might be one advantage to sticking with the music, if you can work out some way to prevent it from being a source of stress itself.
bookgirl_me- Dropping the minor won’t cause any problems like that for me, luckily.
Lizzie- It makes me feel better to hear the advice about (not) playing for other people. I’m not sure the best way or time to bring it up with the professor, but I think you’re right. And the etymological connection…you know me too well. That really struck a chord with me (pun mostly intended).
Dodecahedron- No, it’s not condescending, though I can see how it would seem that way. It was actually my former piano teacher that said it, whom I studied with for well over a decade. I’ve been playing music since kindergarten, and so I basically can’t remember a time in my life when I haven’t been studying it, until last year. It really is a major part of my identity, and I agree that I need it in my life. I guess I just need it in a different way from what I’m doing now. The point about not preparing for lessons: that’s definitely what’s going on for me too. I don’t have time to prepare well for lessons because of my other coursework, and I don’t have time to prepare well for my other coursework because of organ lessons.
Rebecca- So you think talking to the professor first would be better than talking to the parentals first? I don’t know, you may be right. It’s going to be uncomfortable whatever order I do it in, I suppose.
Another complication I forgot to mention was that the organ program, unlike most of the music school here, isn’t exactly thriving. It was almost cut last year, and they’re hurting for students. I don’t at all feel as though it’s my “responsibility” to stay in it and support it, but I personally would hate to see the program done away with. This would certainly affect any conversation I have with my professor.
For one thing, unless your professor is very new to the field, en has probably had this conversation before, whereas your parents haven’t. That extra experience might be helpful to draw upon.
It’s probably time to start frequenting this thread…
There’s something I’ve been thinking about recently and although I’ve heard opinions on it from my parents, teachers etc it’s probably worth asking you as well, as strange as it seems to be laying bare my future to you all. My apologies for the inconsiderately and horrendously long post, I have tried (perhaps unsuccessfully) to be as concise as possible. Don’t feel obliged to reply – as I say below, just typing this all out has helped me think things through.
Some background information on the English system: the last two years of secondary school, we do ‘A-levels’ – ‘AS’ in the first and ‘A2’ in the second. Most people do four or five AS subjects, then drop to do three or four at A2 level. Because you are limited to that number, it means specialisation tends to happen a lot earlier than it does in the US.
Universities are different as well – you essentially apply to read a particular degree, which you will study for three or four years – unlike the US where your major may only be a third of your academic work, what with ‘Core’ curricula and electives and all.
Oxford does a well-known course called Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) – many politicians and journalists hold Oxford PPE degrees, and it is one of the more competitive degrees to apply for. I should say here that this isn’t a degree I’ve set my heart on, but an option I have been considering and that I think looks fairly interesting (not to say that other degrees are not.)
Some courses can require specific A-level subjects, but ‘You may apply for PPE having done any combination of subjects at school’. However, though Maths is not formally required, applicants are expected to have a sufficient aptitude to cope with the mathematical elements of the course, namely the Economics third. Around 90% of successful applicants have studied Maths to at least AS-level or equivalent.
Maths is not one of my AS subjects – it isn’t that I’m not good at it, but I frankly don’t find it interesting in a classroom context. AP Calculus is considered an equivalent maths course, though, to A2 maths. Since I would have taken AP Calculus this year had I stayed at my old (American-system) school, I think it would follow logically that the maths course I did last year would be equivalent to AS Maths.
I talked to the director of higher education at my school about this briefly the other day, and he said that based solely on the numbers, I would only have at most a one in ten chance of being offered a place, because of my lack of Maths AS (or indeed A2 – he mentioned that most people accepted have done it for both years of A-level). He did acknowledge that there are always exceptions to the rule, but essentially, the concern is not with what maths equivalent I’ve achieved, but the fact that I won’t have been doing maths for two years before university entrance, and it certainly won’t enhance my application in any way. He isn’t ruling anything out and saying I definitely can’t apply for that degree in a year’s time, but he did highly recommend that I look at other degrees – which I am anyway.
I know someone who graduated from my old school and has started at Oxford this year – he asked someone he knows who is reading PPE about admissions. According to him, they won’t penalise me for currently studying Economics instead of Maths, but some of the colleges with more stringent requirements (eg. ones I’m interested in) don’t consider someone if they don’t have maths. As well, the interview touches on maths with questions testing familiarity with differential/integrational graphs, etc. Anecdotal evidence (friend of a friend etc.) has it that someone who is doing PPE without having done A-level maths was finding the maths content tough.
Based on this input, my dad thinks it’s not worth applying for PPE at Oxford given the ‘disadvantage’ (for lack of a better word) I am at, even though I may still have some sort of edge compared to other candidates with the other components (historical/political analysis, for example.) He thinks I should find something else ‘safer’.
Other teachers I’ve talked to about this also seem to think that maths is, if not required, fairly crucial for PPE (given as well that it’s one of the more competitive degrees at one of the more competitive universities.)
I think I do see where they are coming from, and that there are other degrees for which my subjects would be better preparation and my application somewhat stronger. I am considering them – perhaps History or History and Politics at Oxford – or Philosophy, or History, or HSPS at Cambridge. (Sidenote: In my mind I have always tended to prefer Oxford, probably due in large part because my dad went there, but I am considering Cambridge, I like to think, equally.)
Is it worth still thinking about PPE as a likely-ish possibility (despite the numbers suggesting otherwise, I prefer to think of myself as more than just a typical statistic), or should I abandon the idea altogether and focus my research and preparation on other degrees. If a substantial part of the course is mathematical anyway (even though to my mind, economics isn’t really all that mathematically technical) then perhaps I wouldn’t find it as interesting as I would like. Also, since it covers three disciplines it is considered one of the broader degrees at Oxford, but I think I would also enjoy going more in depth with a straight subject.
I know I’ve typed a lot out, but even without hearing any responses this has really helped me think it out and be a little more sure, though obviously not entirely so – not at this stage anyway – about what I plan to do. I think I will focus on researching other degrees as well – although I can still think about PPE, I do know there are other degrees at Oxbridge that I will find interesting and be well suited for.
I think I’ll go ahead and post this anyway though, in case any of you find this somewhat interesting to read (implausible, I know).
Thanks as ever for listening.
Of course, I don’t know how it works at Oxford, but I think the best route to take is to ask the PPE department (or whatever), or at least an admissions officer. Just ask! They would no doubt be happy to answer your questions. They get stuff like that from applying students all the time. Summarize your situation, make sure to explain the AP Calc bit, and send off an e-mail.
Also you might want to try to look at the requirements for an American student trying to get in. Do they need AP Calc? If so, what level?
I agree with CPM, try asking directly.
If the math prerequisite is for economics, and you’ve been studying economics, then it would make sense to me for you to try for PPE! Of Oxbridge generally is more important than PPE specifically it might make more sense to research other majors.
Firstly, I would stress that PPE is not that high on my list of degree preferences – there are other degrees that I am considering and would rather study, I think. Discussing the whole issue with my parents, teachers etc and MB has really helped me think it through and I am now more confirmed in the opinion that PPE is not my top choice of degree. (The technical mathematical aspect doesn’t appeal as much to me, though that’s not to say I wouldn’t enjoy the course if, somehow, that ended up being my degree.)
Thank you both for replying. CPM, I discussed your idea with my dad and we think it’s not worth writing to them, since their reply will essentially consist of what they already say in the courses prospectus. Vendaval – it’s not exactly a prerequisite, but even so, apparently the economics part is fairly mathematical (more so, it seems, than my current economics course).
Basically, I would probably be at a slight disadvantage if I were to apply for PPE because of the whole maths situation, and in my opinion it’s not really worth that risk in applying if PPE isn’t even my top degree choice. There are other degrees for which I would have better-suited A-level subjects as well as find suitably enjoyable.
At this moment, I think something like straight Philosophy at Cambridge (at Oxford you can only do philosophy in combination with another subject, unfortunately) would be really interesting; however, I will continue to do more exploring of the content of subjects offered at both Oxbridge universities. I do have a fair amount of time before I need to confirm a degree choice, anyway.
Soo… Are there any class of 2017 applicants out there right now? Besides Selenium?
What exactly does that mean? (I will be applying next year for October 2014 entry to university.)
“Class of [x]” refers to the year when you’re planning to graduate. Well, kind of. It assumes 4-year graduation plan. So, I entered in fall of 2010, and after 4 years will graduate in spring 2014. So I’m class of ’14.
Oh, I did know it meant the year of graduation (my old school was like that) but I wasn’t sure if it was based on a three or four year plan, since most undergraduate degrees here are three years. So I think that means that were I to attend an American uni, I would be the class of 2018, not 2017.
Oh, well I suppose I could have been more clear.
Yeah… I would normally be in the class of 2020, but since I’m doing early college high school, I’m actually planning to graduate in 2018. Which is awesome but confusing.
Me!
I am!
What are some good ways of knowing whether, if you currently don’t study it formally at school, a subject would interest you as a degree at uni?
Reading about is an obvious answer, which in my opinion is of course a great way to measure interest – but it doesn’t quite give you the experience, or experimentation or trial, if you like, of studying it in a formal academic setting.
In other words, how can I be as sure as is possible that the choice I will make is the right one?
Selenium:
I’d recommend talking to other people who have studied it, or who have broad general experience of life — especially if they know you. (I’ll bet we GAPAs collectively could figure it out.)
I just realized that, due to technically being a college student, I have an EBSCO account. Which means free access to so many amazing scientific journals I can’t afford to subscribe to myself that I am in bliss. This is amazing.
Isn’t it wonderful?? Through my online high school, I have access to every online database that I can get into with a Stanford proxy, and there are so many incredible possibilities that I don’t even know where to start.
…WAIT A MINUTE I HAVE JSTOR ACCESS TOO I HAVE BEEN WANTING THIS SINCE I WAS, LIKE, 10 YEARS OLD
MORE LIKE 12 BUT STILL
ACTUALLY IT WAS 11
I REMEMBER NOW, I WAS LOOKING FOR ESSAYS ON THIS IROQUOIS LEGEND I WAS OBSESSED WITH
SQUEE
/ridiculously high levels of excitement
I may have been accepted to SUNY New Paltz for the spring?
I haven’t gotten an official letter but there’s now a link on my status page to “pay your pre-enrollment deposit”
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go there, and if I get accepted to Vassar it’ll still be a hard decision
but in-state tuition is so cheap (I mean, relatively speaking) that I would actually have money left over in savings after graduation, even if I take another four years to finish my degree. like, thousands of dollars. Enough that I could spend time looking for a job after graduation without having to worry for a few months at least.
Vassar is six times as expensive, and my family can afford it (which is some pretty amazing privilege if you think about it, and I am thankful), and it is without question a great school, a better school than New Paltz
so
I don’t know
…advice?
Are you or your parents paying for university? If you think the better education you would get at Vassar is worth the extra thousands of dollars, and won’t be a significant disadvantage to you financially after graduation, then I’d say go for it.
But if you would rather have the thousands of dollars in savings after grad, and feel as if you would still find New Paltz a university worth your while to attend, then maybe stay in-state.
I’m not very qualified to speak about these matters because I’m a) the wrong age and b) in the wrong country, but I’d recommend speaking to parents (or teachers, if that’s possible) – or anyone with experience with universities/careers – about it. If I were you, though, I’d wait to see whether it’s a yes from Vassar before committing one way or another.
tbh i think it comes down to 1) what you want from school 2) what they will offer you, specifically, with regards to your major and 3) other opportunities afforded by the college. things like networking and career support (through alumni or an on campus career office etc). stuff like social life, wether you like the area or not, travel to and from the campus etc are also important of course!!! but like if you’re framing this in terms of what is most pragmatic in the long run IMO connections in your field and getting the best possible education in that field are what matter most and will pay the most (however you want to take that, lol) in the end
also, GOOD LUCK W/ ACCEPTANCES AND EVERYTHING!!!!!
Wait to think about it until you have official letters from both places. No point tying yourself in knots over a decision you may not have to make.
Plus by the time it’s official you may have decided subconsciously.
How much should I let my parents edit my college essays? They have very different editing styles from each other, even: my dad will go through and look mostly at words or punctuation while my mom edits much more heavily and often challenges my phrasing and ideas. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. My Common App essay is basically done at this point, and that essay has gone through A LOT of drafts – at least 10 in the past five weeks or so. My final draft is very different from my original draft, but I had to figure out what I was truly writing about; my focus ended up changing a lot during the process. I’m sure much of that was because of conversations I had with my mom over why this topic was actually important to me and what about it was my focus. Now, though, I’m working on supplement essays, and I’m increasingly frustrated with printing each draft out and getting back a page full of comments from my mom. In a lot of cases they’re good suggestions that really do make my essays better. I don’t even know whether my frustration is because I think she’s doing too much or because I’m just impatient to have things right and don’t want to be told that I still have work to do. Sorry, this is almost a rant, but I just don’t want to get turned off to the whole writing process right now when I can least afford it.
This was just a personal thing, but I didn’t let my parents edit my college essays at all. My mother’s a high school English teacher, and I’ve never really been comfortable with letting her see or critique my writing. At first it was because I didn’t want to have an unfair leg up, but now it’s about something else, I think. I always feel that having my mother critique my essays blurs the line between my academic life and my personal life, and I’m not quite okay with that.
I’m becoming more independent. You’re becoming more independent too, I think. We’re getting ready to stop needing our parents quite as much as we have in the past, and part of that means that we don’t want their help as much as we used to. And that’s completely valid!
On whether it’s about your mother doing too much or you not wanting to hear you have more to do– why not try getting a teacher to read over your essay? If you find yourself irritated at the teacher’s comments, that’s probably a sign that you’re really emotionally ready to be done. If you don’t, that’s probably a sign that you don’t want your parents quite as involved in the process any more.
Your apps are due in a couple weeks, I assume? Good luck good luck good luck! *hugs forever*
My mom always helped out with my essays–as long as it’s something you think you would have written, on the top of your game, then it’s good.
If your parents’ comments is helpful to you, then continue to have them edit. Just be careful that they’re not editing to the point where they’re writing the papers for you, because what the college wants to see is who you are and what you think. Another thing to consider is that while the comments that other people (especially your parents) make can be really helpful, they’re just suggestions and you can veto them if you feel like they’re changing the focus of your ideas.
TL;DR
Let them make as many suggestions as you’re comfortable with, but keep in mind these are essays about you and they should come from you.
Just received my first acceptance letter! *dances around forever*
MUST REPEAT THAT I AM REALLY PROUD OF YOU, CAT’S EYE
May there be several more! But Cat, college! My god!
Congratulations!
Congratulations! I’m glad all your work for college apps is paying off.
Ahhh congratulations!
Solid work. Proud of you- and know that it was you and your effort that made this possible.
-A
Congrats!!!
Congratulations!!! You deserve that letter and many more to come!
First application submitted! Finally!
Three other applications are really close to being done. The last one to round out my top five priorities is giving me some more trouble with its supplement essay, but I’ll figure out a good approach eventually. After those, it’s simply a matter of how many essays I can motivate myself to write during all of my nice winter break free time!
But all that will come in time. Right now I am accomplished!
I just wanted to do a little victory dance here because I just ordered my textbooks for next semester, and without renting any of them but buying most of them “new” and a couple “used”, it cost me less than eighty bucks.
*victory dance*
I now have seven applications completely submitted! That includes my top five liberal arts colleges, another liberal arts college that I would be happy going to, and Harvard for the heck of it and because it has an easy supplement. It’s really nice to know that while I’ll do my best to get my other application goals done, all of my most important files are finished and sent off. I’m on the home stretch now!
Is there a reason why, in college, field entomology classes almost always require that each student keep a specimen collection, while (for instance) field ornithology classes almost never do, other than the fact that most people feel more comfortable killing insects than (to keep examples consistent) birds?
The first thing that comes to mind is that insects are easier to preserve than birds.
Insects are much easier to collect due to their size.
Well, there are also different population sizes to take into account. Birds are higher on the food chain, with smaller population sizes to boot. There are more insects out there than birds, and taking a few for a collection is less likely to negatively impact the population’s size. Also, it’s easier to catch them. To catch a bird for a specimen collection you’d need to set up a mist net or something and then kill and catch the birds, since it’s not like students are taught how to shoot. Or find a clear glass window that a lot of birds crash into and die. Actually, one of my professors did that once–brought in dead birds that had died form window-wmashing. (The problem is that they are fairly indiscriminate, and also affect endangered or rare bird populations as well as common ones.) So again, the population size is an issue. I doubt that a professor would require that students take endangered beetle samples.
Also, it’s harder to properly preserve soft-bodied birds and mammals and the like? I mean, you need to be able to properly taxidermy them or they’d end up rotten, crawling, with maggots, and generally no good at all. And taxidermy is something that a lot of professors probably don’t want to bother teaching. Insects have these nice exoskeletons that help preserve them! And an insect collection take up less space and would be easier to transport, bring to class, etc than a collection of larger animals.
Basically I can think of a lot of reasons that are based in pragmatism and not callous disregard for invertebrate life forms.
Realised this today, there are just over eight months until the deadline. The date is burned into my mind. Granted, we’re not expected to start working on applications until after exams, but all this talk about ‘be thinking about universities, girls!’ is both unsettling, in that it’s all happening so quickly, and very excitement-inducing. I’m now around 78% decided on the degree I want to apply for. As premature as this sounds, I’m really looking forward to uni!
Hello everyone! I haven’t posted much about myself lately, but as I am reaching the end of one phase of college admissions and beginning another, I think this is as good a time as any to let you know what’s been up with me, and also to solicit some feedback and advice from older MuseBloggers and GAPAs who have been through things like this before.
So, my college search process has ended extraordinarily well. After narrowing down what type of school I wanted (small liberal arts college with great sciences, since I’m interested in all of the above), I picked some of the best to apply to, along with a few safeties. Out of the 11 colleges I applied to, I’ve been accepted by 8 and waitlisted at 2 (Harvard and Tufts, which were low on my list anyways), with Swarthmore being the holdout that I will hear from tomorrow.
Of those acceptances, these are my six favorites: Williams, Pomona, Middlebury, Grinnell, Smith*, and, if I get in, Swarthmore. (My other acceptances were to Bowdoin, Carleton, and Scripps, which are also wonderful schools that I recommend any MuseBlogger take a look at!) Several of those were Early Writes, and I’ve gotten good (about equal) financial aid at all of them. I feel really lucky to have so many great options! Of course, that could make the next stage of this process difficult, as I actually have to decide on one. Still, it’s reassuring to feel like I really couldn’t go wrong.
(*My acceptance at Smith was as a STRIDE/Zollman Scholar, which is the chance to, for my first two years, be paired with a professor to work on a research project AND receive a stipend for the work!)
My basic plan for the month of April (since, of course, decisions must be made by May 1st) is a series of visits to those schools on my shortlist. This is the start of my Spring Break, so I’m planning to leave Tuesday to visit one (which exactly is up in the air because of not knowing about Swarthmore) and being gone for another week-and-a-half in mid-April to visit hopefully four more. Of course, that will mean missing a lot of school and play rehearsal, but this decision is so important that I want to have all the information and time I can get. I’ll spend about two days on each campus, including an overnight stay with a current student, which I think will give me a good sense of what it would be like to be there. I’m hoping that when I visit, one or a few of them will just feel more *right* compared to the others, like I belong there, and that will be the pool from which I make my final decision. It is a bit worrying that I might like all of them – or that none of them feels like it fits perfectly – but I’m hoping this does make some sorting easier.
Beyond all of my usual inputs into the decision, another factor – though it feels odd to even accept that such is the case – is my boyfriend. I’ve only posted about us a few times, but he and I have been in a long-distance relationship for four-and-a-half months now, and it’s been the happiest, most significant, most life-altering aspect of my senior year by far. My family and I visited him in February, and we spent our Sunday at the California Science Center – trust me, you guys would approve.
He’s also coming up here at the end of April for my prom! 
I digress, that belongs on R&R, but anyways, I love him very much, and I plan to continue dating him wherever we go to college. He’s from Southern California and will most likely go to UCLA.
As much as I care about him, I’ve always been told – “Don’t choose a college for your boyfriend! It’ll be a stupid decision! What if you break up?”, and I know that’s sage advice. He and I have talked all along – since before application deadlines, since before we started dating – that we’ll pick our colleges on our own and then see where that leaves us. I would never “follow” him to a school that wasn’t a good fit for me. At worst, that could cause me a lot of trouble later on, and a lot of resentment even if we stayed together.
All the same, is it okay that he’s a factor? Of the schools on my shortlist, only Pomona is in California, or even west of the Mississippi. There’s a huge difference between a relationship that’s Los Angeles-to-Claremont and one that’s coast-to-coast. Long-distance relationships are hard, even after less than five months, and even the little bit of time we’ve spent physically together has done wonders for us. Neither of us wants to spend the next four years seeing each other maybe every few months, on college student budgets and busy, potentially mismatched schedules. Instinctively, this feels like a time when we should be closing the distance, not moving farther apart. On that count, I can’t help preferring Pomona.
So, I guess what I’m asking is, is that okay? If things like food and weather can be factors, contributors to the quality of life that will make my life enjoyable for the next four years, can’t the location of my best friend? As I said earlier, I would not even be considering this if Pomona weren’t a great school on its own merits; as much as my heart wants to be completely biased, I’m definitely doing my research on all of the schools.
My current plan, then, is to do what I would do anyways: visit all the schools, stay overnight, get their feel, and see what feels like the right fit for me in every way. If Pomona is among the schools that meet that high standard, then I will let my boyfriend be the tiebreaker. If it isn’t, even with my bias towards seeing it in a positive light, then it definitely wasn’t the right school for me in the first place. In that way, I think I can be true to my own selection process as I’ve been meaning to do it all along, but allow that part of my heart to make the choice for me at the very last, when my brain and the rest of my heart have all said “yes”.
Cookies to anyone who read it all! I’d love to hear what any of you would have to say about any of this, whether that’s advice, agreements or disagreements with my thought process, additional perspectives, or just well-wishes. I hope I can figure this out!
Going to college is a really huge change. You’re living on your own for the first time, you’re surrounded by new people for the first time in a long while, you have all of these new options and new things to do and people to meet and the effect of this is that people change a lot in their first semester of college. Many high school relationships do not survive this change, especially newer ones. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I would recommend being very aware that this might happen to you.
That said, congratulations! You’ve got a lot of really great schools on your list. Academically, I feel like some of them might be more competitive/stressful/rigorous depending on viewpoint than others, especially depending on what field/s you’re interested in, but there will be great professors at any of those. My older brother went to Grinnell, majored in math and music with a minor in philosophy; he’s now living in Minneapolis churning out anarcho-radical-feminist-vegan black metal and somehow managing to support himself (his girlfriend, who also went to Grinnell doing math and dance, is I believe doing actuary work). That said, my brother is one of the weirdest people I know, so his path probably isn’t typical for an alumnus. (also, I believe that we used to have a muser back in the gaboomba era whose father was on faculty there) One of my best friends from high school went to Smith, majored in Chinese and Economics (she’s not a native chinese speaker) and spent her junior year in China; she graduated last year, is working for a think tank in DC this year.
Also, I agree that visiting colleges will really help you make your decision – I had a tough time deciding between my current school and Oberlin for undergrad, and while Oberlin would probably have been a good place for me, possibly the deciding factor was that I felt really alienated and out of place on my visit there (sorry, Jade), but felt really comfortable and welcomed at my current school – and I’ve never regretted that decision.
Hey Cat’s Meow, I have some specific information on some stuff here that I’m gonna put in the paleo thread if you wanna head over there to read it! But omg CONGRATS those are all wonderful schools!! :D/
First of all, congratulations on your many acceptances! Those are all great schools.
I think you are allowed to consider your signifiant other. I don’t know if it should be the overriding or most important factor, but I think you recognise that. I suppose just make sure you would really be happy at Pomona, even if the boyfriend didn’t exist in the first place, or (touch wood) ceases to be your boyfriend. If you would really want to go to Pomona anyway, then I wouldn’t see a problem in choosing it. That way, you won’t have even the possibility of regretting not choosing another college later on.
But well done for such well-deserved success!
Congratulations! I can’t say enough about how great Williams is, but you can’t go wrong with any of those.
Thank you everyone for your congratulations! I feel really lucky that everything has worked out so well for me.
Lizzie, thanks as well for your reminder about change in college affecting relationships. I know that if I go to Pomona, it will be affecting us double, because being geographically closer together will change our relationship as well, and any of those factors could pose trouble just as much as they could help. I’ll be sure to talk with him about such possible challenges so he’s very aware as well! Sel, you’re right, I’m trying to be very careful that my decision feels right with and without him in the equation. I can always count on you guys to be my reality check on such things, so thanks to all of you.
It’s my spring break, so I’m actually going to be visiting Pomona later this week! It really does seem like a place where I would be very happy, and I hope that impression holds after I spend more time on campus and around students. For now, I’m treating it as a working hypothesis. Even if I love Pomona, I may visit another few colleges later this month to compare and confirm that I really would be making the best choice for myself. As I said before, I don’t think I can make a wrong choice given my options, but I do want to consider multiple possibilities.
Were those additional visits the case, I’d probably visit Williams, Vendy! During my “spring break junior year” exploration last year, I did a soccer clinic there that allowed me to spend more time on campus than at I did at other schools, and since then, I’ve always been drawn there. WIlliams seems like another wonderful place, and it’s an honor to be accepted there. (Oh, and I also found out this afternoon that I was accepted at Swarthmore as well! Yay, I’m glad the last envelope is a fat one!)
So I’ve heard back from my grad schools (auditioning for Masters of Music in violin performance). I got a lot of results that I’m really happy about – re-accepted to CIM (where I currently go) to study with the concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, accepted at Juilliard, accepted at Mannes with a teacher I’m really excited about, all with really nice scholarships (oddly, I got rejected from one of my least competitive schools, which really puzzled both my teacher and the professor I applied to at that school [same as at Mannes], who, unprompted, sent me an email to let me know that she had accepted me into her studio and had no idea what happened). I should probably be happy about this, but it’s actually kind of stressing me out – I’d really really love to study with all of the teachers whose studios I got into, but I can only study with one, and so I’m going to have to turn down two people I’d really like to work with. I’m feeling like this is going to be my last degree, too, so that gives the decision a bit of an air of finality…
Congratulations Lizzie!
That’s absolutely amazing; I wish I had your talent. Good luck with making your decision but I’m sure you’ll have a great experience wherever you choose. It’s fantastic to have such a choice – I guess just go with whoever you think will be best for you!
Congratulations on getting into so many awesome places! I am, as ever, in awe of your skills, especially after 3 years of hearing my musically-inclined Oberlin friends talk about how much they work/practice/etc in attempts to get into those sorts of places.
I’m sure you’ll do AMAZING wherever you end up!! Choices are hard, especially when they are towards the end of a process, but I’m sure you’ll figure out the one that will be best for you. (And I am not even going to try to bribe you to stay in Ohio where I’ll be for one more year…)
That’s great to hear, Lizzie! Any more thoughts on the city you want to live in next ?
I sealed the envelope this evening on my deposit at Pomona.
Yay college!
Congratulations!
Congratulations Meow!
Congrats!
Congratulations
Registered online today with the universities admissions service in this country (UCAS for universities, CUKAS for music colleges). It’s all happening now. I was there yesterday for a history study day (which was fantastic) but I’m visiting the Oxford open days next week with my father, which I’m very excited for. Once I’m home this summer there will be books to be read and personal statements to be written for the beginning of next term/academic year. It feels almost momentous; though I’ve been thinking too much about it for months, this is it now; this is really happening.
What did you decide about academics vs music?
They’re two separate admissions processes, so I’m going to do both simultaneously. The way the system is, it shouldn’t be an overwhelming amount of work. At this stage I just don’t want to limit my options – if I don’t get any places for music, it’ll obviously be disappointing, but I’ll be able to accept the clear fact a career in music won’t be for me. For university, I’m applying to read History and Politics joint honours. I’d be very happy to study either – it’s a question of seeing first where I get places, really.
Today was my first day of college classes. I had English, Biology, and a lab for Chemistry. All of them went well; I got great first impressions of both the classes and the teachers. Tomorrow, though, I have College Algebra and the regular Chemistry class (I would have a lab for Biology, but we aren’t doing that this week) and I’ll see how I feel after the former.
Yesterday was orientation, and as part of it there was a lunch where the adviser for each department (one of the teachers of it) had a table. You could take your lunch to any one of the tables and eat with/talk to that adviser. Naturally, I chose to eat with the adviser for Biology. He’s pretty cool (and happens to be my teacher, though I didn’t know that at the time). Something I said must have impressed him, because as soon as I got to his class today, he walked over to me and offered me a Work-Study job for the two Biology classrooms!
This job is basically what I was hoping for but not expecting ever since I was on campus; I get extra experience, and I get paid for it! It’s not much, of course (and it’s mostly cleaning up and preparing the labs and grading papers for one of the teachers), but it has the added benefit of not requiring me to walk the mile and a half to the nearest off-campus corporate building in town to work – since I don’t drive. The thing is, I heard that the Work-Study positions were mostly full, and I had planned to go to the library later in the day to see if any were open. It turns out, that position had pretty much just opened at the first time I spoke to the Biology teacher who ended up offering it to me!
SFTDP. I think I made a good first impression on all of my teachers. My math teacher is soft-spoken, quirky, and possibly slightly insane (but not in a bad way!). He also likes whale sharks. One weird thing, though, is we aren’t allowed to use graphing calculators in his class. We have to use scientific calculators, but I’m not allowed to use the calculator that’s been required for every high school math class except Algebra 1.
I think they want to wean you off that sort of thing… We aren’t allowed to use calculators at all for exams.
Apparently, it’s just this one teacher who has that requirement. He says he does it to make sure we’re solving problems algebraically instead of using graphs, seeing as the class is College Algebra.
On a side note, though, I finally gave in and joined the GSA of the school I’m in (are you guys happy now?? Joking.), and he’s the faculty leader of it.
My college calculus course, we weren’t allowed to use any kind of calculator.
Same here. My professor kept claiming they were good for “target practice”.
I’m having doubts about my major.
It’s English, at the moment. And I’d like to stick with it, because it’s a really interesting subject. However, I’m under no illusions anymore about its usefulness in the job market, and so many of the authors I admire have gotten where they are with unrelated degrees, or no degrees, that I can’t consider it a prerequisite for my dream career!
So I’m considering minors and double majors. This is complicated by the fact that I don’t really have a career to fall back on, and there are no entry-level positions for “Author.” A good friend of mine recommends Business (eminently practical but dull, dull, dull) or Education (more attractive to my interests, but teaching — however rewarding — is a lot of work for very little pay).
Journalism’s the obvious path for writing as a career. I haven’t thought about it much, for reasons that are fairly flimsy when I examine them seriously. Science journalism is a fascinating field. (Some of the GAPAs may have sparked my interest in this path somewhat.) So I’m thinking about science majors/minors in particular, though there are some obstacles there — I’ve neglected math since senior year of high school.
And then there’s the fact that taking on a second major increases my unit load and decreases course flexibility. I’ve taken pretty minimal courseload last semester and this semester, and I’m not sure how well I’ll be able to handle stacking more on. I already plan to talk to an adviser about the work involved.
(For reference, I’m technically a college sophomore from high-school AP credit, even though this is only my second semester at university.)
TL;DR: HALP HOW DO I ADULT.
The advice I’ve gotten (being in my first semester of college myself) is: take the classes that sound the coolest from the most awesome professors you can find, and see where that gets you.
Imagine a shrieking eel from The Princess Bride combined with a sort of loud buzzing and you have the noise that fills my head when people ask me about college.
In other news, I need to pick out colleges to visit this spring. Right now, I’m looking for colleges with good programs for foreign languages and international relations. That could change, of course, but I figure it’s at least a good starting point. I want to get out of California, and would like to go somewhere with seasons that include snow and all that, if possible.
Can any of you suggest places for me to visit? I’m a bit stuck at the moment. I’ve given up searching for “good international relations programs” because it keeps turning up HarvardYalePrincetonColumbiaDartmouth, and I need to think of reasonable places to apply to; I have a lot of reaches.
Have you tried Macalester College? It is a small liberal arts school in St. Paul, MN with an international focus.
Macalester was what I first thought of but here are some other small liberal arts colleges. I’m not sure which ones are good at international things (take a look at the websites and see what kind of classes they offer/whether they offer classes on less taught regions.)
Colleges I applied to: Beloit College, Carleton College, Macalester College, Oberlin College, Reed College, Grinnell College
Colleges I did not apply to but have heard of/my friends have gone to: Hamilton College, Colby College, Coe College, Mount Holyoke College, Middlebury College, Colgate College, Warren Wilson College, Lewis and Clark College, The Evergreen State College, Whitman College, Hamline University, Augustana, Augsburg
I’m sure there are more and I’m sure there are more schools that aren’t small liberal arts colleges. Have you taken a look at the Fiske Guide to colleges? One thing I liked about that guide is that each college had a list of “similar” colleges in the back so you could sort of hop from school to school to school and find tons that way. You could also try the book Colleges That Change Lives. My old college, Beloit, is in there and the book is a good resource in general. Good luck! I’d be interested to know where you end up visiting.
Here in Washington, D.C., there are very good international-studies programs at Georgetown, George Washington, and American Universities. Being in a capital city has its advantages.
Definitely look at Middlebury College! It’s extremely well-known for foreign languages and international relations. (Many schools, including mine, send students with them for study abroad.) There are also seasons and snow in Vermont.
Thanks, all! I read up on the ones you suggested and added Lewis and Clark, Georgetown, and Middlebury to my list.
Audition on Friday, audition on Monday, audition on Tuesday, Oxford interviews from Wednesday to Friday.
See you all on the other side!
Good luck, Sel! Wow them with your sheer coolness.
Good luck!
Good luck!