OT: College Advice
- Thread starter Griffinbw
- Start date
I Eat Crow
Fear The Mullet
- Jul 9, 2007
- 19,638
- 12,713
What I would give to be a junior in high school knowing what I know now with the world at my feet...
A lot of it depends on your academic interests, location, and personality. Do you want to blend in among a huge group and rush for a fraternity or do you want to go to a smaller school with lower student:faculty ratios and more of a personalized feel?
Take it from someone who's many years out of college already...just because you think that you want to do something going into college, doesn't mean that's what degree you're going to graduate with. I changed my major three times before I went to nursing school and graduated with my BSN. Wherever you go should offer you the flexibility to change majors without graduating late.
Tell me a little more about yourself and where you are and I can point you to some places that may suit you.
A lot of it depends on your academic interests, location, and personality. Do you want to blend in among a huge group and rush for a fraternity or do you want to go to a smaller school with lower student:faculty ratios and more of a personalized feel?
Take it from someone who's many years out of college already...just because you think that you want to do something going into college, doesn't mean that's what degree you're going to graduate with. I changed my major three times before I went to nursing school and graduated with my BSN. Wherever you go should offer you the flexibility to change majors without graduating late.
Tell me a little more about yourself and where you are and I can point you to some places that may suit you.
PlamsUnlimited
Big Church Bells
I did a lot of volunteer work so that was what helped me out even though my high school GPA was pretty high. Basically things that will show your responsibility/dedication to succeeding regardless of what school you want to go to. And definitely research places with good programs and strong supplemental help if needed.
So a little about myself:
From just outside Atlanta (but have no interest in staying here)
Definitely looking for something on the smaller side, under 15,000 students or so.
Academically strong. Top 10 in my class. Like being challenged.
My parents would like me to stay on the east coast.
I play lacrosse and shoot shotguns competitively. Definitely not going anywhere too far in lacrosse, but would love to continue shooting through college whether it be club or NCAA.
Sort of an introvert so a huge on campus social scene isn't much of a big deal, I'd rather sit in and watch hockey or learn something new than go party.
Not much else to me. Anything else you want to know?
Machinehead
GoAwayTrouba
Enjoy yourself.
Sure, be responsible, but enjoy yourself. Make friends, try new things, keep yourself busy, join clubs, MAKE FRIENDS, volunteer, take a fun elective, for Christ's sake make friends, and find enjoyable ways to build your resume.
When it's over and you have to go to work and be part of the real world, it's just not the same. You've got the next 40 years to be miserable
It's the best time of your life.
I spent six years at college doing a double major. My first four years I was a hermit. I went to school and I went home. I wasted it. The last two years I joined clubs and started socializing. It was the best two years of my life and I'd give ANYTHING to have those first four years back.
I still have fun but now I have business and money to worry about and it's just not the same.
Sure, be responsible, but enjoy yourself. Make friends, try new things, keep yourself busy, join clubs, MAKE FRIENDS, volunteer, take a fun elective, for Christ's sake make friends, and find enjoyable ways to build your resume.
When it's over and you have to go to work and be part of the real world, it's just not the same. You've got the next 40 years to be miserable
It's the best time of your life.
I spent six years at college doing a double major. My first four years I was a hermit. I went to school and I went home. I wasted it. The last two years I joined clubs and started socializing. It was the best two years of my life and I'd give ANYTHING to have those first four years back.
I still have fun but now I have business and money to worry about and it's just not the same.
If you're a good test taker. Get your suit on, it's Showtime. Take the ACT and SAT. Ace that ****. If you're the real deal you'll get into a lot of good colleges provided you apply.
Apply to the right ones for you.... not what everyone else wants... This is big kid.
Volunteer and feel good work always looks great, but that's there to enhance kid's with lower grades chances... it's not a huge difference maker unless the competition at a school is super high.
You can bank on athletics plus high grades and manage your time better. Those test scores open the door.
Apply to the right ones for you.... not what everyone else wants... This is big kid.
Volunteer and feel good work always looks great, but that's there to enhance kid's with lower grades chances... it's not a huge difference maker unless the competition at a school is super high.
You can bank on athletics plus high grades and manage your time better. Those test scores open the door.
My test scores are good enough for pretty much all schools thankfully. My issue is I've only got 3-5 extracurriculars including past jobs (no one ever told me I needed those things). Pretty much at a loss for how to make up those lost years of resumé fluff, and the tier of schools im aiming for virtually require them. Thinking about starting a business or some sort of charity this summer but I don't think it'll be enough. Ideas?
Hunter Gathers
The Crown
Yup. I've got friends with 15-20 and grades/scores similar to mine. The competition is insane these days. If you're not saving the world you're not good enough for the top schools.
Machinehead
GoAwayTrouba
Right, you have to have all these great grades and all these EC's, and then you leave school, and the people hiring don't care. All they want is experience that you literally can't get because you're too busy having perfect grades and EC's for an education that doesn't get you anything.
This generation is ****ed.
That's why I'm in the process of starting my own business. I have no faith in this job market.
Haha amen. I chose to take internships and do community service rather than ECs. Hoping it pays off in the long run.
Machinehead
GoAwayTrouba
Internships are great. Landed me my first job.
Granted, the job sucked and it wasn't what I wanted to do long-term, but internships are the only way to get in these days.
aufheben
#Norris4Fox
I also would have learned absolutely nothing if I had a smart phone in highschool lol.
I Eat Crow
Fear The Mullet
- Jul 9, 2007
- 19,638
- 12,713
Not too many schools in the Northeast have rifle or shooting teams, but plenty have lacrosse programs. Even if you're not all pro, many programs have club teams or intramurals that are a ton of fun.
It sounds like small to moderate sized liberal arts schools are a good fit. Volunteering your time never hurts. I'm not saying to go out and get a full time job in addition to school, but admissions counselors will be looking and seeing what you're doing with your spare time outside of school.
Most important of all though, have fun. Don't be an introvert and have some conversations with people that you'd never think you'd get along with. You'd be surprised at how many people feel the same way and are looking to make new friends. You can do what you like to do, but try new things as well. I never thought that joining my school's improv troupe would be my thing, but some of my fondest memories from college are those associated with improv and people I've met from there.
Hell, even if college doesn't work out too well, the people that did enough to get through college but won't cut it in the post-grad world go down the gutter along with the other things that aren't worth your time.
Unless you're looking to get a job with a Fortune 500 company right out of school, a 4.0 GPA doesn't mean much if you have nothing else to show for it. Network your ass off and get good to decent grades, but make sure that you surround yourself with good people and close friends along the way, that way you can tell people in your situation years later about your experiences
Pavel Buchnevich
Drury and Laviolette Must Go
I can't even imagine applying to colleges now. I was applying like three years ago, and from what I hear, its gotten so much harder. I'd try the best I can to help with how to improve your resume, but I had trouble with the same things. I am not the person to ask. The best advice I would give is don't try to give the same answers that everyone you know is giving. If you have something different about yourself to add to a college essay or your resume, add it. Colleges want people who meet requirements, but they appreciate people who just don't give the same canned answers. Obviously don't put anything crazy on your resume, but if you can add something different to your resume, do so.
Regardless of your personalty, I would suggest to attend a smaller college. Even small colleges are a big change from high school in the amount of people at school. Its not like high school where you'll see your buddy every hour and have a chat in the hallway. There are just so many people, even at smaller colleges. College is nothing like high school in schedules, how everything is situated, the environment to socialize. I felt like I knew the faces of just about everyone in my high school and had some idea of who people in my grade and the one above and under me was. I felt very comfortable in my surroundings in high school. I went to a pretty average sized high school in an average sized town. I am in general a pretty boisterous, outgoing person, thats my personality, but in college, just the sheer amount of strangers you will see on a daily basis and interact with will be uncomfortable, and will really individualize things for you and your friends. You don't know everyone around you, you'll begin to narrow your social focus and even outgoing people will feel uncomfortable in situations you wouldn't have encountered in high school.
I'm also not trying to say you'll dislike it. You'll make friends, you'll get into a routine, you'll figure things out, but whether you go to a big or small college, you will feel overwhelmed with the sheer amount of people who you don't know around you on a daily basis and it'll change your interactions. You'll have your friends you made who were originally strangers, but then you'll have to interact with a lot of strangers who you probably won't become friends with, and its nothing besides awkward and difficult. Even if you weren't friends with someone where you lived in high school, you probably knew them. You could have normal conversations without being feeling uncomfortable. Its not a comfortable situation seeing and interacting with so many strangers, but you'll adjust to it. I tend to think that people who come from big cities adjust to that better.
With your school work, 95% of getting good grades will be on you. In high school, there's really a lot of help to do well, its very different in college. In some classes, the only graded work a whole semester is a few tests. A lot of teachers don't take attendance, a lot of them won't get to know you, a lot don't care if you do the work. They'll give you the syllabus, and you'll be expected to follow it, if you want to do well. This is especially true in introductory classes at the beginning of your time in college. I try as much as I can to not take classes with hundreds of people. It really isn't easy. Teachers will get to know you better, help you more, you'll feel more comfortable in smaller classes. It might seem easier to take these big classes where the professor won't be able to check if you attend regularly or if you are regularly doing your work, but I think your grades, work ethic and comfort will really benefit from choosing smaller classes. It's also good to get to know your teachers, you never know when you'll need a reference or maybe you'll get a really good professor, and you can take more of their classes.
I don't know if the things I just said are helpful or just frightening. These are things I'd want someone to have told me my first semester. The first few days you have no clue what you've gotten yourself into, but you'll adapt. Things are very difficult at first, but it gets easier, and you find a routine. I enjoy a lot of aspects, but its stressful. Things matter, you have to work harder. You'll force yourself to work harder, you'll start figuring things out in a number of different areas much better than in high school. High school will seem so trivial. You'll mature. There are probably some people who haven't matured, but almost everyone I know has, and I feel like I have as well.
Regardless of your personalty, I would suggest to attend a smaller college. Even small colleges are a big change from high school in the amount of people at school. Its not like high school where you'll see your buddy every hour and have a chat in the hallway. There are just so many people, even at smaller colleges. College is nothing like high school in schedules, how everything is situated, the environment to socialize. I felt like I knew the faces of just about everyone in my high school and had some idea of who people in my grade and the one above and under me was. I felt very comfortable in my surroundings in high school. I went to a pretty average sized high school in an average sized town. I am in general a pretty boisterous, outgoing person, thats my personality, but in college, just the sheer amount of strangers you will see on a daily basis and interact with will be uncomfortable, and will really individualize things for you and your friends. You don't know everyone around you, you'll begin to narrow your social focus and even outgoing people will feel uncomfortable in situations you wouldn't have encountered in high school.
I'm also not trying to say you'll dislike it. You'll make friends, you'll get into a routine, you'll figure things out, but whether you go to a big or small college, you will feel overwhelmed with the sheer amount of people who you don't know around you on a daily basis and it'll change your interactions. You'll have your friends you made who were originally strangers, but then you'll have to interact with a lot of strangers who you probably won't become friends with, and its nothing besides awkward and difficult. Even if you weren't friends with someone where you lived in high school, you probably knew them. You could have normal conversations without being feeling uncomfortable. Its not a comfortable situation seeing and interacting with so many strangers, but you'll adjust to it. I tend to think that people who come from big cities adjust to that better.
With your school work, 95% of getting good grades will be on you. In high school, there's really a lot of help to do well, its very different in college. In some classes, the only graded work a whole semester is a few tests. A lot of teachers don't take attendance, a lot of them won't get to know you, a lot don't care if you do the work. They'll give you the syllabus, and you'll be expected to follow it, if you want to do well. This is especially true in introductory classes at the beginning of your time in college. I try as much as I can to not take classes with hundreds of people. It really isn't easy. Teachers will get to know you better, help you more, you'll feel more comfortable in smaller classes. It might seem easier to take these big classes where the professor won't be able to check if you attend regularly or if you are regularly doing your work, but I think your grades, work ethic and comfort will really benefit from choosing smaller classes. It's also good to get to know your teachers, you never know when you'll need a reference or maybe you'll get a really good professor, and you can take more of their classes.
I don't know if the things I just said are helpful or just frightening. These are things I'd want someone to have told me my first semester. The first few days you have no clue what you've gotten yourself into, but you'll adapt. Things are very difficult at first, but it gets easier, and you find a routine. I enjoy a lot of aspects, but its stressful. Things matter, you have to work harder. You'll force yourself to work harder, you'll start figuring things out in a number of different areas much better than in high school. High school will seem so trivial. You'll mature. There are probably some people who haven't matured, but almost everyone I know has, and I feel like I have as well.
Last edited:
Steve Kournianos
@thedraftanalyst
1. Budget your time. Party hard when it's time to party. Don't get sucked in to too much activity. Allocate weekdays where you and you only go to the library and get all your real work done. Don't party before finals. Ever.
2. Don't schedule morning classes. Take classes that meet 3 hours once a week over three times a week for an hour. And never, ever take classes on Friday. Ever.
3. Make friends with people who have goals and aren't there just to mess around. You need buffers to make sure you don't make catastrophic, life-changing decisions
4. Live off campus and dont pay for the student meal plan. It's a ripoff. Learn how to cook, buy groceries and do your own laundry before you leave home.
5. Join a club or group. I wrote for the student paper. A zillion things to be a part of but don't get consumed by it or your grades will suffer.
6. If you live in the dorms, prepare for the worst as in you might have a horrible roommate. If you have a crappy roommate, he/she will always be crappy. They wont change. Just avoid them and only interact with them if you have to. Better to make friends ASAP and go all in to rent a house/apt together.
2. Don't schedule morning classes. Take classes that meet 3 hours once a week over three times a week for an hour. And never, ever take classes on Friday. Ever.
3. Make friends with people who have goals and aren't there just to mess around. You need buffers to make sure you don't make catastrophic, life-changing decisions
4. Live off campus and dont pay for the student meal plan. It's a ripoff. Learn how to cook, buy groceries and do your own laundry before you leave home.
5. Join a club or group. I wrote for the student paper. A zillion things to be a part of but don't get consumed by it or your grades will suffer.
6. If you live in the dorms, prepare for the worst as in you might have a horrible roommate. If you have a crappy roommate, he/she will always be crappy. They wont change. Just avoid them and only interact with them if you have to. Better to make friends ASAP and go all in to rent a house/apt together.
Machinehead
GoAwayTrouba
Can't emphasize this enough.
Campus closes at bumble**** o'clock and there's nothing to do or eat.
If you dorm, make it a point to go out off campus on Fridays.
North Carolina State University, Raleigh.
Very strong business program. It does veer to the tech side of the business world, as State is more of a tech school.
Only thing is it's a bit bigger than 15,000. It does have a strong rifle team.
I think there is still a lacrosse club.
You have the Hurricanes, and a State club hockey team.
Hunter Gathers
The Crown
Why would you NOT schedule morning classes? It depends solely on if you are a morning person or an evening person. I loved my 8AM classes in undergrad and law school.
Re: Fridays -- This shouldn't be what you focus on first year/semester. Just don't focus on it that much. The next year, though? Yeah, totally agreed. My final two years of law school, I never had class more than three days a week. My final semester (when I was still taking 16 credits), I had class Tuesday and Wednesday. Basically did an 8-6 day those days, but I had a five day weekend every week!
I love the 3-hour classes for sure. Just make sure you have a snack or a drink during them. I'd normally fall asleep at the 2-hour mark.
SingnBluesOnBroadway
Retired
Not sure that's necessarily true anymore. Schools look at more than just test scores. But they do use them as a way to do a fast weed-out. They will then look closer at the candidate—where they're from, what their interests are, what he or she can add to the school.
I found that the essays are important. In most cases, they are the only way to share who you are and give the schools a good idea about you are a person.
SingnBluesOnBroadway
Retired
SingnBluesOnBroadway
Retired
Hunter Gathers
The Crown
Way too many schools out there, too, to ever make a statement on this. Although I've noticed Dartmouth grads tend to be annoying. Never met one that wasn't.
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