College

[Eli]

I'm guessing this is a good forum to put this. I'm making the assumption most everyone here is either in middle or high school, and this topic will come up in the next few years, so I am going to share (aren't I a nice guy? LOL. Sorry, I digress) some information.

Unlike what your schools want you to believe, college is not for everybody. I know a validictorian who is not even going to college because it doesn't fit what he wants to do with his life. I am in my fifth year of college, and am discovering that a four-year school isn't getting me where I want to go, so I am going back to a two-year school and taking the remaining class I need to finish an Associates Degree I started before I transferred to the four-year school.
Is college an experience that is worth it? Yes, if you think it is truly what you want, as I did before experiencing it and finding out I didn't really want it. If I could do it over, would I do it again? No, I'll get my Associates Degree and get my drafting job that I want.

The reason I put this up now is because I am only 3 finals from being liberated from my college prison. And I will finish my degree and get the job that makes me happy, without a four-year degree.

[Genobee]

I dont know where im going to go........ i know i want to get into computer game design, and have been working twords it. I think brown looks promising.

[Eli]

That you will probably need to go to college for; it seems that all the computer design and program design field jobs require a degree. But that shouldn't require some of the classes I had to take, like upper level calculus and stuff like that. That sounds like something fun to do for a living, design games. And an advantage of being in the video game industry is that you are on the edge of technology, because games and computers evolve faster than most other segments of technology.

[Cassiel]

Hey, as long as we are sharing college information and tips, I have some stuff to say. I am going to a 4 year school, and because next week is finals week, I am ready to scream, but it isn't always this bad. I have lived on campus for the past year and a half, but I didn't my first year, so I know both sides of things.

If you do decide to go to college, live on campus if it's possible. Even though I live about 10-15 minutes away from school, I still decided to live on campus. Mainly because I don't drive, but that is not the point I am trying to make. You will meet more people if you dorm, you will have no choice. You will have a roommate, your roommate will have friends, so even if you become a hermit and hole yourself up in your room, people will still be around.

And I know that they will tell you this at your orientation, but it is true, get involved with things on campus. Even if you live at home or in an off campus apartment, do something on campus. Join a club, play a sport, anything. I am in drama club and chorus right now and things are a bit crazy this time of year, especially with finals coming up, but I love it. Just be careful with how much you do. I know someone who was in like 7 or 8 different organizations and it got to be too much and he had to drop like half of them.

Also, if you can, get a job. Even if your parents are going to be sending or giving you money, get one anyway. At some point they will stop, or you will run out of money. Plus it is nice to pick up that paycheck and know that it is your money and no one can tell you weeks later that you owe them money.

Ok, I should write a book. This is already becoming one. I will stop now

[kaone]

My whole plan was going to be to go to a college in Hawaii and become a teacher but then i heard Hawaii does not have very good school's so I was going to go somewhere else, teaching is the first job I was like positive I could get but what my real life goal is and has been is to play pro. soccer, I don't think I am very good at it now, thats why I am going to keep practicing and playing for school's but my other true love is drama, I have loved drama ever since I can remember and it would be the coolest thing in the entire world to be able to be an actor so that is what I am going for too, so my plan is changing, I also love computers so someone told me, it was my uncle I think that I should get a job working with and on computer's because I love them so much and am already on it all the time, so as you can see I am very undecided, but my 2 favorites are acting and soccer

[Eli]

Cass knows what my job did to me, in more ways than one (it's the reson I need knee surgery). But the thing about getting a job that needs to be added is that they need to make sure they know you are a student, so they don't schedule you for too many hours in a week. I was working about 30 hours a week for a few weeks up until just before Thanksgiving, and combined with 14 units in school and the fact that I sometimes had to go out to Orange County for work and never even got paid for it, nor did I count that as time worked, needless to say, I had too much on my plate. They just couldn't get anybody to help me. I have to go now (yes, work LOL) but if anyone wants to know the details, I will put them here later.

But that is one regret I have, is that I worked too much to be able to get involved in school. I was involved in 2 sports (at one point, I was playing in 3 sports at one time) in high school and that made things better.

[Eli]

I finally got my grades, which were very ugly, but I knew they were going to be. But still, it made me feel sick anyways. My GPA was 0.85. It was a frustrating experience, but I learned some stuff, so I guess it all worked out the way it was supposed to.

I do regret that from my second year of college on, I was never able to be in any sort of activity. I did football at a community college for a year, but me and one of my coaches didn't get along, so I quit so I wouldn't just knock his lights out at one point. But after that, I was usually busy trying to find work, and just struggling in my classes, until I started taking karate. But, other than football, I was never involved on campus, and even less so at Cal Poly Pomona because I was spending too much of my life working and doing homework. If I could do it again, I would find a way to work less and get more involved. It's lonely on campus when you aren't able to be involved and everyone else is; it's like life passes you by. Work hasn't allowed me to have much of a social life outside of school, and that made it even more miserable of an experience. So when someone tells you to become involved on campus, do it, it's the best thing you can do. You get networked and it makes school more fun, and even is good for your grades, as my grades playing football were better than when I wasn't, except when I took my almost all drafting class schedule.

But I did get my knee fixed. It turned out that the lining of my knee was folded, and that was why I had limited mobility and it was painful. But it's over, and I am on the way to healing again. My surgery was Tuesday afternoon, but I can already somewhat walk again. The bandages are off, and I am basically trying to get back to 100%.

I am also searching for a new job. My softball job is just wasting my time and money and it's just not something I look forward to anymore. I want something where I can help people with something. Just keeping score while they play softball isn't my idea of something that is helping. Oh well, that search continues.

[albhedchik]

hmm. . . interesting subject - i think i do know what i want to do though. i'm going to broadway and no one is stopping me^_^ i'v been theater for over 3 years already and i just landed another big part (not trying to brag or anything:-[) in the spring musical! which is going to be really super duper cool lol. anyways - in case i DONT make it to broadway i have a backup plan! im going to be a culinary professional (aka a chef!)
We've been talking about colleges ALL WEEK at school - becasue our consolers wanna drill it into our brain that we should go to college already (im a freshie in high school lol). its annoying as hell - but i know it'll help . . . i hope. . .

[Eli]

Honestly, college is a good way to go, don't get me wrong, but it isn't the only way to go, like counsellers like to push it as. Education is too expensive for what it is, college professors, for the most part, do not care about their teaching as much as their research or writing. I went to one of the top engineering schools in America for over a year, and I only had about 3 professors who seemed to care about the students they taught, and I had 1 of these professors twice. College isn't about your career path or goals. It is about survivng years of total garbage just to take about 30% of classes you will actually use. This quarter where I got the 0.85 was of all classes I did not need for my core classes for my major, but instead, support classes that really didn't lead anywhere.

Follow your dreams Rain, it's the best path. I wish I hadn't listened to everyone about the wonders and how great college is, because it has gotten me nowhere. But I stepped back, and am going to finish my Associates Degree in Drafting Technology and get a job as a CAD Drafter. A four-year university education isn't everything, nor is it the only thing, it is just a thing that gets some where they want to go and takes others further from that path.

[Siri Tachi]

So Ender you failed most of your classes? No offense but if you didn't pass then u didn't learn the material. You shouldnt blame school on that. Just because you didn't learn your stuf and pass doesn't make college bad.

But anyway. Im a senior. I'm going to a local community college next year and then I'm going to transfer to a 4 year college. I'm still undecided. I'm considering something with computers, like graphic design or something.

[Eli]

Siri - I'm the one who failed most of my classes, and you don't know the whole circumstances behind it. The material I didn't learn was very poorly taught, to the point where I couldn't learn it from the book because it never explained the material, and the professor did no better at teaching it, and I searched online for more material, where I found nothing useful. When some of your professors don't care, it does make college bad.

[Siri Tachi]

Well thats the difference between highschool and college, you should expect that when u start college.

[Eli]

Oh well, you'll have to experience it to understand. I'm in my 5th year of college. And community college was definately better because the material was actually taught to us and the professors weren't off chasing book deals.

[Siri Tachi]

Well everyone knows that the proffessors actually teach more in community colleges. Thats part of the reason Im going to a Community College for the first 1 or 2 years.

[Cassiel]

I think it all depends on the individual school you are going to. I don't go to a community college, but with the exception of a few problems, I have had great professors. I choose my school because it was (really really) small and has an amazing program for my major. Ummm.... I was going somewhere else with this, but it is too late to think. More later.