Maybe it's been mentioned elsewhere but I've missed it. I want to know more about you as a person. What were your SAT scores? Do you have a backup plan if Oxford doesn't work out? Are you applying more places than oxford? What US college would you most want to go to for your Hellenistic interests?
Are your parents helping you out with college or are you going to have to deal with student loans and/or scholorships Are they going to help you head to England to check out Oxford before you apply?
What are you doing for your summer? Summer job? or just chilling on the internet?
To return the favor I'll attempt to answer any personal questions you ask me within the rules of the fora.
AJ
[ July 28, 2006, 05:03 PM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
He's a rising junior, iirc, so I don't believe he's taken the SATs yet. I'd be interested in hearing the answers to the other questions as well, and am likewise willing to share about myself.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Rising junior? I take it that means he'll be a junior in the fall, and isn't in a hot air balloon.
Never heard that term before, guess my lack of high school had me missing that one.
AJ
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
I have no idea about its usage in high school, I first heard it in college, and mainly see it in regards to internship and contest requirements as a way of clearly distinguishing the eligible.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
*grin* well I'm glad that term was nowhere to be seen on one of my internship applications. Wouldn't have gotten accepted otherwise.
AJ
Posted by Dr Strangelove (Member # 8331) on :
While you're answering questions Pel, I'll ask again, have you read "The Sea Wolf"? I think you would really like it. If you haven't and you would be remotely interested, email me your address and I'll send it to you for a birthday present.
Posted by Pelegius (Member # 7868) on :
Dr S, no I have not. I may just buy a copy though. (sorry, I don't think e-mailing my address, which is shared, would be a good idea, as it might raise questions from my family.)
"Are you applying more places than oxford?" I am applying to St. John's College (a fail-safe school), Oxford, Durham, King's College London (a teacher's alma mater, his recommendation should work well), Trinity College Dublin, University of Edinburgh and possibly also to Brown, Swathmore and Columbia, but I don't think I can get into any of those.
My parents will doubtless help me in the application process as much as would be proper, i.e. offering moral support and buying plane tickets to interviews.
I expect to pay for college through a series of academic scholarships from independent groups and through some money my grandfather set aside with the express intent that it be used for tuition.
This summer, I am doing school work (six weeks of religion, independent study A.P. Comparative Politics annd Human Geography), learning lines for a play, going to Indiana for the National Latin Convention and to Nova Scotia with my family. Next summer, I plan to intern at the local art museum.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Hey, cool, I'm going to Nova Scotia in September! I've never been there before. . . have you? Are you touring, or visiting friends/relatives?
Posted by Dr Strangelove (Member # 8331) on :
Cool
Posted by Pelegius (Member # 7868) on :
No, I have never been to Nova Scotia and I have no relatives or friends there. I am not quite sure why my family choose to go there specifically, but we are, as a family, very proud of are pseudo-Canadianess (my aunt is a Canadian citizen and my uncle was a resident of Canada at a time when his own country rejected him). Besides which, it should be mercifully colder than South Texas.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Why are you so sure St. John's will let you in? They look pretty selective to me. Which campus would you want to attend, the Anapolis one or the Santa Fe one?
/Random/ I hated, hated, hated college application essays, was looking over St. John's webpage and very glad I don't have to deal with those anymore.
Also, if they do early admissions at St. John's why not go now? Or plan to go next year, and skip your senior year. From what you've said it doesn't sound like you'll actually need it that much from an adademic standpoint.
You haven't asked me any questions about myself... anything you'd like to know?
AJ
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Oh yeah, one other question, have you toured any campuses yet? It isn't too soon, and you really should try to tour one public U and one private liberal arts U for the contrast, so you can make the best decision.
AJ
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Yeah, actually visiting the schools made a huge difference for me. I also think you should consider going early. I had the opportunity to go right out of middle school and later was invited to go right after junior year of high school, and I really wish I'd done it.
-pH
Posted by Pelegius (Member # 7868) on :
BannaOJ, St Johns is prestigious but actually accepts around 80% of applicants (from a very small pool of people who are willing to work that hard in such a specific program for four years.) My guess is that the 20% they turn down are generally those who like the idea of a college without tests or quizzes which does not require SAT scores, without realizing that the curriculum is quite strenuous and that they put a lot of store in that long application essay.
I would probably start out at the Santa Fe campus but spend two years at each.
I have toured Baylor and U.T. and talked to the head of Classics at Trinity (San Antonio, not Dublin) and deans from Columbia and St Johns, and was fairly impressed, especially by U.T. , Columbia and St Johns (A professor at Baylor recommended Princeton.)
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
St. John's takes seriously the motto that the best education the best would have for their children is the education that should be offered to everyone.
They make the application tedious, but they pride themselves on letting in the people who complete it. I've have met some fantastic graduates from the St. John's schools, with only one outlier.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Awesome. I didn't realize you mean Trinity in San Antonio. Things make more sense now. UT is a big state school though, and Baylor is still in the Big 12. I went to a large state school (actually U of Oklahoma), and one thing that is definitely nice about a large University, is that you aren't stuck with the same people all the time. You have the opportunity for variety if you want it.
In a small liberal arts place they are much more close-knit, but it can also lead to social cliques that you are kind of SOL if you don't jive. I take it you want the close knit experience? I mean you can have the close knit experience at a large U, you don't even necessarily have to go looking for it, sometimes it comes to you.
For me it actually did come down to money. I could go to the U of Oklahoma for free, or have my parents put themselves in hock to pay for Stanford. I did major in chemical engineering, but sucessfully masquraded as a history major on several occasions. One history prof told me he would have published my term paper if I had been majoring in any discipline other than engineering.
As I mentioned, I didn't go to high school. I was homeschooled, then I took the SATs in 7th grade and scored high enough that St. John's would have taken me at 13. But my parents didn't want to let their baby girl go, so I went to the local community college from ages 13 to 18, at which point I went to the U of Oklahoma on a National Merit Scholarship. I got a perfect score on the verbal section of the SAT but my dad got mad at me when I didn't get a perfect score on the math section too.
Even though some of my familial relationsihps are rather dysfunctional (my grandmother thinks that all female engineers are sluts and have to sleep with professors in order to pass clases because of course they couldn't actually learn calculus on their own) I did have loads of academic freedom to take classes that actually interested me at the community college.
I've got enough units in music that had they all been at the same school I'd have had a minor in it. I also took chemistry because I wanted to and not because I had to. It made a lot of difference in my enjoyment of it, I think. Although the nicknames like "that Doogie Howser girl" did get to me after a while. I guess that's why I identify so strongly with Ender, because even being a minor genius/prodigy, really sucks at times.
AJ
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Oh yeah... what play?
AJ
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
I think "Doogie Howser" would be an awesome nickname, personally.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Yeah, and it was meant as a compliment. The nickname was given to me by Pete, one of the most brilliant guys I've ever had the priveledge of knowing (although Tom Davidson is right up there on that list too) I don't know how to entirely explain it. I mean I was a 14 year old girl, and I was surrounded by 18-22 year olds.
But having everyone point you out as the resident "child genius" does get old after a while. The label blinds people to the person underneath. Although in Pete's defense even though he gave me the nickname he did know the real me as well.
Pete is also responsible for giving me the highest compliment in my life simultaniously with the most embarrasing moment of my life, as only the agony of 16 year old embarrasing moment can be.
Even my latest AJ debacle of accidentally dialing 911 while trying to make a conference call was nowhere near as embarrasing as the way Pete put me on the spot in that calculus classroom a decade ago.
AJ
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
I may have described this before, but now I feel obligated to explain My Most Embarrasing Moment Ever. I know some of you probably already know it, but oh well.
Thankfully most of you guys are nerds and geeks so you may understand, but the exquisite agony of it all is hard to explain.
So, I'd actually known Pete for a couple years at this point. I'm now 16. I'm in the last semester of Calculus before DiffEq. I'm the only girl. Now I have to explain about this class. You see I grew up in Southern California. For some reason Southern California really does have a higher proportion of Beautiful People than the rest of the world. This particular class still has the highest density of gorgeous geeks I have ever seen. They were all surfers and jocks in addition to being wicked smart.
They were also all in their 20s and knew I was jailbait. So no matter how much I drooled at attractive manflesh, I was the kid sister, because that was the only relationship that made sense for all of us. They did accept me as one of them despite this, which was a good educational experience for learning how guys actually think.
So Pete was actually at the top of the calculus class. It would tick me off because I'd teach him everything he needed to know in our study group the night before and then he'd kick my butt on the tests. I was either 2nd or 3rd in the class but he'd get hundreds.
So our prof is up at the board, and spewing out equations. He was generally a fabulous teacher, but he'd managed to lose everyone that day. Our eyes had glazed over, and he happily turns around to the class (he had this funny little hop he'd use) and goes "So what would you do next?!"
*dead silence*
Into that silent void, Pete mouths off, "Ask A.J.!"
It was one of those moments when you knew every eye was on you (not to mention they were all brilliant gorgeous guys and I'm a scrawny ill dressed 16 year old girl) I sat in the front row about in the middle, and it was just awful.
I turned a shade of beet red that I have thankfully never been since (sunburns and all) I wanted to melt into my chair. I know it was a compliment, and I shouldn't have been so embarrased, but I was. The prof is also looking at me expectantly too, to come up with something brilliant. However he saw the waves of color come up into my face and I think he realized how embarrased I was. I stammered something incoherent out, and he managed to run with it and get back to the lesson.
But that agonizing *moment* was exactly the stuff of nightmares. Even if it was one of the highest compliments I've ever gotten from one of the most brilliant guys I've ever known.
AJ
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Ok fugu, since I've rambled on about me, you've got to share something a bit personal, so that Pelegius will feel at home, and we'll learn more about him too.
What was your most embarrasing high school age moment?
AJ
Posted by ladyday (Member # 1069) on :
This thread was a good idea . There's something very 'old school hatrack' about it...and before I get jumped on for being one of those people that always goes on about 'the good old days' let me just say that I don't mean anything negative by that; just that hatrack has grown so big that I think it's harder to slow down and just chat than it used to be.
In any case, in the interest of fairness I'll say that I'm lurking and will share if there are questions/requests...
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
quote:Even my latest AJ debacle of accidentally dialing 911 while trying to make a conference call was nowhere near as embarrasing as the way Pete put me on the spot in that calculus classroom a decade ago.
*strips AJ of 'Doogie Howser' moniker*
Just joking. That wouldn't make the top 10 on the list of stupid things I've done.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
AJ, I had not heard that tale before, but I completely get where you are coming from with it.
I am pretty smart, although not quite that smart, and even I have had a few moments like that. Being that much younger only made it even more embarrassing, I bet.
Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
Ladyday drops it old school style.
It is a good thread, if only for the fact that it brought ladyday out of the woodwork for three seconds. Where have you been the last few years?
That does sound like an tough moment, Banna, but I don't think it would make my list of stupid moments in life. I will open myself up to questions as well, so long as you don't ask my most embarrasing moment because I honestly can't think of the answer.
In the meantime, I'll ask Kwea how his pool skills have been doing lately, because I have always been impressed by those who can shoot some good pool.
--ApostleRadio
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
Whatever happened with that stolen que (SP?) Kwea? I think I missed the resolution of that.
quote:*dead silence*
Into that silent void, Pete mouths off, "Ask A.J.!"
Definately been there. Where you know it's a compliment, but you don't have an answer just then... or you do but you didn't want to answer that question. All eyes on you... Not. Fun.
I was in a similar position myself, when I took calculus. Not as bad. I was in AB Calc with a bunch of seniors my sophmore year as a little (as in 5 feet tall) geeky kid. But I had two other sophmores with me at the time, and I was an old sophmore (16). So it wasn't as bad. It was definately us sophmores answering the questions the whole time.
Oh and open to questions in the spirit of the thread and all that jazz.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I missed the resolution as well....because there hasn't been any.
The DA still hasn't issued a warrent, of all things. I just spoke to a Detective about it, and he is looking into putting some pressue on her for me.
I am shooting pool about once a month, so it is fair. At best.
Thanks for asking though. If you ever make it down here to FL let me know, I will gladly "teach" you a bit. Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
That sounds suspiciously like an offer to soundly beat me.
--ApostleRadio
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
I had a chance to go to college early, but looking back, I'm really glad that I waited until after I graduated HS. I had a blast in college, but if I had been a couple years younger, it would have been a lot less fun. Later before I could have gone to the bars with friends, less mature than my classmates, etc.
Maturity and wisdom are some of the things you can't rush. It doesn't hurt to have a little more before going into a major growth experience.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
That worked for you because you enjoyed high school, MightyCow. For some bright kids, high school is constant torture -- and for them, skipping works well. Especially if they are highly social (sounds like you were social, with the bars w/friends things and all)
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Yeah, my parents convinced me to go to high school because they said it would be better than middle school.
At least in middle school, the administration didn't accuse me of wearing clothing "that will incite violence." Whatever that means. And I still had like, two friends who gave a crap.
I hated high school, and I really wish I hadn't gone.
-pH
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
I've been thinking about it and even though it had its drawbacks, I was probably better off at the community college than a high school. Not just academically but socially.
In high school, a) I wouldn't have been academically challenged and b) I would have been a social outcast. The social outcast probably wouldn't have been due to my personality though. It would have been due to my clothes.
You see, my parents were fiscally conservative, if not downright cheap. I never got new clothes, always handmedowns from church friends. My mother's family had 7 kids and that was how they lived too, so she didn't see anything wrong with it. I don't think it would have changed had I gone to regular school, considering that she is just generally fashion oblivious, so why should any of her children care?
Fortunately in CA grunge is an acceptable form of dress, but even then I still didn't dress properly. I know it was more overlooked at the community college than it would have been in a high school.
I'm pretty sure I've mentioned the gang shoes before. I was told to pick out a shoe under X$$ so I picked out the most comfortable pair I could in the bargian store. Unbeknownst to me, that particular shoe type identified one as a local gang member. An enlightened soul on my swim team informed me that they were gang shoes and I believed them and went back to my old worn out pair of shoes.
Soon Mom yelled at me cause I'd stopped wearing my "good new shoes". We had a pretty rip-roaring fight, because she didn't believe me that they were actually gang shoes. She didn't even really think there was any such thing as "gang shoes". Dad came home in the middle of the fight and managed to arbitrate somehow to get her to give me the benefit of the doubt that I might be right.
Mom still thought it was utterly preposterous and was in a total snit. Fortunately the next day Dad talked to people at work who had kids in middle and high school, and they backed me up. Dad called in the middle of the day (something he rarely did) to tell Mom I'd been right. I think she did apologize sort of, and I eventually got new non-gang shoes.
She still thinks the concept is preposterous and has actually purchased gang shoes for herself at various times. Thankfully I'm fairly certain that the gangs can figure out that this 50 year old fashion disaster, has no clue that her puke green shoes identify her as a Crip. And she doesn't tie the laces in the custom knots so she's probably safe.
AJ
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
*waves* hi ladyday! What have you been up to IRL?
I've recently taken up drop-spindle spinning, and now to use up the yarn I've been making I've been teaching myself how to use a knitting loom. We'll see how long this hobby lasts. I got burned out on cross stitch a while back. I'm also still training and showing my Cardigan Corgis, and we recently remodelled our bathroom.
How's your life?
AJ
Posted by kwsni (Member # 1831) on :
You ought to get a long haired dog, then you could spin the dog hair!
Ni!
Posted by ladyday (Member # 1069) on :
AR, I'm blushing here! Good to see you too.
I've been around for the past couple years, just finding less and less time for posting. After doing some job hopping with varying levels of internet access and spending my computer time playing online games, I fell very much out of the loop and getting back into it feels like trying to get into double dutch jump roping. I do read when there's time (and lately I have a bit more) but am not so much a part of things, if I ever was . I still like to listen though, and I did miss running mafia games enough to start them up on another, smaller forum.
pH, am I misremembering or was this the same guy that blamed sexual harrassment on the way you dressed? He sounds like a real tool in any case, I just seem to vaguely remember a story there. *grins* I always liked your clothes, I remember when you used to post links to those new fangled bondage pants back when no one knew what they were...
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Oh, people blamed all sorts of things on the way I dressed. The (female) guidance counselor is the one who said that my clothing would incite violence. There is also the time they sent me to the school psychiatrist because I got upset that the dean yelled at me for "wearing blue denim" (a big no-no at our school) when I was, in fact, wearing dark blue, comfy nylon pants. Which I showed him. And although he knew he was wrong, he continued to yell at me because "it looked like denim." Said psychiatrist decided that I was paranoid because I thought the dean was picking on me.
Y'know, I don't think I ever said anything to them about this because it would've gotten me into even more trouble, but...seriously, if anyone really thought I was dangerous and going to bring a gun to school, why would they go out of their way to pick on me and make me feel alienated? I mean, isn't that the stupidest thing you could possibly do, if you honestly believed that someone was a threat? Not that I ever was. That just confused me to no end, though.
-pH
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Acually the friend that took Knuckles is considering spinning the dog hair. You can mix it in with wool to get it to spin better. I have another online acquiantance that does with her Cardi too. Knuckles Mom has managed to color-coordinate all of her cats and her dog to a similar shade of orange so she may attempt a mixed dog and cat hair spin.
AJ
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
quote:In high school, a) I wouldn't have been academically challenged
I found that a healthy dose of laziness is a great answer to this concern.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
True, JT. Except that then it can be hard to kick the laziness routine when you advance into more challenging stuff later in life Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
eh, my parents always thought I was lazy and didn't apply myself as it was.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Hey Fugu, what's CC up to these days?
AJ
Posted by ladyday (Member # 1069) on :
I’m sorry AJ, I missed your post up there! The spinning sounds interesting – my art project as of late is learning Chinese calligraphy (the kid being interested in all things Chinese). I also recently did some home things, though nothing on the scale of remodeling. I decided to take the summer off working and am enjoying spending it with the kid. We visit a lot of parks and do nature things when we’re not at the library or ‘going calling’ as she likes to call it.
In other news, I’ve sort of done some major lifestyle changes in other ways as well. Cutting the general family stress was just one thing….basically I went from a work – a – holic night owl with a six pack a day diet pepsi habit and a pack and a half a day smoking habit –and- a massive junk food monkey on my back to keep those first two company… to a non smoking stay at home mom who eats her five fruits and veggies a day and only drinks caffeine on special occasions. So it’s been…a little strange. I know old timers at hatrack have heard me claim attempts at quitting smoking before…this time was different and I really believe it’s going to stick.
So, that’s life *smiles*
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
FG, I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about.
>_>
<_<
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Congratulations ladyday!!!!
AJ
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
Ladyday,
Hey, suger, it sounds like you are all grown up. Now it's time for you to brag about your kid. I'm only going to ask once, but I. Will. Have. My. Madison. Story.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Hey Pelegius, have you considered early admissions to college after your junior year of high school? Would your parents go for it?
What made you choose Pelegius as your screen name? (I confess I have no idea what the word means, but it sounds vagulely greek watergod-ish)
BannaOj is a convolution of my real names and nicknames. My real name is Anna Bonnie Jo, I'm generally called A.J. or Anna Jo. I have at various times been called "Banana" and "O.J." also, and the nicknames plus the screen name led to the further nickname "Juice".
Banana was for the glow in the dark, highlighter yellow swimsuit I wore on the swim team. (a very bad combination with extremely pale skin like I have but good for shock value) and the O.J. was from my little brother when he was ticked at me and percieved me being bossy. O.J. was a pejorative as the O.J. Simpson trial took place in our county. Anyway the guys on the swim team heard my little bro call me that, and thought it was amusing and took it up cause I would beat the crap out of them while playing water polo.
I tried to ignore it but gave in eventually, it was easier to answer, because they wanted to get a rise out of me, and then it just stuck for a while.
AJ
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
CC is . . . *peers over* looking up from a resting position to see why I moved to look at her . She's getting a lot better at obeying and at not being enticed by enticing things (like people).
I really don't know on embarassing high school moments, I think most of my most embarassing moments were middle school or before. I did some very silly things in pursuit of the crush I had for the first two years of high school, but all the ones I can recall weren't particularly embarassing.
Posted by Pelegius (Member # 7868) on :
"Hey Pelegius, have you considered early admissions to college after your junior year of high school?" Not seriously, no.
And the original Pelegius was a 5th century British or Irish monk who was excommunicated for his view that man was not born into sin but free to choose good or evil and thus his salvation.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
quote:Originally posted by fugu13: I really don't know on embarassing high school moments, I think most of my most embarassing moments were middle school or before.
Yeah, I'm the same way. Almost all of my "embarassing moment" come from junior high. There are some things that I did in late high school that, looking back on them, I feel like facepalming myself over, but I didn't find them embarassing at the time.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Pel, why not? It sounds like an early admission might be a good thing for you and you could benefit from it.
btw, fugu's dog C.C. is a Cardigan Corgi, and I own her parents, bred her and kept her alive after a c-section where she and 7 of her siblings were born as preemies.
Lets see . . . I couldn't get her to pose so nicely, but she looks pretty similar. Maybe a small bit skinnier, and I think her tale's a bit bushier (though I can't tell exactly how bushy Shelby's is in this pic). I think the shape of her front is very similar, but I can't get as good an idea of the shape of her back, since she definitely doesn't get the notion of posing .
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
*Grin* Shelby was pretty close to being strangled to get that shot. I need to get down there sometime to check her out, to see if we should show her or you should spay her.
AJ
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
*nods*
Good plan, I can do most anytime (with some possible exceptions, of course).
Heh, I'm not sure nearly strangling cc would work . . . she can do a remarkable immovable object impression when one tries to move her in any way other than picking her entirely up Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Bumpity, since this got to the second page. Hey Pelegius, if you don't like your current secondary school education, why don't you graduate early and go to St. John's now? Sounds like you'd have a much better time there than in your current school where you don't seem like you are being challenged enough.
AJ
Posted by Pelegius (Member # 7868) on :
Because, A, I actually like significant aspects of my school and, B, St. John's is not my first choice. Also, graduating a year early and then going to a four-year school does not save any time compared to graduating on time and going to three-year school.
P.S. these are arguments for not dropping out, graduating early is not allowed at my school, or, rather, the curriculum is structured to make it impossible (four years of English which must be taken sequentially.)
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Ahh, from all your educational threads I got the impression that you were rather unhappy with the way your current system was set up.
Admittedly I was raised outside the system, so I see no problems with just plain leaving the system, or only using it when it is useful. I have quite a few friends that left high school early, got a GED and moved on with their lives, whether it was college or a trade.
*grin* you would probably be appalled at the number of essay assignments I've ever written for a class, in my entire educational career. I believe the grand total is about 8 or 9.
AJ
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
And why coudn't you graduate early and go to a 3 year school? I mean if you build your college education around the minimum time as far as sequences of prequisites you can get done pretty quickly with many non-technical majors. I had a quite a few friends that graduated in 3 years, and had their Master's in four or less. Of course there was more flexibility at a larger school as to times of class offerings in order to get all the classes necessary in a single semester.
I don't know, I'm glad there are things you like about your school, but my overall impression of you is that you seem caged in and unhappy where you are, and that your current school was tediously boring and stupid, so I was trying to think of alternatives.
AJ
P.S. I've also noticed that grad schools in the liberal arts tend to be where you actually get the fun freewheeling kind of investigations you want. I don't think you are necessarily going to find what you want even at your Great Books school at the undergraduate level.
Grad schools in the sciences, and professions like music and law, are considerably more drudgery and torture.
AJ
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
*raises hand* I just graduated from a small four-year college with pretty inflexible class scheduling. And it only took me three years. And I have way, way more credit hours than I actually need to graduate. It's totally possible.
Besides, it's not really about saving time. It's about moving on to the stuff that interests you and makes you happy.
-pH
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Exactly... it's about moving on to the stuff that interests you.
From everything I've heard the European Universities are even more loaded with boring drudgery work than the US universities are.
AJ
Posted by ladyday (Member # 1069) on :
/cheers for puppy pics
Pelegius, I went to a school with similar English requirements; I ended up getting around them anyway but I will admit that as far as my education was concerned I did myself a disservice. There were, however, extenuating circumstances.
Out of curiosity, what –do- you like about your school?
Irami *smiles* good to see that name. You’re in Chicago now, yes? Doing okay, overcoming your aversion to the Midwest? I hope I haven’t grown up too much, though I think the grey hair is outing me.
You know, if you’d just call her Madi I’d never know the difference, but I think it’s kind of charming that you insist on calling her by her full name. It’s Madilyn. She just turned nine this past April and will be going into the fourth grade this fall. I just got back from a tea party that she organized for the ladies in the family (and her cousin Logan, though with some reluctance). She is very good at planning and executing parties and doesn’t even complain about cleaning up. I have no idea where she gets it considering my own antisocial tendencies.
Hmm, as for a story…well, you might like this. My mother and I took her to the Chinese New Year parade in DC this past February, and while we were waiting for the fun to begin we decided to slip into a restaurant and have lunch. Now in spite of Madi’s love of all things Chinese, she does not care for Chinese food. She will, however, settle for white rice.
Well it seemed she had a certain vision of what a real Chinese restaurant was supposed to be like, and this little diner did not meet expectations. Not being much for discretion, she asked where the hot tea was, and the chopsticks, while the owner was still in ear shot. This resulted in the owner graciously sharing her own supply of green tea and retrieving chopsticks from the back. Then the whole family taught her some words in Chinese (while making fun of the youngest daughter, who didn’t speak any Mandarin at all) and showing her the newspaper with the printed characters.
We ended up lingering so long that when we stepped out onto the street again the parade was about to begin, and it was packed! We found a place to stand at the very end, just behind the television crews and photographers. Madi immediately made friends with one of the photographers, but we were all quite suddenly brushed out of the way when Mayor Williams, surrounded by several men in black coats, chose just that spot to pass through. The nice photographer snapped a picture of Madi looking up at the Mayor but we never saw it.
After a short period of time she decided the noise and crowds were not to her taste and asked if we could go back to the restaurant. So we did, had another round of tea and talk, and a few young men in various colorful costumes joined us. We took lots of pictures with a disposable camera which was sadly left behind in the restaurant. She sure won that family over though, they were tripping over themselves trying to answer her whims and questions and teaching her new things.
I suppose that all sounded rather ordinary but I’m continually amazed by her charisma and confidence in speaking to people and her tendency toward wholehearted fascinations cannot help but suck you in as well.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Pelegius, it's probably a good idea to talk to students at the colleges you're looking into. Visiting is also good. You can get a feel for the campus that way.
I'm pretty happy at Arizona State. Sure, it's not prestigious, but the honors college is excellent, and I get the close-knit community and access to the opportunities provided by a large university. Like AJ, I chose to get a free education rather than going into debt to pay for a Stanford education. It's worked out quite well for me. In particular, I was able to afford a study-abroad trip to the British Isles this summer. I have to admit, I think I'd enjoy living in the UK for awhile. Perhaps I'll look into some of those universities for graduate school.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
quote:but we are, as a family, very proud of are pseudo-Canadianess
Have you considered attending a Canadian university? I've asked you this before but you didn't respond. I admit, I am biased. But I do know many Americans who have chosen to attend University 'up here', for various reasons- they seem very happy.
Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
Ladyday, I promise I wasn't trying to make you blush, just speaking my mind. I have fond memories of you, strange as that may seem when you consider the small amount of contact we had on this forum (and others, I'll admit). It was the earliest days of my Hatrack experience, though, and those are the days I remember most fondly.
--ApostleRadio
Posted by Pelegius (Member # 7868) on :
"And why coudn't you graduate early and go to a 3 year school?" They generaly prefer graduates.
Teshi, not really, although I am aware that there are very good schools up there. I have a friend studying economics at UBC and my father has a friend teaching econometrics half the year at McGill (the other half he teaches in France.)
"but my overall impression of you is that you seem caged in and unhappy where you are, and that your current school was tediously boring and stupid," It's probably more the city than the school.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
quote:Originally posted by BannaOj: Exactly... it's about moving on to the stuff that interests you.
From everything I've heard the European Universities are even more loaded with boring drudgery work than the US universities are.
AJ
Hum. This might be true in literature or suchlike subjects, but from what I've seen of physics (and granted that Ididn't do undergraduate work hereabouts) it's not true. No sociology courses if you're a physics major, for example.
Posted by ladyday (Member # 1069) on :
Well thank you, AP, and the sentiment is returned. If you're feeling especially sentimental I'll try to dig up your old mafia death scenes. I still have quite a few of them.
Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
Haha. I don't think I had many good death scenes. I won my first game, was killed on the first day of the second game, and I only vaguely remember the next couple games. I know that my side never lost. Perfect record for me.
--ApostleRadio
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Fugu, you were called skippy in high school, you must just be overlooking the stories.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Being called skippy wasn't embarassing, particularly as it was a name picked with no rhyme or reason.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
I always figured it had to do with that ballet picture miss g had of you, where you're fairly high with your legs spread.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Nope, my group of friends was just chatting one day, and William Freeland said that I needed a nickname, how about skippy? And it stuck.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Yeah, I knew it was William, but figured it had to do with ballet.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
quote:you're fairly high with your legs spread.
Where's the out of context thread these days??
AJ
Posted by Dr Strangelove (Member # 8331) on :
I knew a guy called Skippy. He was called that because he always skipped play rehearsals. Everyone called him that, even the directors. I don't know that I ever heard his real name.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
We're so lucky my whole weekend doesn't go into the OOC thread. I didn't find a Sham, AJ. Well I saw one that had just been purchased, but I think the girl's dad could have taken me.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
It's ok breyerchic. Thank you for looking!
In keeping with the "What's going on in your life" theme, this week is going to be stressful for me.
Steve is going to be working nights on a Very Busy Interstate. Not only is he doing that, but they are expecting him to do most of his day job too. The nice thing is that he gets overtime. The bad things are that A)I'm worrying about him getting killed every night. B) the more exhausted he is the less he will be aware of his surroundings and C) If I see him for a total of 3 hours between now and Saturday it will be a huge surprise.
AJ
Posted by sarahdipity (Member # 3254) on :
Oh no AJ that sounds really annoying. Come chat with me on IM some night if you're bored. I'm going to be frantically trying to figure out what I should do for my thesis so that I can graduate. That and so that the recent spurt of ok ideas I've had don't get used without my getting a little bit of credit for them.
Fugu I think you need to show us pics of CC. Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
He once said he couldint find his digi cam. So hmm Fugu, let's meet sometime next week and I'll get CC pictures.
Posted by Jhai (Member # 5633) on :
I got around the four-year English thing by taking English courses at the local community college. You could consider that... altho I understand your desire to make yourself more competative for colleges. I'm in a four-year college right now, and I'm taking 3.5 years to finish, altho I could have been done in two. The extra bit is to make myself more competative for grad schools (the more math the better!), and take extra philosophy courses, since I love the subject.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Works for me, breyerchic .
Posted by Lissande (Member # 350) on :
quote:quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by BannaOj: Exactly... it's about moving on to the stuff that interests you.
From everything I've heard the European Universities are even more loaded with boring drudgery work than the US universities are.
AJ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hum. This might be true in literature or suchlike subjects, but from what I've seen of physics (and granted that Ididn't do undergraduate work hereabouts) it's not true. No sociology courses if you're a physics major, for example.
It's not true from what I understand either. Around here, you enroll at the beginning of the semester, attend lectures when and if you feel like it during the semester, and take an exam at the end of the semester. It's really at your discretion for when during your five years to take which exam, too, as long as you get them all done. That could vary by country, though, I suppose.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
woah. OK I was under a misconception. how bad are the exams?
AJ
Posted by Lissande (Member # 350) on :
Usually oral, I believe, though there are...a few?...written ones as well throughout the university career. Then you write your thesis (school goes straight through to equivalent of Masters) and defend it. Exams depend on the professor, obviously, and to some extent on how much he likes you and what kind of student he thinks you are - as in, he chooses which questions to ask you and how satisfied he is with your answers. (Though I think for the final comprehensive leaving exams it may be a panel.) Tzadik went to law school and talks about being asked to quote XYZ law, Section 117, paragraph 2, first sentence, after the comma. He received a barely passing grade because he didn't quote it verbatim and only summarized. He also finished his entire education with honors, and never had to write a single paper. Though I have to assume that depends on the discipline once you get to the university level.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Hmmm maybe the law once are worse than the rest... seems like that was what i heard about before too.
AJ
Posted by Lissande (Member # 350) on :
I have a few friends in university now, mostly studying economics - I based my summary on their requirements, except for the "after the comma" bit from law school. There was certainly a good deal of memorization for Tzadik's law degree, which may or may not qualify as useless drudgery. Posted by Pelegius (Member # 7868) on :
"I got around the four-year English thing by taking English courses at the local community college." No chance my school would allow those credits, but I really don't care (too much to do before I leave secondary school as it is, making my time shorter is not the best idea from my POV.)
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
If it is an accredited college and you do well, most schools will allow them. They usually even encourage them.
Posted by Pelegius (Member # 7868) on :
They do allow, and encourages students to take classes at the local state universities, but in adition to, not instead of, regular secondary-school courses.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
. There's something very 'old school hatrack' about it...and before I get jumped on for being one of those people that always goes on about 'the good old days' let me just say that I don't mean anything negative by that; just that hatrack has grown so big that I think it's harder to slow down and just chat than it used to be.![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Being that much younger only made it even more embarrassing, I bet.
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
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He also finished his entire education with honors, and never had to write a single paper. Though I have to assume that depends on the discipline once you get to the university level.