There's a reason that this article exists. "They" is people in general. I've heard it several times, even though this might all be from my personal experiences and not generally acknowledged. And I'm not flaming you; it's a legitimate question. Be less sensitive." "They"? Who are "they"? OP asked us for advice on uni; that's what I'm giving him. Go flame someone else, plz. Kthnxbai. "
University in September, give us freshers the need to know.
University is overrated. In terms of lifestyle, try and be in between the personality-free dickheads who do nothing but drink and the personality-free geeks who do nothing but study, and if needs must, always try to be more studious than free wheeling. Everyone I know who's graduating this year have come out of Uni with 2.2s or worse besides for one guy who was 1.6% into the 2.1 boundary and a guy who had no interest in the social side of Uni and is now studying for his masters. Also, don't expect to meet some new super cool bunch of friends. Expect to meet thousands of people who are away from home from the first time and are willing to do anything get attention and be your Facebook friend, which can lead to problems later on when you realise you don't really like these people, you just live with them.
" @Xeiphyer said:And make sure you go to your classes. You have to be EXTREMELY self-motivated. But make sure you spend the first couple weeks hammering out a study pattern and such before you really pick up on the social aspect of it all." Read your textbooks and study before tests. I hear thats how you can do well, I've never tried it myself. "This and this. University will eat you alive and spit you out if you don't take your work seriously. You know what happens to people who party constantly and never study? THEY GET KICKED OUT OF SCHOOL. Don't be that guy. I've gotten extremely close to getting kicked out and it's so not worth it. Do your work. Make time for play, but make sure that your schooling is your number one priority. "
Yes, college is awesome and great for a variety of reasons, but first and foremost, you have to hit the books. Then after the important stuff is out of the way for the night/week, you can go drink Everclear and throw up 40 minutes later just to start chugging pints of cheap beer afterwards (Pabst is where its at just to let you know).
Shower sandals are a MUST; people are gross, and it all ends up on the floor of the shower stall. You don't wanna walk in it barefoot. If you have any roommates, try to get in contact with them and coordinate who brings what so you're not missing out on something important. TV's, mini-fridge, Tivo, area rug, microwave or hotplate, lighting, etc. A futon is also good, but wait if you can until after you get there to see how much size you have to work with. Also for after you get there, cinder blocks to raise up your bed for more storage. Password on your computer, cause you never know if a roommate is a virus-prone asshole with property boundary issues until it's too late. Febreze, cause people smell and doing laundry is expensive. When you're doing your laundry, if you're on campus make sure to keep an eye on it; the second it's done some impatient retard is either gonna yank it out so they can get their stuff in or (much less likely, but it still happens) put something in with your clothes to teach you a lesson.
" it's no impediment to getting a job or anything at the end, but like I said it isn't really going to help you either. "@Fragstoff said:
Is that really the case, I mean i'm not sure if everybody is saying if I wont get a job straight after university or do you mean that getting a BA wont open alot more windows in my further career."don't expect a job afterwards, especially with a bachelor's degree :( "
@Ghostfish
said:Yeah I've been trying to find some people who are going to be in the same halls as me but cant really find them. Yeah I don't want to end up with a varruca from the shower." Shower sandals are a MUST; people are gross, and it all ends up on the floor of the shower stall. You don't wanna walk in it barefoot. If you have any roommates, try to get in contact with them and coordinate who brings what so you're not missing out on something important. TV's, mini-fridge, Tivo, area rug, microwave or hotplate, lighting, etc. A futon is also good, but wait if you can until after you get there to see how much size you have to work with. Also for after you get there, cinder blocks to raise up your bed for more storage. Password on your computer, cause you never know if a roommate is a virus-prone asshole with property boundary issues until it's too late. Febreze, cause people smell and doing laundry is expensive. When you're doing your laundry, if you're on campus make sure to keep an eye on it; the second it's done some impatient retard is either gonna yank it out so they can get their stuff in or (much less likely, but it still happens) put something in with your clothes to teach you a lesson. "
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn
I agree with this statement.
As someone who has two degrees and was too busy actually working at Uni, it's more difficult to get a job afterwards unless you can say 'I did this as well...' it shows your prospective employer that you are more than just an educated robot and that you can work with other people.
I'd also like to ask where this myth of difficult teenagers was perpetuated? I wasn't difficult, most of the people at my school weren't difficult and if they were..it had little to do with their age group.
Wouldn't home schooling complete screw over your social abilities, considering you've never had to deal with anyone outside of your family in an open or controlled environment?
But don't think this is an argument against going to university or doing your chosen topic, far from it. You need that tick in the box so bad, and doing something you enjoy and are interested in is going to help you in the long run. But so many students still think good academics entitles them to a good job, and those days are long past if they ever were here at all.
Just make sure you know that university is not all about academics, its about societies and clubs and volunteer work and all that jazz too, and you'll come out of it a better rounded person and a much stronger candidate it the job market. There are a ton of people coming out of university with a degree these days, but most of them are not good candidates at all. You can get a job straight out of university, and if you follow this advice you probably will.
pwnzrd" Actually study. Don't be an idiot like I was. I spent all my time drinking and/or playing video games, failed and dropped out. "
" @FluxWaveZ said:Logic pwnt.Good grief! You accuse me of making sweeping remarks and claim you are not flaming me, and then you present me with that article?! Have you even read it yourself, or just concluded that it's noteworthy because of its title " Socialization in High School Oversold" alone? I suppose I will have to waste my precious minutes left on this Earth by going through some -note: SOME, you can get stuffed if you think I'll go through all of them - of the numerous errors in the article, which it should be noted is barely 600 words long (hell, at least it's over quickly)." @dudeglove said:
There's a reason that this article exists. "They" is people in general. I've heard it several times, even though this might all be from my personal experiences and not generally acknowledged. And I'm not flaming you; it's a legitimate question. Be less sensitive. "" "They"? Who are "they"? OP asked us for advice on uni; that's what I'm giving him. Go flame someone else, plz. Kthnxbai. "
- " Young adults with good character tend to become good citizens who benefit society"
Really? Is that set in stone somewhere? Oh wait, it must be, because it's written by a guy who happens to be the head of a conservative right wing Christian homeschooling organization. Woohoo! Clearly there's not going to be an iota of bias in this article, right?
- " Almost everyone agrees that particularly difficult years for children and parents are the teenage years. Why do so many teenagers behave badly?"
Who is this 'everyone'? Where did J. Michael Smith (the author) collect this info? This is a completely baseless remark, and already three paragraphs in he has failed to support any of his claims and assertions. Hell, I'd contest that the most difficult time for parents are the first two years where they get fuck all sleep because you don't stop screaming and/or keep shitting your pants. At least in the teen years all you're (allegedly) doing is screaming, and that's not 'behaving badly' (define 'badly', by the way) that's just behaving as a teenager.
- " Mr. Milner concludes that because teenagers are sent to school by their parents and have little control over what happens in school, the students are rendered powerless. This encourages them to promote the only power they do have -- the power to decide who's cool and who's not. In other words, teenagers can control the status levels of their peers."
Uh huh, so where do the teachers come into this scenario? Smith makes it seems as though school is just inhabited by a vicious group of feral animals in the form of other kids. Or shall we just conveniently ignore them altogether so that Smith can make his point that the only true, nay Christian, way to be schooled is at home in the safety of the closed family unit, as close to God as possible?
- " The amount of available status is fixed"?
What the hell does that even mean?! That status is some form of finite empirical measurement we can collect? Person B of age n has x amount of status? This isn't a fucking video game like Persona!
- " Critics of home-schooling often claim that this form of high school socialization is necessary so students can face the real world. But does the real world look like high school?"
High/secondary school is the LEAST of your problems. Rather, it's the easiest fucking part, and it'll be over in a flash if you let it pass by. Just wait until you start having to deal with electricity companies trying to screw you over on hidden rates, filling out tax returns, arrogant/lazy/ugly coworkers/neighbours/flatmates, and a host of other boring shit that you can't let your parents deal with once you get old enough.
- "Home-school critics falsely believe that in order to be properly socialized, a child needs to spend long hours with children in his or her peer group."
Would Smith care to offer something other than segregating kids altogether into the company of a bunch of bible bashers?
- " In contrast, the home-school environment is not a constant battle for status. Status in a home school also is fixed, but it is fixed within the family. The child is always the child, and the parent is always the parent."
Am I seriously reading this correctly? Smith says kids aren't being socialized (I'd also like a definition to his term socialization, as well, as it begins to feel suspiciously like the word indoctrination) properly in high school, so his alternative is for the child to not grow up at all and remain in the role of a child? How the fuck does this prepare someone for later life? At what point can this child become a man/woman? I would LOVE to see how home schoolers are taught sex ed.
- " According to a recent study by the National Home Education Research Institute, home-school graduates are happier and more involved in their communities than the average public-school student. Home-schooling helps children avoid the social problems of high school."
A home education research institute generating reports that home schoolers are 'happier' than public school students!? Wow! I would never have expected that outcome from a home education research institute!
- " Therefore, home-schooled children are more likely to grow up to be the mature, responsible citizens our society desperately needs."
FluxWaveZ THIS IS GOD. REPENT THINE PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION AND RETURN TO THE HOME OR IT WILL DESTROY YOUR SOUL WITH ITS HEATHEN WAYS.
- " The above article also appeared in the Washington Times as an Op-ed."
Oh cool, under which section? The funnies?If you think you can get a job based solely on a stupid scrap of paper after uni you are kidding yourself. Joining various uni groups/sports clubs/societies - not just for entertainment purposes, or simply finding enough people to play a game of football with - has the fantastic hidden bonus of showing to future employers that you were capable of doing something other than reading a bunch of books and writing the occasional essay, especially if it has something to do with whatever your future career might be. It's up to the OP to disregard my advice if he so desires, NOT you. But I'm not going to continue this conversation, as you haven't even finished secondary school, not to mention the fact that it's hijacking the original topic. Address it again in six years if you wish to debate this more. Until then - you haven't lived, so you don't know. I don't recommend that you continue your misanthropic ways, by the way, and it might be a good idea to stop cutting yourself as well. "Many people in this thread make it as if socializing with others is this huge thing in university, like you won't be able to go through with it without interacting with others. Why? I'm going to my last year of secondary school next month, I don't have any friends and I don't talk with anyone unless it's required for team work and I'm sure I'll be able to survive just like all of the other years. I'm sure most of you would say that high school was also a time to make friends and make it such a big deal, but I don't think it's that much of a necessity for every single person.
Since I was a total outcast in college as well as HS I won't give any advice about socializing other than to do it. But in terms of getting value from college. Even a valuable technical degree can teach you almost nothing about how work happens in the real world. The best thing you can do is extra-curricular work. Get on some professor's team, compile their data, edit their surveys, whatever. Also, it's how you get recommendations for when you apply for jobs. If all you do is take their class, even if you ace it, they probably won't write you a recommendation.
I recommend, assuming you aren't in one of those 2-bed bedroom deals, bring a fan. It'll block out the noise other people are making. You know what I mean...
First off, I'm not disregarding your advice. Like I said previously, you're taking this too much to heart. But this is the answer that I was looking for before, because you're right, I'm only in secondary school and I've not had any experience with getting employed or job interviews. I'm not sure that means that those activities are necessarily more important than a degree, but I don't know that.If you think you can get a job based solely on a stupid scrap of paper after uni you are kidding yourself. Joining various uni groups/sports clubs/societies - not just for entertainment purposes, or simply finding enough people to play a game of football with - has the fantastic hidden bonus of showing to future employers that you were capable of doing something other than reading a bunch of books and writing the occasional essay, especially if it has something to do with whatever your future career might be. It's up to the OP to disregard my advice if he so desires, NOTyou.
"Misanthropic"? There are several reasons that I am in the situation I am, you don't know me so you can't really accuse me of being misanthropic. And "it might be a good idea to stop cutting yourself as well"? You type that and then you would claim that you're mature." Until then - you haven't lived, so you don't know. I don't recommend that you continue your misanthropic ways, by the way, and it might be a good idea to stop cutting yourself as well. "
" Wrap it before you tap it, no seriously...trust us on this. Don't ruin for future for not being safe. "This advice will save your life, heed it.
I'm going into my second year of university studying communications. I failed out of business cause of math even though i wanted to do human resources... but whatever, communications is feeling right for me.
First was was amazing, huge change in location to a big city, lots of social opportunities, but the work load was overwhelming. Don't spend all your time partying and gaming with your roommates or going to your girls house while theres exam studying that needs to be done...
I did however meet great friends who I'll keep in touch with and even live with through my university career and continue to keep in touch with past post secondary. Connections through friends and profs alike are easily established if you sincerely have an interest in the course and can benefit you later in your uni career and career itself.
Frosh week is the perfect time to meet everyone and find out who's taking what courses to make study groups with, unlucky for me my entire building had only 5 business students... and the other 4 had a different semester for math...
Don't worry I had that scary moment before getting ready for university so I'm keeping extra safe now." Wrap it before you tap it, no seriously...trust us on this. Don't ruin for future for not being safe. "
So does everyone recommend going to everything in freshers week even if it costs you alot of money on beer and entry?
Who else is going in the next three weeks? Man im nervous.
@thegoldencat7 said:
Yeah I've got problems with that at the moment so i'll need to try my best." Maintain a regular sleeping pattern. I spent much of my first year barely conscious due to insomnia. "
Who else is going in the next three weeks? Man im nervous.
I am! I'm going down to Brighton which is only an hour away from my house, and I'm nervous as fuck haha.
I'm personally going to try and take freshers week head on, partly because i'm a little nervous about the whole making friends thing, so although it may be a little ill advised i might put studying to the side for the first month or so until i'm comfortable.
Alot of advice I'm getting from people in terms of making the most of uni comes down to joining clubs. You make friends so much quicker and unless you're hugely into partying like a motherfucker you'll get quite bored without joining one. I mean i enjoy going out, but you'll soon need a change of pace.
Politic major seems pretty easy at first mostly because professors know that you just got out of high school(of course, that might be different by the course and the professor). As a history and poli. sci. double major, my advice is that do not get behind the reading schedule. Freshmen year, it might be okay to slack off but let me tell you, if you do that in later years(especially in Junior year), you're gonna regret big time.
College, in my opinion, is all about time management. People say college is fun. No doubt. I agree. But do you get carried over by it. Otherwise, you'll always be having fun and flunking classes. Manage your time well so that you can have fun and study hard.
Dorm might scare you at first(I don't know what type of person you are but most people I know worry about their dorm life during their freshmen year). Get to know your roommate and talk to your floormate. They probably put you in a freshmen dorm so the chances are everybody else is freshmen just like you. You're gonna live with them for a year. Might as well get familiar with them.
I don't recommend taking posters unless you have frames for them but I think posters only burden your luggage. Plus, after a year, your poster will be all wrinkled up anyway. Family photos are good because lots of people get homesick. You might not know that yet. You'll be like "oh family, I can see them and talk to them anytime I want. Not a big deal." Trust me, I 've seen people who live an hour away from their home and still get homesick from it.
And last, be a good student. Don't get too excited over college life. Be smart. Don't act stupid. Call your mom everyday to make sure you're doing great. Study hard. blah blah blah
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