Applying To Colleges

[Kaine for Senate '18]

One thing about a larger school that I don't like as much as when I was at a smaller school is that at a smaller school you will know a decent fraction of the people you walk by going to and from places whereas at a huge school, you probably won't know nearly as high a fraction.

To contradict you: I've seen people I know on 95% of my walks to class.

[Supersonic]

I'm going to a school of around 9000 now, which is pretty small. I hate it, and would much rather be going to a huge state school. There are more opportunities, more things to do, and more friends to make.

And this is coming from a kid who graduated in a class of 63.

9,000?! I didn't even know you could get schools that large!

I thought a school of 1,400 was big.

Oh wait.. this is about College isn't it. Do you mean you go to a University of 9000 people?

If that's the case, that is very small.

Edit: Forgive my cultural ignorance.

[Yelnoc]

Man, you guys make me feel dumb.  My list consists of UGA, Georgia State, and the lesser Georgia public schools I'd rather not think about.

I have a sister-in-law who went to Georgia. I can guarantee you that if you go to UGA, it will be four of the greatest years of your life. Plus, it's tuition free with the state scholarship, isn't it called HOPE?

Yeah, UGA is definitely a party school.  Deal et al have trimmed HOPE down considerably.  90% of my tuition is still covered, but the killer is room and board.  That along with books and "living expenses" comes out to about $11,000/year, which is a lot of money for me.

the degree I graduate with is going to kinda set the course of my life. 

That is absolutely false.

Ok, maybe that was overly dramatic.  Still, this is where the doors start closing and opportunities start narrowing down.

[後援会]

One thing about a larger school that I don't like as much as when I was at a smaller school is that at a smaller school you will know a decent fraction of the people you walk by going to and from places whereas at a huge school, you probably won't know nearly as high a fraction.

What happens at small schools is that you know a good chunk of the people you walk by going to places, but the majority will pretend to not notice you because people from the upper-middle class white suburbs that feed into these schools are often so socially coddled these days, that greeting acquaintances is somehow too daunting.

Yeah, UGA is definitely a party school.  Deal et al have trimmed HOPE down considerably.  90% of my tuition is still covered, but the killer is room and board.  That along with books and "living expenses" comes out to about $11,000/year, which is a lot of money for me.

Ok, maybe that was overly dramatic.  Still, this is where the doors start closing and opportunities start narrowing down.

Pssh. Buying books? Who still does that?

Also, to some extent. As long as you don't get a degree in something totally useless, you'll be fine. My Dad has three degrees and his job literally involves using none of them.

[muon2]

I'll put in a plug for SLACs. I'm a graduate of one for my BA (Carleton - MN) and another for my MS/PhD (Brandeis - MA). I found all the opportunities I could want without the downsides of size. And I'm quite familiar with the effects of size since I teach at a school with 23,000. There's very little problem going from a SLAC to a larger uni for a graduate degree if that's the path one wants.

[tmthforu94]

Well, I figured I should say it here...

Tonight, or, well, last night, I pledged with a fraternity. It was pretty cool.

[Lief 🗽]

Have they branded you yet? Or do they only do that in black fraternities?

One time over the summer while I was working for school, they gave people working over the summer free on campus housing, so I lived in an apartment with three other guys I had never met. One of them was an African-American. One night, like a Wednesday or something, I was in my room watching TV on my laptop in bed. When I had come home I saw that my black roommate and his friends were hanging out in the living room, as they were wont to do, so I just went to my room. While watching TV I heard some loud noises in the kitchen and it smelled like they were cooking something, but didn't care to investigate. The next morning I wake up to go to work and walk into the kitchen, and it's a mess, with flour everywhere, metal wires bent into shapes, and the stove elements (I think that's what they're called?) were all taken off. Turned out he and his fraternity buddies had branded themselves that night while I was watching TV in my room.

[Boris]

lolwtf ^^^^^


What school/fraternity, Tmthforu94?

[Simfan34]

Have they branded you yet? Or do they only do that in black fraternities?

One time over the summer while I was working for school, they gave people working over the summer free on campus housing, so I lived in an apartment with three other guys I had never met. One of them was an African-American. One night, like a Wednesday or something, I was in my room watching TV on my laptop in bed. When I had come home I saw that my black roommate and his friends were hanging out in the living room, as they were wont to do, so I just went to my room. While watching TV I heard some loud noises in the kitchen and it smelled like they were cooking something, but didn't care to investigate. The next morning I wake up to go to work and walk into the kitchen, and it's a mess, with flour everywhere, metal wires bent into shapes, and the stove elements (I think that's what they're called?) were all taken off. Turned out he and his fraternity buddies had branded themselves that night while I was watching TV in my room.

Good lord, how peverse.

[後援会]

Have they branded you yet? Or do they only do that in black fraternities?

One time over the summer while I was working for school, they gave people working over the summer free on campus housing, so I lived in an apartment with three other guys I had never met. One of them was an African-American. One night, like a Wednesday or something, I was in my room watching TV on my laptop in bed. When I had come home I saw that my black roommate and his friends were hanging out in the living room, as they were wont to do, so I just went to my room. While watching TV I heard some loud noises in the kitchen and it smelled like they were cooking something, but didn't care to investigate. The next morning I wake up to go to work and walk into the kitchen, and it's a mess, with flour everywhere, metal wires bent into shapes, and the stove elements (I think that's what they're called?) were all taken off. Turned out he and his fraternity buddies had branded themselves that night while I was watching TV in my room.

Good lord, how peverse.

From my experience, the ethnic Greek organizations tend to be the craziest. Especially the Asian ones. Dear God, the Asians ones.

[California8429]

So...I cut Stanford. That's some progress

And have split myself into three lists

Absolutely dead set on applying

Yale (my mom's uncle, cousins, and that whole side of the family went here)
Harvard
Georgetown
Tufts
American William and Mary/ St. Andrews
University of Denver (sister goes here)

Still love, probably will, potential to be cut

Brown (uncle went here)
George Washington
Princeton
Cornell (sister went here)
American

These I am less certain of but still like a lot

Duke
UVa
Michigan- Ann Arbor

University of Colorado- Boulder (well don't like at all, but a shoe in isn't bad considering I can get straight Ds and still get in based on my cumulative GPA and ACT score)

[California8429]

The awkward part is my second cousin (from the Yale side of the family) and I were born days a part and we separately visited a lot of these colleges and are planning on applying to them. They live in California so we've never actually met. What's more awkward is if we both end up going to Yale or Georgetown which we both love and meet there for the first time.

[Хahar 🤔]

University of Colorado- Boulder (well don't like at all, but a shoe in isn't bad considering I can get straight Ds and still get in based on my cumulative GPA and ACT score)

This...is almost certainly not true.

[Psychic Octopus]

Why even cut if you like a lot of the schools? Getting accepted to a lot of schools is a great problem to have.

[Foucaulf]

Cut UC-Boulder (it will go on as a good school without you) and Harvard/Princeton (since you really need to apply to Yale SCEA). Get a list of 7-8 schools you will apply to. The five in your top list plus Brown and UVA sounds like a decent spread. I guess you can add back Princeton and Duke for 10.

I don't think you were the one complaining about too many admissions essays, but the way I see it the only legitimate excuse for limiting your applications is not being able to afford the fees. Think of the essays as practice for college.

[ilikeverin]

Cut UC-Boulder (it will go on as a good school without you)

No, don't cut UC-Boulder.  It's an excellent school and you can actually get money from them.

[tmthforu94]

Cut UC-Boulder (it will go on as a good school without you)

No, don't cut UC-Boulder.  It's an excellent school and you can actually get money from them.

^^^ This. You need to keep your options open, and while you may want to go East, it will offer you a cheap, solid education. Granted, it's no Harvard, but it's no community college either.

[ilikeverin]

Cut UC-Boulder (it will go on as a good school without you)

No, don't cut UC-Boulder.  It's an excellent school and you can actually get money from them.

^^^ This. You need to keep your options open, and while you may want to go East, it will offer you a cheap, solid education. Granted, it's no Harvard, but it's no community college either.

You can also go East and get a cheap, solid education.  The University of Maryland springs to mind

[Kaine for Senate '18]

You can also go East and get a cheap, solid education.  The University of Maryland springs to mind

Or the University of Virginia

[California8429]

You can also go East and get a cheap, solid education.  The University of Maryland springs to mind

Or the University of Virginia

Throw Michigan into the mix. How much do they actually give to OOS since they are state schools? I know UVa is virtually all privately funded I believe, so I can understand that...but when push comes to shove how much more is it for an OOS than an in state kid?

[California8429]

Cut UC-Boulder (it will go on as a good school without you)

No, don't cut UC-Boulder.  It's an excellent school and you can actually get money from them.

^^^ This. You need to keep your options open, and while you may want to go East, it will offer you a cheap, solid education. Granted, it's no Harvard, but it's no community college either.

It is cheap, and there's a chance I can get a full ride without the Boettecher scholarship there. I'd be able to start as a sophomore . But I extremely dislike CU, I know I'm not actually choosing the college I'll go to right now...but ugh, Colorado schools trap you into this state.

[California8429]

University of Colorado- Boulder (well don't like at all, but a shoe in isn't bad considering I can get straight Ds and still get in based on my cumulative GPA and ACT score)

This...is almost certainly not true.

Yes it is. Colorado state schools use an index of ACT and GPA for immediate acceptance that is published and promoted everywhere and given to everyone in high school. Those are the only two things they are concerned about unless you are on the fence in which case essays and extracurricular do come into play (For in state)

[後援会]

Hmm, how do I encourage A-Bob to apply to my college without actually revealing where I go...? What a dilemma...

[Simfan34]

Hmm, how do I encourage A-Bob to apply to my college without actually revealing where I go...? What a dilemma...

Go Dartmouth, too!

[ilikeverin]

Cut UC-Boulder (it will go on as a good school without you)

No, don't cut UC-Boulder.  It's an excellent school and you can actually get money from them.

^^^ This. You need to keep your options open, and while you may want to go East, it will offer you a cheap, solid education. Granted, it's no Harvard, but it's no community college either.

It is cheap, and there's a chance I can get a full ride without the Boettecher scholarship there. I'd be able to start as a sophomore . But I extremely dislike CU, I know I'm not actually choosing the college I'll go to right now...but ugh, Colorado schools trap you into this state.

Then why not apply to schools out of state?  Look, many state schools offer money to out-of-state students.  (Virginia is an exception: they have a full-ride merit-based scholarship and not many of those and that's it.) Take a look at Michigan's scholarships.  Heck, check out Michigan State's scholarships.  If you meet the criteria for the Professorial Assistantship (and, if your walk matches your talk, your ACT was at least 33 or your "old-SAT" was at least 1500), you get in-state tuition.  (that's, oh, $37,400/yr cheaper than Yale.  so, over 4 years, you'll save $149,600 of your/your parents' money.  Michigan State is generous with its AP credit, so you might be able to do it in three years, too...)

A cursory glance around undergraduate institutions elsewhere reveals that scholarships for out-of-state students aren't an uncommon phenomenon, though I don't see anything like MSU's in-state-equivalency scholarship... but Ohio State has one (and competitive full rides), Indiana has two (and competitive full rides), Vermont has three...

And if you mention the fact that your parents are horrible people horrible people horrible people people who value prestige again, I swear to God I'll call them up and repeat "$149,600" over and over and over again until they get the message! (that was you, wasn't it?)