I went to Fordham U in the BX. The education was great, the social life sucked. Make sure you really want to go to college, its not a bad idea to take some time off and do the real world for a while. And like Batmon said, work the connections when you get in and know what you want to do. Networking and doing internetships can pay off big time.
I'm from Michigan, so going to the University of Michigan was the best choice. It's cheap, decent education, a lot of people to hang with, etc. I'm finishing up my 3rd year there now, and I'm enjoying it so far.
I went to Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. Small, east coast liberal arts school. It was perfect for me; I majored in English, which is a decision I've never regretted. It taught me how to read, write, think, and learn.
There was a rich, prepschool aspect to it, that as a midwesterner I was unprepared for. But, hey...it meant there were always great drugs around.
Skidmore and the schools of its ilk ARE expensive. I got a huge scholarship, which enabled me to go there. Without that, I wouldn't have been able to afford it (my parents only let me look at schools within this particular scholaship program.) But, if you get lucky on the financial aid, small liberal arts schools are great, imo.
Double major in Creative Writing & Political Science Started writing in college from both sides of that spectrum and ended up somehow becoming a music journalist. The pay is pretty shitty and if you want to become one too, be prepared to have a thin wallet or a second income. On the uphand, I'm writing some stuff right now I'm super excited about. I'd suggest getting a degree in something else and getting a minor in Journalism, most of the j-school classes I did take early on were a waste of time except a few.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
I went to Fordham U in the BX. The education was great, the social life sucked. Make sure you really want to go to college, its not a bad idea to take some time off and do the real world for a while. And like Batmon said, work the connections when you get in and know what you want to do. Networking and doing internetships can pay off big time.
A good friend of mine from high school in Houston went to Fordham. He was the state player of the year on the state champion basketball team and he had a 4.0, so he coulda gone to a lot of different places. I would make fun of him quite a bit about him being a Texan (he was originally from Michigan) going to NYC...but he loved it and it really worked out for him. He was an all-conference player, then did well enough as a broker on Wall Street that he started up his own now-successful solar energy company.
Teachers...were alright...you kind of have to hand pick em to get good ones....the school was a lot of fun (been #1 in Playboy's top party school before)...they call it "the country club" for a reason...
btw, this dude is in high school...and on soulstrut....damn...wish I had had this kind of info at that age! (oh, wait....ss doesn't even talk records much anymore...haha)
I went to Ruskin College Oxford (not the Fine Art one) to do Creative Writing. Ruskin was set up by a wealthy American industrialist with the intention of giving the working classes here a second chance at education. I took that 2nd chance greatfully - I left school at 17 after a disastrous final year at school, and went to Ruskin at 25. Ruskin is a leftwing, socialist institution with strong trade union ties and the only real entry requirement covered during the interview is that you're not a rightwing bigot. Ruskin also funds a group of South Africans to come and study there every year - I met the coolest dude called Simon from Cape Town. It's one of only two similar institutions in the UK not closed down by the Iron Lady, and you get 3 meals a day, a room, spending money and weekly one-on-one tuition, all for free, so it's actually better than the other colleges in Oxford, and also it's not built on centuries of exclusivity and privilege.
I then went to the University of East Anglia in Norwich, which is probably the most leftwing/'counter-culture' University in the country* - during my first year students voted overwhelmingly to stop all sales of all products made by or connected to Nestle and Coca Cola (not easy when big business was leaning heavily on the Univ Chancellor to veto the move), there's gay & lesbian wedding ceremonies, and to top it all off, the campus was built on a golf course, so naturally I was pleased that the country club, Merc driving, capitalist wankers had to make way for an institution full of the sort of people and ideas they'd probably despise.
I studied American & English Lit w/ Creative Writing there. Very informative and well taught. UEA has the country's longest-running and best Creative Writing Department, as well as leading faculties for Environmental Studies and Development Studies. Overall, the vibe at that place was great, with some solid people and a no-bullshit mentality.
*please school me if not, and I'll know where to send little Dudes
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
I'm from Michigan, so going to the University of Michigan was the best choice. It's cheap, decent education, a lot of people to hang with, etc.
Aside from kinda getting the assembly line treatment as far as education goes, I have not a single regret about my choice to go to the big state school here in Texas. But one of the pitfalls, especially as someone who came from a big high school, was that it gets hard to escape your high school scene.
It was one thing to move beyond the few genuinely good friends of mine from high school who were up in Austin with me. But every year there would be a few more who would show up and just assume they were going to hang out with you since...hey, we went to high school together.
But dude, I didn't even know you when we went to high school together. Anyway, it's now been almost 19 years since I graduated from high school and just the other day I got an invitation to a bachelor party for a dude from that same group of friends that latched onto each other as they each individually moved up from Houston to Austin over the years.
Some of them are good dudes (despite all of the coke) and I don't mind running into them one by one from time to time...but to deliberately go to yet another house party (as if it's 1988 forever) where they will all be there at once, this time with no women there by design...HELL TO THE NAH!
Seriously, good advice is to make sure you branch out into completely new circles of friends. Even if you just wind up hanging out with a group from another high school, like I did with a set of friends from Sharpstown, even that is better than just hanging out with the same old people headed down the same old path.
I decided to go to college like a month or so before high school graduation. Took my SAT scores, applied, registered all in about a month. I didnt know that with my SAT scores I could of gone to any school in Texas until it was too late. I would of gone to UT Austin if I had to do it over again. Graduated from University of Texas at El Paso with a B.S. in computer science (not boring controller 7). Got a job with a local company doing some inhouse software development. Got laid off and now I have a job with a research lab at New Mexico State University. Being an employee of the university, i get free college courses and my boss will give me time off to get to class so I am probably going to pursue a PHD in math or computer science since its going to be free.
Barely graduated with a degree in Sociology. Pretty much did the bare minimum to get by. Spent most of my time at 2nd Time Around and the IMA playing hoop. Maybe I'll get a masters one day and be one of those ultra serious old student types.
great topic. soulstrut getting more and more personal these days. cheeky sheittttt.
i'm originally from southern california and lived there most of my life (l.a./ san diego), but due to difficulties with my father i decided to live with my mom the last two years of high school in st. louis, where she had recently moved to from san diego. i did very well in high school but during my senior year i was introduced to a philosopher of education: John Taylor Gatto. his writings revealed to me the origin of school, its purpose, and the purpose of teachers. i became so jaded that i just wanted to get the fuck out of school and move back to los angeles. so, i wasn't attentive to the SAT/ACT. after moving back to l.a. i decided after sometime off to go to Santa Monica College. after about two years in L.A. (music, party, drugs, girls, music, drugs, party) i transfered to University of North Texas (my mom had moved from st. louis to dallas) so i was approved for in-state residency and UNT has a great music composition program, that I originally came here for. After about a year of rigorous coursework, disciplinary bullshit and egotistical competitiveness i decided to switch my major to philosophy. it's worked out fairly well, UNT turns out to be the premier university for environmental philosophy/ethics (the first PhD program in the nation) which has never a primary philosophical interests, but has been enlightening regardless.
I'm ready to get out, i've got one more year, and then off to grad school! yuuueeeehhhhhoooo!
this fuckin guy
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
Barely graduated with a degree in Sociology. Pretty much did the bare minimum to get by. Spent most of my time at 2nd Time Around and the IMA playing hoop.
ME AND YOU SOUND LIKE SIMILAR A BREED OF CAVEMAN.
Maybe I'll get a masters one day and be one of those ultra serious old student types.
^^^WHAT A CAVEMAN TELLS HIMSELF WHEN IN THE MOOD FOR BLATANT LIES.^^^
I then went to the University of East Anglia in Norwich, which is probably the most leftwing/'counter-culture' University in the country* - during my first year students voted overwhelmingly to stop all sales of all products made by or connected to Nestle and Coca Cola
hahahahaha, i use to go the this pub called The Wildman there. i knew a grip of people that went to school at east anglia.
I went to UNC-Greensboro and studied English and Philosophy. UNCG was actually my last choice, and when I started there, I fully intended to transfer out, but I ended up staying the full 4 years there, had a great time, and learned a lot. It was a fantastic experience.
I went to Vista Community college in Berkeley, Cabrillo in Aptos (Santa Cruz), Salt Lake Community, and Santa Monica College. Besides SLCC, they are all liberal community colleges.
I'm actually going to SMC at the present time. I have lots of free time and no degree, so I'm making it happen.
great topic. soulstrut getting more and more personal these days. cheeky sheittttt.
i'm originally from southern california and lived there most of my life (l.a./ san diego), but due to difficulties with my father i decided to live with my mom the last two years of high school in st. louis, where she had recently moved to from san diego. i did very well in high school but during my senior year i was introduced to a philosopher of education: John Taylor Gatto. his writings revealed to me the origin of school, its purpose, and the purpose of teachers. i became so jaded that i just wanted to get the fuck out of school and move back to los angeles. so, i wasn't attentive to the SAT/ACT. after moving back to l.a. i decided after sometime off to go to Santa Monica College. after about two years in L.A. (music, party, drugs, girls, music, drugs, party) i transfered to University of North Texas (my mom had moved from st. louis to dallas) so i was approved for in-state residency and UNT has a great music composition program, that I originally came here for. After about a year of rigorous coursework, disciplinary bullshit and egotistical competitiveness i decided to switch my major to philosophy. it's worked out fairly well, UNT turns out to be the premier university for environmental philosophy/ethics (the first PhD program in the nation) which has never a primary philosophical interests, but has been enlightening regardless.
I'm ready to get out, i've got one more year, and then off to grad school! yuuueeeehhhhhoooo!
I actually had the opportunity to meet and have some very good relationships with any teacher I wanted to, which is something that I think you'll miss at the bigger schools because most of those institutions and teachers are not there for undergradutes.
Couldn't agree more. I certainly needed this during my college years. I went to Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA and even tho I'm agnostic, I couldn't have asked for more from my education. Working one on one with professors really taught me a lot of about how to work with future bosses (I now work in media in Seattle). Small liberal schools are expensive no doubt, but it really worked out well for me.
i went to pitzer college. very small liberal arts school east of l.a. (claremont). very good school and i am better (bitter sometimes) person for it, but that shit was way out of my tax bracket. still is. my grand kids will have to throw down on my two degrees (sociology and religious studies).
my advice to any youngin thinking about school is go to a state school, but take as many b.s./requisite classes in a c.c. or jr. college first. state school entry level courses are like a current rolling stones concert (i.e. dumb packed and boring as fuck). i'd recommend the c.c./jr. college route even if you got your eye on a $mall school.
i had a few friends who took a year off working/traveling before they went to college. i'd go this route if i could do it again.
yes to going abroad, yes to screwing around/not being attached, and def. make the most of the resources at whatever school you end up at. schools have so much money and resources available for students and if you snoop around enough you can find it. and avoid loans like the Frickin' plague.
Got to meet Lavern Baker right before she passed away. That was the highlight, she actually sat down and listened to some beats I made and critiqued them.
I went to community college out of high school and studied music recording. I definitely recommend the community college route for the reasons that have already been given.
I then then took a year off and attended a music engineering school. The school had a transfer program with a few universities, including St. Johns, but the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University was the only school to accept all of my credits, so of course I went with them.
I studied at Post for a year and got my BA in English last May.
I'm currently working as a substitute teacher in the inner city, as I am thinking about teaching full time. I'm also considering teaching English down in Costa Rica.
Evergreen State College aka where those dirty hippies threw a riot at the Dead Prez show.
The school was cool, I learned a lot, I just couldn't stand all the bullshit the students were on. I could go on and on about it, but I'll just say the kids there think they are revolutionaries, but they're just a bunch of rich kids trying to act broke and earthy. (we'd call them trustifarians)
Comments
I went to Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. Small, east coast liberal arts school. It was perfect for me; I majored in English, which is a decision I've never regretted. It taught me how to read, write, think, and learn.
There was a rich, prepschool aspect to it, that as a midwesterner I was unprepared for. But, hey...it meant there were always great drugs around.
Skidmore and the schools of its ilk ARE expensive. I got a huge scholarship, which enabled me to go there. Without that, I wouldn't have been able to afford it (my parents only let me look at schools within this particular scholaship program.) But, if you get lucky on the financial aid, small liberal arts schools are great, imo.
Double major in Creative Writing & Political Science
Started writing in college from both sides of that spectrum and ended up somehow becoming a music journalist. The pay is pretty shitty and if you want to become one too, be prepared to have a thin wallet or a second income. On the uphand, I'm writing some stuff right now I'm super excited about. I'd suggest getting a degree in something else and getting a minor in Journalism, most of the j-school classes I did take early on were a waste of time except a few.
A good friend of mine from high school in Houston went to Fordham. He was the state player of the year on the state champion basketball team and he had a 4.0, so he coulda gone to a lot of different places. I would make fun of him quite a bit about him being a Texan (he was originally from Michigan) going to NYC...but he loved it and it really worked out for him. He was an all-conference player, then did well enough as a broker on Wall Street that he started up his own now-successful solar energy company.
Major: Asian Studies
Minor: Politics and Government
http://www.ups.edu/
Major: Engrish
Minor: Spanglish
Teachers...were alright...you kind of have to hand pick em to get good ones....the school was a lot of fun (been #1 in Playboy's top party school before)...they call it "the country club" for a reason...
btw, this dude is in high school...and on soulstrut....damn...wish I had had this kind of info at that age! (oh, wait....ss doesn't even talk records much anymore...haha)
I then went to the University of East Anglia in Norwich, which is probably the most leftwing/'counter-culture' University in the country* - during my first year students voted overwhelmingly to stop all sales of all products made by or connected to Nestle and Coca Cola (not easy when big business was leaning heavily on the Univ Chancellor to veto the move), there's gay & lesbian wedding ceremonies, and to top it all off, the campus was built on a golf course, so naturally I was pleased that the country club, Merc driving, capitalist wankers had to make way for an institution full of the sort of people and ideas they'd probably despise.
I studied American & English Lit w/ Creative Writing there. Very informative and well taught. UEA has the country's longest-running and best Creative Writing Department, as well as leading faculties for Environmental Studies and Development Studies. Overall, the vibe at that place was great, with some solid people and a no-bullshit mentality.
*please school me if not, and I'll know where to send little Dudes
Aside from kinda getting the assembly line treatment as far as education goes, I have not a single regret about my choice to go to the big state school here in Texas. But one of the pitfalls, especially as someone who came from a big high school, was that it gets hard to escape your high school scene.
It was one thing to move beyond the few genuinely good friends of mine from high school who were up in Austin with me. But every year there would be a few more who would show up and just assume they were going to hang out with you since...hey, we went to high school together.
But dude, I didn't even know you when we went to high school together. Anyway, it's now been almost 19 years since I graduated from high school and just the other day I got an invitation to a bachelor party for a dude from that same group of friends that latched onto each other as they each individually moved up from Houston to Austin over the years.
Some of them are good dudes (despite all of the coke) and I don't mind running into them one by one from time to time...but to deliberately go to yet another house party (as if it's 1988 forever) where they will all be there at once, this time with no women there by design...HELL TO THE NAH!
Seriously, good advice is to make sure you branch out into completely new circles of friends. Even if you just wind up hanging out with a group from another high school, like I did with a set of friends from Sharpstown, even that is better than just hanging out with the same old people headed down the same old path.
Barely graduated with a degree in Sociology. Pretty much did the bare minimum to get by. Spent most of my time at 2nd Time Around and the IMA playing hoop. Maybe I'll get a masters one day and be one of those ultra serious old student types.
this fuckin guy
ME AND YOU SOUND LIKE SIMILAR A BREED OF CAVEMAN.
^^^WHAT A CAVEMAN TELLS HIMSELF WHEN IN THE MOOD FOR BLATANT LIES.^^^
Class of '02.
hahahahaha, i use to go the this pub called The Wildman there. i knew a grip of people that went to school at east anglia.
University of Iowa
I'm actually going to SMC at the present time. I have lots of free time and no degree, so I'm making it happen.
Great English/Poetry program
Couldn't agree more. I certainly needed this during my college years. I went to Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA and even tho I'm agnostic, I couldn't have asked for more from my education. Working one on one with professors really taught me a lot of about how to work with future bosses (I now work in media in Seattle). Small liberal schools are expensive no doubt, but it really worked out well for me.
i went to pitzer college. very small liberal arts school east of l.a. (claremont). very good school and i am better (bitter sometimes) person for it, but that shit was way out of my tax bracket. still is. my grand kids will have to throw down on my two degrees (sociology and religious studies).
my advice to any youngin thinking about school is go to a state school, but take as many b.s./requisite classes in a c.c. or jr. college first. state school entry level courses are like a current rolling stones concert (i.e. dumb packed and boring as fuck). i'd recommend the c.c./jr. college route even if you got your eye on a $mall school.
i had a few friends who took a year off working/traveling before they went to college. i'd go this route if i could do it again.
yes to going abroad, yes to screwing around/not being attached, and def. make the most of the resources at whatever school you end up at. schools have so much money and resources available for students and if you snoop around enough you can find it. and avoid loans like the Frickin' plague.
Drop out 01'.
Got to meet Lavern Baker right before she passed away. That was the highlight, she actually sat down and listened to some beats I made and critiqued them.
I then then took a year off and attended a music engineering school. The school had a transfer program with a few universities, including St. Johns, but the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University was the only school to accept all of my credits, so of course I went with them.
I studied at Post for a year and got my BA in English last May.
I'm currently working as a substitute teacher in the inner city, as I am thinking about teaching full time. I'm also considering teaching English down in Costa Rica.
The school was cool, I learned a lot, I just couldn't stand all the bullshit the students were on. I could go on and on about it, but I'll just say the kids there think they are revolutionaries, but they're just a bunch of rich kids trying to act broke and earthy. (we'd call them trustifarians)