School US-Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

[LadyHatake]

I figured we could use a thread about college life and colleges in general, seeing as how many of us are in college, will soon go to college, or have gone to college. Talk about the schools you support, or talk about the ones you want to beat. Ask advice about college and the application process, or just find out if there are any others on MH who root for the same collegiate teams as you.

To start it off, I'll ask about some colleges that I'm considering applying to. I plan to send applications to:
Old Dominion University
The College of William and Mary
University of Maryland
Virginia Tech
University of VIrginia

If you've ever studied there or visited there, I'd love to hear your take on the school. The campus, the professors, the food, whatever. Every little bit helps.

I do plan on visiting all of the campuses. Actually, I have visited Old Dominion and William and Mary already, and I love them. I'll get to UMD, UVA and VT before the end of September.

Does anyone have any tips as far as the applications and essays? Any good ideas on getting financial aid? (Preferably scholarships. I'm not a minority and my family's income usually rules me out of most scholarships). I'm the dependent of retired military personnel (My father was a Master Chief in the Navy), so if you know of any good scholarships for military children, that'd be great

Also, if anyone can suggest any other good schools, that'd be great too. Preferably on or near the east coast, and offers a degree in Physical Therapy. ( I plan on majoring in it)

I'm getting nervous knowing that there's so much to get done so soon. I'm worried that I'll miss something or mess something up. So much to do, but so little time...

And I'm a big Virginia Tech supporter when it comes to football

 

[NeoShweaty]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

I can't help you much considering my case is pretty different than yours but ill just say whats up with me. I have been going to private schools for the better part of 6 years, so naturally i everyone in my school applied to the ivy leagues and other comparable colleges and universities. You wouldn't believe the insane amount of pressure they placed on themselves. I ,on the other hand, remained cool headed because of a few important facts about myself. I am hispanic, pretty poor, and i am interested in japanese to the extreme. I had just visited japan the previous summer before the application process began (summer '05) and made sure to talk about it all the time. I am also good with admissions type people so i shumoosed it up when i could and always left a good impression. I left such a good impression that i ended up convincing the head of admissions at Occidental College (the one i will be attending this fall) that i was someone he wanted in his school in October. I flew out there, got a feel for the place, shumoosed it up some more and proceeded to apply to Occidental and only occidental. I got in early and never had to worry about college again. Occidental is in Northeast Los Angeles and is pretty small, so judging from your list, i am in the completely different part of the country from where you are looking for and in a significantly smaller school than what you are looking to go to.

I can suggest this about the essay. Even the strangest essay that tells something about yourself to the admissions officer is much better than an essay that is by the book and very correct but plain. Make sure to meet the admissions office, give thanks, schedule interviews and all that stuff. Make sure they know that you really want to go there. Also, dont worry, it always works out. Even if you hate the school you end up at, you can always transfer but it is better to work it out where you are at.

 

[Tailsnake]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

Well I still have 2 more years of highschool and haven't really put much thought into the school I'm going to yet. I'm canadian and I plan to be a cardiologist so I decided on either University of Toronto or Waterloo if I stay here and University of Pensylvania if I can get a scholarship (Yay, minority!) and decide to go to the U.S. Has anybody been to any of these, I'd really like some feedback.

 

[LadyHatake]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

I can suggest this about the essay. Even the strangest essay that tells something about yourself to the admissions officer is much better than an essay that is by the book and very correct but plain. Make sure to meet the admissions office, give thanks, schedule interviews and all that stuff. Make sure they know that you really want to go there. Also, dont worry, it always works out. Even if you hate the school you end up at, you can always transfer but it is better to work it out where you are at.

Thanks for the info, I'll definently go do some schmoozing with the admissions people. I'll be sure to make my essay interesting and personal.

Well I still have 2 more years of highschool and haven't really put much thought into the school I'm going to yet. I'm canadian and I plan to be a cardiologist so I decided on either University of Toronto or Waterloo if I stay here and University of Pensylvania if I can get a scholarship (Yay, minority!) and decide to go to the U.S. Has anybody been to any of these, I'd really like some feedback.

Actually, I was up at Univ. of Pennsylvania and Penn State University this summer and both have really beautiful campuses. And the professors were really smart and welcoming, too. Even though you still have a little while left before you begiin applying, go ahead and start getting basic information now: What they look for in an applicant, requirements (Grade point average, etc) and make sure that you are both an active participant in your community and in your school. Colleges LOVE people who help out in the community and in their school. And go n a tour of the campuses. That way you can get a feel of the environment and the people there, and see if you like the campus or not.

 

[kyuubimaster]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

I am in my last year of high school and starting to apply for colleges. All I know about the colleges your looking are UMD as i Live in Maryland and one side of my family is like all Alumni for UMD. All I can say about the school is the campus is really nice, and the programs they offer are abundant and very well taught. Sorry if thats broad, which it is, but UMD is a very nice school. Especially in the Computer Program Department. Well Happy college hunting....What are you planning to major in by the way??

 

[rocklee87]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

hey guys umd does have an awsome campus and i wish i went their but i dont. most of my friends go there and the only bad thing i hear is that too many people do go there so its hard to get a class sometimes.

i also have a friend at will and mary and she says she loves it there.

 

[Debu]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

Go someplace that has a good surrounding town (eg, some school in Boston) or that has a lot going on on-campus.  You will freaking hate life if there's one bar, one Denny's, and next to no one of the sex of your choice.  Might seem minor now ("I want to learn from the best quantum physiochemicists"), but you'll change majors, change interests, change significant others, and having a fun environment will make it all easier.

As for that other thing - classes - I recommend not going to a school that's super specialized unless you absolutely absolutely absolutely know what your major is going to be.  I knew some folks that went to a school that was amazing in veterinary science but overall shitty, and when they realized they didn't want to be a vet, they had a transfer ahead of them along with the lack of knowledge of what they really wanted to do.

Instead, go with an overall strong school and, if need be, transfer when you really are sure.

And for the love of god - DO NOT PICK A SCHOOL BASED ON A GIRL (edit: OR GUY ).  This never ever works.  (Where 'never ever' = about .1%)

Money - you need this.  There are a lot of loans options that are actually doable, but I am not the one to ask about predicted interest rates.  All I know is that they won't be as low as they were a few years ago.  Having a part time job isn't so bad.  Once you've taken some intermediate classes, you may be able to be a TA or do some research with a prof for money.  Both of these are great opportunities - they usually pay the most an on-campus job can, and they're great for the resume (working at the student union's Frogurt stand is a distant 2nd).

As for food - get to know and love your co-op.  It is the freshest (well, maybe) and least expensive (definitely) prepared food you can get.  You probably won't have access to a kitchen for a while, so work the co-op into your food rotation.  A healthy vegetarian pita sandwich is a good thing to get to appreciate.

So let's see.. we got the town, the classes, money, and food.  That's just about it.

The best advice, wherever you are in life, is to both have fun and, in the process, be a good person.  All that stuff your parents forced down your throat - being respectable to everyone (even your roommates and underclassmen) will pay off.  You'll feel better about yourself and you'll make some great, longlasting friendships.

For the most part, college is when people really find themselves - and the people you meet in college are going to be there with you for that, and you're going to be with them while they find themselves.  So be open to it and to them.

You're all in this new, scary, exciting, unsure experience together.

-Debu

 

[LadyHatake]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

Well Happy college hunting....What are you planning to major in by the way??

Physical Therepy, but I'm keeping engineering and business management in mind, too. JIC.

i also have a friend at will and mary and she says she loves it there.

I live about 10 minutes from William and Mary ^^ Williamsburg is such a nice city. I love the campus at W&M.

And for the love of god - DO NOT PICK A SCHOOL BASED ON A GIRL. This never ever works. (Where 'never ever' = about .1%)

Shouldn't be a problem for me ^^ I'm into guys. But I get what you're saying. Thanks for all of the advice, I'll be sure to keep it in mind.

 

[Debu]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

More specific to you, Lady Hatake..

Of the schools you listed, UMD, UVA, and VT would be the ones I'd recommend.

Of those:

College Park (Univ. of Md's town) is boring. On-campus stuff can be pretty fun, but the town itself gets real old real quick.

I don't think that VT has much going on, either - and it's rather isolated. However, Blacksburg is supposed to be one of the best towns to retire in, which is rather odd.

I have not been to UVA, but it is supposed to be a fun place.

I also recommend checking out Penn State - it's a fun town, the sports are great (even if you're not into sports, you will get into the college football atmosphere at the right school!), and the education is obviously awesome.. with a strong alumni network once you graduate.

The other big aspect is: where are you a permanent resident? That could factor in very big, especially when considering state schools.

Of course, all of my advice (and anyone else's) should be taken with a grain of salt - if you dig a small, non-city town, then go ahead to some place like St. Mary's or something. If you're not sure, then I suggest erring on the side of having too many options (i.e., big town at a school which is strong in a lot of majors).

Good luck.

-Debu[br]Posted on: August 04, 2006, 02:17:12 AM_________________________________________________Duh -Alumni!

Focus on schools with the biggest group of active alumni - those are the people that went to the school and had such an amazing, important time at the school that they continue to give back to it.

Penn State, for one, is huge on this.

-Debu

 

[LadyHatake]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

Debu,

I was actually just at Penn State July 5-8 for a field hockey camp ^^ I was right by Beaver Stadium. My Varsity soccer coach is an alumnus there and she used to play field hockey for them. I'd consider going there, except I don't think I want to go that far from home. Plus the altitude made me sick. I'm from a place that's only a few feet above sea level, so the difference is pretty drastic, considerning Penn State is in the mountains.

I'm a permanent resident of VA, actually.

As far as alumni go, my mom is Alumni of Old Dominion University, and my dad's alumni of Univ. of Hawaii (but there's NO way I'm going to Hawaii for college. WAY too far. And hot.)

I think that I'm going to prefer a college in a big city. Being isolated and not having a variety of things near by is going to make me insane.

Thanks for the info.

 

[joshie0808]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

Well.. i live way up here in Canada so i dont think I can help much with advice on the particular campus' you said, however, looking at your thread title, the expensive part certainly jumped out at me.

Usually, and especially during exam time, I stay at my university really late to study and obviously, I buy dinner and eat.. and man.. that gets expensive.. uni food is soo pricey and under stress (i personally) eat more. :T

Choosing a university close to your house (or a place to live close to the uni/college) is definitely a factor worth considering because time and money spent on transportation really adds up. Especially the time thing. It takes me and hr and a half to bus to school.. so both ways, it seriously cuts into study time. (And time for gaming/reading manga/anime etc).

 

[mrcongojack]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

I didn't apply(and therefore didn't get into) any fancy colleges, just a few state schools and I attend UW Whitewater(that John Belushi attended, btw). It's something of a party school (like most schools) but most people head home over the weekend, so the parties are mainly restricted to keggers at Frats and such, the usual stuff.

My advice for people applying to colleges:
Unless you're going to be a professor or are rich, it's pretty much useless to go to a top school. Outside of the prestige and traditions, the education isn't much different from what you get at the state schools, and you get a lot more one-on-one time with profs at the state schools. It's not that I couldn't get into a a good school, say UW Madison (which is usually called the University of Wisconsin to people outside of the state), if I really wanted too. I graduated from high school with a 3.2 (thanks, senior slide!) and I got a 29 on the ACT, so I wasn't a slouch when it came to academics. I did apply there, got wait-listed, and had the option to write three essays to help my chances, but I decided not too. All the hoops they make you jump through aren't truly worth it. I got some friends at UW Madison, and they all complain about how they're in classes of over 100 people and how they never actually see the professor, being taught by teacher's aides instead. At the big schools, all the profs are worried about is their next big book, they couldn't care less about their students.

 

[Leen]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

^
UW Madison does have classes that are well over 100 people. =D

However, not all fancy schools have TAs to teach the classes. For example, U of C has professors for every single classes. TAs are just doing TA jobs and none of them is teaching anything. Besides, all my classes are less than 25 people per class.

The only lecture-based class are most of the intro to XXXX classes and even that, there are only about 100+ students compare to Harvard, Princeton, Yale and other fancy schools that have attendance of over 300++ for their lecture-based classes.

But then again, U of C. is just an exception. =D It's a really intense school though. >_>

 

[chison]

in search of good University/college for manga/comic study

hello
my name's chison ,a student of art and design in hill's college in sheffield of United kingdom,and most student need to hand in our route B applcation at 2008 march to UCAS (and i have to possilby pay a visit to the college or University before that ...)

i'm chosen and aiming to study drawing manga ...
in the meantime,most of my teacher are unsure of any "manga-comic" related course,since this is not very popular option between student (i "do not" mean animation!!)

i got one month left until deadline ,so i think i do need some arrangement quick enought and looking of helps from you guys'


all the course are listed in "UCAS" website
http://www.ucas.co.uk/
i just hope that i do not miss out any good course,good uni, or rumor and reputation of one option
please,if you happen to know something more than me,please tell me ,


the only best match i can find for now is this
A.Swindon College (Sequential illustration)

not very relate but their illustration seem to be digital advance and cool
B.University of Glocestershire (illustration )

C.University of west of england Bristol (illustration)
D.University of East London (book arts and illustration)


thanks in advance

 

[Athena]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

How much do you guys pay for your University/college? Here in Toronto i pay 21,000 per year, my girl friend 47,000. She studies Law, I Criminology. It’s a total rip off, one of that is called I-got-fucked-in-the-ass but I really have no other options. It’s either pay or have a shity job for the rest of your life. Education is slowly becoming a privilege for only the wealthy class.

 

[mrcongojack]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

How much do you guys pay for your University/college? Here in Toronto i pay 21,000 per year, my girl friend 47,000. She studies Law, I Criminology. It’s a total rip off, one of that is called I-got-fucked-in-the-ass but I really have no other options. It’s either pay or have a shity job for the rest of your life. Education is slowly becoming a privilege for only the wealthy class.

21,000? With today's exchange rates, that would be... $21,000! I'm hoping you are going to a private school, because I go to a public school and tuition is only like $4,000-5000 a year, room and board is only like 2000-3000 more a year.

 

[Leen]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

In my school, it cost me about USD 60k per academic year. =/

Anyone care to fund my studies?

 

[mrcongojack]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

60 K a year...! I'm never going to complain about my college costs again.

I hope that the UC is like other schools that cost way too much and offers a substantial financial aid package.

 

[Leen]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

Oh yeah. About 60 percent of the students in U of C receive some kind of financial aids.

Not only that, the school just received the largest anonymous donation in the whole US. It was USD 100 million. All the money go to funding this new scholarship called Odyssey Scholarship.

So yeah, even though it charges super insane cost to students, it gives substantial amount of financial aids to students too. Most of the students that I meet have some kind of financial aids and they pay something like USD 15k a year. That's not too bad huh?

 

[LadyHatake]

Re: Colleges: The Good, The Bad, and The Way Too Expensive!

I'm at a public, in-state school (Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA) as an undergrad student, and I pay around $7,000 per year in tuition alone, and another $6,000 or so for room and board each year. Plus $1,000 for books, so around $14,000-$15,000 per year. Physical Therapy school (which is a doctorate program) has tuition of $22,000 per year, not including room and board. And that's just for in-state. Luckily I have a few years for that, and right now I have a scholarship that covers a bit over half of my fees each semester =)