Help with college!

[Pretty Flaco]

I need your help, guys! I really don't understand majors/minors and the differences between universities and colleges. Also, what would anybody who's gone through college suggest to prepare me for it or increase my chances of getting into a decent one?

I don't know how to get scholarships either and without them I won't have any money for college.

My biggest interests are in social sciences/history, with my biggest being anthropology.

Any tips? :marx:

[Pretty Flaco]

Only the children of the bourgeoisie can afford computers!

CLASS TRAITOR

[Pretty Flaco]

I feel like I'm not going to get any serious answers out of chit-chat, could this be moved somewhere else?

[Noinu]

I would really really really like to help you on this, but I would have to take a few days to investigate the matter since I don't like in the US (we only have Universities and major/minor thing is rather simple around here so....).
Studying is a good thing so I'd seriously like to help :(

[Noinu]

Wikipedia has an article on higher education in the US, it seemed rather helpful.. There should be something about admissions too, and really, it doesn't hurt to just start googling different colleges and universities and checking out their own webpages. They usually have information on admissions and curriculum on their sites.

[Pretty Flaco]

I looked up a little bit about majors/minors by myself and it was easy to understand! I just didn't know exactly how they worked.

And I completely understand. Is the education system in Finland radically different from that of the US?

[Noinu]

I looked up a little bit about majors/minors by myself and it was easy to understand! I just didn't know exactly how they worked.

And I completely understand. Is the education system in Finland radically different from that of the US?


Well. Yes.
Probably most importantly, it's free. So even if there is all the stress of finding a flat and paying rent etc atleast there's no stress over tuition fees and no school is 'for the rich' in that sense, since anyone who passes the exam gets in.

But other than that I really doubt there's so much difference. I don't know about majors and minors in the US, so I don't know if there's a difference. In my school, I can minor in anything I please (thank goodness, since I seriously couldn't care less about phonetics and the structure of English).

I think there was a list on wikipedia of different colleges and universities, have you already found one that might interest you?

[Pretty Flaco]

I'm not sure yet about what college yet and although I've specifically heard some good things from some people about the University of Michigan for liberal arts.

And that actually sounds really good right about now. :crying:
money is a huge factor for school. not a lot of lower or even middle class people get into certain top schools unless if they're really lucky

[Decolonize The Left]

I need your help, guys! I really don't understand majors/minors and the differences between universities and colleges. Also, what would anybody who's gone through college suggest to prepare me for it or increase my chances of getting into a decent one?

I don't know how to get scholarships either and without them I won't have any money for college.

My biggest interests are in social sciences/history, with my biggest being anthropology.

Any tips? :marx:

Ok. Here's a quick run-down for colleges within the US, I can't speak for those abroad.

College = University, for the most part. Universities tend to be larger, and generally speaking they are state-run (i.e. University of California, Berkeley). Colleges tend to be smaller, and generally speaking are private (i.e. Colgate College). Both provide higher education and both cost lot's of money, but I'll get to the money thing later.

Basics:
- Complete high school. The single most important factor when applying to college is a high school diploma with a high GPA (above 3.0). SAT/ACT scores are important to some colleges and universities but not all, while GPA is the primary statistic used to gauge a student's performance.
- Take the relevant tests, like the SAT/ACT and do your best. They suck but most colleges/unis require them.
- Extra-curricular: sports, debate team, second languages, holding down a job, playing music, theater, art, whatever you've got. Extra-curriculars are important in the sense that they bolster your application.

Visiting/Research:
Before you apply to one school or another, you need to do your research. Look up as many schools as possible in the areas you like, and branch out to other states. Look at big schools, small schools, public and private and see which ones interest you. If you have the time/money, visit as many schools as possible. Take the tour, spend the night, eat in the cafeteria, attend two or more classes, etc... Talk to the admissions people and remember that they want your money, they want your attendance and your contributions.
Remember that when you visit the schools you should be dressed relatively well, and should be clean and polite. This is not a time to 'be yourself' as you will have ample time to do that later. If you really want to go to a school then you most certainly will need to lie at some time or another.

Since you're interested in anthropology, you should research and visit schools with a good an/soc program (sociology/anthropology, they are usually lumped together as one program). Find the schools with good soc/anthro departments and visit them first. Spend time in the department and ask questions. Talk to the professors when you can and you will become known. Then when it comes time for and application (see below), if you were very interesting you might be able to get a recommendation from one of the professors at the school.

Applications:
Now, when you apply to college you are basically selling yourself to the college - you want them to buy you. You want them to give you money to go to their school (via grants, loans, and work study). In order to sell yourself, you need to have a good application. You need to fill out the correct application for the school (almost every school has a different application form) and you need to fill it out well.
The personal essay is the most important part of the application so pick a good topic which you feel comfortable with and have at least three other people re-read and edit it before you submit it in writing with the application.

Apply to more than one school. You should probably apply to over 10 in total, with 3 or so beings the schools you really want to go to, 5 or so being ones you'd be fine attending, and 3 being your back-up schools which you are pretty sure you'll be accepted to if the others don't accept you.

Money:
They will not give you enough money. You should assume this from the get-go. A college/university is an institution which has a budget like any other and a portion of that budget is allotted for grants/loans.
A grant is a bundle of free money that the school gives you each year usually in accordance with some promise to maintain a certain GPA.
A loan is money which the school loans you each year, through the government, all of which you will have to pay back at a later date (usually one year after you graduate you will have to begin making payments).
Work study is where you work for the school and the money you make goes towards your tuition.

You want grants. Lots of them. And if possible, you want some scholarship money as well. The more free money you get the better. They will want to give you loans as they don't have to front the money and you have to pay it back. Beg, plead, do whatever it takes to get more grants and less loans.

Final words:
It is a hard task to find a college that will a) be right for you, b) pay most of your way, and c) help you learn what you want to learn.
It's hard, but it's very possible and you can do it. You must be vigilant and resourceful and you must always remember that you want them to want you. Conduct yourself accordingly. Make them want you to attend and they will give you money. Make them want to have you among their student body because of all the great things you bring to those around you and because of who you are.

- August

[Fawkes]

Don't worry about majors/minors til you get there. Most people don't even declare a major until their second year of school. Allow yourself to get a feel for the school first before you make any choices on what you want to study, cause it can and most likely will change, just based off of my observations.

As far as what they are, your major is the area which you take the vast majority of your credits in (I think the average is like 50-90 or something depending on the school, but don't quote me on that) and it's what you get your degree in. For example, assuming I don't change my major, which I may, I will graduate with either a Bachelor of Arts in music or a Bachelor of Music (they're different things, I just don't know which one I'm gonna do).

Some schools don't have minors at all, some make you have one, some you can depending on department. Basically what a minor is is kind of a secondary major. It also has a certain credit requirement, though considerably less than your major, and it has nothing to do with your degree formally speaking. Advantages of not taking a minor are that you are able to take a broader range of elective courses, allowing you to have a more comprehensive experience.

You can also do double-majors, but I don't really know anything about how they work other than that you have two majors (go figure).

Hope that helps.

P.S. if you're looking for cheap schools that are really good, check out any of the City University of New York (CUNY) schools. I go to Hunter, and as far as American universities go, it's really good. Obviously it has a lot of faults, but considerably less than most schools I would say. In-state tuition for a semester is roughly $2000-4000 depending on the school, there are 18 different ones. Out-of-state is something like $7000-8000 a semester.

[¿Que?]

Every school's department should have an advising office. You should try to contact one, preferably associated with an area of study you are considering studying. Ask as many questions as you can think of. Maybe write them down on a piece of paper before you call or visit. Try to make your questions as specific as possible. So instead of asking what's a major and what's a minor, Ask, does this program require that I register for a minor? When would I have to decide on a major? Considering my interests in x, y, and z, do you think this would be a good department for me? If not which one?

Googling, wikipedia and college websites are good for preliminary information gathering, but at some point I would suggest you actually go out and talk to some people at the school, particularly in your preferred area of study, if anything just to get a sense of the department.

Good Luck. BTW, have you considered sociology? It's like Anthropology but with more stats (unless you mean physical anthropology which I know very little about).

[KC]

You've gotta be crazily stupid to get a libarts degree in this economy (that is, if you're going to the US where tuition is crazy expensive).

If you're going to go for libarts, stay in uni that's paid for. Even better, learn on your own.

[ellipsis]

You've gotta be crazily stupid to get a libarts degree in this economy (that is, if you're going to the US where tuition is crazy expensive).

If you're going to go for libarts, stay in uni that's paid for. Even better, learn on your own.


errrrr... I guess I am crazily stupid... I guess i should have gone to college to get a good job that i would hate, and not for the reasons i did go, to learn and have an enriching college experience. :blushing::blushing::blushing::blushing:

[Pretty Flaco]

My older brother is an archaeology and that's what influenced my interest in anthropology. I realize that anthropologists generally don't make a lot of money at all and also have trouble getting work.

I'm not saying it's what I'm going to do... but it is what I'm most interested in. Thanks for the help. Now I just need to find out what I want to do with my life!

[¿Que?]

My older brother is an archaeology and that's what influenced my interest in anthropology. I realize that anthropologists generally don't make a lot of money at all and also have trouble getting work.

I'm not saying it's what I'm going to do... but it is what I'm most interested in. Thanks for the help. Now I just need to find out what I want to do with my life!
Generally, if you take classes that have a lot of math and computers in them, such as some physical anthro classes, it greatly increases the types of skills you can put on your resume (stats, software, etc). On the other hand, theory heavy classes are pretty much useless unless you specifically plan on going for a master's or a phd.

[KC]

errrrr... I guess I am crazily stupid... I guess i should have gone to college to get a good job that i would hate, and not for the reasons i did go, to learn and have an enriching college experience. :blushing::blushing::blushing::blushing:

This is such a stupid position. Yeah, go learn and "have an enriching college experience" and be in debt for the next 20 years. You know, you can learn outside of college and you won't get into debt for it. And you can also find something you enjoy that's practical to go to school for. Anyways, I don't really care, your money.

[black magick hustla]

the biggest college con is that kids end up paying for "leftists" to speak to them about africans starving or some shit. look in the streets, in the gritty bars, in the loneliness of man and then you will learn all of that. talk to militants who have given their lives for this thing rather than paying some fucker who makes 100k while he has the authority to fire and hire adjunct lecturers scrap 30k and are left without health insurance

[black magick hustla]

bosses making a profit out of the corpse of marx how disgusting

[ellipsis]

This is such a stupid position. Yeah, go learn and "have an enriching college experience" and be in debt for the next 20 years. You know, you can learn outside of college and you won't get into debt for it. And you can also find something you enjoy that's practical to go to school for. Anyways, I don't really care, your money.


This is such a stupid position. Yeah, go learn and "have an enriching college experience" and be in debt for the next 20 years. You know, you can learn outside of college and you won't get into debt for it. And you can also find something you enjoy that's practical to go to school for. Anyways, I don't really care, your money.

So you are the authority on what is "smart" and "stupid" huh? Where does having 7,600 posts on one internet forum (and how many on how many others?) fall on that spectrum? has it made you much money? taught you many "practical" skills? You know, you can read books about everything covered on revleft, talk to leftists IRL about the same topics, make the same snarking comments, AND you won't get carpal tunnel but you will leave your mom's house, at least to go to the library. But you won't hear me call you stupid, I at least have enough class to type this entire pargraph to call you a cantankerous, egotistical internet nerd and forum troll. OH NO KC! DON'T USE YOUR MIGHTY BUT UNKNOWN IN TERMS OF POWER REP POINTS TO SMITE ME WITH NEG REP!

Yah KC, I, like most people have seen "good will hunting" and thus I, like most people am well aware i could learn as much at a public library as at harvard.

I choose one path, you another. WHO CARES? Stop talking down to comrade who don't conform to your idea of what is "smart"?

15k in debt? it means nothing to a man who believes in nothing.

[Lee Van Cleef]

15k in debt? it means nothing to a man who believes in nothing.
Very idealistic, but look it pragmatically. You are paying tens of thousands of dollars a year to go to school and get your degree. I don't know your personal situation, but most Americans finance their education primarily with loans they will have to pay back, with interest. Consequently, it is important to be able to make a return on your investment.

If you are focusing in the social sciences, I would strongly recommend you consider a double-major in a marketable field that compliments your other interests. For instance, I am an Anthropology major, but have begun to take some Public Relations classes, and will likely declare it as another major next semester. In this way, you can cover all your bases.

[Property Is Robbery]

Well. Yes.
Probably most importantly, it's free.


Shit that is a pretty motivating reason to move to Finland :p

[ellipsis]

Very idealistic, but look it pragmatically. You are paying tens of thousands of dollars a year to go to school and get your degree. I don't know your personal situation, but most Americans finance their education primarily with loans they will have to pay back, with interest. Consequently, it is important to be able to make a return on your investment.

If you are focusing in the social sciences, I would strongly recommend you consider a double-major in a marketable field that compliments your other interests. For instance, I am an Anthropology major, but have begun to take some Public Relations classes, and will likely declare it as another major next semester. In this way, you can cover all your bases.

No I have been gradeemacated for years now, i know the perils of student debt. My "marketable"(are socialists supposed to be marketable?) skills, which are none, at least not gained from college, have gotten me no where. my unmarketable skills learned in college, ones gleaned mostly outside of class but within "college" have served me quite well in terms of living my preferred lifestyle. I work for myself a handful of hours a week as a independent labor tradesmen(learned by working in my chosen field for 11+ years), sell my sperm(which is more desirable regardless of my major) and dumpster(college learned skill) almost ALL of my food. I spend the rest of my time on activism and urban farming. Show me any job that requires Marketable skills and only requires 2-10 hours a week of paid work to pay the rent and fill the stomach.

BUT not all people want, or even have the options to choose my lifesytle, so again, to each their own.

[KC]

BUT not all people want, or even have the options to choose my lifesytle, so again, to each their own.

Then quit fucking whining.

[Decolonize The Left]

Then quit fucking whining.

This is a verbal warning. Come on KC, you know better.

- August

[ellipsis]

Then quit fucking whining.

Your forensic skills are unmatched.

[Sosa]

You can find a lot of grants and scholarships that will help with the cost of tuition, perhaps even cover all of it. My first two years were at a community college and I received a federal grant that covered books and tuition plus about $600 extra cash for me per semester.