h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

btw - 'campuses'. Also 'forums', 'symposiums', 'maximums', 'minimums'. I will only allow Latin plurals in English from people who can also tell me the plural of kangaroo, igloo, teepee, kamikaze, bungalow, pizza, kindergarten, opera*...etc.

A Cambridge mathematician phoned his colleague on a Sunday:
'Come around quickly. I wish to discuss some interesting conundra concerning maxima and minima.'
His colleague replied,
'Surely we can find better things to to on a Sunday than sitting on our ba doing sa?'


* Well spotted. Opera are already plural...and kindergarten might be.

>>Major congratulations on acceptance to Princeton - the college of James Madison (and some other people too, I think).<<
Just a few: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Princeton_University_people

And me - I went to Princeton. Or drove through while wandering lost around NJ late one night. Almost as good.

Plus my cousin. (She actually graduated.) She does Supreme Court cases. And she was part of the mime club there. Beyond that, I can't tell you a thing about it.



One important thing - you're gonna love it wherever you end up, so don't agonize overly much.

Unless you want to. But once you choose, don't bother regretting. Not worth the effort.

>>And she was part of the mime club there. Beyond that, I can't tell you a thing about it.

Neither, presumably, can she.

actually, the mime soc sounds a good thing. Half the students here only pretend to go to uni, now if hey could just do it quietly

While trapped in a glass box

or walking into a strong wing

Hey, EMR.

I came across an old post of yours while responding to some sexist drivel that just resurected an old PR thread and I thought 'I've not seen her around for awhile. I wonder what's happening.' So I came by your space and saw that good things are happening. I came by wanting to tell you were missed in the infernal 'God' threads but now I just want to say 'Go, Girl!'

I am torn, however: My first publication was in Modern Philology from U of Chicago, so I want to say 'go there if you can' but then, like you, I'm Canadian, and my father is from Montreal, so I want to say 'don't hesitate, go to McGill.'

Of course, I may have missed something in all the posts I've not read on this thread, so maybe the decision has already been made.


Whatever.



Go, Girl!







(and you're not missing anything on those infernal 'God' threads.)

Thanks, anhaga!

I definitely haven't decided yet; I'm visiting UChicago next week and Princeton the week after, and that will hopefully help me make my decision. (And glad to hear I'm not missing anything!)

Speaking as a regular contributor to those threads...no you're not. They always end up dancing to one particular person's tune. Hence my secret Atheist Fundamentalism thread.

And I know the origin of your tagline!

*pleased with self*

Some are easier than others.

Hey they, I don't know much about US universities, but I have done a history degree, so if you're considering taking one...

History is generally one of those "get out what you get in" subjects. You have to write a lot of essays (which can get to some people), and you generally don't get that much guidance compared to some more definite degrees. Its also quite difficult to get high marks, but fairly easy to meet the basic requirements.

The flip side of all that is that you can usually go delving into whatever the hell you like. I had to decide on all my own essay titles, but even had that not been the case, the research you do and the way you answer allows a massive amount of flexibility. Professors are usually keen for students to persue any particular enthusiasm they might have.

I went through all sorts of crazy stuff, such as: applying narrative theory to medieval texts, the environmentalist movement, Christian mysticism, pre-revolutionary France.

Its worth finding out the format of the course: how it would be taught. Mine was broken into lectures: professor talks to a roomfull of people, occassionally has interactive bits. Seminars: small group discuss material they have read under supervision and guidance of a professor. Tutorials: discuss an essay you are writing or have written one-on-one. Definitions may vary from university to university, some have larger tutorials with debating, for example. Seminars are the best/most fun in my opinion, but some people don't like talking in public so they might disagree. Also if you haven't read some material on the topic its a nightmare.

Skills you would likely develop/improve/practice for your CV: writing, research, presentations, constructing a rigorous argument, working independently and on your own initiative, discussion and debating, taking a 'big picture' view of a problem.

I'm moved to computer science now for my masters degree, and its interesting for a whole different set of reasons.

Of course, experiences may vary. You seem keen, so I'm sure whichever subject you pick will work well for you, and you're probably going to love the freedom of university.

>>I'm moved to computer science now for my masters degree,

Interestingly enough, there was a R4 programme at the weekend about the Bletchley Park codebreakers. One of the former inmates who contributed to the programme was the famed historian, Asa Briggs. History as well as science teaches analytical skills.

( http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/thereunion/ )

Not just history, of course. I know three separate people who went into AI research after degrees in Old English.

Employers I've talked to have indicated that a mixture of soft skills with something mathsy and analytical is desirable, which I think goes in favour of the US system of teaching a mixture.

Oh man, I am *such* a Bletchley Park fan, even though I don't know the first thing about cryptology. Awesome.

There you are! Studying history could set you up to win the next world war. Or, even better, to learn some lessons that we don't need to repeat.

Remember, though, that university isn't *just* about increasing your marketability to The Man. (Call me naive, call me old-fashioned...you'd be quite right.)

Of course not! That's one of my major ideological beliefs, something I've been on a crusade about for the past little while.

Well, I'm back now from the University of Chicago's event for admitted students.

My mother and I flew into Chicago's Midway Airport at about midnight on Wednesday, and stayed overnight in the university's International House, which has guest rooms for visitors. All I have to say about that is that it was stiflingly warm because I couldn't figure out how to turn down the radiator.

The next morning, we went over to the administrative building where events were being held. My mother attended a session on financial aid (which was, unfortunately, very discouraging - it doesn't look like our zero aid situation will ever change) and I went to sit in on a humanities class called Human Being and Citizen, of the type that I would probably take my first year if I went to UChicago. 20 students were discussing Othello with a graduate student writing intern, in preparation for writing a paper on it (the professor sat to the side and interjected comments occasionally), and since I'm familiar with the play (well, I've seen the movie) it wasn't too difficult to keep up. I was relieved to note that while the discussion was definitely a cut above my high-school English class, with almost everyone participating and doing so intelligently, it wasn't over my head. I felt like I could definitely take an active role in class.

Then my mother and I reconvened for a panel on the social sciences (which I'll probably be studying in some capacity), wherein the head of the social sciences division discussed the different opportunities in programs of study. We also took a campus tour, highlights of which included a few academic buildings, the student center, and the outsides of some dorms, graduate school buildings, and of course the beautiful neo-Gothic main quads. (UChicago was the first American location choice for filming the Harry Potter films, but JK Rowling wanted the filming to stay in the UK.)

Then a student took a group of us to lunch in one of the dining halls on campus, where I ate chicken and Asian-style pasta. When we reconvened in the administrative building, we took seats in the cinema that the building also houses, for a lecture called "The Aims of a Chicago Education", featuring a rather pompous writing instructor who gave a lecture on the Gettysburg Address. My mother is a writing lecturer as well, and she disagreed with some of the things he was saying about the teaching of writing - as did I, feeling that he was concentrating too much on writing for the corporate setting. However, when he was done, there was the most informative part of the day: one of the admissions staff moderated a discussion with a panel of five current students, obviously selected for their diverse backgrounds and interests. Parents and students asked many questions, and the students were all very articulate in their responses (including one who is from San Diego, like me). Then the parents were dismissed, to go on a bus tour of the city and do whatever else they wanted to, while we stayed to ask more... err... "uncensored" questions.

Gradually, groups of students were dismissed - this time to spend the rest of the night in dorms with student hosts, the "main attraction" of the program. I was assigned to stay in a dorm called Broadview, a building that used to be a hotel. It's 15 minutes' walk off-campus, or you can take the bus, which is free for students, but the tradeoff is that every room has a private bathroom, which is unusual. Since it was raining, we took the bus. Two current students who were serving as our hosts led us to the building, where we dropped off our luggage in dorm rooms, whose floors we were sleeping on. The owner of my room turned out to go to a high school near mine, whom we play in quizbowl, which was entertaining.

Then we went to dinner in the dining hall, and I ate a hamburger, fries and melon. One of the fraternities (10% of students are in a fraternity or sorority) was having a party for the prospective students, and our group was split on whether we wanted to attend the party. I and some others who felt that getting drunk on our prospie overnight was not the best plan went instead to the official events: a "fair" of student groups, where maybe 30 of the most popular campus organizations had tables set up. I got myself on the mailing list of the LGBT students group, and also expressed interest in University Theater (on the technical side) and the film society. Then we attended a performance by two improv comedy groups and an a capella group - the second improv group was awesome; the others were more so-so. Then we returned to the dorm for an epic game of Apples to Apples, which I am proud to say I won. It was about quarter to 1am at this point, so we headed to bed.

My room's owner actually returned about half an hour later, from the frat party as it happens, and I talked to her for a bit about campus life, before she went off to do some work in her friend's room. I went to sleep, and was somewhat irked to find, when I woke up at 8 the next morning, that she had never come back at all and I could have slept in her bed instead of on the floor.

Our hosts took us over to the student center in the morning, where we got breakfast and I met my mother. Mom and I went on a tour of the dorm where I most want to live, which lived up to my expectations, and at this point we had to catch our bus to the airport. So we did (and the bus ride was very easy), and got on our plane, changed planes in Denver, and then got home at about 8:30 last night. I was absolutely exhausted and now here I am!

I am very excited about UChicago from that visit, and what's more, my mother was "sold" enough to think that if I really wanted to go there, it would be worth the considerable difference in price. I would love to go to UChicago, but I have to wait till next week - when I repeat this sequence of events at Princeton - to be sure. Err... sorry for the lengthly post if you were reading.

Don't apologise for the length of the post. I was fascinated to read it and compare it with how students in the UK are 'sold' their chosen university. Points in common certainly, but points of difference as well.

Look forward to a similar account of Princeton

Sounds a lot more complicated than the process I went through. But the broader education it gives you is quite likely worth it.

I studied chemistry. A little biology, a little biochem, but basically chemistry. And that was it. The major/minor process sounds like fun.

TRiG.

Sounds great!

btw...my education/ job prospects comment wasn't directed at you, e.

h5ringer, how are UKians "sold" universities? I'm very curious about the differences.

It continues to surprise me that liberal arts education, with the revival of core curricula seems to be a primarily American thing. Just about every American university has distribution requirements of some sort, requiring you to take courses in diverse subject areas, and the major/minor/electives/etc system. (However, UChicago is unique in that its core curriculum comprises 18 courses, plus PE.)