At least you're in the university you wanted, so it all should work out, even if you don't get in by any chance. Do you have a backup major you can apply to, just in case?
Describe your time in college
- Thread starter Tenrius
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At least you're in the university you wanted, so it all should work out, even if you don't get in by any chance. Do you have a backup major you can apply to, just in case?
lol I know that but where in Quebec. I am from there 2That's why I am wondering
Ah, I reside in Montreal.
If you came in to college with lots of AP or dual-credit prep where you've already taken calculus and calculus-based physics you are having a much easier time than other people like me did. Beyond that, anyway, freshman year is a joke compared to upper levels.
Freshman year is a lot different than when you have to take Heat Transfer, Thermodynamics II, Physical Chemistry and Mass Transfer in the same semester.
Uni on Everything!
Member
Partied, drank, partied some more, drank some more. Parents bought me a house near my college and at one point I was living with 3 girls in my house. Had so much fun that I decided to graduate in 5 years instead of 4. Still got my degree in international business with a minor in management and landed a job at a bank.
I don't drink at all anymore but sometimes I really miss the college days...
I don't drink at all anymore but sometimes I really miss the college days...
Almost at the end of my first year of uni (so nearly no one on-campus) and it's just been okay so far.
First semester was pretty bad. Met a few people and went out a couple of times, but nothing apart from that. Got lonely from time to time and did pretty poorly in a lot of my classes.
Second semester has been a bit better. I've made a few friends, been invited to a few parties, even hosted one which was a first. Went for a girl (and failed). My grades have improved as well which is nice.
I still don't have any close friends. I'm doing 11 hours per week and only 5 of those are tutorials, so at most I get to spend 1-2 hours with 3 different groups of people. I'll be starting a job tomorrow though which should help a bit.
First semester was pretty bad. Met a few people and went out a couple of times, but nothing apart from that. Got lonely from time to time and did pretty poorly in a lot of my classes.
Second semester has been a bit better. I've made a few friends, been invited to a few parties, even hosted one which was a first. Went for a girl (and failed). My grades have improved as well which is nice.
I still don't have any close friends. I'm doing 11 hours per week and only 5 of those are tutorials, so at most I get to spend 1-2 hours with 3 different groups of people. I'll be starting a job tomorrow though which should help a bit.
I was way too irresponsible and immature when I started so I wasted 4 years of my own time and my parent's money to end up without a degree and anything else to show for it. Most of the friendships turned out to be situational and the genuine friends I met there that I'm still friends with to this day can be counted on one hand. I did meet my ex-girlfriend there though, and that acquaintance alone is probably worth it. She is still the only person who I really connect with on a deeper level and who "really gets me".
Aside from that I got into hard drugs during my years at university which eventually spiralled out of control into a daily heroin habit causing me to lose many people's friendship, respect and most importantly trust. I am still working on rebuilding my life and doing the best I can to make up for my past mistakes.
In hindsight I wish I'd have been guided better making the jump from highschool to university. Because I'm a pretty bright guy people made the mistake of thinking I knew what I was doing and that was not at all true, I was just a stupid directionless teenager that didn't know anything about anything related to life goals and how to reach them.
If I could go back in time I probably wouldn't slap my younger self, but I'd tell him about the opportunities he has which will not stay there for ever.
I am looking into going back in the next few years, but it is looking more and more impossible every day. Ah well, live and learn...
Aside from that I got into hard drugs during my years at university which eventually spiralled out of control into a daily heroin habit causing me to lose many people's friendship, respect and most importantly trust. I am still working on rebuilding my life and doing the best I can to make up for my past mistakes.
In hindsight I wish I'd have been guided better making the jump from highschool to university. Because I'm a pretty bright guy people made the mistake of thinking I knew what I was doing and that was not at all true, I was just a stupid directionless teenager that didn't know anything about anything related to life goals and how to reach them.
If I could go back in time I probably wouldn't slap my younger self, but I'd tell him about the opportunities he has which will not stay there for ever.
I am looking into going back in the next few years, but it is looking more and more impossible every day. Ah well, live and learn...
Holly shit, all this talk of student loans and college dorms makes me glad as fuck that i live in Germany: my uni (TU Berlin) only costs me 270 a semester in "study taxes" but that also covers unlimited usage of all public transports in the City for 6 months. The loan i do take (so i don't have to work on the side) its state-funded and amasses no interests...
I'm in the second semester, doing industrial management and Engineering and having a good time despite not drinking and studying a lot.
To y'all who are going through depressions or even considering suicide: either get professional help or skip the country and leave everything behind. You can gather enough money to leave by doing a low level job for some months, and a mountain of debt, a load of regrets, or even mob enforcers being on your tail is all not as final as death.
I'm in the second semester, doing industrial management and Engineering and having a good time despite not drinking and studying a lot.
To y'all who are going through depressions or even considering suicide: either get professional help or skip the country and leave everything behind. You can gather enough money to leave by doing a low level job for some months, and a mountain of debt, a load of regrets, or even mob enforcers being on your tail is all not as final as death.
I'm not sure where would someone go in such a situation, especially if they are depressed. And sometimes think do get better, making it all worthwhile, so there's really no definitive answer to this quandary. The only thing I know for sure is that you should seek professional help if you are depressed and/or suicidal.
perryfarrell
Member
Dayum son, that's pretty rough. Good to hear you're gettin back on track!
grosvenor_92
Member
This is last year (third overall) and after graduating last year and not finding a job I decided to come back. I've really enjoyed it though as I've made a lot of new friends, been some really good parties and I'm gonna miss it once I'm done in December.
Once I'm done hopefully I'll be able to find a job and not be sitting around for 6 months like last year.
Once I'm done hopefully I'll be able to find a job and not be sitting around for 6 months like last year.
Ugh, that thread was so embarrassing. I guess it fits into this one though!
Nothing's wrong with it, i think i would have learned a lot more going there for a bit and gained some perspective.
Not too different from others I suppose.
Freshman Year: Fall semester I met a bunch of people, had some good times. Didn't drink, but it didn't really matter to me at that point. That semester my grades were mediocre - not failing, but I did get a D+ because one of my professor's never got my final essay. Spring semester I took my grades a lot seriously, but regressed in social life.
Sophomore Year: I moved in with some random guys in a shared apartment. I thought it was a possible death sentence, but it turned out to be the best semester I had. The guys were all cool and we had like a house party every month. Grades got even better until I fell into depression in spring, holed up a lot in the apartment, and essentially my parents took me out of there because they believed that one of my roommates was corrupting me (reasoning was because he was homosexual - my parents are Southern Baptists). That spring semester I actually had lost weight, but taking me out put it back on (and not the healthy type of weight).
Junior Year: Fall semester sucked ass. Lonely, had mediocre grades again, and was running a part-time job with my parents that did get me some money. I tried to hang out with the old roommates but they were all seniors and had a lot more work to do. I was on 4chan a lot and generally hated life at the time. Spring semester was much better, I was able to hang out with some friends from freshman year a lot and got better grades. Didn't get an internship, but I was hoping for some luck.
Senior Year so far: I've had the best exam grades in my life (but I did have some bad ones, lol). Haven't hung out with many because everyone is fucking busy. My laptop is also in need of repair (the hard drive failed back in March so I replaced it and now the new one is failing), and my family is looking at big financial costs coming up (my mother needs surgery on her teeth to get a new bridge and my brother is getting married in August). I really need that internship but I also need a working laptop and more people to hang around with.
Not a lot of ladies' action, but I never was interested in getting a couple hookups or a relationship (this has led to my dad asking if I was homosexual, lol).
Freshman Year: Fall semester I met a bunch of people, had some good times. Didn't drink, but it didn't really matter to me at that point. That semester my grades were mediocre - not failing, but I did get a D+ because one of my professor's never got my final essay. Spring semester I took my grades a lot seriously, but regressed in social life.
Sophomore Year: I moved in with some random guys in a shared apartment. I thought it was a possible death sentence, but it turned out to be the best semester I had. The guys were all cool and we had like a house party every month. Grades got even better until I fell into depression in spring, holed up a lot in the apartment, and essentially my parents took me out of there because they believed that one of my roommates was corrupting me (reasoning was because he was homosexual - my parents are Southern Baptists). That spring semester I actually had lost weight, but taking me out put it back on (and not the healthy type of weight).
Junior Year: Fall semester sucked ass. Lonely, had mediocre grades again, and was running a part-time job with my parents that did get me some money. I tried to hang out with the old roommates but they were all seniors and had a lot more work to do. I was on 4chan a lot and generally hated life at the time. Spring semester was much better, I was able to hang out with some friends from freshman year a lot and got better grades. Didn't get an internship, but I was hoping for some luck.
Senior Year so far: I've had the best exam grades in my life (but I did have some bad ones, lol). Haven't hung out with many because everyone is fucking busy. My laptop is also in need of repair (the hard drive failed back in March so I replaced it and now the new one is failing), and my family is looking at big financial costs coming up (my mother needs surgery on her teeth to get a new bridge and my brother is getting married in August). I really need that internship but I also need a working laptop and more people to hang around with.
Not a lot of ladies' action, but I never was interested in getting a couple hookups or a relationship (this has led to my dad asking if I was homosexual, lol).
terrisus
Member
Disagree.
12 years of college, never lived on campus, never smoked, play plenty of video games, and hang out on GAF. I have no desire to do any of that junk - I'm going to college to learn/get degrees.
lastflowers
Banned
yeah, I'm going to have to agree with this
Wiz
Member
Depressing thread is depressing. 
In my last year of university (graduating in the Spring) and I gotta say I had a great time so far. Meet lots of cool people, learned a few things, and got a very good internship which could set me up for a nice paying job after I graduate (Computer Science major here).
One thing I regret is not being more outgoing when I first started. I'm over it now, but during my freshman and sophomore years I lived on campus and had plenty of chances to go after women, party, and just have fun.
That's all changed now (working on the women part) but overall I feel good in the position I'm in. Anyone not in college yet, all I can say is stay focused, but make sure you have fun too. Be willing to try awkward/new things.
In my last year of university (graduating in the Spring) and I gotta say I had a great time so far. Meet lots of cool people, learned a few things, and got a very good internship which could set me up for a nice paying job after I graduate (Computer Science major here).
One thing I regret is not being more outgoing when I first started. I'm over it now, but during my freshman and sophomore years I lived on campus and had plenty of chances to go after women, party, and just have fun.
That's all changed now (working on the women part) but overall I feel good in the position I'm in. Anyone not in college yet, all I can say is stay focused, but make sure you have fun too. Be willing to try awkward/new things.
Anyone got a link to the thread?
Jackben
bitch I'm taking calls.
EDIT: *beaten like the meat of the spectators to that thread*
phisheep
NeoGAF's Chief Barrister
This thread seems to have about run its course. But I'd like to add a bit about my college days to add perspective. It is a long time ago.
Because when I was at college, back in the 1970s in real time and back in the 1590s in architecture and amenities, things were a lot different. Can't think of a decent way of organising this, so it is point by point as things occur to me.
- long way from family, only one available telephone in the whole place so impossible to receive calls, everything done by letter. Pot luck whether anyone is available to take a call if I do manage to ring them. Very isolated from family.
- long way from toilet, only one toilet in the (admittedly beautiful) quadrangle. Long walks in the snow required if in need.
- nearly no women, ours was one of the first five main Oxford colleges (and the leader) in admitting women only a year before I arrived. Even then, very few.
- nearly no TV. There was one TV in the common room and only three channels
- No computers (that's a lie, I think there was maybe one somewhere), mobile phones, facebook, internet etc.
Some consequences of this were:
- huge dependency on following up any people that you actually met face to face, lots of communication through notes and letters to each other and to other colleges, lots of inviting people to places and just expecting people to turn up - which they usually did
- huge reliance on print advertising of lectures/events/pub crawls/competitions/plays/concerts and anything else that was going on
- huge reliance on everyone else to refer you to other people who might be interested in the same sort of thing (for example, I was one of I think only 12 students in an enormous university doing my course, and I think it took us about two years to all get in touch with each other)
- huge social advantages in happening to meet somebody interesting somewhere and spreading the word, so advantages in going out and about and getting to know as many people as you can.
Academically, things were pretty well as they had been for the last 400 years or so. The only criterion was to attend a one
ne tutorial with your tutor once a week. So far as I'm aware there were no compulsory lectures at all, so I spent a lot of time going to interesting lectures in interesting subjects that I was not studying.
Tutorials were scary. The basic idea at Oxford is (or at least was) that you write an essay for the tutorial every week, the tutorial starts with you reading out the first sentence and by the time you get halfway through the first sentence the tutor starts to rip your argument to shreds. And keeps going along that line. Most people get these, but on my particular (no wonder there were only 12 people doing it) course I had four of these a week, and the opponent was always one of the best minds on the subject in the Western world. Sounds privileged - and it was - but for someone just turned 18 from an ordinary state school it was scary as hell, never got over it.
So, there's no curriculum so far as I can see, no compulsory lectures, just an essay title every week and access to some of the best libraries in the world. Now, about those libraries, we are talking pre-computer. You had to be able to use the catalogue properly. That in itself took three days work to understand, because the catalogue itself took up two floors of a huge mediaeval building and consisted of a vast number of leather-bound books with printed or handwritten slips pasted into them, some of the slips dating back 300 years. Then you order the books to a particular desk in a particular library building (there were, I think, 7 buildings with about 5,000 desks) and wait a day or two. Well, that day or two snips a bit out of the essay-writing time for starters, even assuming you ordered the right books.
Meanwhile, in the middle of all this, some guy who you have met through also being involved in choir/drama/rowing/rugby/general chitchat has mentioned to someone else that you are good at drawing and this someone else needs help with his PhD thesis which is due to be bound and delivered by midday tomorrow and can you pull an allnighter armed with art equipment at the Inorganic Chemistry Lab? Yeah, sure I can! We made that doctorate by about two minutes I think, after rugby-passing the thesis down the High Street.
That's not to mention all the stuff about having Swedish existentialists falling off punts, being tutored by the the (now) queen bee of UK educationalism, having too much of a disagreement with some famous philosopher about some point the for some reason he found important.
Or all the more important stuff in life like accidentally ending up as treasurer of a failing dramatic society which gave me my first and valuable go at renegotiating contracts, fending off bailiffs and only doing profitable things in future; or like my meetings with the younger versions of what turned out to be monster fraudsters, murderers, respected historians, archivists, bankers, captains of industry and a bunch of plain ornery people. And the premiere of Star Wars.
Interesting times.
On topic, no casual sex at least that I recall. Insufficient time, opportunity and interest. That came later.
Because when I was at college, back in the 1970s in real time and back in the 1590s in architecture and amenities, things were a lot different. Can't think of a decent way of organising this, so it is point by point as things occur to me.
- long way from family, only one available telephone in the whole place so impossible to receive calls, everything done by letter. Pot luck whether anyone is available to take a call if I do manage to ring them. Very isolated from family.
- long way from toilet, only one toilet in the (admittedly beautiful) quadrangle. Long walks in the snow required if in need.
- nearly no women, ours was one of the first five main Oxford colleges (and the leader) in admitting women only a year before I arrived. Even then, very few.
- nearly no TV. There was one TV in the common room and only three channels
- No computers (that's a lie, I think there was maybe one somewhere), mobile phones, facebook, internet etc.
Some consequences of this were:
- huge dependency on following up any people that you actually met face to face, lots of communication through notes and letters to each other and to other colleges, lots of inviting people to places and just expecting people to turn up - which they usually did
- huge reliance on print advertising of lectures/events/pub crawls/competitions/plays/concerts and anything else that was going on
- huge reliance on everyone else to refer you to other people who might be interested in the same sort of thing (for example, I was one of I think only 12 students in an enormous university doing my course, and I think it took us about two years to all get in touch with each other)
- huge social advantages in happening to meet somebody interesting somewhere and spreading the word, so advantages in going out and about and getting to know as many people as you can.
Academically, things were pretty well as they had been for the last 400 years or so. The only criterion was to attend a one
ne tutorial with your tutor once a week. So far as I'm aware there were no compulsory lectures at all, so I spent a lot of time going to interesting lectures in interesting subjects that I was not studying.Tutorials were scary. The basic idea at Oxford is (or at least was) that you write an essay for the tutorial every week, the tutorial starts with you reading out the first sentence and by the time you get halfway through the first sentence the tutor starts to rip your argument to shreds. And keeps going along that line. Most people get these, but on my particular (no wonder there were only 12 people doing it) course I had four of these a week, and the opponent was always one of the best minds on the subject in the Western world. Sounds privileged - and it was - but for someone just turned 18 from an ordinary state school it was scary as hell, never got over it.
So, there's no curriculum so far as I can see, no compulsory lectures, just an essay title every week and access to some of the best libraries in the world. Now, about those libraries, we are talking pre-computer. You had to be able to use the catalogue properly. That in itself took three days work to understand, because the catalogue itself took up two floors of a huge mediaeval building and consisted of a vast number of leather-bound books with printed or handwritten slips pasted into them, some of the slips dating back 300 years. Then you order the books to a particular desk in a particular library building (there were, I think, 7 buildings with about 5,000 desks) and wait a day or two. Well, that day or two snips a bit out of the essay-writing time for starters, even assuming you ordered the right books.
Meanwhile, in the middle of all this, some guy who you have met through also being involved in choir/drama/rowing/rugby/general chitchat has mentioned to someone else that you are good at drawing and this someone else needs help with his PhD thesis which is due to be bound and delivered by midday tomorrow and can you pull an allnighter armed with art equipment at the Inorganic Chemistry Lab? Yeah, sure I can! We made that doctorate by about two minutes I think, after rugby-passing the thesis down the High Street.
That's not to mention all the stuff about having Swedish existentialists falling off punts, being tutored by the the (now) queen bee of UK educationalism, having too much of a disagreement with some famous philosopher about some point the for some reason he found important.
Or all the more important stuff in life like accidentally ending up as treasurer of a failing dramatic society which gave me my first and valuable go at renegotiating contracts, fending off bailiffs and only doing profitable things in future; or like my meetings with the younger versions of what turned out to be monster fraudsters, murderers, respected historians, archivists, bankers, captains of industry and a bunch of plain ornery people. And the premiere of Star Wars.
Interesting times.
On topic, no casual sex at least that I recall. Insufficient time, opportunity and interest. That came later.
terrisus
Member
For me, I think that would be the main thing that would really be difficult for me. I mean, yes, I've done research by going to an actual library and looking through physical journals and such as well, but, to think of doing everything without any access to online journal databases and searches and such just makes me feel overloaded.
Gherid__lacksGPS
Banned
Amazing life long friends. Great education. Traveled the world. Fourth floor view w/ fireplace in apartment. For 2.5 yrs dated an amazing worman; swallowed, every time. Unfortunate she turned out to be bipolar.
All said and done, I can't complain to much.
All said and done, I can't complain to much.
phisheep
NeoGAF's Chief Barrister
It seems really strange in hindsight.
But one of the things, probably the main thing we were were really reliant on our tutors for was not knowledge in itself, but where the hell to find the knowledge. And in retrospect that is largely what the tutorials were for. Not so much (usually) to criticise what you'd written, but to criticise and correct what you had managed to find. Much of the tuition was a covert course in librarianship.
terrisus
Member
Hadn't really thought of that option - essentially using people as search directories. I mean, I guess I do that some in the way of getting recommendations and direction toward good sources and such, but not really as much in the way of querying.
I guess if it's all I had access to, I wouldn't think as much of it and would just kind of be used to it. But, the ability to just toss a couple of search terms into a database search, come up with a dozen journal articles, and print them out is just so easy that it's difficult to think about managing without that.
But then, I suppose, there's value in learning to make use of other people like that as well, which is something that I really don't get as much of as a result... Ah well...
phisheep
NeoGAF's Chief Barrister
There's a delightful passage somewhere in Robert Graves' "I, Claudius" that refers to a meeting with his old tutor (Sulpicius I think) in a library in Rome along with Livy and some other guy. Maybe Seneca, but I gave away my copy of the book so can't check it.. Sulpicius was a pretty rotten tutor, but had the unusual and valued gift of remembering exactly where a particular book was in the library, what it was called, who the author was and more-or-less which page was relevant.
Such skills were useful to all sorts of everyone until fairly recently, like maybe 1998-ish. Until then for 5,000 years or so that's all we had - other people's memories.
Maybe for you it seems strange to rely on that. For me, being a lot older probably, it seems strange (and of course magical and wonderful) having search engines and online directories at all.
But is has also changed the role of college tutors more than they perhaps realise themselves.
perryfarrell
Member
Sex, Drugs and Rock-and-Roll and the Life of the Mind, whatever that means. Invaluable.
I've been to Oxfrod at some point and, while strolling across the narrow streets and sampling lime and soda at various pubs, I actually wondered about this aspect of living in a medieval college. Must have been pretty tough.
All in all, it seems you had a really excellent time back then. My own experience (by the way, I attend MIPT in Moscow) so far is severely lacking of interpersonal interaction you seem to have had plenty of; however I can't really blame the computers for that it's not that I can't meet people because I can use my laptop to study etc etc, there is simply nothing making me do so. I'm very much comfortable spending time alone or with a few close friends I have, but it would be interesting to see how I would have to act if put under circumstances similar to what you described (and how that would make me feel: would I be happier? the opposite?).
The first two years were decent, with the second being the better of the two. Especially since I had gained a lot of confidence in all aspects of myself. I wasn't able to communicate as well as I wished I could (so no relationships), but it was the step in the right direction.
I had hoped the third year was going to be a continuation of the first and second year, but it was however a complete mess. I had a lot to get done, and I simply lost confidence/motivation in life. I outlined most of it in this thread when I started to get worse.
I began to doubt myself more, and I haven't gotten any better since then. I wish for things to change, but I just lack the motivation to do something about it. I'm stuck, and I can't find a way out of it. It has been over 2 years since college and I've barely progressed since then.
Shit sucks.
I had hoped the third year was going to be a continuation of the first and second year, but it was however a complete mess. I had a lot to get done, and I simply lost confidence/motivation in life. I outlined most of it in this thread when I started to get worse.
I began to doubt myself more, and I haven't gotten any better since then. I wish for things to change, but I just lack the motivation to do something about it. I'm stuck, and I can't find a way out of it. It has been over 2 years since college and I've barely progressed since then.
Shit sucks.
i hung out with my friends and partied a lot / great grades
i transferred and hung out with my ex a lot / mediocre grades
i met friends and hung out with them a lot and my ex / good grades
i transferred again and my ex left me. depressed af, made a few friends / failed all my classes
had like 3 friends at school, worked my ass off, not much else / great grades
hang out a lot now and not doing much work, classes are ok now except stats and possibly my film class
i transferred and hung out with my ex a lot / mediocre grades
i met friends and hung out with them a lot and my ex / good grades
i transferred again and my ex left me. depressed af, made a few friends / failed all my classes
had like 3 friends at school, worked my ass off, not much else / great grades
hang out a lot now and not doing much work, classes are ok now except stats and possibly my film class
Winterfang
Banned
It was alright, started amazing but when I drop it and came back every one I knew was out and I was back with a bunch of kids so it wasn't as fun but it was better academically.
Worthless waste of time though, lot of effort and money with nothing to show for it.
Worthless waste of time though, lot of effort and money with nothing to show for it.
It's a good idea, but it's not a viable option for me just yet. But it's certainly something I'm heavily considering, trust me! If I were to do it I'd probably only want to do it for a couple of years, but who can say what would happen?
I'm currently a runner for a TV post-production company, so literally nothing creative at all. I simply carry heavy things around London.
I've got to remain positive about my future, but it's difficult to do so.
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