NationStates Jolt Archive

This question is mainly aimed at people who graduated or dropped out of uni, but those of you currently enrolled feel free to answer. Do you regret the major you selected or wish you had changed it?

I don't regret it for a second - I've had a great time and feel like I have gotten educated in a profession that I will work with for the rest of my life and love doing it. Been very fortunate that way.

I don't regret it for a second - I've had a great time and feel like I have gotten educated in a profession that I will work with for the rest of my life and love doing it. Been very fortunate that way.
This is useless without telling us your profession!

Anyway, I haven't been to a university.

Well, I'm currently in university, double majoring in English and Italian, and minoring in French.

Do I regret it yet? Well, English is slowly starting to kill my soul. But then, school in general is slowly starting to kill my soul, so who knows. I adore Italian, and I love the French language - just not the class I'm enrolled in currently.

I love my course for being something I enjoy doing and studying. I regret my choice in some ways because of its lack of career opportunities.

What's a major? is that what they call a degree your side of the pond?

Not at all. I study International Politics and also foreign languages.

I love every moment of it.

Except maybe that statistics class that will soon become the bane of my existance.

*hates everything to do with Math. Even Math's brother, Statistics who tried to convert to try to get people to think he wasn't a Math...but deep down realized he knew he could never really change*

I'm currently at university studying Journalism and English Literature. Next year I'm going to major in Journalism. I love it. It's such an interesting subject and the history of it is so interesting.

I haven't applied to any uni yet..

I r 2 Kool 4 Skool

This question is mainly aimed at people who graduated or dropped out of uni, but those of you currently enrolled feel free to answer. Do you regret the major you selected or wish you had changed it?

I don't regret it thus far. I'm second year, and I'm doing a creative course that has a structure somewhat similar to a Bachelor of Arts, so I get to choose 2 sub-majors and a minor. I'm not sure what my second sub-major and minor are going to be, but my first sub major is film and I'm happy with that. I've still got a little bit of time to change my mind about the second sub and minor; I'm thinking digital arts, performance, visual art or TV.

Yes and no. I wish I was at a different university (well, actually, just one different university), and I do wish the course actually let me take early medieval history rather than presuming that I require an introduction to all areas of history. That said, I genuinely love studying history, just on my terms; I suppose I feel that, having read widely off my own back when younger, and having been damn well taught at secondary school, much of the first year is beneath me. I'm getting firsts without any great effort or enthusiasm, and appear to have found that one tutor people harp on about with whom you associate and get on well.

What's a major? is that what they call a degree your side of the pond?

Not really, I don't think.

A major here is the main focus of your degree.

oh my god - i cant read sigs when im logged in - how stupid!


I originally typed a long rambling paragraph here but I didnt want to inflict it on anyone here - you've all suffered enough, I think - so I have boiled it down to several key points.

1) I wish I had done Nursing instead of my current degree, Deaf Studies.

2) However I cannot truly regret doing Deaf Studies as it forced me to move away from home as only 3 uni's do it in the whole of the UK and the nearest was 270miles away.

3) During my Deaf Studies Degree, I have matured so much as a person and am much more independent and grownup than I would have been had I stayed in Dundee (my hometown)

4) I wish I had done Nursing and avoided all this Deaf Studies nonsense but at the same time, if I had done Nursing straight off the bat I would have done it at Dundee Uni, thus not becoming as independent as I am now!

So overall its a bit of a mixed blessing.

EDIT: Hmmm it still came out as rambling and self-indulgent. Sorry - but tonight I am unable to express myself clearly, seriously.

Going to study politics/ philosophy at uni. Service industry here i come.

I studied* Psychology at Uni and I'm currently doing a PhD in it. So no, I don't regret an instant of it.



*We don't have majors on this side of the pond (as a rule), you apply do study a single subject and you continue with that one throughout, although you can do electives in other subjects or combined honours.

Oxford or Cambridge? :p

Of course. Oxford to be specific, if you're interested.

Yes and no. I wish I was at a different university (well, actually, just one different university)

Oxford or Cambridge? :p

Ditto. Well, I should say I got rejected by Oxford, I've never regretted ending up at York though. York, like Warwick, Bristol, Durham and UCL tends to be made up of those rejected by Oxbridge (or sometimes rejected Oxbridge)

I'm not sure. I've so far found one other history student who was an Oxbridge reject, and we're also the best in the year if results are correct.

I am happy at York; socially happier than ever before, however, academically I feel limited, frustrated and constrained, and by God it hurts. Try coming from a school where 25% of students go to Oxbridge, then failing simply because apathy and depression stopped you working as hard as you might have done, and then talking to less able friends who are there. It just grates at times, because if I do, as I intend to, get an Ma from there, I'll still never be 18 at matriculation. I'll still never have the whole experiance that I want.

Of course. Oxford to be specific, if you're interested.

Ditto. Well, I should say I got rejected by Oxford, I've never regretted ending up at York though. York, like Warwick, Bristol, Durham and UCL tends to be made up of those rejected by Oxbridge (or sometimes rejected Oxbridge)

It's your first year, hell it's not even half way through your first year... trust me, the difficulty curve is steep. If you still feel your not being stretched by the end of your second year, that's when you start worrying.

hmm...I'll get back to you about that, but thanks anyway.:)

I'm not sure. I've so far found one other history student who was an Oxbridge reject, and we're also the best in the year if results are correct.

I am happy at York; socially happier than ever before, however, academically I feel limited, frustrated and constrained, and by God it hurts. Try coming from a school where 25% of students go to Oxbridge, then failing simply because apathy and depression stopped you working as hard as you might have done, and then talking to less able friends who are there. It just grates at times, because if I do, as I intend to, get an Ma from there, I'll still never be 18 at matriculation. I'll still never have the whole experiance that I want.

It's your first year, hell it's not even half way through your first year... trust me, the difficulty curve is steep. If you still feel your not being stretched by the end of your second year, that's when you start worrying.

Ill soon be done with my double major in English and History. What I dread is going to grad school for my Medieval History masters and than my PhD. The work will kill my soul.

No I don't regret it, it has served me well. Though I did start with a different major than I ended up with. :p

I started in education planning to be a middle school teacher.

I ended up with a BS in Economics and double minor in Political Science and Business Admin. I still think I would like teaching though.

*sigh* I miss my University days :(

Ill soon be done with my double major in English and History. What I dread is going to grad school for my Medieval History masters and than my PhD. The work will kill my soul.

PhDs do kill your soul... they're also one of the most rewarding things you can do (or so my supervisor keeps telling me, I tend to fluctuate between not believing people are actually paying me to do this to feeling like I'm constantly swimming through treacle... ah, the joys of academia)

i studied economics and then changed to politics. i dropped out after 2 years.

i do regret my choice in some ways. i was good at economics at A level, but degree level was very different and far more mathematical. while i wish i'd studied something else and had achieved my degree, i wouldn't be where i am today, who i am today, or with the girl i'm with today had things gone differently

I don't need a university education. I graduated from the New Limacon School o' Life, with a major in Keepin' it Real.

And yes, I do regret it. NLSL had a great chemistry department, which I wish I had taken advantage of.

A socialist leftist former drug addict bum who bitches about the system and who's girlfriend is probably the only thing he's got going for him?
I suggest you open your eyes and see how many "socialist leftist former drug addict bums who bitch about the system" you can find on your campus. Try starting at the sociology building and work your way to arts.

People are getting dumber and dumber and it's reflecting on our society.
People aren't getting dumber because they're leaving university. They're getting dumber because intelligence isn't valued for the first 25 years or so of their (social) lives, so they don't develop it properly.

==========

As for me, I think I should have done Econ/Com(Finance) as opposed to Econ/Business Management. Man, business degrees are a joke...

i studied economics and then changed to politics. i dropped out after 2 years.

i do regret my choice in some ways. i was good at economics at A level, but degree level was very different and far more mathematical. while i wish i'd studied something else and had achieved my degree, i wouldn't be where i am today, who i am today, or with the girl i'm with today had things gone differently
A socialist leftist former drug addict bum who bitches about the system and who's girlfriend is probably the only thing he's got going for him?

If that came off a bit mean..well fine...I'm so sick of people giving up their educations and dropping out. It's fucking destroying the generation! Don't you realize that's probably the worst thing you can do with your life!? Give up education? People are getting dumber and dumber and it's reflecting on our society. I shudder at what the world will be like with our generation running it.


:(

For all your politics/psychology/philosophy/language major artsies out there, I chose to major in Engineering, which is the finest profession out there, and I don't regret it one bit.


*is slightly bitter at artsies because she is being forced to take an artsy course that's taking away three out of five of her lunches next semester*

I suggest you open your eyes and see how many "socialist leftist former drug addict bums who bitch about the system" you can find on your campus. Try starting at the sociology building and work your way to arts.
Far too many....but atleast they are still enrolled in school...

People aren't getting dumber because they're leaving university. They're getting dumber because intelligence isn't valued for the first 25 years or so of their (social) lives, so they don't develop it properly.
Intelligence isn't valued...thus they leave the school/college/university and miss out on education. They are related.

I regret going in the first place (no, I never finished).

For all your politics/psychology/philosophy/language major artsies out there, I chose to major in Engineering, which is the finest profession out there, and I don't regret it one bit.


*is slightly bitter at artsies because she is being forced to take an artsy course that's taking away three out of five of her lunches next semester*

Hey! Psychology is a Science* and don't you forget it :p



*No really, it is, or at least it is how it's taught in this country. There is a lot of neuro-psychology, statistics, cognitive modeling etc... it's all about the scientific method and quantative data nowadays

A socialist leftist former drug addict bum who bitches about the system and who's girlfriend is probably the only thing he's got going for him?

If that came off a bit mean..well fine...I'm so sick of people giving up their educations and dropping out. It's fucking destroying the generation! Don't you realize that's probably the worst thing you can do with your life!? Give up education? People are getting dumber and dumber and it's reflecting on our society. I shudder at what the world will be like with our generation running it.


:(

Uneducated =/= dumb

One can be very intelligent without that piece of paper, and one can be very dumb with it.

I regret wasting $40,000 (or whatever) on college itself.

A socialist leftist former drug addict bum who bitches about the system and who's girlfriend is probably the only thing he's got going for him?

If that came off a bit mean..well fine...I'm so sick of people giving up their educations and dropping out. It's fucking destroying the generation! Don't you realize that's probably the worst thing you can do with your life!? Give up education? People are getting dumber and dumber and it's reflecting on our society. I shudder at what the world will be like with our generation running it.


:(

What's wrong with having a girlfriend?
destroying a generation?:D and what counts as generation?
No you can't decide that education will solve all ills of society, because it doesn't.
The world will be better for these socialist former drug addicts because at least they tried at education, it's not easy.
I don't think it's fair to judge another person purely from what they post then tell them they did bad things, there are far more influences in life than education.
In fact Education is mostly made for the middle classes, origionally hundreds of years ago it was upper classes, then the middle classes got enough income to be included, and now, well lower class people can get in, but only just and only if they struggle like hell, even then it's likely they'l be shut out by their old lower class friends.
so go figure that out before attacking other peoples choices, and realise not everyone has an equal choice, the neither the UK nor US is a truely meritocratic society.

A socialist leftist former drug addict bum who bitches about the system and who's girlfriend is probably the only thing he's got going for him?

If that came off a bit mean..well fine...I'm so sick of people giving up their educations and dropping out. It's fucking destroying the generation! Don't you realize that's probably the worst thing you can do with your life!? Give up education? People are getting dumber and dumber and it's reflecting on our society. I shudder at what the world will be like with our generation running it.


:(

That's out of order. How can you know what's a good thing or a bad thing for anybody else's life? Leaving full-time education can be a necessary evil for some people at some point in their life, but there is no rule that says if you don't do it at 20 you don't do it at all, or that the only way to educate oneself is at university.

Freshman, majoring in astrophysics, not regretting it. This is what I love. I can't imagine abandoning it for something else.

And it's hard to look down upon the politics/philosophy/language majors when there aren't any on campus. All we have are scientists, engineers, programmers, businesspeople, and pilots.

*resumes massive pile of physics homework*

A socialist leftist former drug addict bum who bitches about the system and who's girlfriend is probably the only thing he's got going for him?

If that came off a bit mean..well fine...I'm so sick of people giving up their educations and dropping out. It's fucking destroying the generation! Don't you realize that's probably the worst thing you can do with your life!? Give up education? People are getting dumber and dumber and it's reflecting on our society. I shudder at what the world will be like with our generation running it.


:(

fuck you.

I disagree, deserving does not grant a right.

Everybody needs to chill. TAI feels strongly about education, so do I, very much so, but I dont know Pure Metal's situation so Im not going to judge.


The drug addict comment was out of line, but so was the "fuck you". Keep cool guys, its the internet after all;)

As much as I hate to say it, the "fuck you" wasn't out of line. I'm fairly sure PM elaborated about what happened some time ago, and frankly I don't begrudge him what he did at all.

Do I think too many people go to university? Yes. I can accept higher education does help lower class students ascend the social ladder, however, I object to university being percieved, and used, as a vehicle for social mobility. It is an academic institution, and should remain as such.

fuck you.
Normally I'd say "Don't feed the troll. He's provoking you!"

But I think you have every right to say that, and he deserves it every bit.

Normally I'd say "Don't feed the troll. He's provoking you!"

But I think you have every right to say that, and he deserves it every bit.

I disagree, deserving does not grant a right.

Everybody needs to chill. TAI feels strongly about education, so do I, very much so, but I dont know Pure Metal's situation so Im not going to judge.


The drug addict comment was out of line, but so was the "fuck you". Keep cool guys, its the internet after all;)



EDIT: All though I dont get the association with leftists and dropping out....a lot of college kids, dare I say most, are leftists, as are a lot, again dare I say, most educated people :p

See, that might be a cultural thing though. I know in many Europian countires (Id imagine the UK is like this as well but correct me if Im wrong) you can have a good, secure job without a university degree because experaince is valued just as much as education (through things such as apprenticeships).

Now, in America, if you dont get a college education in our current economic and job environment, 9/10 of the time, youre fucked.


That's probably correct, however, it may change somewhat when Labour's misguided education policy bears its terrible fruit; a 50% graduate generation, all of whom believe they are entitled to professional jobs, few of whom should have gone to university, and few of whom will get those jobs. That will be fun no?

Do you regret the major you selected or wish you had changed it?
Hell yeah. Nobody should ever do Computer Science as an undergraduate degree. It's the sort of thing you move into after gaining a specialisation elsewhere. Doing it as an undergrad forces you to adopt a "Jack of all Trades" approach to things, which really doesn't help.

Plus, as a field, it's steeped in corruption by corporate interests, but I guess I should really have expected that.

I suggest you open your eyes and see how many "socialist leftist former drug addict bums who bitch about the system" you can find on your campus. Try starting at the sociology building and work your way to arts[...]


...and then political science, psychology, economics, humanities, computer science and engineering, biology, chemistry, medicine.

We socialist leftists who bitch about the system see E V E R Y T H I N G

**head slowly spins around**

Hell yeah. Nobody should ever do Computer Science as an undergraduate degree. It's the sort of thing you move into after gaining a specialisation elsewhere. Doing it as an undergrad forces you to adopt a "Jack of all Trades" approach to things, which really doesn't help.

Plus, as a field, it's steeped in corruption by corporate interests, but I guess I should really have expected that.

Looks like I'm fucked....:(

I won't even reply to that thing about education not being for the working class and not being for everyone. EDUCATION IS FOR EVERYONE.


Education is for everyone, but university does not equal education, necessarily.

I used leftist/socialist and former drug addict because correct me if I'm wrong..but that's what he is (I'm going from my memory of his posting history..not making up things).

I realize it was a strong statement, but it pissses me off to no end how many people just drop out of school or don't care about education.

I won't even reply to that thing about education not being for the working class and not being for everyone. EDUCATION IS FOR EVERYONE.

The only acceptable reason is if you can't pay for it in which case you need to work to get the money to pay for it...and even that is hardly that acceptable anymore with all the scholarships out there.

I live in Florida...a republican conservative state and it's really quite easy to get scholarships to get an education here if you can't pay for it.

Do I think too many people go to university? Yes. I can accept higher education does help lower class students ascend the social ladder, however, I object to university being percieved, and used, as a vehicle for social mobility. It is an academic institution, and should remain as such.



See, that might be a cultural thing though. I know in many Europian countires (Id imagine the UK is like this as well but correct me if Im wrong) you can have a good, secure job without a university degree because experaince is valued just as much as education (through things such as apprenticeships).

Now, in America, if you dont get a college education in our current economic and job environment, 9/10 of the time, youre fucked.

fuck you.
Meh. The only way I would ever apologize for that is if there was indeed some life threatening/life changing reason that prevented you from it...which you either didn't post or I missed.

Otherwise, I was going from my memory of your posting history.

In which case: Meh.

I regretted my first choice of course - electrical engineering - so much that I quit after three years to do economics and accounting. I'm enjoying the accounting part so much that I intend to go for a professional qualification when I graduate.

I used leftist/socialist and former drug addict because correct me if I'm wrong..but that's what he is (I'm going from my memory of his posting history..not making up things).

Ah, ok.

I won't even reply to that thing about education not being for the working class and not being for everyone. EDUCATION IS FOR EVERYONE.




QFT. At least, education should be for everyone.

See, that might be a cultural thing though. I know in many Europian countires (Id imagine the UK is like this as well but correct me if Im wrong) you can have a good, secure job without a university degree because experaince is valued just as much as education (through things such as apprenticeships).

Now, in America, if you dont get a college education in our current economic and job environment, 9/10 of the time, youre fucked.
In the German speaking countries....schooling is divided depending on if you want to end up in the university track, or in the work force track.

*snip*.

What the fuck do you care what people do with their lives? How is it "ruining a generation" if most people don't go beyond high school. You're "educated" yet have views that frankly are bigoted and hurt society far more than a drop out. College was largely a waste for me and I used it as nothing more but an excuse to have sex and get pissed.

Normally I'd say "Don't feed the troll. He's provoking you!"


that's why i didn't "elaborate" ;)

i am a leftist, i have used drugs but never been an 'addict', i'm a far more productive member of society today than i was as a student, i dropped out of uni due to mental illness (which is a perfectly solid reason to me), and while my girlfriend is a wonderful part of my life she's not the only thing going for me at all. she's just the best bit :) :fluffle:


i would say that while academia teaches discipline of the mind, etc, i've learned far more - and achieved far more - being in work since dropping out than i did at uni.


however, i would also agree that education is for everyone, but the type of education differs from person to person. plus, the time for education differs... i quite intend to go back and get my degree some day. Glitzi's dad dropped out himself before going back to uni, years later, and getting himself a doctorate, for example

In the German speaking countries....schooling is divided depending on if you want to end up in the university track, or in the work force track.



See, thats what I meant. I know other Europian countries are like that as well, I am just unfamilier if UK is one of them.

I used leftist/socialist and former drug addict because correct me if I'm wrong..but that's what he is (I'm going from my memory of his posting history..not making up things).

I realize it was a strong statement, but it pissses me off to no end how many people just drop out of school or don't care about education.

I won't even reply to that thing about education not being for the working class and not being for everyone. EDUCATION IS FOR EVERYONE.

The only acceptable reason is if you can't pay for it in which case you need to work to get the money to pay for it...and even that is hardly that acceptable anymore with all the scholarships out there.

I live in Florida...a republican conservative state and it's really quite easy to get scholarships to get an education here if you can't pay for it.

You miss out the reasons why people drop out of education, a key reason is it's tailored for the middle classes, many teachers are middle class, so succeeding students are more likely to be those who share their teachers values (this is in school by the way), a recent study found that pupils from middle class families do well even in the worst schools in the UK.

Yes it's meant to be for everyone, this is not the case anywhere.
No money is still a huge issue, not only paying for it, paying for a flat, food books etc...
But before you even go there are people who receive far better education than others, because of the wealth of their families, as middle class families tend to be well educated, lower class families this is not the case, therefore basically what once was will continue to be, society is not meritocratic.
typically people stuck in lower class jobs have difficulty getting out of them, people in middle class jobs don't need to, they can concentrate on socialising their children to be like them with cultural capital.
There are many good reasons for not caring about education, but they aren't very good ones, they're still there in society.

So it's not that education is not for everyone it's that it's suited better for the middle classes, with all the cultural differences, and differences in what education invovles i imagine it will continue to reduce any meritocracy in a society.
Of course i've only touched on a few reasons why societies aren't meritocratic, part of which is education isn't for everyone otherwise everyone would have been in a good education this is not the case.

Going to study politics/ philosophy at uni. Service industry here i come.
I studied philosophy, and I manage databases for a living.

I also studied astrophysics, but I find the philosophy much more useful in day-to-day life.

I'm studying chemical engineering and am in the third year of my degree program. I've taken a co-op and applied my limited knowledge in the real world, just so you know where I'm coming from.

Engineering, at least for me, is definitely a love-hate relationship. (Emphasis on hate tonight, as I just came back from a thermodynamics test and feel like I've been shot. Not unexpected, but still unpleasant.) However, I'm sticking with it because it's the best way I can see to make a difference in the world.

I've worked in the industrial environment before, and, while I can't speak for every plant (or every plant owned by the company I worked for), I was not impressed by what I saw. I will not be working in such a capacity again.

I want to get my master's and Ph.D. (yeah, I know, lots of school) and work in alternative energy research, specifically bio-jet fuels. It might not be where all the money is (that's petroleum), but it is the technology of the future.

i dropped out of uni due to mental illness (which is a perfectly solid reason to me)...
All other reasons aside, that option has always been available to me. But to me, it feels like giving up. My depression may be crippling my student life both academically and socially, and I might not even be enjoying what I'm studying or intending to use it vocationally, but I refuse to let the last two years of my life have been a waste of time just because some stupid psychological malignancy I've developed says so. I will see this through to its end. I owe that much to myself for having gotten this far.

Maybe it's just a coping mechanism of mine talking, or maybe it's just sheer stubbornness, but I am going to beat this thing, and the fact that giving in is an easy option just seems to harden my resolve that the effort put in will be worth it once I've gotten the degree. After all, not only will I have gained the qualification, but I will have done so under the serious handicap of mental illness, and that's the kind of achievement that biographers dream of. Sure, I'm going to need about a couple of years of counselling after it, but heck, I was going to need that anyway. ;)

I studied philosophy, and I manage databases for a living.
Damn you for doing things right! ><; :D

Looks like I'm fucked....:(
It'll be fine as long as you either

a) find your niche in the field relatively early on, or
b) are quite happy to live in the lab for four years

I'm going to ignore the ridiculous arguments going on about people dropping out of school. Sometimes it's necessary, you know? I've met more than few people in those situations.

I'm a Recording Industry major, concentrating in Music Production & Technology. No, it's not a music degree. I'm getting a B.S. I'm only a music student because it's my minor. If you look it all up, I'm an engineering major. My concentration of engineering is just... more interesting. (And, as you'd expect, females are greatly outnumbered.)

Do I regret my choice? Sometimes I still consider going in to nursing, but that's because it'd be easier. (For me.) ProTech can be a boy's club sometimes, and if you can't afford an at-home set-up (a small ProTools rig, some recording gear, etc) you can feel like you're at a disadvantage sometimes. I could actually possibly get a job in this field other ways, but my school is one of the top in the country (possibly the top public school for the field), and when I'm done I'll have a lot of different areas I could work in. (I'd like to do live sound, but I'm not opposed to other ideas.) So I guess I don't regret it.

Damn you for doing things right! ><; :D
Modal logic FTW!

The only acceptable reason is if you can't pay for it in which case you need to work to get the money to pay for it...and even that is hardly that acceptable anymore with all the scholarships out there.

Bollocks. There are many acceptable reasons. I, for one, was sick and fucking tired of paying hundreds of dollars to take classes that were useless to me (English, math, etc.) just because some brainless bureaucrats said I "needed" them, and wasting God only knows how much time in the process.

I could actually possibly get a job in this field other ways, but my school is one of the top in the country (possibly the top public school for the field), and when I'm done I'll have a lot of different areas I could work in. (I'd like to do live sound, but I'm not opposed to other ideas.) So I guess I don't regret it.


What school you going to?

What school you going to?

Middle Tennessee State Uni., the largest school in Tennessee that you've never heard of. :/ Don't like the school too much, but the Recording Industry department really is fantastic, plus the experience a lot of the faculty has is pretty awesome.

Please don't bring up Full Sail or SAE, if you've heard of them. They're tech schools, and their reputation in the industry isn't so great.

Far too many....but atleast they are still enrolled in school...


Intelligence isn't valued...thus they leave the school/college/university and miss out on education. They are related.

Hmmm... you went to college and you don't know what dumb means? I think you mean less educated if your talking about people leaving education. Fortunately, you should be very thrilled to learn that education actually occurs outside of universities as well. It's almost like you can learn things anywhere if you're intelligent.

Modal logic FTW!
Higher order logic (first order logic with typed lambda abstractions) actually subsumes Modal logic, dontchaknow?

Plus, relational calculus looks much nicer in HOL. At least, it can do. >_>;

When I went to uni first time around I got bored. I loved the subject I was studying, but the actual course bored me immensely. Surely you're not meant to be in third year of an honours degree and passing exams based on what you can remember from your GCSE classes (with no revision), or get a first in a 10,000 word dissertation when you only picked the topic and worked out a question to answer three days before it was due?

And it wasn't a bad university; far from it. It has an excellent reputation. I was just never stretched. I got bored to the point that by third year I didn't even bother doing the coursework for modules (usually accounting for around 40% of the total marks) and was still passing. With 3rds, admittedly, but that's still 40%+. If I'd done the essays I was looking at a waltz to a 1st. And without revising for the exams. There were months of seminars where I was the only person answering any questions, because clearly nobody else had a clue what was going on. I came out with a 3rd. It just sapped all my enthusiasm by not even making me try.

Surely that's not what university's meant to be like?

Got a BA and MS in the Education field (Don't ask for the full degree titles, there's just way too much alphabet soup after my name right now), and honestly I enjoyed both it and my life as a teacher so no regrets. I also know now that I do need more schooling if I want to really be good at what I do and go where I want to go, but that's what Ph.D.s and second masters are FOR!

Got a BA and MS in the Education field (Don't ask for the full degree titles, there's just way too much alphabet soup after my name right now), and honestly I enjoyed both it and my life as a teacher so no regrets. I also know now that I do need more schooling if I want to really be good at what I do and go where I want to go, but that's what Ph.D.s and second masters are FOR!

My Music History III teacher had a lot of less than positive things to say about post-doctoral work, hah. Of course, she studied hip-hop a LOT.

Personally, I think I'd quit now if I thought I'd have to go to school longer than I already do. It's killing me having to do so much ridiculous work when I get so few hours studying what I'm actually here for.

My Music History III teacher had a lot of less than positive things to say about post-doctoral work, hah. Of course, she studied hip-hop a LOT.

Personally, I think I'd quit now if I thought I'd have to go to school longer than I already do. It's killing me having to do so much ridiculous work when I get so few hours studying what I'm actually here for.
My father did a lot of post-doctoral research work in universities and loved it. It really depends on your personal preference, I think.

My father did a lot of post-doctoral research work in universities and loved it. It really depends on your personal preference, I think.

The head of our school of music has apparently done a lot of post-doctoral work just for enjoyment. Though I think his specialty is something like Baroque music, which can be sorta interesting. So more understandable to me.

Middle Tennessee State Uni., the largest school in Tennessee that you've never heard of. :/ Don't like the school too much, but the Recording Industry department really is fantastic, plus the experience a lot of the faculty has is pretty awesome.

Please don't bring up Full Sail or SAE, if you've heard of them. They're tech schools, and their reputation in the industry isn't so great.



I was asking because two of my cousins got degrees in recording engineering. Wanted to see if you went to the same school as them. Guess not as theirs is in Boston;)

I was asking because two of my cousins got degrees in recording engineering. Wanted to see if you went to the same school as them. Guess not as theirs is in Boston;)

They went to Berklee. Right? (I met a girl who went to Berklee who transferred here because she couldn't afford it anymore. Here professors told her MT was the best non-private option.) I didn't even bother to look up the stuff there because I knew I couldn't go.

All other reasons aside, that option has always been available to me. But to me, it feels like giving up. My depression may be crippling my student life both academically and socially, and I might not even be enjoying what I'm studying or intending to use it vocationally, but I refuse to let the last two years of my life have been a waste of time just because some stupid psychological malignancy I've developed says so. I will see this through to its end. I owe that much to myself for having gotten this far.

Maybe it's just a coping mechanism of mine talking, or maybe it's just sheer stubbornness, but I am going to beat this thing, and the fact that giving in is an easy option just seems to harden my resolve that the effort put in will be worth it once I've gotten the degree. After all, not only will I have gained the qualification, but I will have done so under the serious handicap of mental illness, and that's the kind of achievement that biographers dream of. Sure, I'm going to need about a couple of years of counselling after it, but heck, I was going to need that anyway. ;)

well that's a great attitude to have :) good luck with it! :fluffle:

i can say for my sake though "the thing" beat me. it was tough continuing with a degree when all i could think about from dawn to dusk was "i want to die" and didn't have the energy to (or see the point in) getting out of bed.

i did pass my 2nd year though, despite being hospitalised in the middle of the exams... and not going to classes for 6 months ;)



on a totally different note, anybody (in the UK) got any experience with the Open University? i hear its expensive but quite good. going back to full time education isn't an option for me any more.
of course the real question would be what to study..... 0.o

All other reasons aside, that option has always been available to me. But to me, it feels like giving up. My depression may be crippling my student life both academically and socially, and I might not even be enjoying what I'm studying or intending to use it vocationally, but I refuse to let the last two years of my life have been a waste of time just because some stupid psychological malignancy I've developed says so. I will see this through to its end. I owe that much to myself for having gotten this far.

Maybe it's just a coping mechanism of mine talking, or maybe it's just sheer stubbornness, but I am going to beat this thing, and the fact that giving in is an easy option just seems to harden my resolve that the effort put in will be worth it once I've gotten the degree. After all, not only will I have gained the qualification, but I will have done so under the serious handicap of mental illness, and that's the kind of achievement that biographers dream of. Sure, I'm going to need about a couple of years of counselling after it, but heck, I was going to need that anyway. ;)

Great attitude, man. Keep going, never give up.

I am fortunate to have never suffered from depression. I have gone through rough spots in college (I'm in one right now). My response is to just keep going, never give up. It served me well in high school.

For all your politics/psychology/philosophy/language major artsies out there, I chose to major in Engineering, which is the finest profession out there, and I don't regret it one bit.


*is slightly bitter at artsies because she is being forced to take an artsy course that's taking away three out of five of her lunches next semester*

I'm starting to regret it after buying this year's course notes, but only because it means I have to carry them around :(

The complete stack (http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh5/SicDrykEst/Course%20Notes%2028%2002%202008/IMG_0655.jpg)

By course (http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh5/SicDrykEst/Course%20Notes%2028%2002%202008/IMG_0656.jpg) (Materials and Manufacturing, Design Practice, Thermo-fluids I, Differential Equations and Fourier Series)

Since the start of the my spring sophmore semester, I'm finally starting to enjoy my biochemistry major. All my past classes were basic sciences and general ed, but it's starting to get interesting with o-chem.

The only acceptable reason is if you can't pay for it in which case you need to work to get the money to pay for it...and even that is hardly that acceptable anymore with all the scholarships out there.


How utterly ridiculous.

A college education is not necessarily the right thing for everyone. This is not to say that it isn't right for a lot of people, but no one experience is right for everybody.

Some kids come out of high school not ready for the discipline needed to make a college education worth while. Some do better not forcing themselves into an environment where they are not really learning anything, just coasting and wasting money (and someone else's chance of getting in) because they don't want to be there. Some jump right out into the world and learn what they need to know there.

For some the formal education process is not the best way to learn things, practical experience is. For some the intellectual requirements are not feasible.

And for some, there is no way to afford it. If their grades aren't quite high enough, or their parents make just a few dollars to many a year the financial aid isn't available. And the burden of many tens of thousands of dollars in loans may be too much.

In an ideal world, everyone who WANTS a college education should be able to get one. But in the same ideal world, no one who doesn't want one (for any one of those and other myriad reasons) should be shoved into the university box just because someone thinks that everyone SHOULD go.

For some the formal education process is not the best way to learn things, practical experience is. For some the intellectual requirements are not feasible.

.

The overall response you had I thought was right on. One thing I want to add to this is that I firmly believe practical experience is very important and trumps Uni experience in many ways. In my life I have been fortunate enough to cross paths with many different peoples. The most successful people that I know in happiness and monetary terms never finished Uni or never went in the first place. University is not the end all be all and should never be viewed as such.

For all your politics/psychology/philosophy/language major artsies out there, I chose to major in Engineering, which is the finest profession out there, and I don't regret it one bit.


*is slightly bitter at artsies because she is being forced to take an artsy course that's taking away three out of five of her lunches next semester*Lol, ain't it a bitch?

To fulfill my breadth requirement, I am going to have to take something like Early Canadian History or Intro Womyn's Studies or Classical Mythology or Latino Studies or some other BS.

To fulfill my breadth requirement, I am going to have to take something like Early Canadian History or Intro Womyn’s Studies or Classical Mythology or Latino Studies or some other BS.
‘Breadth requirement’?

People like o-chem?

Well, it hasn't gotten difficult yet.

Since the start of the my spring sophmore semester, I'm finally starting to enjoy my biochemistry major. All my past classes were basic sciences and general ed, but it's starting to get interesting with o-chem.People like o-chem?

You have to study some crap outside your major so that you can learn to think in new ways.

Which is utter bullshit. :headbang:

Basically. I guess you do have to work with those people, so I guess it will get you enough perspective to realize they can in fact think.

It effectively disenfranchises people who absolutely cannot pass some of the required classes, though. Take me, for instance. It's physically impossible for me to do algebra, yet they require it. I kept trying to pass the class (paying $800+ per try), before finally realizing enough time and money had been wasted and saying, "Fuck this, I'm out." If it wasn't for those goddamn "requirements" I would have had a fucking degree by now.

[/end rant]

‘Breadth requirement’?
You have to study some crap outside your major so that you can learn to think in new ways.
Well, it hasn't gotten difficult yet.
Maybe your o-chem is different but mine was basically being to told to memorize nomenclature and basic reaction trends. Not my def of interesting.

Which is utter bullshit. :headbang:
Basically. I guess you do have to work with those people, so I guess it will get you enough perspective to realize they can in fact think.

No, I don't regret choosing the major that I did in the slightest; I learned a lot and enjoyed it in the process. I switched majors several times before finally settling on a subject, but I really did like everything I studied at uni. I suppose I'm just one of those people who enjoys school.

I chose my major on the sole criterion that it interested me, so I have no regrets.

In retrospect I wish I'd taken Chinese instead of Japanese, but having taken Japanese is better than not having taken an east Asian language at all, so it's not the end of the world.

I may be a gwai lo, but I'm a literate gwai lo.

Oh gosh yes. Poli Sci is so boring. My classes are pretty much repeats of each other. I wish I would have done something with like history, or even arabic, but in reality I think that seminary would have made me the happiest.

Oh gosh yes. Poli Sci is so boring. My classes are pretty much repeats of each other. I wish I would have done something with like history, or even arabic, but in reality I think that seminary would have made me the happiest.

There is no major in the world more useless and filled with drivel than political "science."

English Literature is a close second.

There is no major in the world more useless and filled with drivel than political "science."

.
You are absolutely correct. The only use it might have is that it is a prerequisite to get into the law program here. But other than that, there is absolutely no use for it. The bad thing is that I am at the end of my junior year, and I'd hate to change my major now, and add 2 or 3 more years of school.

Well I've now attempted a BA twice. The first time I majored in philosophy, and it was unequivocally a mistake. I hated everything about it--my courses bored me, my classmates irritated me, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what I was going to do with this useless degree once I'd gotten through it. Lacking the maturity to change majors or investigate other possibilities, I stopped showing up for class in my second year and let the admin flunk me out. I was invited to explain myself to the Registrar and thus avoid academic suspension, but I blew the meeting off. I figured I wasn't ever coming back.


Flash forward ten years. I had to grovel for re-admittance to a different institution, I'm now majoring in history and minoring in economics. I'm months away from graduating and have made the Dean's honour list every year since I came back. My professors are highly encouraging of me going on and getting my Masters. I liked my courses at the outset, although I'm now snowed under with equal parts boredom and exhaustion. And, much to my chagrin, I'm no closer to figuring out what this degree has prepared me for once I rejoin the grown-ups. Depending on what day you ask I'm either thrilled about the last three years or cynically resigned to having wasted a lot of time and money.

Nope.

As useless as a degree in Creative Writing has been, I knew ahead of time that it would be useless, and I don't regret it. I'm an elementary school teacher now, so it didn't really matter what my B.A. was in, so long as I had one, and I spent four years doing something I love. Since I will probably never make a living writing, I enjoyed the four years I spent focusing on it (and the year after that while working at a newspaper). It is true that I owe the U.S. government quite a bit of money because of this, but since college loans are the best kind of debt to have, I'm not sweating it. I also had enough electives to take a lot of anthro classes, which I love.

There is no major in the world more useless and filled with drivel than political "science."

English Literature is a close second.

My mother got her undergrad in poli sci and I got mine in Lit (emph. creative writing). Neither of us do anything related to our degrees. Although, to be fair, she did intend to go to law school until she actually went and hated it.

I'm currently at university studying Journalism and English Literature. Next year I'm going to major in Journalism. I love it. It's such an interesting subject and the history of it is so interesting.

Good luck with that. Whatever you do, don't work for a newspaper.

Ditto. Well, I should say I got rejected by Oxford, I've never regretted ending up at York though. York, like Warwick, Bristol, Durham and UCL tends to be made up of those rejected by Oxbridge (or sometimes rejected Oxbridge)

So is that like getting rejected by Stanford and Berkeley?

I've always been curious about university in Britain. How many schools are there, how many people go?

Do I think too many people go to university? Yes. I can accept higher education does help lower class students ascend the social ladder, however, I object to university being percieved, and used, as a vehicle for social mobility. It is an academic institution, and should remain as such.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by this. Where I'm from, it is nearly impossible to get any decent job with a college degree in something. It was never even a question that I would go to college. Everyone I knew went to college.

i can say for my sake though "the thing" beat me. it was tough continuing with a degree when all i could think about from dawn to dusk was "i want to die" and didn't have the energy to (or see the point in) getting out of bed.

I can definitely understand where you're coming from. I was hospitalized my frosh year at uni for depression/suicide attempt and really considered dropping out/taking time off (i was hospitalized middle of winter quarter). But in the end I was afraid I'd never go back if I stopped then, so I dropped out of the quarter and took a month off, then went back for spring quarter.

I finished in four year by taking extra classes in summer, and I'm proud of accomplishing that, but sometimes I wonder whether it was the right choice. It was between going back to school and going in-patient at a psych ward, and in the long run I might have been better off with the latter.

No, I love accounting. I'm just good at it.

on a totally different note, anybody (in the UK) got any experience with the Open University? i hear its expensive but quite good. going back to full time education isn't an option for me any more.
of course the real question would be what to study..... 0.o

The Open University rocks and I can't recommend it highly enough. I've done maths, natural sciences and physics courses with them and am planning to do more. My experience is that the costs are very reasonable, especially as you can pay in instalments and there is some help available with fees (means based). The courses themselves are well worked out and keep you interested and motivated even when you are sitting down to study at midnight after working all day. Tutors are usually friendly and accessible and there is a good online network of other students with whom you can discuss your studies. OU students are all ages and sizes with very varied life experience and add a lot to your OU experience.

Take a look a the web site, order a prospectus or call into your regional centre if you can to find out more and have a look at course materials. Good luck! and tg me if you have questions :)

and no; I don't earn commission for raving about the OU on random internet forums :p

So is that like getting rejected by Stanford and Berkeley?

I've always been curious about university in Britain. How many schools are there, how many people go?

More like getting rejected by Harvard and Yale, whereas ending up at York, Bristol, UCL, Warwick etc would be like ending up at Stanford, Berkeley etc (if I understand US uni rankings). They are, through both research output and historical reputation considered the two top universities in the country (and 2 and 3 in World Rankings). Their entrance requirements are a bit wierd though, you can only apply to one of them, they always interview and in many cases have their own tests (most universities in the UK don't do this) although as a rule you won't get an interview unless you are predicted straight As at A-Level. They use an academic tutor-based system which is generally considered not to be for everyone, and students are often chosen based on whether the tutor feels they can work with them. The result of this is being rejected by Oxbridge is usually not a reflecting of a lack of academic excellence.

Right, from the top of my head, probably about 40-45% of school-leavers go to uni (the government is pushing for 50% though), there are about 150-200 unis (I think), all except one are publically funded but you still need to pay some fees. You apply to a course to study a specific subject which you continue through all three years (but you can take electives). Most of the Unis in the top 20 are considered in the Top 100 world-wide, so you get a lot of foreign students coming over too.

Edit: I should add there is a distinction between 'Old' and 'New' Universities in terms of reputation. Old unis are research based and can be classed either as Ancient (Pre-19th century: Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, Edinbrugh, St Andrews, Aberdeen and Glasgow), Red Brick (about 12 universities founded between between 1800 and 1960) and the Plateglass unis (approx 19 unis founded in the 1960s) which tend to have a very academic focus, with generally very good research reputations, and the Post-1992 universities who are ex-polytechnic colleges which have traditionally had more of a vocational/teaching focus. Of course a number of the New Universities have gained excellent research reputations but the perceived distinction is definitely still there.

The Open University rocks and I can't recommend it highly enough. I've done maths, natural sciences and physics courses with them and am planning to do more. My experience is that the costs are very reasonable, especially as you can pay in instalments and there is some help available with fees (means based). The courses themselves are well worked out and keep you interested and motivated even when you are sitting down to study at midnight after working all day. Tutors are usually friendly and accessible and there is a good online network of other students with whom you can discuss your studies. OU students are all ages and sizes with very varied life experience and add a lot to your OU experience.

Take a look a the web site, order a prospectus or call into your regional centre if you can to find out more and have a look at course materials. Good luck! and tg me if you have questions :)

and no; I don't earn commission for raving about the OU on random internet forums :p

No personal experience, but I know my PhD supervisor got her first degree through the OU and it is very well regarded.

Gods yes. I regret every minute of it. The words boring, tedious, sleep-inducing, coma-producing come to mind. I majored in Admin. I was paid to major in Admin. If I had majored in anything else, I wouldn't have gotten the money. If I had it to do over, I would major in English or History and tell them to screw the money.

Due to complicated family reasons I shan't bore you with, despite being British, my undergraduate degree is from a US-based institution. Because I wanted to study archaeology, but archaeology is considered a sub-discipline of anthropology in North America (but not in Britain), my major was in Anthropology & Sociology.

I then went on to study for an MA and a DPhil (PhD with a funny title) at the University of York back in the UK.

After that, I went on to do two post-doctoral research fellowships in Australia.

I'm currently working back in the UK where I'm reasonably respected internationally (if I'm allowed to say that) and on the side edit the newsletter for, and am a board member of, a professional society of over 2000 members.

Point 1) Under those circumstances, how could I possibly regret my major?

Point 2) Arts / Social Sciences (choose your side of the Atlantic) don't all end up flipping burgers - so feel encouraged!

I haven't even started my course and already having second thoughts. I have offers for Politics/International Relations courses, but I'm seriously thinking of reapplying for a Philosophy degree (but only if I get an offer from Cam/UoL)

I'm very much enjoying my music degree.

I'm reading for a BScEcon in Politics and Modern History (yes, politics is a science), and I wish I had just done straight Politics or Politics and Economics since history has become far less interesting than I had expected and I am much better at political science than I had expected. It does not help I chose a ridiculous module in my third year and am now studying art history alongside the Chinese revolution for my history modules. But, you've just got to put that down to experience and get on with it.

My university must be one of the most underrated Russell Group universities in the country, making me sometimes wish I was at a 'better' institution. I was also rejected by Cambridge after interview, making me resent not being let in slightly.

However, I'm doing fairly well and should be reading for an MScEcon next year so it's all good. No point complaining about what cannot be changed.

No, I don't regret my major choice. I studied at La Complutence de Madrid University, my major was in Art History with minors in Philosophy, Literature, Languages, History and Investigation Methods. I have a MA degree in Curation and I'm working on my second MA which is in Japanese. I loved it all, and my college years, studying what I liked, were just amazing.:D

The Open University rocks and I can't recommend it highly enough. I've done maths, natural sciences and physics courses with them and am planning to do more. My experience is that the costs are very reasonable, especially as you can pay in instalments and there is some help available with fees (means based). The courses themselves are well worked out and keep you interested and motivated even when you are sitting down to study at midnight after working all day. Tutors are usually friendly and accessible and there is a good online network of other students with whom you can discuss your studies. OU students are all ages and sizes with very varied life experience and add a lot to your OU experience.

Take a look a the web site, order a prospectus or call into your regional centre if you can to find out more and have a look at course materials. Good luck! and tg me if you have questions :)

and no; I don't earn commission for raving about the OU on random internet forums :p

sweet :)

i'm thinking of doing PPE (edit: Politics, Philosophy, Economics)... i've taken a good look at their site and it seems like good stuff. just i don't want to work hard at getting a degree nobody respects (but it seems that's not the case with OU)

I'm very much enjoying my music degree.

But are you USING your music degree? Being a barista doesn't count. :P

I know a few people who love music but had to drop the degree. One girl is going to finish her music degree (performance specialization), but went through an online program to be a wedding planner as her career once she realized she would never enjoy the efforts it would take to be a professional performer.

No, but for the most part I won't be taking any classes in my majors until after I transfer.

I'm very happy with my course, actually. Love it. Only thing I'd change is more chance to do non-Slavonic languages. But then that's not really in the spirit of the course... :p (Russian & Slavonic Studies)

This question is mainly aimed at people who graduated or dropped out of uni, but those of you currently enrolled feel free to answer. Do you regret the major you selected or wish you had changed it?
I avoided that problem by simply adding a major every time I felt uncertain about my current major.

I ended up with three bachelor's degrees: Biology, Philosophy, and Psychology. The biology degree is the one that is helping me most in my career right now, though the psychology degree is also contributing a lot (at my university a lot of neuroscience and pharm classes were under the 'psychology' heading). The philosophy degree let me take some of my favorite classes, helped me improve my writing and reading analysis, and also introduced me to some of my favorite professors.

I'd say I got my money's worth out of all three of my majors. I do wish I could have worked on a major in linguistics, though, and I wouldn't have minded a history minor, either. Pity that I could only afford four years of undergrad.

PhDs do kill your soul...
And they don't kill it all at once. That would be merciful.

No, your PhD will kill you with a million tiny pin pricks, shoving your own hypotheses back at you like needles under your fingernails, an endless collection of tiny torments that gnaw at the edges of your consciousness and slowly pull apart the lingering remnants of your sanity...

*twitch*

I took a law degree, found out I was a great law student but a terrible lawyer, just completely psychologically unsuited for it. I ended up drinking heavily, very depressed, cursing the whole judicial system, and finally burned my license to practice and moved on.

I took a law degree, found out I was a great law student but a terrible lawyer, just completely psychologically unsuited for it. I ended up drinking heavily, very depressed, cursing the whole judicial system, and finally burned my license to practice and moved on.

really?
That sounds like an interesting story. (i mean that honestly, i appealed to the journalist in me). out of interest what's the hardest part of being a lawyer?

I am going to study economics at University this year, might do a minor in philosophy. I hope I wont regret it. Any economics students got any advice or can tell me what sort of stuff to expect?

really?
That sounds like an interesting story. (i mean that honestly, i appealed to the journalist in me). out of interest what's the hardest part of being a lawyer?
If you're interested, I'll post some of my experiences, but not right now. I would have to gather myself.

I am going to study economics at University this year, might do a minor in philosophy. I hope I wont regret it. Any economics students got any advice or can tell me what sort of stuff to expect?
Maths. Because economics prides itself on being more rigorous than any other social science, the more advanced you get the more everything you learn and develop will have to follow rules of logic etc, which means things will be expressed in mathematical form. And then there's econometrics, which is an awesome tool, but also on the numerical side.

You'd be surprised how many people start economics without having a clear idea in their head about how much maths will be required. Though to be honest, I haven't come across anything much more advanced than calculus and matrices. It's partly the way the algebra looks when you introduce more and more variables that throws people off.

I am going to study economics at University this year, might do a minor in philosophy. I hope I wont regret it. Any economics students got any advice or can tell me what sort of stuff to expect?

I agree with Neu Leonstein, there is a lot of maths. Fortunately I came from an engineering background so the maths wasn't so bad (no imaginary numbers in economics! yay!). If you are more interested in the politics of economics then I'd recommend economic history - I don't study it myself, but I hear its more approriate for students who are much stronger at English than maths.

They went to Berklee. Right?



Yep.

Maths. Because economics prides itself on being more rigorous than any other social science, the more advanced you get the more everything you learn and develop will have to follow rules of logic etc, which means things will be expressed in mathematical form. And then there's econometrics, which is an awesome tool, but also on the numerical side.

You'd be surprised how many people start economics without having a clear idea in their head about how much maths will be required. Though to be honest, I haven't come across anything much more advanced than calculus and matrices. It's partly the way the algebra looks when you introduce more and more variables that throws people off.

Well thats good because I am already studying maths in college (including calculus and statistics) and enjoy it. :)

I agree with Neu Leonstein, there is a lot of maths. Fortunately I came from an engineering background so the maths wasn't so bad (no imaginary numbers in economics! yay!). If you are more interested in the politics of economics then I'd recommend economic history - I don't study it myself, but I hear its more approriate for students who are much stronger at English than maths.

I'm interested in both equally, but normal economics is more practical and useful, so I chose that.

Well thats good because I am already studying maths in college (including calculus and statistics) and enjoy it. :)
You shouldn't have a problem then. I'm hardly a genius when it comes to maths, but I'm in the last semester of my undergrad degree and I have only been challenged twice (one time in Advanced Microeconomics due to my lack of knowledge of set theory and the other time in Applied Econometrics when trying to get a nasty bugger of a structural set of equations into reduced form).

As long as you remember that the maths is a tool and not the purpose, it can get to the point where you hardly even notice it anymore.

I did a four-year law degree and hated nearly every damn minute of it. I stuck it out because my CV (resume in American) was a bit flaky and I wanted to show stick-withit-ness.

I eventually managed to brainwash myself that I actually wanted to be a lawyer but, somewhere deep down, I knew I didn't. I half-heartedly applied for a few lawyer jobs but I couldn't convince myself, let alone anyone else, that I wanted to be a lawyer.

The 'wake up and smell the coffee' moment for me came when I saw a job ad for a trainee private equity journalist. I applied and got it. And I've never looked back since (although I now report on industry and not finance).

Cheers

BC

Meh, I'm triple majoring in Philosophy, Political Science and Economics and perhaps getting a minor in Arabic, depending on how quickly my university's program advances. While I do enjoy the way the three subjects very often mingle, I kind of wish I had gone into medicine, instead. If it were likely that I could get a consultation job working with developing governments, then that would be incredibly awesome...but if it were that easy, then there'd be a lot more political science majors with jobs they want. Most likely I'll end up being a lawyer or an accountant, considering my majors (which makes makes the fact that my "reset" wish of doctor really puts me into some kind of weird Jewish stereotype....maybe I should have just gone into physics like I wanted to way back when I was in high school :().

But, anyway, short answer is, yes, I kind of do regret my choice of major(s) but not entirely for its own sake, more so because I can't see getting a job that'll allow me to leave "a mark" as much as if I had gone into medicine (where you get to affect people's lives every day, or at least have the opportunity to) or something similar.

When I started uni I basically continued with the same things I'd been doing in high school - biology, physics, chemistry etc, probably only because those subjects are what I have always valued most in my studies. I considered a lot though, everything from med to firefighting to film school. I found that as I progressed through my bachelor of science, I came to understand and appreciate on a personal level just what science really is, and discovered that I couldn't see myself being satisfied with myself without doing something that would further the cause of humanity in the way science does. I enrolled concurrently in a diploma of arts to do philosophy, a major which I feel marries perfectly with the core of science, is intrinsically interesting and is almost as practical in daily life as science has been.

I'm now in my last year (4th) before I start honors with majors in immunology, chemistry and philosophy, minors in cell biology and molecular biology, and I know now that I am content with my course/majors... Although, I am yet to see where all of this is leading :p

I've just started studying medicine. I'm certainly not regretting it, but that could have something to do with the fact that all I've done so far is eat food, meet people and get showbags full of free stuff.

It's all downhill from there ;)

I've listened to several pep talks from teachers, students and interns of which the basic gist was 'you'll love first year because in the future you'll have no free time, have to work twenty hours a day and consider two weeks of holiday a godsend'. I'm not sure if they've succeeded in motivating me all that much...

I've just started studying medicine. I'm certainly not regretting it, but that could have something to do with the fact that all I've done so far is eat food, meet people and get showbags full of free stuff.

It's all downhill from there ;)

I'm half way through my Chemistry degree and I intend to finish it. But eventually I would like to go to Fashion Design College

More like getting rejected by Harvard and Yale, whereas ending up at York, Bristol, UCL, Warwick etc would be like ending up at Stanford, Berkeley etc (if I understand US uni rankings). They are, through both research output and historical reputation considered the two top universities in the country (and 2 and 3 in World Rankings). Their entrance requirements are a bit wierd though, you can only apply to one of them, they always interview and in many cases have their own tests (most universities in the UK don't do this) although as a rule you won't get an interview unless you are predicted straight As at A-Level. They use an academic tutor-based system which is generally considered not to be for everyone, and students are often chosen based on whether the tutor feels they can work with them. The result of this is being rejected by Oxbridge is usually not a reflecting of a lack of academic excellence.

Right, from the top of my head, probably about 40-45% of school-leavers go to uni (the government is pushing for 50% though), there are about 150-200 unis (I think), all except one are publically funded but you still need to pay some fees. You apply to a course to study a specific subject which you continue through all three years (but you can take electives). Most of the Unis in the top 20 are considered in the Top 100 world-wide, so you get a lot of foreign students coming over too.

Edit: I should add there is a distinction between 'Old' and 'New' Universities in terms of reputation. Old unis are research based and can be classed either as Ancient (Pre-19th century: Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, Edinbrugh, St Andrews, Aberdeen and Glasgow), Red Brick (about 12 universities founded between between 1800 and 1960) and the Plateglass unis (approx 19 unis founded in the 1960s) which tend to have a very academic focus, with generally very good research reputations, and the Post-1992 universities who are ex-polytechnic colleges which have traditionally had more of a vocational/teaching focus. Of course a number of the New Universities have gained excellent research reputations but the perceived distinction is definitely still there.

Your analysis of the situation in Britain compared to the states is slightly flawed, mostly because of the sheer size of the states. Universities like Stanford and Berkeley are just as well respected as the Ivy Leagues, and most people on the west coast would rather apply to schools that aren't 3000 miles away. Getting rejected from Oxbridge and going on to a well-respected but not as highly regarded school would be like getting rejected from Stanford/UC Berkeley/UCLA on the west coast and going on to one of the UCs. On the east coast, its probably like getting rejected from Harvard and Yale and going on to one of the other Ivy League Schools.

The difference in quality between the schools isn't that much, and even the UCs arent that much better than the other parallel collegiate system in California (the CSUs). I'm probably a wee bit biased though, as I'm going to CSU Fresno. I want to go to a UC for my graduate school (Medical school), but for undergrad I'd rather have the much more personal treatment of being an honors student at a CSU instead of being smart student #12943590348509 at UC Berkeley.

As a side note, what are you using for your worldwide ranking of universities? A quick google search doesn't bring up any that match up with the numbers you're giving.

I'm reading for a BScEcon in Politics and Modern History (yes, politics is a science).

LMAO!!! :p

sweet :)

i'm thinking of doing PPE (edit: Politics, Philosophy, Economics)... i've taken a good look at their site and it seems like good stuff. just i don't want to work hard at getting a degree nobody respects (but it seems that's not the case with OU)

I applied for PPE last year, but I saw the error of my ways at the last minute and cancelled my application. Now I've reapplied for Maths and Philosophy (at full time universities, but I'm taking an OU module at the moment). :)

I think OU arts degrees are respected, both because the teaching quality is reasonable and because they show you're able to hold down a job and take a degree at the same time.

I've never used to my degree but the experience of going to University was invaluable.

I've never used to my degree but the experience of going to University was invaluable.

Yeah, for me too. I could never roll a proper joint beforehand :p