What is college like?

If it's anything like what Cracked says, I'm not going, period. When I heard that college students actually had to read books I thought that it just might focus on learning, but clearly I've been stupid enough to ascribe any sort of competence to mass education for the last time.

This is my rule: If I don't like what I do, if I am not directed onto an efficient platform for learning what I intend to learn, I will not do it. I accept that I may have to waste some time in the process. But this is just insane.

It obviously varies widely.

I did not have a single free elective in my undergrad curriculum

Let's make this simpler. I wish to attain a degree in political science or history. What might my day and coursework be like?

Mouthwash said:

Let's make this simpler. I wish to attain a degree in political science or history. What might my day and coursework be like?

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I'm a history undergrad, and in my limited and possibly non-representative experience, college has been easier and more pleasant than high school. In high school, I routinely had to turn in homework pretty much every class meeting for each class. I had about eight different classes total, four a day, five days a week. That adds up.

Now, in college, I have two different types of classes: Honors and lecture. In lectures, you sit there listening to a professor for 75 minutes, taking notes if you want/need to. Little if any student participation, around 25-30 students average for me (size varies wildly depending on the course, course type, time, and university). You're expected to do some reading from a few books you have to buy, but no daily homework. You don't strictly have to do the readings, and there's no strict timetable to do them, but you'll never pass the class if you don't know what it's about.

In terms of tests, I get midterms and finals, both of which tend to be easy for me. I do well with tests, but it's the projects that kill me. In history lecture courses you will have some papers to write, which for me have been anywhere between four and twelve pages long (higher-level courses can have 20-page papers). You'll need to find books and online scholarly sources on your own (the library is your friend!). Generally you'll have weeks' worth of advance notice. That's the tricky part for me, since I'm a master procrastinator, routinely writing whole papers the day before they're due.

DON'T. DO. THIS.

I could've gotten noticeably higher grades, more sleep, and less stress if I could just get myself to write earlier. I could've found better sources, structured my papers better, thought out my arguments better. And while I usually get acceptable grades anyway, I could do better.

Honors courses are a little different. I think they're only offered within honors colleges, which are sets of courses taught in a certain way under certain faculty. Not all universities have them, so you might not want to even bother reading this part.

Overall, undergrad college could be a lot easier for me if I'd just write the papers earlier. At my college, I tend to have five courses per semester, two or three a day, four days a week. Manageable.

Now, as for non-class stuff: I've never actually noticed a confrontation or argument in college. Ever. This is probably because I don't get out much at all, but still. My high school was in sort of the armpit of my county, and was the second least-funded in the district. Kids fought, there was a lot of drama, one kid hit another in the head with a C-clamp, that sort of thing. And half of classes consisted of the teacher telling the students to be quiet. College is a lot more laid-back. Students keep quiet during lectures and don't seem to fight. It's nice.

As for college being an orgy of booze, sex, and drugs? Only if you want to, and since drugs and underage drinking can get you in a lot of trouble, best to avoid them. I don't know anything about the fraternities since I never joined one.

My undergrad years where some of the funnest times of my life!

Uni (at least from my own experience) does allow you some degree of choosing courses within your degree, but if your degree is single (eg Philosophy, as juxtaposed to Philosophy/Literature etc) then your course choices get less.

As for the actual work: At least in the UK uni system i experienced, students of humanities are not expected to present work outside of the regular essays which have set deadlines and contribute to your grade (along with the examinations each year). I only did that work (the essays got up to 2K words, and one would typically have to complete 4 every couple of months, iirc, cause it's been a while ).

You also are expected to read the books that the lecturer will present in the classes, but the lecturers typically don't bring the students in the discussion. Classes are used for a more elaborate presentation, along with the lectures in the amphitheatre. So course work is not that much, at least in a theoretical field.

That said, you will be needing to be aware of the book passages (or most of them) by the time of the general/yearly examinations.

Undergrad was awesome, although I was an engineer so my daily experiences with classes and such probably don't translate. I started around 9 AM each morning and ended up getting most of my work except for exam review done before or around dinner. Classes take up a couple hours per day, and if I could schedule them tightly it worked a lot better in my schedule. I always scheduled my labs later in the week because that's when I was less productive (so it was "forced productivity" on Thursday night).

Regard the Cracked article, #1 is definitely true--there were fewer and less crazy parties than you would expect from the movies, although we made sure to have a couple. #2 is kinda there, although I still hang out with a lot of my buddies from undergrad, and it's easier to stay in touch with the internet. For me, #5 was not true, I had at most one semester of putzing and repeat stuff. #4 is a big opportunity that more people should take advantage of--make sure your electives have a theme and you can put that theme down on your resume and talk about it in interviews with employers. Makes you look responsible or organized or some such garbage. I didn't have too much experience with #3, can't tell ya one way or another there.

Two questions

What percentage of your peers will have to be as serious as you are about academics for you to feel satisfied?

And how elite a liberal arts college can you afford to attend?

At a small, liberal arts college, the professors will take an interest in any highly motivated student, guide your studies, have conversations with you. You can learn as much as you want, but a lot of it will be outside of class and official assignments. That shouldn't be difficult for a self-starter, as you present yourself. But it can feel lonely.

At any small, liberal arts college, you will meet a handful of other students who genuinely care about learning. You'll find them through the honors program, or the history club, or because they're the ones still on the dorm floor the night that the crazy orgy is going on. If that handful's enough, you'll have a satisfactory experience.

If you need for the majority of students to be authentically invested in their studies, so that class sessions are satisfying experiences for you, you may not be able to find it anywhere, but you might find it at quirky elite liberal arts colleges like Bard, Grinnell, Carleton. It may exist in places like that. One tick down from what US News and World report will tell you are the best (Williams, Amherst) because those will have too high a percentage of economic elites just getting themselves the best credentialization.

Mouthwash said:

Let's make this simpler. I wish to attain a degree in political science or history. What might my day and coursework be like?

Click to expand...

Phrossak's post is pretty good, I can throw in another opinion as well.

History:

I've found there's two types of history classes, at least at Iowa, but I can assume and project to most universities. And that would be 'lecture' and 'discussion.' This is just how I categorize them though, but you can easily find merges of the teaching style across classes, since classes are highly dependent on the professor teaching them.

Lecture style are usually introduction classes, or lower level classes. You'll go to class, it will be medium size unless it's the introduction class for the degree. Your professor will lecture you for an hour or so, you take notes if you wanna, he/she might pose questions, and have limited discussion with the students. Work-load wise, no standard homework like in high school. Your syllabus will most likely detail a week by week breakdown of readings expected to have been read in order to create context for the professors lecture. Of course, these are entirely optional, the professor doesn't care if you read or don't, but if you want to get more than a C, you gotta read. Also, it can be pretty damn interesting if you like the topic you're studying.

Most of the grades will come from tests. You'll have papers to write, one or two, but they're very easy and not the focus of the class. Mid-term and final will be where the biggest emphasis will be. For the classes I've had where I had to take tests, sometimes there will be simple ID's, which is just take a term and write a quick paragraph about it, and essays, where the professor gives you a question and you write a quick 4 page or so essay. Most of the time the professor gives you a collection of questions beforehand, you study for 3/4'ths of them, and choose the one on the test you're most comfortable with.

Basically, these types of classes are lower level for a reason, they're not really difficult, and more there just to build historical context for later classes.

Discussion classes on the other hand are pretty different. They might involve just a professor lecturing, but they'll most likely be a combo or lecture and discussion (though once again, like most things in college, this optional. I hate talking in class, so I don't, and I get by with A's in my discussion style classes). These classes, just like with the lecture style, you'll be expected to read something new before each class (expected but not mandatory). These readings will most likely be articles, or monographs, which you read, and then discuss. Either as a stepping stone for your professor to talk about a certain issue, or literally to just discuss the article and what it says. And that's it.

Your grades will come entirely from papers, usually up to 3 or 4 a semester, each around 5-6 pages long (though this is highly dependent on the professor and what is expected of you). These papers use the sources you were given in class, I've rarely had to go find my own sources, and when I did, it didn't involve a super amount of research. Then again though, I've always planned out my weeks so that I started on papers 2-3 weeks before they were due, so I had ample time to work on them. (never ever ever do night before.)

Usually for a final in those classes, its one long paper at the end, around 10ish pages, or you might not even have one if your professor is nice enough.

Political Science:

Honestly, so far, my experience has been the same as the lecture style for history. You sit in a lecture, you take tests, there will be easy papers, and you go on with your life. You'll have readings, but a lot less than history, and once again, its optional whether you do them or not. And again again, if you want good grades you'll do the readings.

If you do go to college, here are my tips for success:

-Plan out your papers far ahead of time. Starting 2-3 weeks before the due date is good. Spend a day or two rereading the papers and books you're using as sources to mine for your thesis. And then slowly write it over the course of the two weeks, leaving the past couple days to touch up and edit your masterpiece. If you're worried about the content and quality, send your papers into my professors to take a look at, and they'll give feedback, which is good, since they're grading it.

-Do the readings! Some of them can be dull if you really just don't want to read about German tumbling societies in Iowa post-1848 revolutions, but it will most likely be very important for setting up what your professor wants to get across from you. As well as informing your ability to write papers and do tests on the broader ideas.

And beyond that, it really is not the horror show people make it out to be. It will only be a horror show if you make it a horror show. If you plan things out, and do what is asked of you, its honestly not that bad and you end up with a lot of free time to goof off and do whatever you want. I haven't read the cracked article, but I assume the author wasn't very good at time management.

EDIT: Read the cracked article, opinion incoming:

#5: It's similar in the sense that the classes are easy, but its not like high school at all. The courses have no homework and, just like above, its 2 tests and maybe a paper depending on what you're taking. It felt like college, not high school at all.
#4: If you're taking a class you don't like, why are you taking it? Switch to one that's more interesting. The reason they give you like 50 different classes to fill out a single gen ed on your degree audit is so you can find something that interests you. Even if it "doesn't have to do with anything."
#3: The people who fail classes are those you don't really expect to be in college next year anyways. There the people who don't do the readings, don't go to lecture, and write papers the day its due and expect to do fine. If you put in even a semblance of work you'll breeze by with an easy C. This is of course, not even counting the fact that a lot of classes are curved ridiculously. But it is true that classes are a real investment, so keep that in mind when you're thinking of blowing off a class to bum around, you're paying for something you're not going to.
#2: Eh, the only ones I've found temporary are study buddies. You'll occasionally meet one in a class, and you pair up for the semester to destroy that course together. They don't last beyond the classroom. But other than that, your friends will only be temporary if you treat them like they'll be temporary.
#1: There's a lot of drinking and drugs, don't get me wrong, but yeah, its not just one giant party. Those who treat it like that drop out Freshman year when they realize that's not how it works. Professors aren't giant dicks either, they do recognize the amount of work students have to do, and the fact they want a life as well. Most tend to push due dates around, and simplify things if they thing they're getting in the way of other classes or things. The syllabus honestly ends up being more a general guideline than a series of hard dates. Most professors can't even finish their own course in time for the end of the semester, and end up culling like half the material for the final

Doing the readings is one of the most important things you can do, especially for discussion classes. Also, you should take advantage of any professor's office hours to go in and ask questions.

Mostly Quake on LAN.

Judging by 5 & 4, these Cracked people clearly went through a uni system quite different to both mine and the one I'm currently, temporarily, studying in. The thread title is asking about college, which isn't uni, but something that in the US is integrally related to it (or so it seems, given their common conflation).

History and political science generally involve quite low workloads, which means asking about college instead of uni is more relevant, I guess.

Mouthwash said:

If it's anything like what Cracked says, I'm not going, period. When I heard that college students actually had to read books I thought that it just might focus on learning, but clearly I've been stupid enough to ascribe any sort of competence to mass education for the last time.

This is my rule: If I don't like what I do, if I am not directed onto an efficient platform for learning what I intend to learn, I will not do it. I accept that I may have to waste some time in the process. But this is just insane.

Click to expand...

So the author of the cracked article went to a lame school. This is what scoring high on the SAT helps you avoid.

#5 means his school was too easy
#4 means his school was too restricted
#3 is backward, failing a single class in college is much safer than high school. Failing a HS class means not getting into college. Failing a college class just means failing the class.
#2 is the author's fault for hanging out with the wrong people. I have a handful of good friends I keep in touch with/hang out with that I met in college.
#1 again depends on where, and what your social scene is.


Basically don't worry about this article. You'll like college, just research and tour the ones that interest you and you'll find what you want.

Mouthwash said:

Let's make this simpler. I wish to attain a degree in political science or history. What might my day and coursework be like?

Click to expand...

Since those are fairly soft majors -

8 am - 4 pm - Sleep in
4:20 pm - take medication
6 pm - 6 am - quality time with coeds

My view: I went to university for way-too-long (both as a full-time and part-time student while working):

#5: The first year does involve a lot of "refresher" material but that is because on all topics, the highschool experience will be different. First-year courses are to clarify the topic-at-hand and weed-out disinterested parties. Some kids seemed to know everything from highschool, others lost completely on a plethora of new materials. The SECOND year things are much more specialized/focused and it is not the same as highschool at all so, while I understand the point, it is just to ease the transition (my first real taste of Calculus was in university while my classmates could debate who was most influential on the subject, Newton or Leibniz).

#4: All classes have to do with SOMETHING but it does get difficult to imagine how they will apply in the future, and sometimes super-informative classes will be taught by less-than-stellar instructors so you could say "You'll be forced to miss-out on the magic of _______ because Dr. Boring ruined it all"

#3: Failing will cost you time and money. I failed one course (a family friend died in a car accident and life turned upside down) but re-did it and yes it meant I couldn't do advanced courses right away but you can't expect life to go any particular way. It seems the human condition involves dodging a lot of curveballs and adapting to the situation-at-hand. I know lots of people who let party-attitude rule and their grades dropped due to this - that is what you must avoid. There is a time and place to have fun (after the test/assignment is complete!)

#2: New friends may have been temporary in the past but these days social media keeps everyone connected and a guy who lived down the hall from me in my first year (10 years ago) is my current roommate so that's hardly temporary. It's hard to get together when everyone is an adult and has a life and moved away but you can still talk - they don't just disappear.

#1: I won't comment on the booze-filled orgy but if you go looking you can find that. I made a rainbow out of bottles...http://i.imgur.com/qxndyOc.png

For what it's worth, I have a degree in political science and I basically write about college for a living. I went to Ohio State, which I imagine is similar to most other land grant/flagship universities.

Here would be my takeaway. Your experiences are going to vary a LOT from school to school, and from what you want to make it. My student life at one of the largest universities in the US was different in some very fundamental ways (in terms of resources, class size, etc) from when I spent one year at a school of 5,000 students. Your coursework at one school will be different than other schools. Your student life experience will depend on if you're somewhere urban, rural, commuter, selective, what you're into, etc.

At Ohio State, I had a ton of flexibility within my Political Science major for my curriculum. I was most interested in practical, applied experience, so I took multiple internships. I took a lot of courses on education policy, elections, legislative branches, urban policy, and US political issues. I only took one political philosophy class (it was required), and only a few foreign policy and international politics classes. Had my interests laid elsewhere, I could have easily flipped my curriculum.

A few of my classes were in large lecture halls, but most of them were general-education courses (so I had to take geology, astronomy, etc). My average class size wasn't much more than what I had in high school (~30is), and several were smaller. I read similar books to what my friends at places like Dartmouth were reading. I just probably wrote less than they did.

Your social life will vary a TON depending on your college, and also what you make of it. If you are concerned about this, I would recommend attending a large school in an urban setting, where you will have more diversity in options, and can make your experience essentially what you want. I didn't drink at all at Ohio State. I didn't attend too many "parties" (I was in a frat, but a co-ed, service based one). If you wanted to stay in all weekend and read, you could. If you wanted to explore a reasonable large city, you could. If you wanted to bar hop, you could. You could find your scene.

As far as day to day, I typically was in class for 2-4 hours a day. I worked nearly full time almost my entire college experience though, so I'd usually go to school from 7:30-11:00ish, catch a bus downtown, work until 6 or so, go home to eat/study, and then write for my second job. I'd spend Friday nights reporting, and at least one day on the weekend. For a Poli Sci major, I think spending more than 4-5 hours a day in class would be unusual, but again, depends on your school.

At a smaller, more rural school, I think my experience would have been more difficult, especially since I wasn't really in the drinking scene (although I am highly social).

All in all, I loved my experience. I wish I had done even more. I imagine that's partly why I have been drawn to what I do for a living.

You could save yourself a lot of pain by going to college somewhere that isn't the United States. The system there is insane. Come to Scotland, we've been at this for six hundred years, we know what we're doing.

Camikaze said:

The thread title is asking about college, which isn't uni, but something that in the US is integrally related to it (or so it seems, given their common conflation).

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In the US a college and a university are essentially the same thing, and 'college' is used to refer to them generically. You would never see or hear the word 'uni' for any reason, ever.

Terrible.

College is gettin' laid with no money , real life is getting laid with lot's of money (in most cases really = really lots of it) - choose now ! j/k