Zack

I think its immoral to tell people how they can and cannot earn money unless they are directly harming another person. Social pressure is fine, even good (Although I accept that in cultural battles as well) but the government should not be playing robin hood.

I assume you knew on abortion I'm still pro-life. On foreign policy I've mostly taken a "We need to stop being the freaking world policemen" position. I initially came to that position because war almost always leads to a restriction of civil liberties but that's not my only reason anymore.

I think its amazing (In a negative way) that things like the Patriot Act, the TSA in current form, SOPA, and other things are seriously being considered as options.

I've also mostly given up the gay marriage issue by now. I'm not "For" SSM but I'm not really an active opponent either. Pretty much every issue under the sun is more important to me than SSM these days.

I think its immoral to take money from people to give to other people, I think the European system encourages laziness (Not that being on welfare = laziness, obviously that's not always the case, but it does make laziness easier) and I think letting the rich keep more of their money helps the economy because they use it to create more jobs and stimulate the economy.

Also, I know with UHC some people are considered to be "Not worth saving" by the government and thus left to die. I know its not the intended consequence of this policy, but it has happened.

The economy isn't even my #1 issue though. Abortion, foreign policy and civil liberties are all higher on my list. I don't know what to think about this year. I hate the President and I hate Mitt Romney. I'd probably elect ANY third party candidate this year before I'd electe either one of them.

I see you still have that out of context quote in your sig.

I should mention that I am outright supporting the Republican candidate for my district (Randy Altschulter) against Tim Bishop. He (Altschulter) isn't perfect, but Bishop is a partisan hack and an utter jerk and he needs to be voted out. I still intend to look into the senate races for this year.

I'm not taking sides in the Presidential race this year. I just don't like either candidate, and its not just because Romney is "Not extreme enough." I really don't like the Republican positions on foreign issues (I don't like being the world policemen) and on certain social issues.

It really comes down to time. If I miss a phase, or am not all that active for a period of a game or two, it is not a big deal. But hosting requires more time and a dedicated schedule to keep. I’ve hosted one IOT before, and had to shut it down due to the lack of time on my behalf. If I’m going to host, I’d want to do it the justice it deserves, and right now I’m not sure I could do that.

I’m sure someday I’ll get around to hosting one, but for now I’ll need to stay firmly on the player side.

And I would update it, but editing on a handheld is a major PITA.

Cool! Best of luck to you finishing up high school, I hope you get into GT too!

I wouldn't worry so much about your particular grades in any one class--the question is whether or not you liked doing that kind of science and would want to do it again. It's good you are getting AP classes done--those let you get a jump start on your major.

I would note that your job title and major aren't the same thing. People are expecting the biomedical field to grow, but you can work in that field with a major in chemical engineering, or mechanical, or others. Plus, instead of pigeon-holing you with one application, you will be able to apply the concepts from the mainline engineering fields to all kinds of different jobs, which gives you plenty of flexibility if those projections turn out wrong. I'd caution you away from "trendy" new majors and to stick with the established ones.

I haven't followed it recently, but the biomedical major is in its infancy and is still rapidly changing. The classes were mostly a borrowed assortment from other majors and were not fully designed to work together and form a coherent field of study. Plus, there is little standardization between different schools, so recruiters don't necessarily know what they are getting when they see BME written on a résumé. And given the overlap with ChE, ME, MS, and EE, they may want to stick with the traditional majors which have known and specific expertise over a brand new jack-of-all-trades (but master of none).

If I may plug chemical engineering for a second, at GT they do a ChBE (chemical and bio-molecular engineering) program, and you can choose either traditional ChE electives or bio-oriented electives. That way, you get both the advantage of being part of an established degree as well as prep for going into medical work (or any sort of other bio field).

Yup, in for the PhD long haul. Almost finished, though, so I need to figure out what I'm going to do when I get out.

It varies by department, but most offer some sort of 5-year BS/MS degree that you should look into. They usually work by allowing you to start taking grad classes with your elective slots during your 4th year. I think I should have done something along those lines.

GT is a great engineering school; you will have access to good profs, labs, and also tons of engineering societies. I was part of Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honors society, as well as the chemical engineering society and NSCS. The career fairs there filled stadiums, and plenty of tech companies were present. There was also a good balance between consulting, project engineering, and process engineering jobs, so you have tons of options.

Although I'm working on a good project, I don't want to beat myself up like MIT professors do chasing grant money and fighting over the names on papers, and I'm getting overqualified for the kind of jobs I was interested in but put off. I've basically burned another 5 years getting a degree at a university I hate to get qualified for jobs I don't want to do. All the while my friends are working 40 hours a week and making far more money.

What kind of engineering are you looking at, or are you undecided?

Yo,

I had a great time at Georgia Tech! I studied chemical engineering there and graduated a few years back. The professors were great, and a lot of the labs and buildings on campus were modernized or recently built (our old president, Wayne Clough, was a master of fundraising). Although the freshman classes were in large lecture halls, most of the classes in my major had 20-30 students and you got to interact directly with the professors. Unlike some other schools, the profs and TAs both usually hold office hours, so you can get good one-on-one time. Career-wise, they have several career fairs, and they are absolutely huge. Entertainment-wise, there is tons to do on campus and around Atlanta, but you gotta be careful at night due to pockets of crime in the city.

I ended up going to grad school (terrible life decision), and GT got me to MIT. I would definitely recommend GT over MIT.

Can I ask how serious you are about gatech (at least initial reaction); I looked up bme and I think US news said gatech was like #2 ranked in it, so pretty elite? I was very serious about it and bugged Irish Caesar some (who coincidentally was a nre grad student at gatech when I was applying) as well as 2 other guys who are now graduated/I am friends with from another forum.

I'm very happy to help plug gatech whenever I can.

Antilogic also went to gatech if you want to ask him stuff. I haven't really been talking to him, but he said he had recommendations for the city of atlanta!

oh also did you already apply? The first deadline when I applied was around october ish (the presidential scholar deadline iirc), but it was nonbinding and no reason not to apply early.

looking up my letter of acceptance I got it Nov 6, when most people apply for places due Jan 1! So if you want to slack off the rest of your year knowing you got accepted, apply early (even though I continued to work hard in high school, which was a big waste of time for random things like AP Gov. I should have just cruised and got a C or D or something).

although no idea on your preference for gatech. I only applied 3 places, and only cared about 2.

any specific questions? It would rather help

the guy is a sophomore so he may be a good source for the first year course. I mean, I'm confident you can look up the course lists and stuff.

By that I mean I know my subject, and other engineerings (aerospace, etc etc) often have the first "intro" course spring of your first year. The rest of the curriculum is generically the same at the start (calculus, a MATLAB course, physics, etc)

biomed may split off earlier though, because the people I know are nuclear/mechanical/aerospace mainly, and for instance I don't know if biomed has to take the matlab programming course

I don't think I offhand know many biomeds--I know one guy that I can ask about bme on friday; also, I don't bother to finish my sentences I guess (see previous post).

but yeah, I'll certainly answer any questions you got and I'll give a more detailed thoughts on gatech later.

I like it quite a bit. I can clarify a lot more sometime when I'm not as busy; I got some hw I didn't do/don't think I'll be able to get done due tomorrow as well as a test.

any particular thought on type of engineering though (I assume you're looking at engineering)? mean for basic info it's all the same, but I

Zack gets apathetic? Baw haw haw haw

*Barbershop quartet appears*

:culture:Zaaaack, Zaaaaaack, Zaaaaaaaack!:culture:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=476382

Nah, I don't think they're that bad.

Though I missed the last couple episodes of the season so I can't judge them.

Thanks comrade!

I've nicknamed it "Commurama"