Bull*****! Any non-liberal ideas are met with scorn and anger. When was the last time you stepped onto a campus, dd? I can site dozens of cases of intimidation and vandalism perpetrated by libs against conservatives.

Yellow, check out http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.com/

Remember, in College, the professors don't care if you do your assignments or not. They'll just flunk you. Its easier in the long run to stay up with your studies rather than trying to cram at the end. You can't cram math, chemistry and physics. The best way to study is by reading, processing it through your brain and writing it out. Regardless of the subject. I started college when I was 21 (USMC before that) so I was older than most students. I still had a good balance of schooling and fun. You can make it the best four years of your life in terms of personal growth, lots of chicks and preparing your self for life. Try and ge a degree in something you 1) enjoy, 2) are good at, and 3) that will make you a decent buck when you graduate. In the late 70's when I was in school, a lot of people were taking majors in Women's or Black studies or some nonsense like that. What does that do qualify you to be a women or black wherever you go?

Like I said; the math in calculus isn't the hard part as it's just algerbra that you've been studying for the past few years anyway.

Take it easy; get your general in - 4 years is a short time to spend (even 5 is short). In the summer GET INTERNSHIPS! I wish I had done this as it's a great chance to expose yourself to the real world while still claiming the ignorance of a kid. ;-)

So - what in life interests you - what are your hobbies? Those are the things you should be looking at as major possibilities. Not "jobs" but things you enjoy. That way you set yourself up to do something you enjoy for the rest of your life.

Like lubmaster - I hear he actually bathes in oil.

Last time I stepped on a campus - only about a week or so ago. Nothing's changed. Everyone still has every kind of thought and summation there is. As for political leanings of the campus where I was, the FBI, CIA, as well as NEA and PBS recruit highly from the student body. In media, it's Fox and CNN, so I saw the atmosphere on this campus as quite fair and equally distributed politically. So, so much for your blanket statement, unless the FBI and NEA are suddenly in cohoots.

Maybe the retaliation to your beliefs at your school occur from the way you present your beliefs on these threads; that is all reaction yet with nothing to back it up save for a simple cut and paste job. The difference on campus, is your bluff's being called, and you're finding that out the hard way. From community colleges to universities, any thought, treatise or belief a student has, whether politically left or right, has to be backed up with fact. No one will listen to you otherwise as they won't in the real world, Pelican OT not withstanding as the real world.

You get out of college exactly what you put into it. Don't sweat your major at this point...just cover your GE classes the first year and get into the swing of things. Take Bryan's comments with a salt lick (sorry Bryan, but you sound really bitter). I had great experiences on both sides of the chalkboard...as an undergrad, grad, and professor. Sure, some faculty are FOS, but so are some students. It is the percentages. Figure that some of the classes you take will suck. BUT, invariably if you are curious and are willing to work on your own (not just take what is spoonfed to you), every class can be great. Hell, I had to take a symbolic logic course (phil 25, required) and it was great fun. So was catholic theology...mostly because the priest that taught it was a hoot.

Don't forget to do the social stuff (which is easier at a small liberal arts school), but the best advice I can give is to do homework every day (especially in math a science courses). Part of what you're learning is discipline. As Hugh stated, the profs aren't there to babysit you. You need to engage that material and make it your own. No matter what field.

Bryan, you just couldn't resist could you? :rolleyes: I didn't get any hint from yellowline's questions that he wanted to turn this into a political thread. Show some class.

BTW, I've had both right wing and left wing professors; in fact, in the engineering world, I'd say it's slanted toward the right.
:eek:

Yellowline, I wouldn't worry too much. Everyone is scared when they start college. Based on your post, I'd say that you already have excellent written communication skills, so not much to worry about there. Just have fun, keep up with your work, and take some classes you never thought you'd have any interest in. Believe it or not, the classes that I enjoyed most were completely unrelated to my major.

Good luck, you're about to embark on one of the most memorable experiences in life.

Jim

Interesting topic, yellowline. Good of you for asking.

Ideally, you should get at least the following from college:
1. A career direction with the appropriate knowledge/degree and internship experience.
2. Strong work habits and good time management.
3. Some good friends and a lot of fun memories.
4. A grown-up demeanor and a mature, clear way of communicating.
5. Exposure to a variety of different cultures and ways of thinking.

If you go into it reasonably well-prepared with a good head on your shoulders, a good work ethic, and a friendly open attitude, I think you won't be disappointed.

I suggest you make some time at the end of each semester to assess yourself and your progress. Talk about it with some good mentors - professors, advisors, parents. Go backpacking for a week and reflect.

If things are getting out of control - your grades are collapsing, you're constantly unhappy, you're drinking or doping a lot - think about taking a break. Work for a semester, figure out what you need to change, take some special classes if you need them, and go back to school and do it. Don't waste your four precious years of college just stumbling through.

I would definitely look for an opportunity to do an exchange program to a school in another country. Getting out of the US is a very good way to see things from another angle. Plus it can be fun as heck.

I'd do some thinking about how you're going to support yourself in the future, and how various majors might help or not. I admit that I don't know much about what jobs exist for, say, history majors, but I'd want to know that before choosing a major.

As for the debate that's going on in this thread about liberal views vs conservative views on campus - I think you should ignore those, and focus on forming your own views on the issues. Gather information, discard the opinions and keep the facts, check that they really are facts, develop several different theories, see which one holds up best to the facts, attack that theory, and if you still believe it, be prepared to change your mind as new facts require. I usually find that real-world issues are complicated and that extreme, simplistic, or loudly-stated ideologies, on either side, should usually be distrusted.

Incidentally, I think it is interesting and useful to take a class in rhetoric and logic.

Oh, by the way, stay open to the idea of going on to graduate school if that proves right for you.

Yellowline - PC is a very cool school. I know RI very well

I went to Salve Regina as an undergrad. Back then, the girl to guy ratio was 25:1. The schoool went co-ed a few years before my twin and I started. Being a Newport college, the res halls were on the water and converted mansions.

We would have PC and Brown students coming down all the time to party with us. URI was way too greek - greek life can be cool but they went overboard. Roger Williams, RIC and RISD studenst would visit as well but. The RISD girls provided a welcome 'artistic' relief from the rich, pampered girls of luxury that Salve fostered.

Yellowline - here is my advice to you:

1) Pack very very light - one suit case with clothes only and a sleeping bag (explained later).

2) Best to leave the car at home - trust me, the bus line will do fine! Plus gas and moochers will brake your bank.

3) Take full advantage of your profs office hours - if nothing else but to review some of the notes you took during class.

4) Stay cool with the roomies but make sure you are all on board with the following topics:
- cleanliness, set some parameters and agree to fines of busted. Ants and roaches find there way in real quick and chicks hate smelly dirty rooms!
- girls, set some rules on this one. Socks on the door handle or what ever but the code we always had was that the screw came before anything, inlcuding a good night sleep. Team up with another toom a s a "dump zone", thats a place you can crash if your roommate is getting over and you need to sleep. This is where the sleeping bag comes in handy!
- set rules on food, beer and booze. Moochers suck.

5) Be cool the first few months and just look to make friends with as many girls as you can. Do not try to nail them! All the other guys will be doing that and some will succeed. The hotties will have boyfriends at home or at other schools. These relationships will dissolve around November. You will be the "great guy that never tried to nail them"! Swoop in.

EXTRA TIP - a gallon of baby oil comes in real handy!

Next time I'm down at PC I'll have to let you know, we can grab a beer. If you're not a beer drinker now.. the next few months will be a learning experience.

I strongly disagree with this kind of mentality.

edit: I apologize for the name calling.

well, apparently i'm the only one who's had such a bad experience.

Maybe I'm wrong about the whole thing.

Yellow,

Don't shortchange yourself on the college social experience, the weekends are the good part. Remember that EVERYONE in your class is new there as well as you, it's a free start without baggage. You don't have to be the quiet kid unless you want to. (I was the quiet Valedictorian of my high school class, who chose to change persona in college and do not regret it.)

Now, I did do one thing wrong. Didn't keep up with homework and reading, missed a LOT of classes especially freshman year. Lots of cramming at exam time and mediocre grades ensued. Didn't get as much as I should have academically out of the experience.

Graduated, worked 2 years, then off to grad school. Now paying the bill myself, I attended almost 100% of my classes. Did written assignments on time, did not do the reading assignments except "case study" kind of stuff that we'd be directly discussing in class. 3.9 GPA with truly minimal studying. You see, the KEY is this...professors talk about in class those points that they deem important. If you are there & paying attention, taking notes to review before the tests, you will have what you need to succeed!

So, be social and attend all your classes! (In 10 years, you'll remember these as the "good days").

Sweet. In terms of essays, I'm set on punctuation and grammar. It's just that I'm not the type of person who can BS for pages and pages.

In terms of girls, my roommate said he's not going to be bringing a bunch of girls in. Of course, I plan on having girlfriends, but I'm already thinking that "nailing them" without a real commitment (marriage or close to it, I know you guys will go "WTF?" when you hear that ;) ) is overrated. I'm hoping there are some hotties there who go along with that.

In terms of partying, well, I'm not much of a guy for that. I'll be there, but I'm not going to lose control of myself.

The car can't come until junior year, so that's resolved.

So, in essence, time management will come to me, and the friends will, too. Just keep current with studies and see a professor if I fall behind at all. I plan on attending my classes.

Great advice, guys. Keep going if you have something else to add.

I say "have fun" and "learn". I think as long as you keep these two things at the top of the list of priorities, everything else will be just fine.

I've been out of college for..dang...19 years, and I still use things I learned every day. Learning is far more important than making good grades.

I also did something I swore I would never do before I went to college - I joined a fraternity. In hindsight it was the best thing I ever did.

In a way, I envy you... :>)

Mike

Don't sweat it, everyone feels the way you do when college is looming. You're gonna have a great time.
-grant
Hamilton College 2002
double major, comp-sci and english.

For the most part, I didn't, but I was a business major.

There were some experiences I had that gel with Bryan's:

1) I had a tenured professor in a senior-level management class who told us on his first day that his goal was to get us to drop out of the College of Business and become art majors or some other nonsense. We spent an entire semester writing essays on Love Canal and Bhopal and how evil corporations are. In one particularly blatant incident, we were divided into groups and assigned an essay to write. I wrote the whole essay. The two other girls in the group got A's. I got a B. Retaliation for my political views? Still, I didn't learn a darn thing about management in that class.

2) Roughly 75% of the RAs in my dorm were gay/lesbian. They took it on themselves to be a sort of PC patrol, tearing down pictures or erasing white boards that said anything they didn't like. In one particularly ironic episode, an RA busted a friend of mine for having beer in his room. (RA had been targeting him for several weeks--but that's another story.) In the same breath, the RA accused my friend of being "intolerant" of his lifestyle, then proceeded to write my friend up for his heavy-drinking lifestyle.

3) Most of the student organizations on campus were left-leaning. Over the years, I noticed that the campus Christian organization was consigned to a building far off campus, but that GLAD got to stage rallies (or whatever they were) on the quad.

Still, I had a good time, but the rampant hypocrisy among the students and staff get me to this day.

No your not. Had what sounds like the same experiences as you... until I started taking business classes... most of those folks were either conservative or (mostly) you couldn't tell.

- Skip

Yellowline,

The key to writing papers is having lots of good sources, if you have good sources with great information relevant to your topic, you don't need to fill your paper with BS...Oh, and get your sources before you start writing.

Other thoughts on college life:

-Be social (go to games, talk to people in your class, etc.)...Try not to associate with people who "are just there."
-Take summer internships...I just finished an internship at WB, and now have a job.
-Study abroad, if you can. You won't regret it.
-Make sure that you attend class (I know it's a no-brainer, but missing class makes it harder to learn).
-As far as women go, it's fine that you don't prefer casual sex...There are girls that are ok with that (And I think this is the majority), and there are those that prefer no strings attached.

It's also nice to have an idea of what you want to do after college...I HATED spending $$$$$ on classes without knowing what your major is.

Most of all, have fun....It's hard to succeed when you're not enjoying your time at the U.


USF '07 (tentatively scheduled)

Don't room with a friend from high school!

I made that mistake, we lasted 2 months as roommates, and haven't spoken since.

Still, the traumatic experience of losing my best friend early in college made me resolve to work my @$$ off, and do the best job that I could.

I had friends who were hard-core studiers, and they didn't enjoy college at all, which I think was a shame. It was just a means to an end for them.

I had friends who were hard-core partiers. They enjoyed college far too much. One in particular got a 0.0 one semester after blowing off all classes after Spring Break. A 0.0 really hurts your GPA. He got kicked out of the school, and couldn't get back in to ANY college for a number of years because his cumulative GPA was so low. He had to take remedial community college courses for 4 years just to get his cumulative GPA back up to a 2.0.

No.
It's not.