The official "College sucks" thread

[ngower]

Didn't get accepted, now I'm f*cked, don't know what I'm going to do. Someone please kill me....PLEASE!!!!

[patfan1]

Didn't get accepted, now I'm f*cked, don't know what I'm going to do. Someone please kill me....PLEASE!!!!
Sorry to hear that man. Don't give up yet. Look into JuCo's for a year, get your grades up, get some of the prelim credits done, etc.

Don't give up...

[ngower]

Well I'm gonna apply to UMASS Lowell as a late registration, but if/when that doesn't work out I'll try out a Spring of 08 registration or something at the only two Junior Colleges in MA, Dean and Bay State. Thanks for the heads up, but this just sucks so hard.

[patfan1]

Well I'm gonna apply to UMASS Lowell as a late registration, but if/when that doesn't work out I'll try out a Spring of 08 registration or something at the only two Junior Colleges in MA, Dean and Bay State. Thanks for the heads up, but this just sucks so hard.
Nothing wrong with UMass Lowell. :cool:

[ngower]

Never said there was. Only thing that killed me was my slacking off this year. I had gotten the Abigail Adams scholarship for free tuition to a state school (UMASS included) for high scores on my MCAS, and I was 17th of 120 prior to the start of this year. Then senioritis kicked in and I went WAY down. Emerson must have seen that and passed. I wouldn't be surprised if I got rejected by UML as well, but I'm hoping my portfolio will do me some justice when I go for an interview.

[Chowda]

Didn't get accepted, now I'm f*cked, don't know what I'm going to do. Someone please kill me....PLEASE!!!!

I felt the same way when I had to drop out of college after 2 1/2 years due to piss-poor grades and money concerns.

There's a ton of pressure, especially in the northeast, because our parents expect you to go to college straight away and graduate or you will wind up living out of a cardboard box. College opens up a ton of doors and will land you a higher starting salary. After that, it's all about effort and attitude.

Also, a HS grad who knows how to budget their money and invest will be in better shape than your typical college grad financially. That may be sad, but it's true.

You may even consider the military. Keep in mind, what we are doing now is peacekeeping. According to a leadership course I took in 2000, peacekeeping is a job no soldier is trained to do. However, peacekeeping is a job that only a soldier can do.

If you are wise enough to join the most professional fighting force in the history of mankind, the United States Navy, you may have an exciting technical job, but everyone also trains to be a fireman and everyone is a janitor.

Good luck in whatever you decide, but just remember that it ain't the end of the world.

[Chowda]

Never said there was. Only thing that killed me was my slacking off this year. I had gotten the Abigail Adams scholarship for free tuition to a state school (UMASS included) for high scores on my MCAS, and I was 17th of 120 prior to the start of this year. Then senioritis kicked in and I went WAY down. Emerson must have seen that and passed. I wouldn't be surprised if I got rejected by UML as well, but I'm hoping my portfolio will do me some justice when I go for an interview.

So you just aimed too high with no backup? You'll be fine. Worst case is a semester at juco.

Also, try and get a low-level job at a company that does something in a field you are interested in. The job itself may have nothing to do with that company's mission, but you can start building your network and you can lineup interns or even a job further down the line. You'd also be surprised at how many companies will give employees money for college to low-level employees who have proved themselves capable.

[ngower]

It wasn't that I had no backup, I just couldn't afford all the application fees as my mom told me I was on my own basically. I would never join the military...ever. As for the "career field" I have a possible job at a graphic firm in Lowell where one of my mom's coworker's spouses works there. I've talked and I would be working 7-3 if I get hired, and since it's only production work, I should be good. It'll be hard, but if I can't get into college I want to work my way up the ladder, not work at some office or retail store. I want to go to work everyday and make money for something I LOVE to do.

[nsa]

So you just aimed too high with no backup? You'll be fine. Worst case is a semester at juco. The Mount or Middlesex CC credits are usually transferable. Those basic courses are crap anyways no matter where you go.

[Sean Donahue]

Chowda, did you say in the past you went to Hofstra? If so I am interested in what you thought of the shcool.

Didn't get accepted, now I'm f*cked, don't know what I'm going to do. Someone please kill me....PLEASE!!!!
I know someone in this same situation. There are several schools you can still apply to that have rolling admissions if you hurry.

[thecastigador]

you wanna be a designer? Just take a semester off, work on your portfolio and try again. If money's an issue I suggest Mass Art. State school (cheap), good program, and in the city. My school (art institute of new england) has a good design program too, but is a bit more pricey. I think that time off between HS and college is the best thing someone with aspirations of getting a degree can do. I wish I did. If anything look at this as a blessing in disguise. Also, I know a lot of state schools have means to have the application fee dropped if you go through the right channels... as to how you do that I have no clue.

[ngower]

I considered Mass Art, but the graphic design program was certificate only. I was going to go to Emerson for advertising/marketing, with journalism as my 2nd choice. Odds are I'll just go to a community or junior college and then transfer after I get my basics out of the way. To Emerson? Hopefully, but I'll definitely be putting more thought into this.

[patfan1]

you can lineup interns
Ahem, what's this about lining up interns? :D

[Chowda]

Chowda, did you say in the past you went to Hofstra? If so I am interested in what you thought of the school.


Well, the campus is located within a mile of Hempstead (that rundown city environment stretches into Queens), Garden City (one of the richest towns in the country), and the Nassau Colliseum. There's no offical frat or sorority houses allowed in the county so there's no "party neighborhood". It has the best security force, but they are only draconian when it comes to outsiders and accessing certain dorms. I did manage to have a blast in my personal life there.

The school is pretty good, yet as expensive as most non-ivy new england schools. In regards to reputation, it's comparable to BU when it comes to getting a job, or getting into law/med school. The business school has a good rep in NYC.

Oh, and they were the Flying Dutchmen when I went. Now, they are the Pride which is really, really lame. Jay Wright started his coaching career when I was a sophomore. My freshmen year, I went to see a few games against top 20 teams for free in front of 150 fans. Their LAX team was also top 20 which was sort of cool. Gary Flood went there, so that speaks volumes of their soccer program's progress.

[Crewbasher]

Two of my sisters went to Hofstra. One stayed all four years and seemed to enjoy it (although, as Chowda alluded to earlier, the tuition is ridiculous and so student loans are crazy... would've been for me at Fordham as well, but I got a sweet scholarship - the Northeast schools are all way too expensive). The other sister pretty much hated the experience and came back to RI to study.

Ultimately, all the criticisms and all the praise in the world for a certain school don't really mean anything. It's up to you to find the school that fits you best.

And yeah, Chowda, Flying Dutchmen was an awesome name, even if it had a connotation of perpetual losing and misfortune. ;)

[Sean Donahue]

Two of my sisters went to Hofstra. One stayed all four years and seemed to enjoy it (although, as Chowda alluded to earlier, the tuition is ridiculous and so student loans are crazy... would've been for me at Fordham as well, but I got a sweet scholarship - the Northeast schools are all way too expensive). The other sister pretty much hated the experience and came back to RI to study.

Ultimately, all the criticisms and all the praise in the world for a certain school don't really mean anything. It's up to you to find the school that fits you best.

And yeah, Chowda, Flying Dutchmen was an awesome name, even if it had a connotation of perpetual losing and misfortune. ;)

Yeah, the price sucks but I got a great scholarship. I knew very little about the school, but I got a free app and the scholarship made it well worth visiting (I went last weekend). I really liked it on the visit, it's just a little further than I wanted to go.

[Chowda]

Yeah, the price sucks but I got a great scholarship. I knew very little about the school, but I got a free app and the scholarship made it well worth visiting (I went last weekend). I really liked it on the visit, it's just a little further than I wanted to go.

Yeah, I started with the "presidential scholarship" which was something like $2500 off tuition and a work study which made the dorm room free for 10 hours of work a week. Losing that was one of the reasons I left.

To be perfectly honest, I pulled out a map of the US the summer before my senior year and picked a few areas of the country where I would fill out college applications for. The impression I got from Long Island was largely due to what I took away from watching Growing Pains.:o

If I could do it all over again, I would go to a college that had top division 1 teams in football and basketball.

[RedRevs]

nothing wrong with going to dean or mass bay for a couple years...if you get over a 3.0 in Mass Bay you get half price in state tution to UMASS or any other state school...3.0 at Dean you're guaranteed into suffolk.

[ngower]

Alright, I've narrowed it down to Southern New Hampshire University, Dean College and Middlesex Community College. I plan on going to Dean for two years and transferring to Suffolk (wanted to go there for Journalism anyways) or go to Middlesex and transfer to somewhere in Boston, or UMASS Lowell, or go to SNHU and get an Associates in Graphic Design, then either transfer or get my Bachelors.

[RedRevs]

Alright, I've narrowed it down to Southern New Hampshire University, Dean College and Middlesex Community College. I plan on going to Dean for two years and transferring to Suffolk (wanted to go there for Journalism anyways) or go to Middlesex and transfer to somewhere in Boston, or UMASS Lowell, or go to SNHU and get an Associates in Graphic Design, then either transfer or get my Bachelors.

I'm in the process of transferring to Suffolk University for Journalism as we speak. I went to UNH for 2 1/2 years and the Journalism isn't what i thought it would be. I'm taking classes at Dean to keep up my progress right now. I think its a pretty good way to go. I also have a background in Graphic Design...id go for the journalism degree as you don't need a degree to be sufficeint in Graphic Design