The Pros/Cons of College

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Well, let me start be listing off my pros and cons, and I'll add anything else you guys might think of

Pros:
Teachers are generally accomodating (in terms of getting a laptop for tests and stuff)
College is your ticket out of living with your parents, for me at least
It "stimulates your intellect and learning," to put it the way my professor evaluation form is
Most things in political science and history play right into logic, patterns, etc. I don't know so much about the other disciplines

Cons:
Students don't make an effort to understand you, calling you "odd"
Your "friends" in college sometimes turn out to be not your friends
Sometimes, your own roomy can be inconsiderate
People will take you for granted
If you date and you breakup, you might have a big downturn in your grades because you're trying to make sense of things, logically, and your emotions from the breakup get all raw and you might meltdown because of a breakup--but the good news it: eventually, you're able to modify yourself so your ex(s) don't bother you as much
The last four are a big problem for me, espeically, since I lack the social skills to navigate these things

The thing I think that overrides most, if not all, of the cons, is the fact that college is your ticket out of living with your parents, because then you can get a job and you'll be totally independent of your parents.

What are your pros/cons, and which pro/con one overrides the other side?

This is a good idea for a thread, Mutanatia. I'm sure it will be very helpful for the college incoming on this board.

Pros:

1) Learning new things

2) Getting to meet and talk to cool faculty members

3) You can work on projects or research with professors (This is a big one, especially for a biology student like myself. Many people claim with college that it's a waste of money if they can learn things on their one. While I don't think this is true with the exception of the truly brilliant and self-motivated - and lets be honest, the Bill Gates are few and far between - getting to work side-by-side with a faculty member is truly a unique experience. You learn a lot, and it looks great on your transcripts.

4) You have a ton more career opportunities with a college degree, and even more if you use that as a stepping stone for graduate school.

5) You have access to university resources, like the library (which offers specialized academic texts that you wouldn't find at your public library, journals (both online and paper), etc.


Cons:

1) Cost - This is obviously a big one, but keep in mind the higher future income you will make if you earn a degree.

2) Students - I was told that I would meet intelligent, like-minded peers that share my interests. These peers are few and far between, and honestly, they are eclipsed by the imbeciles. Going into my sophomore year, I'm hoping that they will be screened, or at least most of them.

Hope this helps!

I got an associates degree in Electronics Engineering. I was going to get my four year degree, but I found out that I would have to start again nearly from the beginning. College is mostly about social, and I agree, there are quite a few embecils ibn college.

My problems in college are all social-related. You see, college kids like to waste their lives away by drinking and partying.

I have never been to a party and have never had alcohol. And yes, I'm well over the legal drinking age by an entire year.

There was also an elitist group that I tried to belong to on campus but removed myself from because the leader was trying to brainwash everyone. He didn't get me but he brainwashed several others.

So how do I get around these problems? Tell the freshmen what not to join at orientation. I've already steered at least one person away from that group. I did find another guy who doesn't drink or party so we usually find something else to do if anything at all.

Of course, I have a new puppy so I have a good excuse to stay in now...

Yeah i'm kind of worried about the whole party thing, I absolutly hate parties but in college your expected to go to one twice a week or something and i don't know if I could fit in with that. But if i don't fit in most people would think me weird and I'll be a loner i guess. i think thats the big negative for me going into it.

The positive is probably learning new things, getting good at what you have wanted to do for awhile, and maybe even finding love. i can't wait to get into it and I'm sure i will have a good time. Though I do have a worry on how i would be able to live on my own.

Certain different ethnic groups tend to behave better than idiot Americans. Seek them out. I'm particularly fond of Han Chinese.

btw, a good way to get to know these kinds of people is to have a good grip on their local geography, culture, etc.

Well that leaves me out then..i don't even now the geography around my local area...

It depends, commuter schools generally don't have much of a party scene, and if there is one, you're not "expected to go to one twice a week or something." If you hate parties, don't go, it's as simple as that. Nobody will think you're weird, as a matter of fact they probably won't even care.

Learning on your own is easier for certain subjects, IMO, since you can pick your own 'course text', which is often a better choice than whatever the school has, and you can be your own tutor, etc.

Of course with a natural language or something you need feedback from native or near-native speakers, but with many subjects, autonomous learning is entirely possible and often preferable.

Bill Gates should have stuck with being a mathematician, btw, which is probably an even better calling than the one he has now; he's a horrible software engineer.



May I ask which kind of school you're at? Sorry if this is too personal.

And yes, a lot of idiots do not make it through the first few semesters.

Some subjects, I would agree with you, but I think things like mathematics and the sciences are better with a person teaching who can provide instruction and guidance. Also, even if you can learn perfectly well on your own, I have found that the experience is made much richer by the extra benefits of spending time with a professor (I've learned things helping out my neurobiology professor that I would never have gotten from my books, at least a book at my undergrad level.



Not at all. I attend Rutgers University.

I beg to differ.

I didn't understand a single damn line when I was in my integration / limits techniques course. As much as I like the professor personally, he is not always a very clear teacher.

Now that I've started to 're-learn' calculus on my own, things that I thought I couldn't understand seem pretty obvious now.

The process is straightforward.

1. Try to solve problem.
2. Check answer in appendix and/or with a CAS.
3. If wrong, change direction and return to step one.
4. If right, stop.

In some cases, it's possible to have multiple correct answers due to different techniques being available, especially for more advanced material. But you can usually re-factor and see what the author did. In other cases, there is only one right answer, and when you consistently arrive at the right answers all the time, odds are you are doing things right. (I will probably haul ass in vector calculus this semester.)

Of course, calculus is easier to self-check because it's very numerical. Symbolic branches of math, I'll admit, can be a bit more of an art in some ways. Good proof writing is something you need to learn from other people. In the case of computer programming, there are also many ways to achieve the same end, some better than others, but you can still measure your own progress pretty easily by observing whether your program functions and whether its easy to maintain or not.

With many humanities, the answers are not so clear cut. Who's to say that '人工智能' is more right or wrong than 'artificial intelligence'? Who's to say that perfect white plaster molds are better or worse than abstract paintings? Standards of language exist, but are arbitrary; standards of art really only exist in your head, and I guess you can never get consistent answers.



True.



Well, that's a private university isn't it? (It looks like I'm going to be attending Lehigh in the spring myself.) Some filthy rich families use these kinds of places like daycare centers. The gits you are surrounded by now will probably drop out before long. Since I'm under the impression that you'll go for Master's if not Doctor's examination, the people you will be surrounded with on your way up will get better. I already met a doctoral candidate in my field when I was on the Lehigh campus earlier and I don't even attend there yet.

Again, it depends on the person and how they learn material, and the particular professor teaching the coarse. I normally get a lot out of a math professor and have a more difficult time learning it on my own, but studying on my own (with different textbook of my choice, that I found superior) was what got me through.




No, Rutgers is a public university. It's cool that you'll be attending Lehigh, it's only about an our away from my campus (I attend the Camden one). I definitely want to attain a Ph.D., and I have found that ambition and interest in my field has helped me out a lot, and I got to talk to a few interesting people performing research of my interest.

For me self-learning is almost the only way.

I just started with data structures and algorithms today and the professor was going over mathematical induction.

I swear the only thing going through my head for about three minutes was "Yes, now tell us to assume A(k) is true. Yes, now tell us to assume A(k) is true. Yes, now ..."

This class is going to be cool. He doesn't hate me for asking too many questions in a class I had with him earlier so maybe I can get a recommendation from him.



Yeah, unless your name is 'Gauss' or something, success is mostly predicated on where your heart is.

I agree completely.

So do I but it can take years to know sometimes what you really want to do..and even if you are in a job you might find that the job you may have dreamed about isn't suited for you...

i'm going to ramble here and mayhaps you can find the pros and cons.

dude...just came back from my first day in college and it was...hectic. everyone seemed to be so nervous and aloof. i ended up in the wrong class and wandered around the campus for an hour trying to find my real college schedule.

my brother told me that it stops feeling like high school after freshmen year. as commonly said, the idiots drop out like flies and end up with a career at mcdonalds or with great hopes of starting the greatest band on earth or being an artistic prodigy. a guy i work with said to just get through college and get your hands on a degree.
i'm not going to this college for one year to make friends. i'm moving away soon and need to get great grades in order to get into a great college.

from what i saw the teachers are one of the great pluses in freshmen year. they have regular office hours and seem to see you more as adults than children.

the general unorganized feeling of college may be a shock to many. everyone does not have to be in school at a certain time. you may have only one class on a certain day and come home or back to your dorm/apartment wondering what to do with the rest of the day. you must make a decision to study and work your butt off at home or go to that awesome party that just about everyone is going to(including that guy/girl who you think is really cute and awesome).

i think i'm done rambling...probably not