For students, our classes are a significant part of our lives and take up a significant amount of our time.
Say whatever you want about it, or ask for advice. We're not doing anyone's homework, though!

Personally, I have the privilege to say I'm wrapping up my Bacchelor's degree in Spanish and French. Now I just have to prove I know my stuff in the final assessment coming up later this year. I'm pretty stoked!

Being a working student is gruelling. Really glad this is almost over.

My advice: go to the fucking counselor multiple times. See your academic advisor multiple times. Take copious notes. Be not a slack fucker!! It wastes all your damn money if you are one.

I've been in college all of three weeks. Enjoying it a lot so far. The atmosphere and the way I'm treated is so much different.

Getting "senioritis" real bad. Once I realized my financial aid is all paid out and there's nothing stopping me from putting in the bare minimum to pass, it's become quite hard for me to really care about these last two semesters. Trying my best though.

I can't afford to fall into that lull, mostly because of my final assessments. I refuse to let myself fail them after paying so much money, so I'm studying harder this semester than I ever have in college. I'm not completely sure how common it is for majors to require a cumulative assessment like mine, though.

Do you feel like you're seen as more of an adult, or are you referring to the fact that they don't know you, so it's all fresh?

Personally, I'm a senior by credits, and I'll have my BPA next May. I've done pretty well in terms of GPA, and I'm still debating whether or not to attend grad school.

Just started graduate school last week. Got my bachelor's about four years ago so it's been interesting getting back into the academic mindset. That said, seems like the same core principle pretty much applies for success - time management. Whenever I'm in an academic environment I pretty much plan out every minute of the day for myself during the week, from when I going to doing this reading to when I'm going to do that assignment, to when I'm going to give myself some free time and screw around for an hour or two. It sounds anal but for me it's the best way to make sure everything gets done while ensuring I preserve some time to maintain my sanity. On the plus side I must say I find studying/reading stimulating material much more enjoyable than what I've been doing for the last few years, which was basically menial admin work under the guise of personnel management and leadership. Oh, and dealing with government regulation and IT systems, which is a hell I wouldn't wish upon anyone.

Seen as more of an adult. It's nice actually. My middle/high school was a bit.. petty, I guess is the right word. It was a private school of about ~80 kids so things weren't exactly very refreshing after going there for 8 years. I was able to get in there for basically free for a pretty hilarious reason and I did enjoy it a lot for a specific reason but other than that the kids sucked and the environment was stale. So far college is so much more exhilarating. Plus, there was a dress code at my high school but now I can dress in as many band shirts as I want and grow my hair as long as I please!

Ok, sounds good, and I know what you mean. My school was pretty small as well, so I knew everyone whether or not I wanted to, and while my school didn't have a problem with band shirts, it was pretty sweet getting to really grow out the beard and hair for the first time at college.

By the way, what's your major, currently?

The best part of going to university is being in an environment where most of the people around you are actually interested in learning and bettering themselves. Not all of course, but most! It's very different from high school where everyone who couldn't care less has to go, and the working world where people are just trying to grind out the day. Being allowed to express yourself by wearing blood soaked metal shirts is nice and all, but not the best thing by a long shot.

I'm not so sure about that. I can't speak for grad school, but I get the strong impression that the majority of students at my university are interested only in their major(s), and are just muddling through everything else. I also wouldn't say I come across people who are visibly trying to better themselves too often... I do a lot of tutoring, and it's at best a 50/50 chance to find a student who appears to care about the subject they're studying, though that chance is significantly higher if it's their major.

So basically, in my experience, most college students like learning about their major and not much else, for better or for worse.

I'm back at University this fall too, after a false start and money issues, followed by some bad life choices a few years back. It's definitely better than working retail, although I'm still doing that too. School's awesome. I don't really have much of a life besides work, the gym and wasting my time with video games or tv so it's nice to be doing something that actually feels important rather than wasting away in complacency. I also really like the campus environment, although the beginning of the year is a bit crazy with everyone desperately trying to get all their books, and with all these events and whatnot.

@Makino, I think that's understandable. I had to struggle to fill up my required humanities courses because I really didn't care. I still picked ones that interested me and I plan on doing well, but still, I could do without them. I don't really blame others for focusing more on their major.

It's unsettling to see John_Sunlight sound almost .. optimistic.


You said it. I haven't had to do that as rigorously until now. I've had rough semesters, but have gotten everything done. This semester is showing me what maximum capacity means. Scheduling everything including free time is the only way to not have hypertension by midterms.

I guess I should say most people I encounter at college are interested in bettering their lives. That's something, anyway.

Sorry, it's still me here, not trying to worry anyone. I'm sure everything will be terrible, in the end.

That's more like it. I was a little worried that the hippies had gotten to you.

But, no, you're totally right. Once people come out of their shells, it's really nice to see them exchanging ideas and growing. I really like that about going to school. I know I've changed a lot, too.

University student here, have been since 2014. It's an absolute grind but I have to do it so I don't disappoint myself and my family.

I like my subjects for the most part. Some of the content is really dry and some of it is tough to understand, but I did do a short quiz today and got 8/10 so that's good. My friend who crams her studies got 9.

The fact is that I'm not that intelligent. People tell me I am but when it comes to some of this stuff I feel like I'm really behind the curve and it takes a lot of study just to break even. It gets to me sometimes (a few weeks ago was practically hell on my mental health) but I'm trying to get through it. I have many years to go so I'd better get used to it fast!

As for my university itself, I like it. Parking is a problem since there's not enough to go around, but the campus is nice. There's actually going to be an IGA (basically an Australian grocery chain) opening on campus tomorrow which will be exciting. There's also lots to eat and do outside of studies while there so it's definitely a nice place to be, if you're not sick of it.

I'm a sophomore in high school, and it sucks- my school has some really fucked up regulations and to do anything in it concerning your schedule/ missing classes is a whole bureaucratic pain in the ass. I can't wait for it to finish already

EDIT: Oh, and how could I forget, you're being treated like a prisoner. The whole place is surrounded by fences with guards patrolling the school/ the area around it, and you can't get past the school's gate if you don't go through the whole procedure of getting an exit permit. Even climbing the fences became harder, because finding a fence which isn't covered in grease is really hard. And climbing on grease is not the best thing to do

Going to university is better than working in retail, even though I still do both, but only a few days a week. It's hard to manage because you know that one is far more important than the other (that's if you don't really need the money), but I assume in your case, you're paying for tuition fees out of your own pocket. What uni do you go to?

University was more fun in first year when I got to live on campus with people, but second year was the complete opposite. Commuting to school was hellish (fuck buses), the classes were really boring and material was quite dry, failed a course and now I have to retake it this coming winter semester, worked a shitty retail position, and I was really worn out by the end of the 8 months. I'm hoping this year and the next one are more forgiving, but I know for a fact that I'm going to get chopped to pieces in terms of academics, like always. Doing well last year has motivated me to keep it up and regain my confidence after it was destroyed in first year.

I don't have much of a social life in school though. I made a decent amount of friends in first year, mainly because we were all living together, but we haven't really contacted each other at all other than coincidentally bumping into each other once a year. I have a "friend" that has had a few classes with me for the past few years, but I just don't really have anything in common with her or anyone else that has classes with me, and I feel like I'll be stuck in this position because I know I can't say "fuck off" to someone that I've known for two years and hasn't particularly done anything wrong. I became friends with a lab partner I had last year and we got along pretty well, but people keep making empty promises and in the end, a lot of people turn out to be opportunists in university. But, I guess I'll just live with what I have and try to do my best for now. So, university is at best an average experience for me. Far from "the best four years of your life".

Wait, didn't you say you were in boarding school? I know those are strict but that sounds like a fucking prison.

Got my bachelors in english & journalism in 2012, working as a technical writer now. It's actually a lot easier than you'd think to get work with an english degree (especially if you double-major with journalism so you can get internship experience in an actual workplace setting), but I've found most universities assume all their English students are going into teaching and do fuck-all nothing to help them explore conventional job options.

I am in a boarding school, but people from the school's area go to it as well so it's about 400 boarding school kids with 1400 locals.



I FUCKING KNOW

And also, I can't even skip classes! (I mean, I don't do that very often, but a lack of sleep+headache+weakness that comes as a result from the lack of sleep+phys ed which is the most useless fucking thing ever= a perfect reason to skip class and go to the library) The school has this really shitty system of which if you skip over 5% of the semester's classes in that subject it lowers your final score in it- and they consider showing up late and not participating in classes as stuff you can get your grades lowered for, which is a real nightmare.

WHAT? A school that will penalize its students because they skip classes? WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WORLD? So unfair!

Yeah I don't think you'll get much sympathy for that razz, I just thought the guards/fences thing was pretty funny.

Most schools here don't do that. But I almost never skip classes so it doesn't really matter anyway

yeah that isn't really that bad, but it does reminds me of my old high school's (can I say old high school? That sounds weird since I JUST got out of there) attendance policy. If you had more than 7 absences in one quarter you failed. Also, every three instances of showing up late counted as an absence. A lot of kids ended up fuckin' hammering their grades, to put it lightly. It never affected me but soooo many kids hated it.



As of now I really want to take audio production, because that's like my dream job and I'd be pretty good at it. I may end up taking a different route and study jazz as a bassist though, although production is my goal. I'm getting my first two years done at a community college as of now so I'm just at the tip of the iceberg and still have a lot of time to really figure things out.

Don't. In most professional studios a degree doesn't mean much. What matters more is your experience, and internships will matter more than a degree. Check out your local studios and their internship policies though, some may require you going to school for it. I've gotten off on a technicality and classes I take for recording to fill my electives count.

If you're wanting to go the route of doing a studio, also don't get a degree for it. It's easier than ever to learn it on your own, go that route. Take elective classes if you can. If you're a solo engineer, what matters more than a degree is how good you are.

grad student in psychology, did an English/Psych undergrad.

grad school rocks, although I'm at a very weird/unique program that's super open-minded and interesting so that probably helps. I'll be graduating with my MA soon and then likely pursuing a PhD in psych as well.

Yeah, I've heard stuff like that. Honestly, I know what I want to do but don't know how to get there. It is literally the only thing giving me frustration in life. I know I'm doing something with music, because it's really all I care about but again, the how is the problem. It stresses me the fuck out.

Graduated from university this past spring, after a long, draining 5 years. Stumbled hard my sophomore year, fell into deep depression and suicidal ideation and drowned myself in alcohol and let my grades implode. Was dismissed that summer and returned home, retook my failing classes at a community college and was accepted back the following winter. On my return I studied environmental policy (which is fairly interesting, basically the "climate change major") and minored in wildlife conservation, which is the closest thing to a career passion I've found. I love studying and watching birds, ducks and geese in particular.

Because I majored so late, I'm a year or so behind some of my peers in classes and experience, but I'm trying to catch up. Been at my first post-college for a little over a month, serving as a GIS technician (mapmaking, essentially) for a small special district created to assist duck clubs in a California marsh update their habitat management plans. I like it a fair bit, learning new software and I get to drive trucks, ATVs and boats and shit. I pretty much owe this job entirely to my professor that I worked for 2 years, starting as an intern and ending as a paid field technician that even worked with him directly out in the field, sharing a cabin for a few days. NETWORKING SAVES LIVES, TALK TO YOUR PROFESSORS AND TEACHING ASSISTANTS, THEY COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE.

Having a job/life path that gives me obligatory "outside time" has done wonders for my mental health, that's for sure.

I'd like to go to grad school, in fact it's kind of necessary in my career path if I want a rock solid (permanent) job that pays well. But my GPA isn't so hot, barely acceptable for a lot of grad programs. So I need to build up a couple years experience, ace my GREs (entrance exams) and stay in touch with my old professors and employers for recommendations if I'm gonna have a chance. Kind of worrying but that's not my focus right now. I would love to study waterfowl migration timing and habits in response to climate change.

I did get some loan money, but it wasn't enough to cover all my tuition and books, plus I need to pay for rent and bills and whatnot, so unfortunately quitting isn't really an option (plus I don't want to get out of the habit of working). I go to University of Manitoba. It's here in my hometown and they got a good co-op program for the science department I'm interested in (microbiology), so that's cool.

Agree with you on the buses, though. Generally I don't mind busing, but the buses to Universisty are ridiculously packed during the school year. Usually best to take an early one cause there's a good chance you won't be able to get on the bus you need to since it's so full.

Look at that, eh? We both have something in common! I'm doing biochemistry, but I have taken an introductory microbiology course in second year, and am doing the follow-up course this semester. You should've came to Guelph, man. We have a very strong biological science + microbiology faculty.

I guess you do have to get into the habit of working, regardless of how crappy the job is. Everyone has their own struggle with tuition, so best of luck with yours, man. I also shouldn't really quit from my current workplace; Shoppers Drug Mart would come in handy later in the future.

Buses are a problem because they're ridiculously expensive, occasionally unreliable, inadequate funding, and just kind of unpleasant if you use them day in, day out for 2 hours, 5 times a week for 8 months. Public transportation is mediocre here in the GTA, but it can't get any worse than TTC in Toronto. I'm going to be driving to university this year and the next, and thankfully the parking permit's cost wasn't as astronomical as other urban universities. Finding parking is still a pin in the ass though.

Raspberrysoda, physical education is what you make it. It can be a very rewarding experience, especially if you suffer from conditions that are ameliorated through exercise like mine. If you don't put any effort into the activities, then don't be surprised if you don't receive any benefits.

There's also usually some sort of sex-ed, but it's pitifully oriented towards a specific view of sexuality (AKA, abstinence-only followed by exclusively heterosexual sex, with minimal discussion on anything LGBT-related. It's probably the most poorly constructed field in K-12 I've ever seen.)

Ha, yeeah. My friend worked with a guy who recently graduated from a studio engineering program. Did a day of drum recording with the guy, who went through this whole complicated process of measuring distances between the mics, setting up different room mics and different types of mics for different parts of the kit etc. The whole thing takes like 3 hours to setup, they do the recording, he gets it back annnd- it sounds like utter trash. Completely unusable. Like, we've done better recordings with a single kick mic and an overhead!

So, yeah. Education isn't everything.

Exactly. There are tons of horror stories of interns or engineers right out of school for recording and don't know their ass from an SM57. Like, spent years at these places and don't know the very basics. It's a waste of time and money. Taking classes as electives may be cool if you can do it, but there's no point in focusing your studies on it when the degree doesn't matter. Get a degree in business, or something else totally unrelated.

Hey that's awesome man!

I actually graduated from highschool back in 2007, so I wasn't really in the headspace of looking into school elsewhere other than where I live. To be honest, I'm not sure how my school stacks up nationwide, but it seems pretty decent and we have a lot of labs doing cool work here in winnipeg so I'm hoping that makes doing a co-op and getting a job later on easier. But who knows? Maybe I'll end up moving one of these years for a change of pace!

Busing here in Winnipeg is less a problem of price (they are far, far cheaper than car + upkeep) and more of a problem of service. Personally, I have no problem with taking transit, generally, but it is a huge pain in the ass when every bus you get on is packed front to back and often has you waiting for the next one as the current one is at capacity. Not sure how it stacks up against TTC, but I honestly couldn't imagine any worse. As far as driving goes, my university has ample parking but it's expensive as fuck, and when the stadium is in use for events like CFL games or concerts, it's very likely that your parking spot will be co-opted by that for fan parking.

Well since my AS exams failed miserably (B, C, C, D, E) and those grades weren't enough to progress to Year 13 at my old school I decided to redo Year 12. I had to do so at a different school (I applied to like, 10, and only 2 accepted my offer) and I ended up going to this one school a bit out of London. It costs a bit of money to get there (no free travel, oyster cards don't work) and it takes time but yeah, such is life.

And really? Since going there I can say I haven't felt this generally happy in years. The last time I looked forward to school was in Year 5 (2010), and here I am now. I actually want to achieve well, I feel like it is possible and I'm getting on top of the eternal bane that is homework. It took me like a week to make friends (not bad for someone who sucks at talking to anyone new), not a month like before. I'm learning new stuff despite basically going over things I've done already. Basically, school is great and I never thought I'd ever be saying that.

Also because it is this particular council's flagship school they get a lot of funding. So the facilities are actually *good*, unlike my old school which begged our parents for money.

Rush is over. The new sorority members have gathered with their sisters en masse on the lawn. I was hoping for a savage quad-wide melee, but I don't see any blunt weaponry, and not one of them looks like they're ready for battle in any way at all. I'm disappointed by what's become of Greek culture, the separate houses no longer act like warring city states, no one raising statuary to their local heroes and heroines, public discourse and ritual replaced by half-assed cook outs.

Oh my friend why have you come to trade the spear for the beerbong?

Should add a poll to the thread to see what the most common major is among MA forumers.

That sounds interesting, but there's a ton of different majors that have been mentioned here and elsewhere, so it might make more sense to do it by category: STEM, Social Science, Liberal/Fine Art, etc.

As far as I can tell, I don't have permission to post polls. I don't see the option when I edit the OP. Anyway, it would probably work just fine if I counted, for example, A.A., B.A., and M.A., as just one option. I'll make the poll if I can figure out why I don't currently have the option to do so. For all I know it may be a mod-only function.

STEM vs. Humanities!