- Jun 28, 2004
- 8,300
- 20,820
Thank you, I do have a blog, it is Kenyocho. I do not update it all that much but it has few posts about economicsand a lot about political theory and policy.
COLLEGE LIFE...
- Thread in 'General' Thread starter Started by balla jigga,
- Start date
Thank you, I do have a blog, it is Kenyocho. I do not update it all that much but it has few posts about economicsand a lot about political theory and policy.
- Sep 24, 2008
- 63
- 10
San Diego State University... i move in this friday. PARRTTYYY... but schools more important
- Mar 21, 2005
- 1,580
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I miss Florida A&M....Not the Financial Aid lines or class...but the Shone...The shone at FSU ...just that. Memories for days.
- Jun 28, 2004
- 8,300
- 20,820
With the school year opening again, I wanted to give some advice to new undergrads.
I wanted to say a few things about learning new ideas, writing and also what to do about off campus housing.
When it comes to ideas, be aware of how ignorant you are. We all are ignorant of most things and always will be but as a college freshman, you really do notknow much. I am sure that you think you are the exception but that only makes it worse. It is those who are mature for their age and who breezed through highschool who thinking they know most of what their is to know. On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who believe what ever a professor, grad studentor even a very articulate upperclassman has to say. Strike a middle ground and take in every idea you hear, listen to everybody who is professor or moreexperienced student who can articulate interesting opinion and theories and who can defend them.
Read many books, read more than what is required, spend time in library, come to office hours (this is very important, especially as an upperclassman, studentswho come to the professor's office to discuss the subject matter will be treated to knowledge that they do not teach to undergrads but will share withexceptionally committed undergrads). Enjoy new ideas an take them all in because having all of those ideas in your head will allow you ultimately reach betterconclusions. As an undergrad, most of what you will do is read other people's ideas and chop away at them and combine them and use those arguments incombination to defend your own ideas. If you enjoy this process, that is what means that grad school is probably right for you.
When it comes to writing, some have said that I do a good job of it and I am asked by others, how they can write like me. I tell them that they should notwrite like me, they must develop their own original voice. On its own, that is not very helpful, many people see what I post here and say that I saideverything they were thinking but I was able to put it to paper (or screen to be more accurate). Because of that, I tell them that my second rule of writing(the first is to be original) is to start by following the rules, write in the standard five paragraph style to begin, be very text book and plug in yourconcrete details along with your commentary and master that. Soon you can deviate more and more from that very strict formula. By that point you will havelearned how best to take your ideas from your head and artfully display them. Adhering to the rules of the formula allow you to not wander in your writing andparadoxically, the greater you know the standard format, the more you can be creative and still always have structure and purpose.
The third point is that you can learn by seeing a master's work. Read Milton Friedman's books, read and listen to the letters and essays and speech ofDr. Martin Luther King II, read George Will's articles, read and the texts and speeches of those who were great at communicating their ideas. See how theypresent ideas, see their style, learn new vocabulary words, learn new turns of phrase and just expand what you can do and over time you will incorporate thoseelements from others and will combine them into your own distinct style.
The forth and final point, especially for academic writing is to do that research, research so much that you will have to drop certain points or at least willhave to condense your paper in order to come in under the maximum page limit. Professors will notice a paper that is not only not fluff, but is jam packed withthe results of good and/or lengthy research.
Finally ,when it comes to off campus housing. Consider renting a rooms near campus or perhaps even consider renting a room with other students, after you havemade your friends in dorms and/or on campus apartments in the first two years, move off campus. While many assume that means apartment, it need not always bethe case. If you want some quiet, privacy and a chance to have a respite from the noise that probably has been a constant part of your underclassman years,look for a furnished room wit ha family that lives near campus and is used to renting to students.
You could also do what I did my junior year, rent a five bedroom apartment with nine other guys. Luckily, we were able to self select and we knew eachother's reputations so we avoided the slobs and the germaphobes and had a house that was able to balance academics and parting very well. Also, living withthat many people means that it is easy to develop connections with the more discrete portions of the local economy.
Whether you go with the furnished room or the quasi frat house, having an actual house is nice, especially if you were raised in the suburbs because it ishard to do many things i nan apartment. An actual house, gives you more storage space, it is easier to move furniture in and out, it is easier to bring ingroceries, it is easier to get to your car, it is easier to have guests park near the house, you will have backyard and garage and if everyone is cool with ityou guys can have a pet or two (make sure that you and your housemates take good care of the dog and do not just chain it up in the yard. Take good care of thepet and i twill bring so much warmth to what might otherwise seem like a place that is cold, masculine and off putting to girl who you want to bring there).
Finally, while the day to day life in a big house with lots of people is cramped like an apartment, you can pool the large amount of space and other resourcesto make you parents happy if they visit. In other years, my parents would pick me up from my dorm or small apartment and take me out to dinner. When I lived inthat house, a visit from parents was chance to show them how grown up we had become. We could pool resources, clear out what is supposed to be the formaldinning area, clean up the common spaces, cook a great meal and have my housemates at the big table, cleaned up and dressed well and I impressed my parents andI helped to impress other parents who came to visit.
In short, consider renting a house with a bunch of other students who you, based on underclassman experiences in dorms, would make good fits as roommates.There are many benefits that come from doing so.
Cliff notes:
Unlearn most conventional wisdom that you had learned. Open up to any new idea that you come across but do not feel obligated to agree with it. Discernment iswhat will develop over time.
When it comes to writing, stick to the formula, initially, and as you become very comfortable wit hit, you can deviate more and more while not forgetting theprinciples of good writing. With writing you can learn much by observing so try to hear great speeches and read great written works. Do research and paperswill be easy to write, it is better to have to much and condense or even drop points instead of need fluff.
When you are an upperclassman and move off of campus, consider a house as new place to live, Rent a furnished room if you want some peace and quite and if youwant some action find a group of like minded classmates and rent a big house wit ha bunch of your friends and classmates. AS long as everyone is of a similartemperament, you will have a blast. Also, houses offer up something that apartment do not.
I wanted to say a few things about learning new ideas, writing and also what to do about off campus housing.
When it comes to ideas, be aware of how ignorant you are. We all are ignorant of most things and always will be but as a college freshman, you really do notknow much. I am sure that you think you are the exception but that only makes it worse. It is those who are mature for their age and who breezed through highschool who thinking they know most of what their is to know. On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who believe what ever a professor, grad studentor even a very articulate upperclassman has to say. Strike a middle ground and take in every idea you hear, listen to everybody who is professor or moreexperienced student who can articulate interesting opinion and theories and who can defend them.
Read many books, read more than what is required, spend time in library, come to office hours (this is very important, especially as an upperclassman, studentswho come to the professor's office to discuss the subject matter will be treated to knowledge that they do not teach to undergrads but will share withexceptionally committed undergrads). Enjoy new ideas an take them all in because having all of those ideas in your head will allow you ultimately reach betterconclusions. As an undergrad, most of what you will do is read other people's ideas and chop away at them and combine them and use those arguments incombination to defend your own ideas. If you enjoy this process, that is what means that grad school is probably right for you.
When it comes to writing, some have said that I do a good job of it and I am asked by others, how they can write like me. I tell them that they should notwrite like me, they must develop their own original voice. On its own, that is not very helpful, many people see what I post here and say that I saideverything they were thinking but I was able to put it to paper (or screen to be more accurate). Because of that, I tell them that my second rule of writing(the first is to be original) is to start by following the rules, write in the standard five paragraph style to begin, be very text book and plug in yourconcrete details along with your commentary and master that. Soon you can deviate more and more from that very strict formula. By that point you will havelearned how best to take your ideas from your head and artfully display them. Adhering to the rules of the formula allow you to not wander in your writing andparadoxically, the greater you know the standard format, the more you can be creative and still always have structure and purpose.
The third point is that you can learn by seeing a master's work. Read Milton Friedman's books, read and listen to the letters and essays and speech ofDr. Martin Luther King II, read George Will's articles, read and the texts and speeches of those who were great at communicating their ideas. See how theypresent ideas, see their style, learn new vocabulary words, learn new turns of phrase and just expand what you can do and over time you will incorporate thoseelements from others and will combine them into your own distinct style.
The forth and final point, especially for academic writing is to do that research, research so much that you will have to drop certain points or at least willhave to condense your paper in order to come in under the maximum page limit. Professors will notice a paper that is not only not fluff, but is jam packed withthe results of good and/or lengthy research.
Finally ,when it comes to off campus housing. Consider renting a rooms near campus or perhaps even consider renting a room with other students, after you havemade your friends in dorms and/or on campus apartments in the first two years, move off campus. While many assume that means apartment, it need not always bethe case. If you want some quiet, privacy and a chance to have a respite from the noise that probably has been a constant part of your underclassman years,look for a furnished room wit ha family that lives near campus and is used to renting to students.
You could also do what I did my junior year, rent a five bedroom apartment with nine other guys. Luckily, we were able to self select and we knew eachother's reputations so we avoided the slobs and the germaphobes and had a house that was able to balance academics and parting very well. Also, living withthat many people means that it is easy to develop connections with the more discrete portions of the local economy.
Whether you go with the furnished room or the quasi frat house, having an actual house is nice, especially if you were raised in the suburbs because it ishard to do many things i nan apartment. An actual house, gives you more storage space, it is easier to move furniture in and out, it is easier to bring ingroceries, it is easier to get to your car, it is easier to have guests park near the house, you will have backyard and garage and if everyone is cool with ityou guys can have a pet or two (make sure that you and your housemates take good care of the dog and do not just chain it up in the yard. Take good care of thepet and i twill bring so much warmth to what might otherwise seem like a place that is cold, masculine and off putting to girl who you want to bring there).
Finally, while the day to day life in a big house with lots of people is cramped like an apartment, you can pool the large amount of space and other resourcesto make you parents happy if they visit. In other years, my parents would pick me up from my dorm or small apartment and take me out to dinner. When I lived inthat house, a visit from parents was chance to show them how grown up we had become. We could pool resources, clear out what is supposed to be the formaldinning area, clean up the common spaces, cook a great meal and have my housemates at the big table, cleaned up and dressed well and I impressed my parents andI helped to impress other parents who came to visit.
In short, consider renting a house with a bunch of other students who you, based on underclassman experiences in dorms, would make good fits as roommates.There are many benefits that come from doing so.
Cliff notes:
Unlearn most conventional wisdom that you had learned. Open up to any new idea that you come across but do not feel obligated to agree with it. Discernment iswhat will develop over time.
When it comes to writing, stick to the formula, initially, and as you become very comfortable wit hit, you can deviate more and more while not forgetting theprinciples of good writing. With writing you can learn much by observing so try to hear great speeches and read great written works. Do research and paperswill be easy to write, it is better to have to much and condense or even drop points instead of need fluff.
When you are an upperclassman and move off of campus, consider a house as new place to live, Rent a furnished room if you want some peace and quite and if youwant some action find a group of like minded classmates and rent a big house wit ha bunch of your friends and classmates. AS long as everyone is of a similartemperament, you will have a blast. Also, houses offer up something that apartment do not.
- Aug 7, 2008
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i wish i was dorming.. commuting FTL
- Dec 29, 2006
- 6,782
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mods delete
- Sep 14, 2008
- 467
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CUSE "BIG EAST" IN THA HOUSE !!
- Mar 20, 2008
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Good read.
- Oct 28, 2005
- 4,270
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best college thread ive seen. im an incoming freshman at uc irvine
- Jul 7, 2005
- 1,204
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money in the pockets u can go on dates gas money
- Apr 13, 2006
- 295
- 10
Moving in to gw tomorrow. What was the first day of school like?
bobby light
Banned
- Mar 2, 2009
- 606
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i used to..bout to start back in january..i went to community college though so it made things a little easier..went into class starting at 11 andgot out at 2..working is one of the things that led me to getting out of school
started working full time..been out for little over a year now and after seeing these people i've with at my full time job..realized i dont wanna end uplike them..so i'll most likely leave my full time job in jan to get back into school to be a paramedic
- Apr 13, 2006
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First day was cool, but I haven't really found my crew yet and it seems like everyone's already cliqued up
- Apr 1, 2009
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okay, how many of yall just go to frat houses to chill?
like not during parties or anything, just during downtime. because a friend of mine keeps trying to get me to go with her.
like not during parties or anything, just during downtime. because a friend of mine keeps trying to get me to go with her.
- Jun 22, 2008
- 3,571
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cant wait till i'm in college.
- May 7, 2007
- 618
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Prioritize and have fun. I kind of miss some aspects of undergrad...
- Jan 13, 2001
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- Apr 1, 2009
- 18,297
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ha naw that's what I thought at first though. this is her second year and it's my first year there. so she already knows all the guys.
I guess she just wants me to meet some of them cause I only know a handful of people on campus.
I guess she just wants me to meet some of them cause I only know a handful of people on campus.
- Mar 25, 2008
- 4,632
- 389
Cosign.....
Not many kids from my high school went to my college...
Seems like it's not like that for others...they all know each other
But, I'll meet more people when class starts and I get a job....
- Jul 24, 2007
- 5,485
- 14
Just want to say that I'd give up one of my testicles to go through undergrad again.
Enjoy it while it lasts because it passes by quick.
Oh and as a word of advice, try to get an on campus job at the rec facility/gym. No better way to meet girls.
Enjoy it while it lasts because it passes by quick.
Oh and as a word of advice, try to get an on campus job at the rec facility/gym. No better way to meet girls.
- Aug 31, 2008
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- 10
Sophmore year FTW
- Oct 28, 2006
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So true...I only have 1 class to take because i messed up....but that was the fastest 4 years of my life... I wish I can do it over
- Jun 10, 2006
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she's trying to get you to rush homie. what fraternity is it? definitely check it out but research it first.
- Oct 12, 2006
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Damn. I'm moving in on the 2nd. A lot of my friends have left already and there is nothing to do at home now. Can't wait for college
Oh, and thanks to the people who left tips in here.
Oh, and thanks to the people who left tips in here.
- Jul 25, 2009
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Can't believe I'm about to graduate this year (if all goes as planned).. Time flies by with the quickness.
My tidbit I'll just throw out there: I've had experience with both commuting to school and living on and around campus, and I am rather confident thatyou will miss out on alot if you commute your whole time in college. I'm moving back home for my senior year and I am getting depressed about it already..
My tidbit I'll just throw out there: I've had experience with both commuting to school and living on and around campus, and I am rather confident thatyou will miss out on alot if you commute your whole time in college. I'm moving back home for my senior year and I am getting depressed about it already..
