/college/ general

who /UNAM/ here?

Doing Law in Aberdeen next week, anyone from here?

yeah, you're right - am male. We're checked by security for weapons/anything that shouldn't be there, but that is more a formality. I personally always feel safe on the inside, enough guards around patrolling so that nothing could get ugly too quickly.

I've taught with a female before and she also says she doesn't feel that unsafe. I assume she is a bit more uncomfortable them I am, but she handles herself well

Freshman at Berkeley. I'm taking a course on war as depicted in slavic literature. I wanna take more literature courses but my parents want me to finish in three years

>parents want you to finish in three years

Good luck buddy

UChicago here.

Any of the other UChicago anons around?

Politics and IR at Cambridge

Currently trying to get a handle on some IR, my foreign policy knowledge is laughable. It's very difficult

Because of ap tests I can do it pretty easily but it makes me sad that I won't be able to take all the classes I want

None. I haven't gone to school in two years out of depression. My dad doesn't know but still pays for it. I spend my days reading and watching films. Figuring when the truth comes out I'll either run away or kill myself

>all these successful peeps

Sorry to hear. You should try to catch it up, and eventually get a work to pay for the remaining year(s). Unless you live in the United States, you can pay back your debt quickly. Mine was cleared in half a year.

Awful awful private university on the East Coast, in the process of transferring out but I still wanna kill myself for having ever ended up here to begin with—uni admissions out of high school are pretty much the final judgement of your value as a human being. I can transfer up but I can never stop being nothing.
Math major so no required reading but I took up language learning as a hobby last year and I'm studying Russian right now. Currently have decent speaking proficiency in German and limited speaking proficiency in Portuguese. Native languages are EN/FR.

My GPA is below 1. I still have classes from the first year. Schools are relatively cheap here so we didn't get in to any debt.

Also—reading some Deleuze/Guattari right now, alongside Women and Men for my fiction fix. I really don't want to fall behind in the language arts because I really do love them but I know that it's inevitable that I will, given how futile it is for someone of my major to study them. I just wanna turn off all my cognition and desire to learn outside of my field and accept my final position.

Doing Media Law, Data Protection Law and Advanced Administrative Law this semester.
First two are really interesting since there is a measure of human rights involved.

I was taking a narrative course on U of T but I dropped it because the professor was deeply entrenched into gender politics and he made no effort to hide it, at the point of randomly criticizing Paradise Lost for having sexist passages. Most of the readings were either feminist or progressive works. Not sure what I'll switch to.

does this board have a disproportionate number of british people?

oxford btw

How can somebody study literature for so many years of their life and end up like this?

Surely such empathetic, thoughtful individuals would be able to grasp the realities of writing in a different time and age, surely they grasp moral relativism, and surely they recognize the determinative power of social and technological forces on the individual.

It's fucking baffling. I can only understand it as a mark of their incompetence: they were crushed by the weight of history and their disavowal of the canon is their cloak for inadequacy.

If you want to study gender, maybe especially if you want to study gender, Paradise Lost is a fantastic resource that should be respected. Morally/materially condemning the canon is a damned fool move that has its origins in resentment and operates through an intentionally myopic logic.

The good news is 'the canon' still exists and thinking we can write some cool poetry that acts "as a site of resistance to the canon" and maybe it will eventually go away is a pipe dream, it's on the same level as my imaginary ideal aristocracy of aesthetes.

Came back to brit college to top up so I can progress in my career

doing A-level Biology and A-level Psychology

my Bio teacher is great but my psychology one ain't

You mean HSPS? Considering that course now, any tips for applying?

I live in the neighborhood and used to take classes there in hs. Now I'm at Princeton though.

UofC is great though, god bless. I really recommend Kaegi if you're into history, his byzantine classes were great.

history/literature student at the University of California (not gonna say which school) here.

i have 3 incomplete courses i still haven't finished... meaning i need to write around 50 pages of readable material before the 18th or so. i have some adderall but i'm worried i'll fail.

bro theres like 15k+ at every UC, no one is gonna know who the fuck you are

unless youre embarassed about going to merced, then keep quiet

lmao i was gonna write not merced or riverside but i didnt wanna be a dick

lmao tru
sd alum here

oh nice, i'm bout to be in my fourth year at sc.
these papers are going to kill me ... but after this i'm mostly sailing

what'd you study?

polisci. It was a joke but at least I got assigned some canonical works for theory classes. Got into a graduate program in a different field so it doesnt matter lmao.

ya i think i'm gonna take some time off until i'm a more stable human being before i think about grad school, but it's nice to hear you could go to an unrelated program. i'm not really interested in pursuing what i'm studying on a graduate level, just thought it would be the best thing to study for a foundation in how to read and research in the humanities (history)

who /UCLA/ here? I just transferred and all the other English majors I've met seem severely under read.

yeah, take some time off and save up some money. being the old guy in undergrad is weird but most people in grad school seem to be mid-late 20s.

theyve probably read plenty of genre fiction lmao

Nice, I'm a second year at UCSD

im 27 and i was at the penn bookstore the other day waiting for my gf to buy a sweatershirt or some shit when it really sunk in: ill never be able to do college again. it always sort of felt like id get another shot at it, not that i want to be younger again or anything. anyways, dont waste college learning all the time - there are other aspects youll never have the opportunity for again.

but i don't want to indiscriminately hook up anymore

You can go back to college older.

same

Major?

Actually I don't know yet. Undeclared. Possibly literature, history, or communication. I was also considering economics. You?

I'm applying to colleges now and I'm scared af desu
I want to get into a really good school but I don't know if I'll cut it desu. Any advice from Ivy or similarly prestigious institution anons?

graduated early, 36 ACT, independent research, stellar rec letters, focused extracurriculars (with accomplishments), but 3.93 GP is worrying me a bit; tbf, the Bs were in Calculus BC in freshman year and Applied Linear Algebra in sophomore year, and I made up for those with As in vector calc and physics with linear algebra. Chances for good schools?

I'm applying to st. John's college. Is that Veeky Forumscore enough?

I'm thinking of doing Politics and Eastern European Studies at UCL. Unfortunately you can't do Politics on its own, but anyhow: would that be hip enough?

Law at Cambridge.

No real required reading, just got a bunch of comfy law-related texts my DOS likes: Merchant of Venice, Bleak House etc.

Still like 3 weeks till I start though, so haven't begun thinking about it that much yet. Sorta excited.

GL & have fun at Glasgow user.

>3.93 GPA is worrying me a bit
fuck off nigger I would kill to have a GPA like that. t. 3.0 also applying to college
>inb4 underage b&
I'm 18

fuck off to college confidential with your thinly disguised brag post

>Any Glasgow uni family in here?
yep. History and politics, final year.

Any tips for applying in general?

Nice. Starting there this October too, politics myself. Which college, if you don't mind?

If you're Asian, you should recognize that you will never be truly intellectual; if you're not Asian, you shouldn't go to Berkeley.

>Calulus BC freshman year
OK

Asians need to stop trying to be become intellectuals.

are you familiar with any classical languages? tips for anyone looking to learn?

have you heard anything about the philosophy department there? i'm thinking of going as a philosophy-math major to cal. also, how's the campus and campus life so far?

Grad school for urban planning somewhere in the North of England. Read a lot of space/place theory, planning documents, land law, housing development, work from economics/polisci on local government and regional development.

Generally read fiction for fun rather than study.

Sure.

In terms of your UCAS application, they don't care about superfluous extra-curriculars, keep it academically focused. Instead of explaining why you chose certain subjects, explain instead why certain subjects informed your choice of course. It's important to have read around your subject and prove that you've followed it beyond the A-Level curriculum (if there is one). You don't need anything crazy, but discussing key arguments from a few books and having joined a club/done work experience is usually enough.

In terms of the interview, the most important thing to remember is that they don't expect you to be a savant polymath. They're looking for someone who will give thoughtful reasoned answers, and who will stick at their argument until proven wrong. Where a lot of my friends, and I when I originally applied a year previous, made mistakes was in answering too quickly and not thinking it through. A few seconds thought can not only prevent you saying something stupid, but also illustrate to them that you're giving the problem serious consideration.

Don't be surprised if an interview becomes very difficult. There's a difference between: this is hard because I don't understand fundamental concepts, and, this is hard because it's way above A-Level skill level and I am being tested to see how I cope under intellectual scrutiny. One of my Law interviews was incredibly taxing from the first question and I felt like I failed as I constantly had to re-adapt my answer. At the offer holders day afterwards my interviewer told me that since my application was strong, he didn't bother with easy questions and just jumped into the hard stuff; I got a lot of it wrong, but it was my willingness to adapt that made me successful.

A stupid mistake I made when I applied in 2014 was submitting essays I'd written a year ago, on a book I'd only read once. This interview was for English and they'd modelled over half of their plan on these essays because they wanted to criticise and explore some of my points. I remembered very little of the text and it didn't go well. This sounds like such an obvious thing but, your application is a whole product to them. You will be asked about any information they are privy to; this goes for throwaway asides in your personal statement, to submitted work, to exams you've taken.

What I did to revise was get someone else, a friend/parent/teacher, to read through my personal statement and tell me whenever they wanted to know more about something. I wrote a list of questions based on their feedback; e.g. "You used a Nietzsche quote here, how do you think he relates to Law?", or "You mention that the study of History is dependent on study of Law, isn't that the wrong way around?". I then thought about how I'd answer these.

Just stay confident and alert. They have limited time so you won't be called for an interview unless they believe you have the potential to earn a place.

Best of luck with your application! :~)

Fitzwilliam, what about yourself?

>Ovid
>Greek

SDSU Senior here majoring in straight English! Taking English Drama, Techniques of the Short Story, Contemporary American Short Fiction, and Literature of the US 1920-1960.

I'm not in school for any particular reason. Started going because I was bored and now I have a 3.9 GPA because it's so easy. I thought college was supposed to be tough.

Life isn't over because you've had two hard years where you fucked up. Use rock bottom as an opportunity. It can't get much worse so why give a shit about the fear of failure?

My friend is studying that at Cambridge and he's insufferable. He seems to like the course though.

Churchill, so hill pride. Already got to know some future classmates?

Oh, wait, you too?

>Glasgow
it's SHIT

take my word for it, I study here, and if I were not from an Eastern-European shithole, I'd leave immediately. Fat, lazy and dull professors only knowing how to 'blow' the students' minds by telling us about Shakespeare's homosexuality or berating earthenware pots in Woolf's stlye... This is hell, and we are contribution to it.

The worst thing, however, is that people have no shame. Where there is shame, there might be growth or amelioration. Not here. Provincial Scots and Glasgow's wretched progeny don't care about anything lofty at all; if they can get their society pub crawls and can sit through seminars without making eye contact with, let alone speaking to, the tutor, they have a good time.

My boy, hill is where it's at. Churchill is really nice as well. Yeah I've got to know a few so far, I got my parents a couple days ago and some overly enthusiastic guy studying HSPS started a group chat which was a blessing in disguise. What about you? How are you feeling about it?

>No real required reading, just got a bunch of comfy law-related texts my DOS likes: Merchant of Venice, Bleak House etc.
Read Rumpole of the Bailey by John Mortimer, they are the best stories. You might also want to watch them, in this case, the series came first.

applying now, hoping for history/education double degree at university of Queensland
Currently reading Meditations

UCLA here. Studying Marcuse and Mao right now.

Joined a club called the Bong Users' Revolutionary Brigade. We'll see how it turns out.

>EEU Studies
What, why?

But classes don't start until next week?

go away, little hippy

You mean within your college? Our group seems a bit dead, but oh well, I should get my parents soon. International, so not many contacts so far.

Thanks very much. Is it worth applying to a statistically easier-to-get-in college or does it not make a difference?

Waikato Uni in NZ, and I want to neck myself because Hamilton is the most boring city I've ever had the displeasure of living in.

Live here and went to university here (stem degree) and thought it was shit

Is UCLA a sunny paradise?

Newly declared english major. It's not great, but not terrible either. Read this guy named Alberto Manguel who would read to Borges. Read some restoration era English plays too. Nothing else interesting yet

I don't know these feels. My life improved immensely after graduating.

Not Asian tho

I actually didn't want to brag, was legit wondering if that would be a huge stain on the app because all other admitted students I've seen have perfect ones

You could get into a university like the University of Washington, the University of Wisconsin, or, with a bit of luck on your side, the University of Michigan. Except for maybe Cornell, Ivy Leagues are out of the question for you. I'd recommend starting with community college.

Well, if Cornell worked for ol' Pinecone it'll work for me

I was only pullin' your leg. If your post wasn't bait, if none of it was fabricated, then you'll have a good chance gaining admittance to any college or university of your preference.

Yeah it was actually legit, and I got that you were joking

It's just that at some stage it's a bit of a fucking crapshoot and it's crazy what some of the competition out there is: math Olympiads and kids who've done graduate level work are basically what you're dealing with at every turn. It's fucking insane what some of these kids have done

I went there.

Hello

Why are Australian universities so shit? They will never reward you for reading material outside of the curriculum.

I did an LLB at Melbourne (back when they offered it), the best law university in Australia, and nobody gave a fuck if you knew the philosophy underpinning human law.

Just your ability to regurgitate dry applied law books written by Professors of Law was all that mattered.

True, those people exist, but unless things have changed significantly over the last 6 years, you should still have a chance. Even with people with impressive resumes there's an element of luck and seeming randomness to the admission process, which could end up working for or against you. For example, a classmate of mine was denied admission to Berkeley and Stanford, but accepted by Harvard. If you apply to several prestigious universities you're bound to be accepted by at least one.

Yeah that's what I'm doing now
I'm trying to make it so that I'm not just indiscriminately applying to good schools, and actually picking ones with prestige in my area, as well as specific research/resources geared to what I want to do. They can see right through you if you don't want to go to Harvard for anything besides the image, so I've narrowed it down considerably. It may lower my range of options, but if it raises the chances for each school than I'm fine with it

Where's your alma mater? You sound fairly experienced in all this

*then

Jesus Christ

applying for oxford PPE this year lads, any tips?

Having done a 2 year diploma in countryside management at a well known land based college in the south of England, I'm starting a degree in ecology and wildlife management at the same institute in 9 days. Finished these books in the last month or two:
Unweaving the Rainbow, The Selfish Gene, Letters to a Young Scientist and most recently read the textbook Essential Entomology.

I like to read about nature.

I'm 22. 23 in Nov.

Who else /NESCAC/ here?

I'll posit that the small, New England liberal arts college ambiance is the most literary one available.

To his credit, he did praise Paradise Lost as a masterpiece and said it was one of his favorite books. He also, for the most part, treated it very seriously and extensively analysed the book.
What annoyed me was how he felt the need to stop for one or two minutes just to talk about, in a very sarcastic tone, how Paradise Lost was sexist, as if it was an inherent, non debatable flaw.
Curiously, when we were at the Frankenstein class, this girl raised her hand and started suggesting that Shelley was employing a dynamic of "female" and "male" voices in the passage we were looking at. He just shot her down by saying "I don't really think Shelley intended that". For some reason he was very afraid of stepping away from anything that could potentially not be the author's intent. He even mentioned and said he agreed with the "author's death" but I even read one of his papers and it felt of bad taste since he was talking about how the author of the book was "wrong" and "misunderstood" queer sexuality or something.
A few days after he went on about how Finding Nemo was about non-traditional families since Dory was voiced by a lesbian, and how he disliked a movie because it had a "magical negro", I just decided to drop out because clearly my vision and approach towards fiction was too different from his. And because he was gonna talk about Nietzsche next class for some reason and I didn't feel like listening to someone with no background in philosophy talking about him. I'm willing to admit there's a degree of prejudice, but it wasn't even Zarathustra, it was just some passages of a non-fiction book of his attacking Christianity as much as possible.

I'm not Asian
I haven't taken any philosophy courses so I don't know what it's like. Campus is fine, lotsa restaurants nearby

Princeton. Class of '14.

Best of luck.

Are you from Minnesota?