I've been pretty heavily against college for quite awhile. I'm just now starting to think that college is fine, but done entirely wrong. I think that people shouldn't go to college directly from high school. I think people should go out and see the world for a few years first. Decide if they even want to go to college, and what they want to study. It seems silly for people to commit to 4 more years of school right after they finish the first 12. Yeah.>_>

There's no college nazi that says you have to do college right after you get out of high school. It just makes sense to get the degree under your belt so you can actually make some money.

Theres currently a lot of pressure to go to college right out of school. Many people think I'm insane for not wanting to go.

It's not uncommon to skip a year before going, but frankly I think going to college right after HS is a good idea. Otherwise things can happen and you might not get a chance to go back, even if you want to.

But I don't get how someone could commit to that without knowing what they want to study. Seems rather irresponsible.

This is assuming paying yourself.. no parents or scholarships.

It really isn't uncommon. But personally I wanted to start college right after highschool and then plan to take a year off during my semesters. Taking a year off after highschool seem to be a way to get out of sync for the big step to higher education.

the best idea i've seen is try a community college for 2 years, get the AA degree, and if you find a major you like, go after it

thats what i'm doing

Don't forget about the social side of going to college. You meet a ton of people, and that is worth in IMO.

I don't plan on being a recluse or anything. I'm planning on traveling around.. meeting people in that fashion. I'm starting to think of jobs beyond boats now though. Kinda thinking some sort of forestry job would be cool. I've heard surveying can be a good way to go for getting out in the woods.

There are plenty of schools with forestry, natural resources and environmental science programs. That's what I did, and it was awesome.

Did you have to do much that didnt really relate to the chosen major?

Are you implying that you need a few years out of high school to figure out what you want to study? I'll agree that this would be beneficial to some people, but I felt pretty confident in what I wanted to study before I even stepped into high school, let alone before I enrolled in college. Plus, you have to take so many general education credits that you have enough time to decide what career you want to pursue, even if you don't know off the bat going into it.

When I was in high school, I wasn't too fond of having to go another four years of education after I graduated. But college is a lot different then any of your other years of education. It's a different ballgame compared to the previous twelve years that you've been required to commit to the system. It's a lot more fun-- even if you don't party regularly.

I've done alternative education for middle/highschool, so I don't have the standard school experiences anyway. I do have a pretty big issue with general education, I don't wanna waste my time/energy/money on stuff I'm not interested in.

Your mindset depresses me.

Unfortunately, there really isn't too many ways around taking the Gen Eds. Chances are, if you go to college, you'll have to take at least a few courses that you don't like and have absolutely no interest in. It's an attempt at making you a "more rounded individual." Yeah, you could create a strong argument that it is BS and you shouldn't have to pay for classes that have nothing to do with your major, and I'd probably be on your side. But if you decide that you want to pursue a career that requires a degree, you'll probably have to bite the bullet like everyone else and study several subjects that you might intensely dislike.

Yeah, but something I never thought about when I was 18/19 is that the longer you wait, the harder it is to go. It becomes really difficult to commit 3 or 4 years of your life when you're all grown up.



What Avenger means is that there will never be the concentration of people your age with your interests anywhere else. It's a good place to meet friends/girlfriends and to meet the people who are the future of their respective studies.

College/University isn't for everybody, but I think it's a big mistake to not go just because you have a chip on your shoulder about Gen ed classes. I have to take philosophy this semester. I hate philosophy, but in the grand scheme of things it's not that big a deal.

Also, a lot of times you can take classes that are actually pretty interesting that end up fulfilling gen ed requirements. I ended up taking a Metaphysics class instead of Intro to Philosophy just because I asked my advisor. I've also taken classes on Censorship and Russian Literature to satisfy literature gen ed requirements.

They're not all bad.

Cal has it's own college for natural sciences, so I didn't have to do the same breadth requirements as most of the student body. There were a couple of English and math classes that I had to take, but I was able to meet just about all of my breadth requirements within the College of Natural Resources. Environmental History met the history requirement, Wildlife Ecology met the bio requirement, and so on. I had free choice of electives as well. It really depends on the school though.

The thing is, even in natural sciences and forestry, if you want to do more than just pound the ground as a grunt, you need some kind of degree. You can always get an AA then transfer to a 4 year school. Upper division courses are where things get fun with field work.



Exactly.

Yeah but not all colleges are as interesting as Berkeley with all those smart bums lying in the streets reciting epic poems or other crazy people giving angry lectures on how technology is ruining the world at that large quad of yours.

Yep Berkeley is purrrtyy interesting.

Going straight into uni after finishing high school doesn't work for everyone. One of the biggest mistakes I ever made was to go straight into a degree. I'm now trying to complete it to get it out of the way and justify the expense but I've certainly not enjoyed the course. It's probably a bit better in the US with the flexibility that comes with a credit based system and the ability to change your major if need be.
In the British system you typically study a narrow course. I asked about transferring from mechanical engineering to either civil or environmental but was told I'd have to start from the very beginning despite the first year course material being almost exactly the same between them. I screwed up my 2nd year of study and was forced into a year out. I'm back to finish off a course I seriously don't enjoy and I have no idea what I'll do when I graduate

Short version (minus sob story): Think carefully about what you choose to study, if you're not sure, take your time, go work and see what else is out there first.

You're living with a bunch of people your own age, away from home for the first time in a new place. It's the perfect recipe for loads of fun. I wasn't referring to anything that the school would offer.

I think budgeting is key. My income is only bringing in 25k a year roughly and I'm doing fine. My wife is going back to school for nursing so we can be more comfortable:D

correct

I went straight from 6th form college to... well actually a gap year, but didnt do much. then i went to uni. Some people just arent grown up enough for it.:awesomelon:

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elseif(getThingFlags(source) & 0x4){
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else{
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Tell me about it.

How many years of college you have to take over there in the UK?

Something like half of college freshmen haven't a clue what they want to major in. You don't have to decide before you go to college, you can take some core classes and some electives in subjects you're interested in to help you decide.

[Edit: I was thinking about the US when I wrote this, I dunno if it applies to the rest of the world or not.]