What did you do once you graduated college?

[Mormagil]

i don't know exactly, most people probably just go because it's an excuse to be irresponsible and if they acquire a degree on top of all of that, cool

 

[circus_brimstone]

I really enjoy taking classes, as well as teaching them. I would guess I'm not in the majority, though.

 

[MajestikMøøse]

In Canada there is a distinction between college and university, however there is still the distinction that a University is more of an "academic" institution that grants degrees, and colleges are generally moreso certifications and stuff. However the lines are kind of blurred. Some colleges offer "university transfer programs" where they teach first & second year university classes.

 

[Nico]

Sounds a lot like the system we have in Aus. Certificates and diplomas are generally done through TAFE, which is the "standard" collage, though you can get certified through other means as well, including apprenticeships and some select highschool courses. Uni is where degrees are attained.

 

[Captain Beard]

You're the moderator of the Nevermore forum?

With all the fucking troll-looking retards, I sometimes feel like I AM.

 

[Doom]

uni

calling it college really makes no sense here as even we make the distinction between colleges and universities

I just called it college in the title because I thought that's what Amercians tended to call it? I dunno, we just always call it university.

 

[Captain Beard]

College is public community 2 year type stuff, and some public 4 years. University is usually the 4 year private and prestigious places that aren't worth the price.

 

[lizard]

The US uses college and university more or less interchangably.

"I've been accepted to three colleges!"

although in fact, almost nobody calls their school a university unless they are referring to it specifically by name, i.e., The University of New Hampshire, or University of North Carolina.

 

[Dick Sirloin]

I wanna go to Creative Writing grad school in Europe somewhere. I'm also looking at UVA and Cornell.

 

[cthulufhtagn]

Why is there such a standard expectation of going to college when you finish school then? Only about 25% or less of students here go on to uni, and only about 3/4 of them make it all the way through. I can't stand the idea of uni personally... when I finished school all I wanted to do was earn some fucking money to actually do something. Not spend 3-4 more years in class.

all my friends are enrolled either in college or junior college...in the states a college diploma these days carries not much more weight than a high school diploma once did; if you want to keep up with the job market it's more or less mandatory

 

[Russell]

all my friends are enrolled either in college or junior college...in the states a college diploma these days carries not much more weight than a high school diploma once did; if you want to keep up with the job market it's more or less mandatory

One cause for the difference in attitudes towards university could be the level of the degree. I by no means want to generalise this for all US degrees, but when my sister applied there for grad school she was told she'd enter in the third year, as a US Bachelors was equal to the level she had reached by the end of her first year at university. Apparently the stuff we were taught in A levels (the equivalent of the last two years of highschool) were taught in the first two years of the US degree for the same subject.

I'm sure it varies between subjects, but it seems to be the case for Geology as well - US PhD's take a lot longer than UK ones, as they start with two years of teaching prior to the research. Here too, while it's becoming a lot more prevalent a degree is by no means obligatory.

 

[KILL TULLY]

I willing to call bullshit on the post above me.


EDIT: The fact that you learn in one year what a BA level course teaches, that is.

 

[Russell]

I willing to call bullshit on the post above me.


EDIT: The fact that you learn in one year what a BA level course teaches, that is.

When my sister applied to Columbia, NY their explanation was that our school system just moves faster between the age of five to 18. So by the time we reach 16 - the stage after our "high school" - we start learning what some university courses in the US start to teach in uni. It's definitely not that UK universities teach in one year what the US does in three.

Either way, like I say, all I know for sure is whay CUNY said to my sister, and that this is the case Geology degrees as well (I know a lot of people that have applied for PhD's in the US) - the rest may be different. Also it doesn't mean the US degree would be easier, just that the different systems do different areas at different times.

Edit - obviously not much of a difference, I still can't spell people

 

[MajestikMøøse]

It's true.

The (K-12) schooling system in Canada and the US is utter shit.

 

[Thanatopsis123]

He's right. Typically U.S. schools are a lot slower and farther behind. I remember a few years back a lot of college professors in the U.S. were complaining that the first two years in college were basically wasted because students were either taught things they should have learned in high school or did and simply needed review on. I found that to be largely true in my university. It's sad but true.

The U.S. school system is a fucking joke. It's based on some old Prussian model and is still usually centered around farming. Ever wonder why we get that three months off in the summer? Studies have shown the effects that has on students. Those three months ruin us. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

 

[Russell]

I found a website addressing this, it's a bit more complicated than I thought, but it seems it's largely true for most subjects:

"So, a student holding GCSEs when he or she enters the US may be academically more advanced than US students of the same age. He or she may find that the regular academic curriculum for that age group in the US is insufficiently challenging or duplicates work done for GCSEs. On the other hand, a less intensive curriculum may lesson the strain of adaptation to a new education system and way of life. Most US universities will not accept students under 17 years of age. Conversely, most UK universities will not accept American-educated students holding a high school diploma without AP test results."

http://www.fulbright.co.uk/eas/studyus/schoolstudy/index.html

 

[Russell]

We get six weeks Until we reach uni

 

[lizard]

US schools areoperating under antiquated expectations, kids are like sponges and will absorb knowledge like crazy (take note Dorian). Admittedly my son was in gifted classes from K til 3 and we moved to large forehead land, but seriously, as soon as your kid is able to operate one, get them phonics and other edu stuff disguised as fun, and they will kick ass in school.

 

[J.]

yeah my degree doesnt mean shit. it was just a means of getting a job, which it did help with. but look at me now! working at lowe's making more money than most my age with that pussy desk job.

and yeah, US high school and college classes are weak. my teachers passed me in high school so i could play baseball. college was super easy, or i'm just a fucking genius, 'cause i didn't study at all. we'll just say i'm a genius with flawless musical tastes. yeah, that sounds good.

 

[lizard]

I agree, HS and college to only a slightly lesser degree will pass minimal effort, even me on a steady diet of hashhish got my AA and I only got serious my 2nd sem of jr year at UNH, and still academics rarely disrupted my social schedule.

And UNH is not a slouch academically. Now lib arts is of course it's own breed.