How was your college experience?

[ichy]

Employers don't seem to even know what an IT degree is... they just think its comp sci...

I can assure you that most reputable employers are well aware of the difference between a bullshit degree like IT and a real one like computer science.

 

[Exterous]

I had two radically different experiences at two different schools

First two years:
Easy gen ed requirements. I mean really easy. And no friday classes. My last semester there my weekend started at 11am on Thursday
Lots of free time
Lots of fun
Co-ed dorms + Female majority = win
I stayed in the dorms which was awesome as, no matter what time it was there was always someone up you could do something with

Second two years:
Thank god I crammed all of my drinking, partying and socializing into those first two years because I rarely saw the light of day. I saw my professors more than I saw my fiancee and spent pretty much every weekend in Studio working. At least everyone else from my class was there too - 12-14 hours a day 7 days a week. Project reviews were devastatingly harsh and sleep was scarce as was money. One hell of a graduation party though! Man did we cut loose when it was all over with

Both were very interesting and character building despite being at opposite ends of the spectrum

 

[stealthycow]

Just thinking about how to respond to this topic makes me depressed.

 

[ichy]

Whatever you do don't do something foolish like get engaged in college.

 

[Saint Nick]

Whatever you do don't do something foolish like get engaged in college.

Based on Tomato's past posts, he is likely to be one of the FIRST people to get engaged in college, provided he finds a girl crazy enough (they're never in short supply).

 

[OverVolt]

Spent 1 semester there and my parents lost the house, and the business, and my college money.

Everyone's situation is different. I definitely wish I had the "normal" college experience. If one needs college to get away from their parents to develop, then its useful. I knew some sheltered kids who really needed it. Although being on the brink of getting dumped on the street does just as good .

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

Damn near a waste of time.
2 years out & I still can't find a steady job.
Promised to be earning 50K/year out a college? Fucking joke.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Boring. I spent more time going out with my home town friends instead.

 

[Miramonti]

Similar to high school...sign up but don't show up.

 

[OverVolt]

Damn near a waste of time.
2 years out & I still can't find a steady job.
Promised to be earning 50K/year out a college? Fucking joke.

Mhmm I have lots of stories now that I've been able to see the end results of my friends.

Make 61k, 200k in debt. 4 years schooling.
Make 50k, 180k in debt. 6 years schooling.
Make 55k, 220k in debt. 3.5 years schooling, missed payments.
Got architect degree, made more money driving trucks instead, waste of time.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Interesting question. I had some fun, had some misery, was glad to get out. And to this day, 27 years after graduating, I still have dreams (nightmares?) about needing one more class to graduate.

I began school as a Business, Finance major at a huge party school (West Virginia University). Partied hard, studied hard, but I was bored and dropped out in my sophomore year.

Took a year off.

The I went back to school at the University of Pittsburgh and earned a Computer Science degree. I loved the course work, but didn't like the school very much. I'm not much of a city person and Pitt is in a dirty, crowded little section of Pgh. And the school and its instructors didn't impress me at all.

If I had to do it over again:

- I would have worked harder in H.S. to get into a better school. Truth is, I never even applied to good schools, opting instead for what I knew I could afford and what was geographically convenient to me. Doing it over, I wouldn't hesitate to go to a school 3000 miles away.

- I would NOT have gone to a large state school. Classes with 150-300 students taught by grad students from Taiwan are not ideal learning environments. That was the norm for many first and second year classes and the quality of the instructors was very hit and miss.

This, though, is where the "it's what you make of it" advice comes in. You _can_ still learn a lot in that environment, but you have to do it on your own and you really have to want it.

- Absolutely think twice and three times about who you live with. I lived with some miserable, untrustworthy pricks during my years at Pitt. It was just no fun. Live with people that you _like_.

I don't envy anyone trying to earn a college degree today. I left school with less than $8k of debt. I can't imagine how deep I'd be today.

 

[halik]

Mhmm I have lots of stories now that I've been able to see the end results of my friends.

Make 61k, 200k in debt. 4 years schooling.
Make 50k, 180k in debt. 6 years schooling.
Make 55k, 220k in debt. 3.5 years schooling, missed payments.
Got architect degree, made more money driving trucks instead, waste of time.

^ all bullshit degrees? Architecture is a crazy rip, given the mean salary after graduation

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Mhmm I have lots of stories now that I've been able to see the end results of my friends.

Make 61k, 200k in debt. 4 years schooling.
Make 50k, 180k in debt. 6 years schooling.
Make 55k, 220k in debt. 3.5 years schooling, missed payments.
Got architect degree, made more money driving trucks instead, waste of time.

Pointless without listing what majors they have.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Undergrad was incredibly fun and enlightening.

JMU
Chemistry Major

Law school sucked and I would not do it again.
GMU
Patent Law

 

[ichy]

Based on Tomato's past posts, he is likely to be one of the FIRST people to get engaged in college, provided he finds a girl crazy enough (they're never in short supply).

Eh, I feel like most of us were equally clueless when we were his age.

 

[theLION]

Whatever you do don't do something foolish like get engaged in college.

I didn't get engaged while in college but I did meet my future wife in college. In addition to that, playing lots of sports and ditching class to hang out with friends made my college experience enjoyable.

 

[shortylickens]

Shit.

Ridiculously expensive and in 4 years I've only learned about as much stuff as 1 year of working.

 

[DrunkenSano]

These days, a degree isn't enough to get you a job. You also need work experience which means internships and whatnot. College education won't fully prepare you for work either, a lot of it will be on the job training which you will have to adapt to.

So in College, enjoy yourself, do get drunk and go to parties. Be as social as you can, make contacts because contacts in the future will get you much farther in life than a degree or 4.0 GPA.

 

[OverVolt]

Pointless without listing what majors they have.

If it was you would you want me listing it on there?

T

 

[Train]

These days, a degree isn't enough to get you a job. You also need work experience which means internships and whatnot. College education won't fully prepare you for work either, a lot of it will be on the job training which you will have to adapt to.

So in College, enjoy yourself, do get drunk and go to parties. Be as social as you can, make contacts because contacts in the future will get you much farther in life than a degree or 4.0 GPA.

^This

Get Drunk, Make Friends.

And get as much tail as possible while there. Have a part time job up until you get internships. live poorly, you can get poon just fine driving a beater and living in a dump apartment with roomies. Don't pile on the debt.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

My OP is being updated with what I have learned
Also is hardware engineering a good choice? (Computer hardware engineering?)
From what I've read this seems to be something I am greatly interested in.

 

[Saint Nick]

Eh, I feel like most of us were equally clueless when we were his age.

Well...touche.

I recall being 18 or 19 and wanting to marry my then (crazy) girlfriend.

 

[Ns1]

loved college, hate paying for it.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

These days, a degree isn't enough to get you a job. You also need work experience which means internships and whatnot. College education won't fully prepare you for work either, a lot of it will be on the job training which you will have to adapt to.

So in College, enjoy yourself, do get drunk and go to parties. Be as social as you can, make contacts because contacts in the future will get you much farther in life than a degree or 4.0 GPA.

I know that's what my teacher (PhD in history but whatever). My dad also said the same thing (Masters in compsci). He also told me to do something that I would enjoy as a job and to get a major that will be there is a job for.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Join frat (obviously)

Frats are for losers with no social skills.