How was your college experience?

[Saint Nick]

Frats are for losers with no social skills.

Lol. Were you one of the kids who got swirlies in high school?

 

[Ns1]

Frats are for losers with no social skills.

I wouldn't trade my greek experience for anything and it has done nothing but help me in life.

YMMV

 

[Carson Dyle]

Lol. Were you one of the kids who got swirlies in high school?

No, that kid joined a frat.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Frats are for losers with no social skills.

What about all the Asian-American frats? XD

 

[Ns1]

What about all the Asian-American frats? XD

I was in one. AMA.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I was in one. AMA.

I was just saying that frats aren't bad. They're actually really good or so I've heard.

 

[JM Aggie08]

I was just saying that frats aren't bad. They're actually really good or so I've heard.

That heavily depends on the school.

They were complete tools with nothing going for them in my case.

 

[highland145]

That heavily depends on the school.

They were complete tools with nothing going for them in my case.

And stay away from the band, right?

 

[Exterous]

Architecture is a crazy rip, given the mean salary after graduation

Not to mention the unemployment rate

 

[Gooberlx2]

best times of my life.

Yep. There's no reason one shouldn't be able to do well at academics, in a useful major, have internships, and still balance that out with a great social life.

Do your excesses in moderation.

 

[Possessed Freak]

For the love of God, don't procrastinate.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

That heavily depends on the school.

They were complete tools with nothing going for them in my case.

Ill keep this in mind. but an asian american interest fraternity won't be full of tools (just saying)

For the love of God, don't procrastinate.

I know, I'm learning it the hard way right now

 

[dbk]

It was pretty forgettable. Studied business (econ and finance), joined a frat, partied bawls everyday.. didn't want to leave so I went and got a masters (accounting).. I didn't really learn jackshit, just enough to earn my degrees so I can get a job..It's all out of my system now. I could never do that again. Go Hokies!

 

[CountZero]

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.

What do you mean when you say computer hardware engineering? Are you interested in the cpu architecture, the system architecture, the gpu architecture, the firmware that connects the hardware with the OS, the actual physically making the cpu/chipset/gpu, the design of the boards, the design of the more hardcore electrical pieces (like how do you make a chip interface with something giving 8 billion transfers/sec), etc. It doesn't matter much early on and they are all viable to various degrees but in interviewing people graduation with a BSEE/BSCE the ones that really concentrated on the area I work in (VLSI) are far and away much more qualified (and actually get offers) compared to those that wanted to work in 'hardware' and took a smattering of classes all over the place. I did the smattering of classes in undergrad and it was a mistake, I should've focused on something in much more detail.

As to the college experience as a whole it was great. I was socially inept in HS and never really was me but in college I made it a priority to fix that. Socialized a lot, set limits that worked for me (worked at the dorm I lived in which was closed Fri/Sat and restricted any kind of partying drinking to just those nights) and had a great time. Living in the dorms is a great step somewhere between being an adult and still living at home, just enough freedom to screw yourself but plenty of safety net.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

What do you mean when you say computer hardware engineering? Are you interested in the cpu architecture, the system architecture, the gpu architecture, the firmware that connects the hardware with the OS, the actual physically making the cpu/chipset/gpu, the design of the boards, the design of the more hardcore electrical pieces (like how do you make a chip interface with something giving 8 billion transfers/sec), etc. It doesn't matter much early on and they are all viable to various degrees but in interviewing people graduation with a BSEE/BSCE the ones that really concentrated on the area I work in (VLSI) are far and away much more qualified (and actually get offers) compared to those that wanted to work in 'hardware' and took a smattering of classes all over the place. I did the smattering of classes in undergrad and it was a mistake, I should've focused on something in much more detail.

As to the college experience as a whole it was great. I was socially inept in HS and never really was me but in college I made it a priority to fix that. Socialized a lot, set limits that worked for me (worked at the dorm I lived in which was closed Fri/Sat and restricted any kind of partying drinking to just those nights) and had a great time. Living in the dorms is a great step somewhere between being an adult and still living at home, just enough freedom to screw yourself but plenty of safety net.

I want to design as well as understand the making of computer parts

 

[crashtestdummy]

I was just saying that frats aren't bad. They're actually really good or so I've heard.

Like everything else, some are bad, some are good. Some bring out the best traits of brotherhood and camaraderie, and some are like a scene from Lord of the Flies.


As for your larger question, I had a great time in college. In addition to classroom learning, the personal growth you will experience is immense. These are the first years that you will spend in a largely uncontrolled environment, and you'll spend a lot of the time figuring out who you are. You will undoubtedly do a lot of stupid things, and the key is not so much to avoid these as it is to learn from them. You'll have a lot of amazing, life-altering experiences as well.

My advice (to be taken with a grain of salt as they're my own opinions and not based on real data):

• Push all of your boundaries. Take risks. Force yourself to meet and hang out with people you don't think you'd ever want to (or people you don't think would want to hang with you). Join clubs, become a leader of one. Try everything (except perhaps hard drugs). Learn about topics you're convinced you hate. This is the chance to experiment with your life. As you progress, you'll learn much more about how you want to live your life.
• Don't do anything just because it's easy. It's very easy to graduate college through a joke major and a bunch of filler classes. You're here, above all else, to learn, and taking the easy way out will hurt you a lot more than you think. In fact, picking classes and majors because they have a reputation for being hard is often the best thing for you.
• Ask for help! Especially in big colleges, it's very easy to feel that your academic issues are all your own, and that only you can solve them. Colleges provide a wealth of assistance, from classmates to office hours to learning strategies centers to personal tutors. Take advantage of them. Sometimes, seemingly insurmountable roadblocks can be very easily overcome with just a little bit of outside help.

 

[ichy]

I want to design as well as understand the making of computer parts

What exactly do you mean by "computer parts?" I think you need to learn a thing or two about what electrical/computer engineering actually is.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

What exactly do you mean by "computer parts?" I think you need to learn a thing or two about what electrical/computer engineering actually is.

>.<
The fabrication process of CPUs and chips.

My dream dream job would be help designing a motherboard or case (i know, lame)

 

[Saint Nick]

>.<
The fabrication process of CPUs and chips.

My dream dream job would be help designing a motherboard or case (i know, lame)

You kill me with posts like these. Quit being so self-defeating and stand up for what you believe in, and what you like. Good god.

 

[dbk]

You kill me with posts like these. Quit being so self-defeating and stand up for what you believe in, and what you like. Good god.

Yeah, you think it's a lame job yet that's what you wanna do? Je ne comprend pas..?

 

[zinfamous]

When you see the goat, you know you have made a wise decision.

:thumbsup:

 

[OBLAMA2009]

Ill keep this in mind. but an asian american interest fraternity won't be full of tools (just saying)

I know, I'm learning it the hard way right now

when i was in college the asian american clubbers were the jeremy lin types who would walk around the yard at lunch trying to tell the other students about jesus. that may not be "toolish" but they dont sound like a lot of fun either

 

[Ns1]

when i was in college the asian american frats were the jeremy lin types who would walk around the yard at lunch trying to tell the other students about jesus. that may not be "toolish" but it doesnt sound like a lot of fun either

lol, we had zero of those in our fraternity.

we were the "study hard play hard" type, with more emphasis on "play hard".

 

[T_Yamamoto]

You kill me with posts like these. Quit being so self-defeating and stand up for what you believe in, and what you like. Good god.

Well I'm not entirely sure as of now, my major/my interests are on the opposite sides of the spectrum. One side loves computers in general, the other likes law and justice, while the other side (yes, I have three sides ) likes therapeutic things (talking to people, making them open up, I enjoy helping others)

Yeah, you think it's a lame job yet that's what you wanna do? Je ne comprend pas..?

Ah French, Je n'ai pas le francais. From an outside point, I guess it looks rather lame. But I just want to have a part in something that I like:whiste:

When you see the goat, you know you have made a wise decision.

:thumbsup:

what if it faints?

 

[T_Yamamoto]

when i was in college the asian american clubbers were the jeremy lin types who would walk around the yard at lunch trying to tell the other students about jesus. that may not be "toolish" but they dont sound like a lot of fun either

Yeah, I'd avoid them

lol, we had zero of those in our fraternity.

we were the "study hard play hard" type, with more emphasis on "play hard".

Those are the types I want to hang out with. Easy going people, since I'm rather easy going, odd for someone like me to be easy going after all being bullied and stuff