I ain't going.


Free Speech Zones


Gender Studies


Forced Tolerance.


Liberal Bias.


Seniors likely Generation Y Liberals.


FUCK that shit.

I'm just a freshman in high-school - ignore the last 5 comments (while I surely don't like leftist bias) because they are so hateful for no reason.

I am still at the phase of not knowing where to go to study (passed the "what do I do in college phase")

I have slightly above a 4.0 and want to major in computer science. My step-sister who is going to college is going to Alabama, so I thought about going to Clemson, but I don't know too much about their program.

CMU is a very good college and I know several people who plan on or currently are attending, but I feel it's almost so competitive that it would almost taint the college experience. Let me know if I'm going knyte.

Pitt is probably my top choice, mostly because I like large colleges and it's nearby. I hear that their computer science program is also very good.

If anyone has any suggestions for good colleges with good comsci programs - let me know. Thanks!

I agree that gender studies is an idiotic degree.

However, many liberal arts degrees are important and valuable, so claiming "only do a science or you'll never get a job" is just bullshit.

@Ben: Don't worry about competitive programs. Not only is their degree of competition grossly exaggerated most of the time (see: Berkeley stories about people destroying books in the library- high school senior me got thrown off by them a bit, but then I noticed that similar stories are fabricated for just about every school worth going to), but healthy competition and rigor are incredibly beneficial- I think there's a lot of value in going to a program that's at your level instead of something that's easy and doesn't quite push you to your best. At CMU, I've been surrounded most of the time by people way more talented and intelligent than me- and that's something I've benefited a ton from, personally. Never really felt like I was competing or fighting some sort of losing battle, only that I was surrounded by this incredible wealth of opportunities to learn.

The best thing about a formal education is that it combats second-order ignorance. You simply don't know the value of knowledge you don't yet have (case in point: most incoming CS freshmen at just about any school don't actually know what CS is), and so it's an uphill battle to try to learn things you should know when you're not quite sure what they are (even if you know where you want to end up, you rarely have the resources and insights to figure out good paths- so there's a big struggle there, although I think that sort of struggle is worth experiencing too). Universities are environments where you not only have experienced people (e.g., professors) supplying knowledge they think is valuable (especially if they think it's valuable and that most students don't realize/fully appreciate its value) but are also surrounded by tons of other people in shoes similar to yours, also exploring their passions and readily passing their insights onto you.

If you're doing a technical program (e.g., engineering) at a school that's good at said program and is full of people at your level who share some interests related to your program* or just other things you're passionate about, that's orders of magnitude better than going to a school that simply offers that same program (even if it's got the same courses and lab equipment). College is a great place because it offers you all these immense opportunities to chase after things you really care about- freedoms most people don't get to enjoy in high school- and challenges your ideas about the limitations of your own ability and potential. A huge part of that is the environment and the people you're surrounded by. So don't shortchange yourself because you're worried that a school is somehow too good/competitive/whatever. Forget the risks and just chase the rewards.

The biggest tragedy when it comes to college education is all these people graduating with a bunch of knowledge but not a huge change when it comes to understanding; I firmly believe that any engineering student who's found their calling will come to appreciate this ineffable beauty that defines their field, see the world in a fundamentally different, more satisfying light than they did coming in- and realize that their potential and the state of the world are both so much more unfathomably tremendous than they'd ever thought.

Don't sacrifice that for mundane and frankly trivial things like location, politics, whatever- don't go to a college where you just go through the motions. Push yourself and reap every opportunity you've worked so hard for, because you'll be so much better for it in ways you're not even equipped to appreciate going in. It won't just be a salary and employability boost over where you would've been if you'd taken the less competitive route; you'll really understand and be capable of something incredible.

* although you ought to avoid places that are full of people who're defined solely by their majors/jobs

Since I basically went 99% of the way there anyway, for CS/CE I'd strongly recommend saying yes to any one of these programs if you get in (and can afford to go there- don't swallow loans beyond your means if you're in that kind of situation), and yes I would strongly recommend turning down a school with lots of prestige/whatnot (e.g., Yale) to go to these:

- Stanford
- MIT
- Berkeley
- Carnegie Mellon
- Cornell
- Princeton

List is incomplete, but I can vouch for any of them. If you get into any of them, you're close to the cream of the crop and the last thing you'd want to do with your life is throw away that potential you've just proven you have. These are far from the only good programs, ofc- there's solid ones at UIUC, UMich, UT-Austin, UCLA, Purdue, and a bunch of other places- and you certainly don't have to go to a great program to come out a successful engineer or get that elusive 'network' you get promised all the time when you're making decisions in high school.

Just strive to push yourself to your limits, and if you're willing to settle for less, ask yourself whether you actually want it badly enough (it's okay if you don't- just find your real passion and don't burn your time pursuing dreams you don't care about).

Edited 3/29/2017 23:13:51

Topkek all the colleges you listed have much more prestige than Yale.

@KK: https://www.quora.com/Should-I-choose-Yale-over-MIT-for-computer-science

People regularly turn down at least MIT, Berkeley, CMU, and Cornell for Yale.

But fine, Harvard. The poster-child of "schools you can brag about going to." It's not that great at CS/CE, unfortunately (although I think it's definitely got some solid work going on in some subsets of those fields), at least certainly not near the top of the field. Idk I've got friends going to Yale for CS over some schools on that list, too; from the small sample set I'm working with, it doesn't look like the decision has worked for them. But that's just a sidenote- it's not just prestige, people pick colleges that could hinder their education for all sorts of reasons (weather, location, politics, student body attractiveness, having a good football team to cheer for, 'oh no it's going to be too competitive'). Just don't shoot yourself in the foot for a stupid reason when you put in all that work to get that far, and certainly don't put much stock in advice from people whose first instinct in conversations about college is to bring up political issues.

Also, as a caveat, you can still go to one of these schools and not come out on top (obviously). It comes down mainly to your own interests and how much you're willing to invest in them.

Edited 3/29/2017 23:34:13

the university of Minsk is nice.

Also Heidelberg.

the university of Minsk is nice.

Also Heidelberg.

@knyte - PM me on discord, but with my parents divorce and the resulting monetary situation, I don't really think that CMU is feasible, even though I could very likely get in there for CS.

Please explain to me why we need a gender studies major in an IT company.

You misinterpreted me. I never said major, and I meant a course. There is nothing wrong with taking a gender studies course to broaden your perspective. In fact, it looks good to most employers, who would rather have a flexible workforce in a changing world. Companies don't want a stubborn traditionalist, unless they are stubbornly traditional, and there is good reason for that: They get less business, they get less money, and their competitors eventually take their market. Since, even if you disagree with the concept of gender studies, more and more people do, and you need to be able to tap those markets if you want to compete with your rival.

College is boring.

You should take the time to get an internship.

Even if you have nil experience, it is possible to get something. And you will slowly climb the social ladder with all the connections & bigger resume.

It is also an opportunity to get money or know the main ins and outs of the profession.
Majors fields / competencies and all that... The people at work place will likely give more referral and stuff for self-studying than teachers.

Once you do the internship, it is possible they hire you after you get out of UNI almost immediately.

INTERNSHIP IS VERY GOOD MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH. ALSO GIVES YOU BETTER ODDS OF EMPLOYABILITY.

Usually, there is a way to arrange internships with your establishment.
Once you find a way to do internship, you will surely climb the social ladder with much better resumee.



It is also an option to work under-paid at a workplace for some time and later go to UNI.
It is NOT mandatory to go straight to UNI.

======================

I think that your "college" in USA is different than in CANADA.


IMO, even if you are going to UNI, internships are very good.

Like CS internship is a thing that exists and almost everyone will accept that.


Unlike other jobs that are like more specialized like architect. Maybe you will be an assistant-drawing guy but nobody wants an architect intern who does not know completely his field of science.


CS internship is also a lot higher grades for UNI because you are super ahead of everyone who is not doing internships. And employers are usually very nice and cool.

Edited 3/30/2017 02:00:44

There is also VISUAL ART SCHOOL that will have programs specifically for GAME DESIGN.
It may have slightly different names but the idea is the same.

I don't there is GAME DESIGN programs in standard uni/schools.

>implying anyone cares if I can correctly pronounce 6 million genders when I'm trying to setup a supply deal

[...] and yes I would strongly recommend turning down a school with lots of prestige/whatnot (e.g., Yale) to go to these:

- Stanford
- MIT
- Berkeley
- Carnegie Mellon
- Cornell
- Princeton

Don't worry Ben, you still have 4 more years to win a Nobel Prize to get into any of these schools.

They're all good CS programs, but you're probably better finding less prestigious colleges because a.) there is less intense competition and b.) your money will be sucked dry from any of those choices.

Since we're shitting on unis here, who here has turned down a CS offer from MIT? Just curious...

Edited 3/30/2017 03:23:41

And people who say gender studies degree are useless are clearly following the stereotype. Yes they are, but I don't know any unis that offer a DEGREE in gender studies, it's usually a subject/major in a Bachelor of Arts degree, which indeed is generally useless, but there are some good majors you can pick too.

I don't know but I am pretty sure that Texas Instruments (the guys making the scientific calculators) is affiliated with University of Texas. They have laboratories and stuff. And many previous students had Nobel prizes and stuff.

Wiki is right. :D


uTexas produces a lot of documents/resources. Don't know much about it.
(When googling some stuff, get lots of pdfs from utexas)
(Download google books and pdfs from the internet sometimes when bored).


It is one of the most prestigious UNIs.

======

I am also not inebriated but writing at a late time.

Edited 3/30/2017 03:36:04

Since we're shitting on unis here, who here has turned down a CS offer from MIT? Just curious...

I don't think many people have, but if I ever applied and was accepted into an ivy league school, I don't even think I'd want to attend. It's just too much competition and doesn't seem like a fun way to spend your first 4 years in the 'real world.'

Well, transgender will partially look like the other sex. Restrooms don't matter much.

In passports and official papers, it has become common place in some countries to have gender-neutral.
And maybe it was already there before Facebook got the idea of giving "Gender:Other" as an option.

I don't think many people have, but if I ever applied and was accepted into an ivy league school, I don't even think I'd want to attend. It's just too much competition and doesn't seem like a fun way to spend your first 4 years in the 'real world.'

I never applied to any unis in the US, but if I got an offer for a decent course from one of the major Ivies or MIT, I'd take it in a heartbeat. The opportunities you get from studying there really set you up, at the very least, for your first job.

If you're going to pay for an education you might as well get one, if you want fun, you should just take out a loan and throw parties every day...

Edited 3/30/2017 03:45:27