Applying To Colleges

[Prez Duke]

College admissions in the US are often times completely arbitrary. Things like legacy, whether your mother and father went to college, skin color, ethnicity, orientation all matter. Schools like to talk about how diverse their student body is. And SATs at a lot of schools tended to trump GPA back when I was applying. I don't know if that's changed though.

[Jayhawker]

Yeah, this thread is gross. It's also reminding me that where you went to school doesn't mean all that much. I mean, does anybody really think Benconstine is smarter than Xahar? I know I've poked fun at Xahar before but he's obviously about ten times smarter than Ben.

We've gone 32 pages without fighting and personal attacks. Please don't ruin this thread now by making insults.

<cue kitty joke>

College admissions in the US are often times completely arbitrary. Things like legacy, whether your mother and father went to college, skin color, ethnicity, orientation all matter. Schools like to talk about how diverse their student body is. And SATs at a lot of schools tended to trump GPA back when I was applying. I don't know if that's changed though.

We have a perfect example of this at our county rivals school, became kinda a big deal.
Student A: Average GPA, Decent Test Scores, High Amount of Extracurricular Activities - White Male
Student B: Average GPA, Decent Test Scores, but slightly worse than Student A, Low Amount of Extracurricular Activities - African-American Female

Can you guess which one was accepted and which one wasn't? (Hint: Student B was accepted)

It all worked out in the end, as they both ended up getting in, though there was some controversy. The irony is the black female didn't get any big scholarships, so she's not going to IU now while the white male is.

[Hashemite]

The German university system doesn't really place significant value on one university over another. Although there are rankings these days and certain universities (e.g. Munich) tend to be at the top usually, most universities in the country are thought to be relatively comparable, and I would say that which one you attended is not very important concerning future job opportunities.

Access to the universities (to simplify a bit...there are some exceptions and "personal interviews" are used in certain circumstances to make borderline determinations) is relatively uniform.

Slightly simplified, there are "access restricted" and "non access restricted" subjects. Each university determines themselves how they want to organize their programs. (Medicine, Dentistry and one or two others are restricted at federal level rather than at university level).

If a subject is not restricted (increasingly seldom with increasing student numbers, budget cuts, etc.), you just state you are going to study that subject at that university. Prove you have health insurance, show ID, provide a copy of your Abitur, and you're all set.

If a subject IS restricted, almost always, "applicants" are admitted to the programs ENTIRELY based on their average Abitur grade. They'll have x slots available, and starting at the top grade, x people will be admitted in the order of their GPAs.

That's pretty much it, I've never heard of anything remotely similar to what people in this thread have described.

Yeah, what Franzl described is what I thought was normal standard-fare procedures, not all the horror this thread describes.

In Ontario, I paid a fee to gain access to an online system called OUAC where I could apply to three universities in Ontario directly through a single online interface, which included copies of my grades (updated throughout the rest of the year) and the bullsh**t they need. If I had wanted to apply to a uni outside the province I think I would have needed to do the stuff myself but I don't recall all this horror. Most programs had pre-requisite HS classes - normally an English university-level and often a math or science university-level. The normal admission average is about 75%, depending on the program and school.

Karleton and OttawaU accepted me within days of sending in my admission request, with scholarship and advance dibs on rez if I wanted. Queens responded a month or two later (their standards are apparently tougher) but they didn't bribe me and I would have needed to be bribed to go live in Kingston anyhow (it's a nice city, but c'mon). Karleton called me like 5 times before the deadline for my answer to all universities (in May iirc) to entice me to come or whatever, and I think Ottawa might have too. I quickly decided on Ottawa anyways, even though I was more familiar with Carleton.

[Χahar]

ilikeverin will be pleased to know that I've gotten into Maryland and am now strongly considering attending.

[I'm JewCon in name only.]

ilikeverin will be pleased to know that I've gotten into Maryland and am now strongly considering attending.

Congrats Xahar!

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

ilikeverin will be pleased to know that I've gotten into Maryland and am now strongly considering attending.

Even though it's only vaguely relevant to College Park, it's time for you to start watching the Wire.

Congrats.

[Χahar]

Oh, yeah, it's definitely on my list of shows that I need to get to sooner or later. Maybe this summer.

[Senator Napoleon]

Just our of interest: How much time and effort goes into these university applications in the U.S.? It seems incredibly difficult and annoying, from what I've been reading in this thread.

Yeah, I've been reading through this thread with an increasing sense of horror. This whole process seems like a pretty miserable experience.

Yeah, this thread is gross. It's also reminding me that where you went to school doesn't mean all that much. I mean, does anybody really think Benconstine is smarter than Xahar? I know I've poked fun at Xahar before but he's obviously about ten times smarter than Ben.

Don't be a dick, dude. You're right about how it doesn't really matter in the end, but there's no need to put other members down for their accomplishments.

I don't have many positive things to say about these two but it does seem like Xahar also has much more personality.

[ilikeverin]

ilikeverin will be pleased to know that I've gotten into Maryland and am now strongly considering attending.

YESSSSSSSS I WAS JUST GOING TO ASK YOU ABOUT THAT AHHHHHHHH

YOU HAVE TO YOU HAVE TO

Seriously.  Maryland has the best linguistics department in the country, and their specialty is syntax.  If you're still feeling like you want to be a syntactician, you really can't go wrong with Maryland.  And there's a (good) chance that you might have a neurolinguistic grad student who would be interested in collaboration, although I've heard he doesn't have much interest in syntax at all

[© Tweed the Younger]

Xahar wants to major in Linguistics?

[I'm JewCon in name only.]

Napoleon, do you like ANYONE on this forum?

[N.i.K.]

Congrats, Xahar!! Go Terps! 

[ilikeverin]

Xahar wants to major in Linguistics?

This is (one of the reasons) why we're biffles.

[N.i.K.]

So, I just noticed that there will be a lot of avatar changes. EMD to Oregon, Xahar to Maryland, Simfan to Illinois or New York, Lief to New York, Verin to Maryland or New York,  Klecly to West Virginia, and potentially Ben to DC, Massachusetts, or New York.  Wow.

[Jayhawker]

So, I just noticed that there will be a lot of avatar changes. EMD to Oregon, Xahar to Maryland, Simfan to Illinois or New York, Lief to New York, Verin to Maryland or New York,  Klecly to West Virginia, and potentially Ben to DC, Massachusetts, or New York.  Wow.

Well, I'm staying in-state. Came close to donning an Oklahoma avater (Kansas too, for a while) but I'll be sticking with IU.

[Senator Ben]

I know I've poked fun at Xahar before but he's obviously about ten times smarter than Ben.

Really?  I disagree.

I don't have many positive things to say about these two but it does seem like Xahar also has much more personality.

I'd say I have quite a personality; it just happens to be one that you don't like.

It really, really, really doesn't, as I've been trying to yell at the Ben et als who are so excited to get themselves shoulder-deep in debt.

I'm probably going to UVA, Verin   And I wouldn't go into debt at Harvard or Columbia - my parents have kindly agreed to that.

[Prez Duke]

Go wahoos.

[Senator Ben]

Go wahoos.

Indeed   It's all very exciting.

[ilikeverin]

It really, really, really doesn't, as I've been trying to yell at the Ben et als who are so excited to get themselves shoulder-deep in debt.

I'm probably going to UVA, Verin   And I wouldn't go into debt at Harvard or Columbia - my parents have kindly agreed to that.

Well, good, UVA is a fine choice

[Insula Dei]

Yeah, US university applications seem a nightmare from Hell.

[I left.]

Yeah, US university applications seem a nightmare from Hell.

Not entirely sure, but I think they have to sometimes even pay for the privilege of having their application reviewed.

And then when you even do get into a university their degree requirements seem to also be rather absurd, having a round of basic courses in Math, literature, etc. (although some universities might be different) in the first couple of semesters. Either high schools aren't doing what they need to be doing or the universities, as dependent as they are on tuition fees, are just trying to make a buck.

The whole system is very odd.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Yeah, US university applications seem a nightmare from Hell.

Not entirely sure, but I think they have to sometimes even pay for the privilege of having their application reviewed.

And then when you even do get into a university their degree requirements seem to also be rather absurd, having a round of basic courses in Math, literature, etc. (although some universities might be different) in the first couple of semesters. Either high schools aren't doing what they need to be doing or the universities, as dependent as they are on tuition fees, are just trying to make a buck.

The whole system is very odd.

We nearly always have to pay...

[realisticidealist]

Yeah, US university applications seem a nightmare from Hell.

Not entirely sure, but I think they have to sometimes even pay for the privilege of having their application reviewed.

And then when you even do get into a university their degree requirements seem to also be rather absurd, having a round of basic courses in Math, literature, etc. (although some universities might be different) in the first couple of semesters. Either high schools aren't doing what they need to be doing or the universities, as dependent as they are on tuition fees, are just trying to make a buck.

The whole system is very odd.

Sometimes? Everything you said is almost universal in the US.

[ilikeverin]

Yeah, US university applications seem a nightmare from Hell.

Not entirely sure, but I think they have to sometimes even pay for the privilege of having their application reviewed.

And then when you even do get into a university their degree requirements seem to also be rather absurd, having a round of basic courses in Math, literature, etc. (although some universities might be different) in the first couple of semesters. Either high schools aren't doing what they need to be doing or the universities, as dependent as they are on tuition fees, are just trying to make a buck.

The whole system is very odd.

Sometimes? Everything you said is almost universal in the US.

I would say that's less than accurate for the "basic courses in...etc."; there's quite a bit of variation, due to differences in core curricula/distribution requirements (e.g., Brown doesn't have any at all, the Honors College here replaces them with a very flexible set of requirements, etc.) and in AP credit accepted.

[ilikeverin]

Officially sent in my acceptance to the Neuroscience and Cognitive Science PhD program at the University of Maryland, College Park.  Came down to Maryland and NYU in the end, but, due to some behind-the-scenes maneuvering which I don't want to get too much in detail into in public, Maryland ended up being the clear choice.  Luckily, it wasn't the sort of maneuvering that will leave me jaded for the rest of my life   Hard to make, but I couldn't be happier.  (Okay, I could, if NYU and Maryland joined forces so I could go to both!)