Applying To Colleges

[Free Palestine]

My father is going to force me to apply to Cal-State University, Northridge.  I have other plans.

[ilikeverin]

My parents seem to have gotten it into their head that I will double major in Economics and Statistics, apparently without considering whether I actually have any interest in either.

Economics could be cool.  Majoring in History is the best one, though.

No, he is entirely aware what the best field to major in is

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Economics is fun if you like math. I don't, but I got used to it.

[Franzl]

Applied and accepted to Statistics (major) & Insurance and Risk Management (minor) at the Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität in Munich.

Personal registration is next Thursday

[Kaine for Senate '18]

No, he is entirely aware what the best field to major in is

Linguistics?  Very boring (and impossible for someone like me who lacks a facility for language).

[ilikeverin]

No, he is entirely aware what the best field to major in is

Linguistics?  Very boring (and impossible for someone like me who lacks a facility for language).

Oh, right, I just forgot that linguistics was learning a bunch of different languages.  Silly me.  I'll just drop my major, then

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Oh, right, I just forgot that linguistics was learning a bunch of different languages.  Silly me.  I'll just drop my major, then

As you should   What is involved in a linguistics major?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Oh, right, I just forgot that linguistics was learning a bunch of different languages.  Silly me.  I'll just drop my major, then

As you should   What is involved in a linguistics major?

As a common cunning linguist I'll tell you it's a noble degree

[tmthforu94]

Starting yesterday, I officially should be expecting a letter from IU. It generally takes 4-6 weeks, and it's officially been over 4 weeks now. We'll see.

[Hash]

What's the point of majoring in history? It's interesting, but what does that get you besides teaching history in high school where nobody gives a sh**t or being a history prof?

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

What's the point of majoring in history? It's interesting, but what does that get you besides teaching history in high school where nobody gives a sh**t or being a history prof?

Unless you go to law school, it's pointless, much like Political Science, english, etc..

[Kaine for Senate '18]

What's the point of majoring in history? It's interesting, but what does that get you besides teaching history in high school where nobody gives a sh**t or being a history prof?

Seeing as how I want to do those things, it works perfectly.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

What's the point of majoring in history? It's interesting, but what does that get you besides teaching history in high school where nobody gives a sh**t or being a history prof?

Historical perspective is a useful thing to have even a basic understanding of.

Edit: it's especially useful as a means of, well, dissent. That's why so many of the craft are lefties.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

teaching history in high school where nobody gives a sh**t

That's not actually true, in my experience.

[Hash]

What's the point of majoring in history? It's interesting, but what does that get you besides teaching history in high school where nobody gives a sh**t or being a history prof?

Historical perspective is a useful thing to have even a basic understanding of.

Edit: it's especially useful as a means of, well, dissent. That's why so many of the craft are lefties.

Of course, of course. But to the point of majoring in it?

If you actually want to become a history teacher, yeah it's good, but I don't want to become a history teacher.

[Paul Kemp]

As if a History undergrad degree is any more worthless than most other undergrad degrees . . .

[Link]

Winston Salem State- Good school with a low tuition but it is an all black school. I would not fit in.

I don't know what I want to do yet, either become a history teacher, get a Political Science degree, or something in TV. I also did not take the SAT in high school either which I should have done.

Winston Salem State is an HBU.  It most certainly is not ALL black.  If you are not black you may be eligible for a scholarship depending on your grades/test scores.  My only issue with HBUs is they are not representative of the work environment you will encounter upon graduation.  Its the same reason I wouldn't attended one of those Bible colleges.

[ilikeverin]

Oh, right, I just forgot that linguistics was learning a bunch of different languages.  Silly me.  I'll just drop my major, then

As you should   What is involved in a linguistics major?

Linguistics is, broadly speaking, the study of the underlying structure of languages.  We're particularly interested in finding commonalities between languages, because those commonalities might spring from whatever underlying base all (normally-functioning) humans have that makes us capable of producing and understanding language.  Though language seems utterly chaotic on the surface, linguistics tells that there is underlying order, and, being Lawful Good, that's quite appealing to me.

Of course, within linguistics, there are a variety of different approaches, as well as different topics studied.  The modern field of linguistics (as promulgated by the God of Linguistics, Noam Chomsky) started with syntax, which is, roughly speaking, the study of word order, but you don't need to study syntax to consider yourself a linguist.  I'm hoping to focus on neurolinguistics when I go to graduate school, which is the study of speech/language processing in the brain, primarily using neuroimaging techniques.  Most of my current research is focused on word segmentation, how it is that we're able to hear where one word stops in speech and the next starts even though speech doesn't have spaces (or the acoustic equivalent thereof) like written language does.

Linguistics majors in college are usually required to take a variety of courses where they learn the study of various different levels of analysis of language, from the level of small variation in sounds (phonetics) to how words combine together in sentences to create meaning (semantics).  Beyond that, it's usually good to have experience in areas related to linguistics, depending on what likes best.  For me, having a psych major is a good fit, though other linguists would be better-suited double majoring in computer science, math, or anthropology.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Ah, okay.  That sounds interesting, especially the neuro-related parts.

[ilikeverin]

Ah, okay.  That sounds interesting, especially the neuro-related parts.

Yes, the neuro parts are the best parts   Unfortunately, a lot of neuro-related people have a fairly naïve idea of what linguistics is and how language works, which helps in picking grad schools, as there's so few options   Making the decision to go towards neurolinguistics is also motivated in part by the desire for future employment.  There's absolutely no job market for linguistics majors, even within academia.  The only exceptions are the more "applied" fields related to linguistics, including neurolinguistics, where you could get faculty appointments in psychology/neuroscience-type departments as well as linguistics.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

How would the quality of education I receive differ between a more prestigious school that I could get into and a more bland state college? Is the extra cost of attending a more prestigious school worth the education in all honesty?

I'll probably just try to transfer to UChicago anyways but this would be good to know.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

How would the quality of education I receive differ between a more prestigious school that I could get into and a more bland state college? Is the extra cost of attending a more prestigious school worth the education in all honesty?

It depends on the quality of the state college.  In Virginia, only a couple of schools are probably worth not going to UVA or William and Mary, or even JMU.  In other states, like Alabama or Idaho, it probably is.  Especially if you intend to go on to grad school, and can go to a good in-state school.

It really all depends on where you live

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

How would the quality of education I receive differ between a more prestigious school that I could get into and a more bland state college? Is the extra cost of attending a more prestigious school worth the education in all honesty?

It depends on the quality of the state college.  In Virginia, only a couple of schools are probably worth not going to UVA or William and Mary, or even JMU.  In other states, like Alabama or Idaho, it probably is.  Especially if you intend to go on to grad school, and can go to a good in-state school.

It really all depends on where you live

I'm not talking about in-state, I'd rather drown myself than go to U of I.

I'm talking about a decent Midwestern state school, maybe one of the UCs or a worse ranked Canadian college. I should probably give you a list if I want good advice but I still honestly have no idea which state schools I could get into yet would still like to attend.

UW-Madison
UM-Ann Arbor
UBC
University of Minnesota (maybe)
UDub (maybe)
UC-Boulder (maybe)

I wanted to go to UCLA but I realize how futile that is so I'm not even going to bother applying.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

UW-Madison
UM-Ann Arbor
UBC
University of Minnesota (maybe)
UDub (maybe)
UC-Boulder (maybe)

I wanted to go to UCLA but I realize how futile that is so I'm not even going to bother applying.

Madison and Michigan are great schools, certainly close to some top tier institutions (which Michigan actually is).  I'm not familiar with some of the others, but those two are excellent.  Michigan really gouges people who are not from Michigan, though.

[Link]

How would the quality of education I receive differ between a more prestigious school that I could get into and a more bland state college? Is the extra cost of attending a more prestigious school worth the education in all honesty?

I'll probably just try to transfer to UChicago anyways but this would be good to know.

Some state schools are excellent.  The University of California system for example.  I think the more important thing for most people is picking the right major.  A college degree will not guarantee you a good income so I would be VERY leery of dropping six figures on a history or political science undergraduate degree.  Student loan debt is the next financial crisis for America.  When you visit a college they will sell you a truckload of dreams.  When you are done you will probably have a job paying $40K and tens of thousands of dollars in debt.