ITT academic advice

[Reincarnate]

Originally Posted by iironiic

I attend a small state university because of financial reasons, but I know I could go to a better school... If I was considering graduate school in math, what do I need to do?

I know you should take either French, German, or Russian for your foreign language requirement, so i'm doing that now. And I am trying to take as many math classes as possible trying to earn the best grades I can. Does the fact that I attend this unknown but somewhat prestigious (not as prestigious as well known universities) school will hurt my chances of me considering a private school for graduate studies in math (or economics)?

I'm also considering applying for an REU this winter and trying to score well on the Putnam Exam this weekend :/

No, it doesn't decrease your chances -- but you need better grades if you're aiming for better schools. The easier your school, the better your grades need to be. But the school you attend won't be held against you. Admissions are usually done within context.

[OneHandNow]

@Izzy: Well, college =/= high school, and from what I've seen it really depends on the competition..

So having B's in college isn't that bad - schools have GPA inflation, some schools have intense competition.. it really boils down to context.

For example, UC Berkeley has intense competition.. and most classes either run out of space, and when you DO get in, only a very minor percentage of the student body manage As. It's unusual to see 3.5+s in UC Berkeley.. (thanks to bell curves and midterms with an average score of 35%)

@Dossar: unless your teachers are completely ****faced and/or whack, if you try, you WILL get good grades - guaranteed. Most of school is white & black, meaning courses except literature / arts have guaranteed rewards if you study. (I'm excluding English / Arts courses because your grade is at the mercy of your teacher.)

So Dossar, whenever you tell others that your grades are out of whack no matter how hard you try, just remember that you only have yourself to blame - unless these out of whack grades were caused by unfair grading by teachers on subjects like English & Arts & Drama, etc etc.

[Rubin0]

I've learned to be a lot more charismatic in class. If the professor thinks you can express yourself well, then he/she will begin to expect you to perform well on assignments on tests, and might even get better grades as a result. It's human psychology.

I learned this my last two years of college and I've been pulling a 3.8ish GPA average since in comparison to my 3.2 average before. Before I was basically doing about the same amount of work, but never really went out of my way to express my opinions in class and didn't really seem to care half as much. Attendance is also important. Even if you don't go over the attendance limit, if you are absent and never even bother to tell the professor why, he/she might put that into consideration when giving you your final grade. I ALWAYS email my professor to let him/her know why I won't be in class...even if it's some lame brain excuse. It shows you care, even if you don't.

[Reincarnate]

Originally Posted by DossarLX ODI

By the way, in case my post was a bit unclear, I meant that some of the grades I get are ridiculously out of whack even when I try.

So uh, yeah, makes me laugh at the ones who are like "I didn't try DERP". What would you have gotten if you "tried"?

It depends on how you direct your efforts. If you're "trying" but not "trying" in the areas that matter with respect to a particular class, you won't be doing yourself any favors. It's always a good idea to understand how the teacher teaches, how tests are conducted, how the syllabus is arranged and how things are graded, how to effectively take notes and study, etc. It all depends on the class.

And if there's a particular subject you just hardcore suck at, then consider looking to the Internet for extra help (all sorts of concepts are taught with a variety of approaches and details), or get a tutor, or take additional classes at a local CC for residual credit. Or just hang around smart friends who can help you understand stuff better.

[DossarLX ODI]

Exactly, it's subjectivemanias (although I am doing good - but Izzy's post about the college thing made a lot of sense since guys on DF also mentioned grades that were seriously off).

Example:

AP Lite - A
Math 2 (broad topic, upper level next to AP Calc) - A
Physics - A
Music History and Appreciation - A
20th Century History Topic - A
Biology - F

[Reincarnate]

Originally Posted by Izzy

I always seem to get B's in college now though. I don't understand why I can't get an A no matter what. I do somewhat poorly on one assignment and it drops me to a B and I can never get it back up.




I see what you are saying, but that seems a little to in depth. I'm assuming the reason to let a species go extinct is so that it causes another species to live. Still the same general idea of saving species one way or another.

1. B's in college aren't bad, especially if you're at a tougher school. A 3.3 from Berkeley or Cornell or Duke is going to be looked at much differently than a 3.3 from Randomass State U.

2. If a species is going extinct, it's because it's not fit to survive in the environment despite the biodiversity that got it there to begin with. But we may want to let a particular species go extinct or not depending on how it would affect other species or other functions of the environment -- which, in many ways, does directly affect humans.

[Wineandbread]

I support Reincarnate's modified points pretty much 100%.

Just some things on my part for high school, cause I'm not coul enough to give college/grad advice yet:

- Make connections, even in high school. This is something I skimped a little on but they are nice to have, both at the student and faculty level (I know a kid who consults with his high school teacher sometimes for his programming homework in college LoL). You don't have to try to hang out with smart/driven people if you feel uncomfortable around them; I know for me at least I had an alternate social sphere with people whose interests were more similar to mine.

- Do the god damn homework. This is like one thing that plagued my school and I don't even get why. Homework is like super easy points in HS and it's really not a big deal, even in AP courses. Saved some of my borderline B grades and gives you a nice buffer for the stuff that matters. This may kinda fluctuate between teachers considerably but honestly, it will not EVER get that bad unless you're attending a school from hell (feel free to correct me, I felt like I had average-ish coursework throughout high school)

- Am I going to tell you not to procrastinate? Maybe. Is it going to work? Of course not. Personally I think it is fine to procrastinate, just not extremely so. By extreme, I mainly mean just missing due dates. Getting up and skipping breakfast to finish homework every once in a while isn't an amazing experience but hey.

[Izzy]

Originally Posted by Reincarnate

1. B's in college aren't bad, especially if you're at a tougher school. A 3.3 from Berkeley or Cornell or Duke is going to be looked at much differently than a 3.3 from Randomass State U.

2. If a species is going extinct, it's because it's not fit to survive in the environment despite the biodiversity that got it there to begin with. But we may want to let a particular species go extinct or not depending on how it would affect other species or other functions of the environment -- which, in many ways, does directly affect humans.

I am at a generic state college. There is nothing over the top or super competitive about it.

Also, my speech already encomposes the premise that the species I am talking about are going extinct due to human involvement. Whether or not to save animals that are going extinct from natural selection is a whole different story. However it seems hard to believe that there are still animals that haven't been directly effected by human involvement anymore.

When I was thinking about the topic before I started the natural selection thing kind of reminded me of the prime directive in star trek. It is always more harmful in the long run to interfere with the natural progression of a race. This seemed counter productive to my point though.

[trumaestro]

this thread is making me realize how happy i am with mediocrity lol

[Sweet_Feet]

Originally Posted by OneHandNow

twitwaffle cumeater

had to look that up in the oxford english dictionary, very cool expression IMO, gonna start using it more often

As far as academic advice goes, you should focus on putting in the least amount of effort in your first and some second year courses. Nobody is going to look at those grades so why waste your time and effort studying when you can be doing drugs and making awesome friends right? The social aspect of college/university is by far the most important because even if you happen to become a bum you'll still have those dudes that asked you if things were cool while you hurled your guts out that night.

In the end, take 3rd and 4th year seriously, for now just try to keep a B- in your major subject and maintain 50% in your electives and you'll be just like all the other successful men who graduated with a degree.

[OneHandNow]

anyone taking dec sat?

random piece of advice if you are, use brave new world and east of eden in your essays

nets you 12 every single time

[OneHandNow]

maturity stage: forever 21

[virus003]

Originally Posted by OneHandNow

naw dud im just an asian dude with an ubermensch mentality

who's smarter


ohn>rubix ?_?

[OneHandNow]

Originally Posted by virus003

who's smarter


ohn>rubix ?_?

rubix makes $160k/yr while spending his life on ffrz

rubix>us

?_?

[virus003]

Originally Posted by OneHandNow

rubix makes $160k/yr while spending his life on ffrz

rubix>us

?_?

wtf does he do for a living

[OneHandNow]

Originally Posted by virus003

wtf does he do for a living

ask him

[Izzy]

I wish I was smarter or at least more motivated to try harder. If my father didn't make a ton of money from going to medical school for 14 years and becoming a radiologist I would be so screwed in life right now.

But maybe if I had less opportunity due to financial backing I would have had more motivation to try harder. Who knows.

Either way, I love my parents.

[virus003]

Originally Posted by OneHandNow

ask him

he thinks im a ****** so you ask him

[OneHandNow]

i just realized this thread would be 5 pages longer with rubix

Originally Posted by virus003

he thinks im a ****** so you ask him

oh he's damn right

jk i'll facebook message him or some ****?

all i know is he graduated wharton 09 and did the finance/statistics/operations and information management concentrations and lives in NYC now

[virus003]

Originally Posted by OneHandNow

i just realized this thread would be 5 pages longer with rubix



oh he's damn right

jk i'll facebook message him or some ****?

all i know is he graduated wharton 09 and did the finance/statistics/operations and information management concentrations and lives in NYC now

he probably just invested in stocks