Fingernail on 29/12/2006 at 10:30
I decided after leaving school that if I wanted a purely academic degree then it could wait, but if I wanted to have a go at being a classical musician for a living then the time was NOW to seize the opportunities I was getting.
So I'm all vocational (well, partly/mostly) at the Royal Academy of Music in London. I wanted to study in London anyway, because it's awesome (expense be damned!). Anyway my course is 4 years long and I do get a Bachelor degree at the end from the University of London (BMus).
But more importantly, I get to do what I really want to do, and am surrounded by people of the same outlook, and get the best teaching available, in a very personal manner.
SubJeff on 29/12/2006 at 11:18
Yes, but do you partay in London? Musak crew reprasent?
Fascist on 30/12/2006 at 01:10
When i left school i spent 4 years as an apprentice at an electrical firm, then i quit and went to college. Great desicion because it means a) i've already got work experience, b) i've got money saved up and c) i can drive.
Renegen on 31/12/2006 at 21:24
University is a unique time, you can technically pay for everything by taking loans. Tell me another period in your life when you'll be given loans to live and pursue your dreams and only asked to pay them back later. When you're out of school it's work work work, not much time for hobbies and the like. University, and that really depends on you, lets you do things you like.
My view is that you will never have 4 other years where you will be able to learn so much and acquire so much knowledge as during university. Sure go party, but not many in 4th year do that anymore, rather use your time for what you find interesting. You want to become a game designer, a painter, a director, a CEO, an entrepreneur, you will never be able to pursue those passions for such a large share of your time again in your life.
Aerothorn on 1/1/2007 at 02:59
Is most of TTLG from the UK, or just in this topic?
As far as pessimism about my first year, I'm just going with that so I don't get my hopes up - if it's great, then that's great, if not, I'll hopefully be able to ride it out till it gets better.
Shayde on 1/1/2007 at 19:59
Congrats!
I went straight from Matric to University, unlike 90% of others who go bum around the UK for a few years.
I studied Journalism and Politics at a University 1000 km's away from home where I knew no one. I am pretty sociable so I had no trouble making friends but I did feel huge pressure to do well and prove that I could cope on my own. At first I hardly ever went out, went over my lecture notes twice every evening, read all the additional readings etc
That got old after a while so I went the other way. Drank a lot, smoked a LOT of weed. Went out every night. I calmed down after a year or so of that and found a nice balance between the 2 lifestyles.
I got my degree and got a job a week after I graduated. Not bad in a country with 40% unemployment.
It can be shit, just try to keep a balance between study and social. Both are important. Also go out to as many parties and events in the beginning as possible, you won't meet people sitting in your dorm room re-reading your lecture notes. ;)
Good luck.
pavlovscat on 2/1/2007 at 00:33
Don't go my route! I left high school after my junior year for early admissions in college. I wanted to go away but the folks said no because I was only 17. I proceeded to fail out of the honors program at the local public university. It's more fun when you don't bother to go to class, but it's hard to pass tests that way.
I discovered beer, darts, beer, sex, beer, Gauntlet, shots & more beer. I had a brilliant future that I just pissed away. It took me 3 whole semesters to get suspended for a year & I never went back. In New Orleans, the drinking age was still 18, but I was only 17. The age changed that year, so I missed being grandfathered in by a couple months. That never stopped me from going to bars, though. N.O. was a party town and drugs & alcohol were SO easy to get.
I started working around my busy social schedule. If I spent half the time I spent dancing & drinking on studying, I'd have a PhD by now. I spent some time doing the usual BS jobs, cashiering & so forth. I finally found something I liked when I started working for Kinko's. I stayed there until I got promoted to management. After a year, I was always tired & always working. Hubby gave me the choice - divorce him or the job. I kept him & he got me a job at his company. I took a 50% pay cut, and two months later, I was diagnosed with MS which explained a lot of my exhaustion problems. I stayed at that dead boring job because I could work 4 days but keep my full-time status with benefits.
In the end, I look back and see that had anything happened differently, I wouldn't have met my husband back at university. So, it's not all bad. I do regret not getting a degree, but my mom went back to get her PhD at 47, so it's never too late, right? Stick with it now. You'll find your place.
TheGreatGodPan on 2/1/2007 at 23:16
Quote Posted by pavlovscat
In the end, I look back and see that had anything happened differently, I wouldn't have met my husband back at university. So, it's not all bad. I do regret not getting a degree, but my mom went back to get her PhD at 47, so it's never too late, right? Stick with it now. You'll find your place.
Perhaps you would have met someone exactly the same, except better. Watch out for (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choice-supportive_bias) choice supportive bias and (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endowment_effect) endowment effect.
Yeah, I know that's a dickish thing to say.
Renegen on 3/1/2007 at 03:49
Um marriage. Yeah I'm sure she's thinking "I'm so happy I made the probabilities of finding someone with my likes and dislikes and with a predisposition to date while I was in college, it was all worth it I guess"
OnionBob on 3/1/2007 at 11:48
Quote Posted by TheGreatGodPan
Yeah, I know that's a dickish thing to say.
stop posting
