nick@aluxe.UUCP (N. J. Molloy, AT&T Bell Labs) (01/15/85)
> I am to give a talk, titled COLLEGE LIFE, to local > high school students as part of the National Engineer's Week > activities here at work (AT&T Bell Laboratories/ Reading, PA). > Because it has been two years since I was a college student > and 3 years since I was an undergrad, I am asking net.college > readers for help. > Please send me a paragraph or two (or just some words) > describing your interpretation/perception of college life. > Anyone associated with college...college/life is welcome to > respond. I would appreciate it if name, age, and college/ > association were included, but it is not necessary. > College folks - ask your friends who do not have access > to the net for their comments. It sounds like a great way to > me et new people in your dorm or classes (any RA's listening). > I will summarize and post the responses. Many thanks > in advance. > HAPPY HOLIDAYS > Nick Molloy > AT&T Bell Laboratories > Reading, PA > Tel. (215) 929-6090 As promised here are the responses (anonymous) I received. Thank you to all who responded. Nick. mhuxr!aluxe!nick P.S. I will gladly welcome any new responses to the same questions. --------------------------------------- Subject: Re: College Life: A Survey College is like a big pizza with all the ingredients. University of Southwestern Louisiana Lafayette, LA --------------------------------------- Subject: Re: College Life: A Survey Hi! I am 21, a senior, and a government major at Smith College. College is a blast, a lot of work, full of doubts, and one of the hardest experiences you'll ever have. It is meant to be all of these things. Be prepared to learn, be open-minded, and to take advantage of obvious and unobvious opportunities. Learn from everyone around you. Try everything once. I hate college and love it at the same time. It challenges and bores me at the same time. It has been a learning experience and a holding pat- tern. This is because it is an obstacle between you and what you really want to do, but you have to do it in order to figure out what it is that you really want to do. --------------------------------------- Organization: U.C. San Diego, Academic Computer Center College is a ritual. The learning process is not well "implemented" in colleges yet. Many of my classes have over 100 people in them (this includes upper division and graduate courses). I have attended a variety of schools (Arizona State, UC Berkeley, Harvard, and UC San Diego) and have problems and complaints about each. However, the most valuable school related thought that I have to pass along is the notion of taking a year or two off before attending college. I spent a year as a car salesman in the San Francisco Bay area and I LEARNED a lot. I learned about my goals and values so I am more effective in schools. Each and every school would be better for having better quality students (like those that are found in the evening courses). School is not fun. You have no money. You have a never-ending workload. And the reward at the end is a piece of paper. Why am I here?? --------------------------------------- College life: inadequate preparation for the world. A ton of peer and professorial pressure to try to destroy everything that your parents tried to do right for 18 years. Learn to COMMUNICATE with your parents (they are textbooks of experience). Get to know them very well, because 99% of the people at a typical college don't have your best interest at heart. "I'm not cynical - just experienced" --------------------------------------- College life is only what you make it. I think the idea of college life is to experience as much as you possibly can. Coming from high school, most students haven't experienced much of this vast world. My advice would not be to settle down quickly into one narrow field of study but to take classes from completely different disciplines, meet people who share a differing perspectives on the world. good luck. --------------------------------------- THE END