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haha no i do agree with you maybe its because i'm young but life is about experiences and the relationships you make with other people. dont want to spend the rest of my life in the midwest or in IL for that matter. i know those will always be my roots and i can always go back to my roots its not something i will forget but experiencing something new is what its all about for me. most college kids are broke anyways, doesnt matter to me as long as youre surrounded by good people.
I'd recommend going to the best college that you can possibly get into. I'm not sure if U of H is really that college for you.
In today's competitive work environment, you're going to want to have the best education / background possible. Work hard during these formative years -- it'll pay off in multiples.
Hawaii is always here for you after you are done your studies.
Just an opinion,
-V
I'm going to respectfully disagree.
Nine times out of ten, it doesn't matter in the least where you go to get your undergrad. Now, there are exceptions: there are the schools that open doors simply by virtue of their name (Harvard, Oxford, Stanford, etc) and there are particular programs out there that are so well-known that it'll help differentiate you when applying to graduate schools (University of Iowa's writing program was the first thing that came to mind).
But for an average person in an average field, it really doesn't matter where you get your bachelor's degree, just so long as you get it. Prestigious programs and professors become much more important when you're applying for grad school, but unless you went to one of those magic door-opening schools, they don't care a whole lot about where you went to school, just that you went and you got decent grades.
You should definitely choose your undergrad school based on "feel" rather than a by-the-books examination of how good their program is. How is the campus? Will you enjoy yourself for four or five years living there (that's a pretty huge chunk of time when you're only 18)? Do you have any friends there? Can you be happy there?
I've seen so many people choose a school for all the wrong reasons (sometimes the school lured them in with tons of credit hours, or perhaps they weren't ready to be away from family) and just totally hate it there.
Great advice, all. Perhaps, in a wider context, consider these ideas: will your degree be in an art/science/skill specialty that you would do whether you are paid for it or not? If you do what you love, you'll never "work" another day in your life. It's important to be competent, (knowing/growing in your craft), but it is essential to know others who will be synergistic with you; who is in your cohort/tribe/professional group? Are you sharing ideas & helping one another, or trapped in office politicking and competition for power/prestige/tenure? Are the intrinsic values based on money/materialism or on empowerment and higher values? Aloha.
Nine times out of ten, it doesn't matter in the least where you go to get your undergrad. Now, there are exceptions: there are the schools that open doors simply by virtue of their name (Harvard, Oxford, Stanford, etc) and there are particular programs out there that are so well-known that it'll help differentiate you when applying to graduate schools (University of Iowa's writing program was the first thing that came to mind).
But for an average person in an average field, it really doesn't matter where you get your bachelor's degree, just so long as you get it. Prestigious programs and professors become much more important when you're applying for grad school, but unless you went to one of those magic door-opening schools, they don't care a whole lot about where you went to school, just that you went and you got decent grades.
You should definitely choose your undergrad school based on "feel" rather than a by-the-books examination of how good their program is. How is the campus? Will you enjoy yourself for four or five years living there (that's a pretty huge chunk of time when you're only 18)? Do you have any friends there? Can you be happy there?
I've seen so many people choose a school for all the wrong reasons (sometimes the school lured them in with tons of credit hours, or perhaps they weren't ready to be away from family) and just totally hate it there.
Well I've served on admission committees for med school, and it actually does matter where someone went to college. It's just too hard to sift through thousands of applicants with identical GPAs, etc.
But I guess if one is looking to be average...then going to any run-of-the mill college is fine. Hell, you don't even need to go to college to be successful... but you better be darn entrepreneurial and savvy.
Look...I really don't care where the original poster goes to college. I just think you shouldn't discredit the value of going to a stellar university...and not just attending a university because the weather is nice.
This kid has barely had any life experiences (sorry... one week in Waikiki doesn't count). I'm sure he would have just as good an experience in some other outside-Chicago location.
Just being out from under the parents' roof will be life-changing in of itself!
I vote for school in Montreal...or Rio de Janeiro... those are great places if you want some culture while you're studying
Well I've served on admission committees for med school, and it actually does matter where someone went to college. It's just too hard to sift through thousands of applicants with identical GPAs, etc.
I don't think anybody's disputing the snob appeal of an Ivy League B.A. for admissions potential to an equally prestigious graduate school. If that's what you want for yourself, go for it. If you want to be a nurse, you have other choices available to you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vicious
But I guess if one is looking to be average...then going to any run-of-the mill college is fine.
Don't be ridiculous. Not everyone can or should go to Harvard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vicious
...and not just attending a university because the weather is nice.
Climate is as good a reason to include in your choices as any. Just as long as it isn't the only reason.
Over half of kids who go to college end up transferring somewhere else anyway, for all kinds of reasons. Our original poster will have that option, too, if UH Manoa no longer fits her educational needs and career goals.
There are many reasons why i want to attend UH manoa and live in hawaii and not only becuase of the weather. i'm not that stupid to base that my only reason. i want to go for more of an experience and i think in the long run itll make me a more independent person and learn things that i couldnt learn back on the mainland or in chicago for that matter. the lifestyle of hawaii seems to fit my personality well. i realize that if i did end up going to hawaii that itd be a lot of sacrifice and i understand that the best that i can but i do appericate all the advice, thanks.
Oooh boy. I didnt know you were going into the medical profession. If you can pay for or can get a scholarship to University of Chicago, thats going to influence whatever other opinions I give you here, because U of C is a medical deity! People pray to it. I know I do. I had a medical problem plaguing me for years, no doc could figure it out. Finally got sent to the university, they had it pegged it TWO days.
JP711, make sure that you are not just accepting the advice from those who are agreeing with you, but also seriously think about what the others are saying. You may finally decide to go to Hawaii and if you only prepare for the good, you will end up like so many others when something they ignored comes up. If you accept the red flags being waved, you can plan what to do IF it happens, but if you dont listen to anything you dont want to hear, if they happen, you will find yourself unprepared.
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