My college acceptance(s)

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cantab
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Re: My college acceptance(s)

Post by cantab » Tue Nov 25, 2008 12:24 am

That's...crazy. And to think it's what our government aspires for us to be like...well hopefully they'll get voted out, hopefully the recession will be what does for Labour as it did for the Republicans.
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Specter
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Re: My college acceptance(s)

Post by Specter » Tue Nov 25, 2008 3:57 am

Actually Silent, its not full scholarship(its just called a Presidential Scholarship). the tuition is $45,595 for Engineering students.

Sorry for not mentioning that in the original update. It also seems I forgot to mention I have to maintain a 2.75 GPA

I also submitted part 1 of the UDel application today, not knowing what the application fee was. (they don't tell it anywhere on their site as far as I know) The fee is $70.00 so I'm thinking of not submitting the rest and letting them toss my application. That's a steep fee, and if I don't plan on going there, then whats the point?
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DX
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Re: My college acceptance(s)

Post by DX » Tue Nov 25, 2008 4:46 am

£10000 a year...and that's just on tuition...ouch. I'm glad I'm not American.
The Connecticut College comprehensive fee [tuition, room, board, etc. are lumped together] currently is $49,385 per year, ranking as the 5th most expensive college in the United States. It's a huge expense compared to the rest of the nation, but right in line with the rest of NESCAC. Small, private, New England liberal arts schools tend to be wicked expensive, don't ask why.

Non-city campuses in the US tend to feature clusters of residence halls, academic buildings, athletic facilities, etc. in some sort of coherent manner. Aka a campus is rarely broken up by major roads and almost never contains neighborhoods or shops; those are often around the edge of the campus instead. There may be more sidewalks and greens than roads within the campus itself. The surrounding town is often very much independent or there may be no town nearby at all.

Example of a stand-alone campus: http://www.conncoll.edu/offices/envheal ... ollege.jpg

@Specter: Nice scholarship! I didn't get much other than a memorial track scholarship for $1,500. Currently a bit scared by the credit crunch, really hope lenders don't stop lending to college students. I'm on *a lot* of financial aid, not sure what I would have to do if that dried up.

Interesting to see what kind of questions were asked for your essays. Conn didn't specify a topic; it was completely open-ended. Writing with no frame had its benefits and troubles. Nice due to being unshackled, difficult because latching onto a unique idea and letting it ride isn't exactly a cakewalk. I had some interesting things I could have tapped into [post-ethnicity or my severely handicapped sister], but decided they were too cliche. Instead, I related my life as a map and plotted major interests as objects along the way to some unknown destination. It was abstract and specific at the same time. Probably could have been better written as they all could be, but who knows. A college essay is a college essay only - there are more important aspects of the process.

Although, not all of the important aspects should rightly be important. Like some others have expressed, I feel that some colleges' obsessions with so-called "diversity" are misplaced. That 2nd essay question posted from UDelaware is downright offensive when you realize that not everyone actually has an ethnic heritage. It is fully possible to have it stripped before a sense of heritage even has time to develop. So then you can get a "minority" tag that has no meaning beyond physical appearance and you can catch our institutions of higher learning, pillars of society, still clinging to stone age beliefs without realizing that they are.

I cannot ever know to what extent race played a factor in getting into Conn...but it seems that if a race card was played, they played it for me. I handed them an application that never once mentioned superficial identities. After all, "post-ethnic" isn't even a dictionary word. Admissions never knew I wasn't white until the interview. I'm inherently against the assumptions that affirmative action makes. However, I don't touch debates about it either since many wrong assumptions about the nature of minority come out and it gets awkward really fast.

Basically, I feel that colleges should seek personal diversity as opposed to ethnic. If ethnic heritage has a strong place in your life, then it makes you more personally diverse. But if it isn't, it should not be rammed down your throat. You still carry various traits, interests, experience, and memories that define you as a unique person worthy of consideration anywhere that your academic skills qualify. There are those whom are naturally disadvantaged and would shine with better education, but as Silence stated, that needs to start earlier than college. Admittedly there are areas that are not fixable and won't be perhaps for centuries, I've seen such and the people there have no hope and no fire. It requires inner fire to take the initiative and take control of your own destiny. Socio-economics do not matter if you have a vision and a plan and act to break out of your present situation. Then again, for whatever reasons, most people simply never escape. They keep looking for help, looking up at the sky or at Capitol Hill, when all this time they themselves are the trigger.
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Silence
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Re: My college acceptance(s)

Post by Silence » Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:05 am

cantab, we also have the philosophy that everybody needs a college education. Am I against learning? No. But you can't make reluctant students do extra work that's irrelevant to their jobs. Anyway, tuition has probably increased by 50% in the past five years at many universities, my home town one included. So much for cheap in-state education.

Specter, I'm sorry you didn't get a full scholarship after all. I've actually heard full scholarships at some universities called Presidential, and the name would definitely be fitting. But oh well.

DX, for my two or three out-of-the-box applications, I think I'll just pull out some humorous essays I've written before and repurpose them. I like your explanation of these essays...makes me want to just do it.

Interestingly, if you'd mentioned your ethnicity on your application, that could have hurt your chances of admission. And yeah, your case is a pretty striking example of the blindness of affirmative action most of the time.

Anyway, nice to see you back, and on your birthday too (although it's only 12:05 am). And hopefully the world won't end if you change your sig, although I might have to do a tad less scrolling. :p

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DX
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Re: My college acceptance(s)

Post by DX » Tue Nov 25, 2008 8:14 am

The essay really is not a big deal. Of course all the guide books and websites say that, but I went through that process and it really was not difficult once I threw aside the notion that it had to be ivy league, life-changing reading material. Basically just sit down and bang it out. Start with a list of main ideas and bridge them together sentence by sentence. The thing will write itself. Depending on the school, they do not have to be long, I believe my max limit was 500 words, like half a page. I actually found mine and could post it, but I might be embarrassed lol. Also consider the weight the college gives to the essay. Some weigh it very little, others treat it seriously.

Mentioning ethnicity would not have hurt my app, it would have helped if anything, but I wanted to stand on my academic record first. If you are an affirmative action school and you know a applicant is say, Asian, it may affect your judgment on their qualifications. If you do not know their race at all, that will level the playing field for everyone. I chose to be reviewed race-blind for as long as possible, as checking that "Asian" box in my case would technically be lying. It is a state of ethnic limbo that took my entire junior and senior years in high school and freshman year in college to really understand.

It's probably a rare situation, but ever since the spring, I've increasingly seen post-ethnic awareness as part of my life mission. Diversity is actually a major contributor to racism; to spread diversity is to spread racism. Of course unintentionally, but it is an effect that ~799/800 Americans don't see. They don't see that promoting ethnic difference cements ethnic division.

^ This is also why everyone should get a college education. Had I stopped after high school I would not be the ultra-informed person I have shaped myself into now. If anything, it has made the dreaded book posts worse :p

Thanks! Lol 20. I can't believe that I was 14 when I entered the online water gun community. What happened to time? Two decades old...I certainly don't look or feel like 20...
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Specter
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Re: My college acceptance(s)

Post by Specter » Tue Nov 25, 2008 8:30 pm

Those were some nice long informative posts lol.
So yeah, I'm 90-95% sure I'm going to Widener. I also went in to my guidance counselor to tell her about my scholarships and that I wasn't thrilled with the Rutgers campus and that I'm no longer finishing my UDel app.

I'm also going to be turning 18 on saturday :)
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Silence
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Re: My college acceptance(s)

Post by Silence » Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:38 pm

Dammit, lost my post. Apparently [Ctrl]+[click] doesn't work for JavaScript links.

I don't write very good creative/open-ended essays, so I get angry when there aren't any options for technical essays. Some of these schools have strong engineering and science departments, too, so it's not like they're just liberal arts. Fortunately, though, MIT's optional essay was really good for me. Whatever.

I was under the impression that Asians are discriminated against during admissions. Many (but not all) Asian immigrants tend to come here for university education, which makes them more affluent as a demographic, but even that reveals the flatness of the system in determining disadvantage. I guess you're more qualified to analyze the system, though, so I'll take your word for it. And kudos for taking the high road on your applications.

I would not say diversity breeds racism. In heterogeneous populations, racists may encounter more people to discriminate against, but diversity itself rarely makes people racist. In homogeneous populations, there are plenty of racists who just don't get a chance to show it. Racism is ultimately caused by fear, especially when people only encounter stereotypes and not real people. You can't stop racial profiling, because literally everybody does it as an aid to survival, but you can stop uninformed, naïve, and premature profiling.

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DX
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Re: My college acceptance(s)

Post by DX » Mon Dec 01, 2008 8:35 am

I guess it depends on the school and the region. NESCAC schools crave minorities, as probably do others in New England. Conn students actually staged a sit-in at Fanning Hall several decades ago in protest of the lack of diversity at that time. The Asian demographic is also multi-layered. There's a first-wave group - the immigrants and those seeking just education, then the citizens - long term residents and/or were born here, and then the adoptees - usually citizens and either multi-ethnic or post/non-ethnic.
Racism is ultimately caused by fear, especially when people only encounter stereotypes and not real people
I have written much more on the topic in private, but not many have read since the content is of a sensitive nature to some. Diversity increasing racism likely depends on the area, in addition to which minority within a minority is affected. An Asian adoptee can be stereotyped both by Whites AND by other layers within the demographic. Therefore, adoptees are more strongly affected when multiple races are present.

The regional difference is that areas with large Asian populations tend to have dual cultures, whereas areas with tiny Asian populations tend to have just the majority culture. In Ridgewood, most Asians formed a solid bloc that would not associate with others, live with others, or share any part of the usual American culture. Compare that to Duxbury, where the few minorities tended to blend and were no different than anyone else. Racism is indeed caused by fear, but is more tied to culture than looks. If all share the same culture, there is no base for the fear. You'd know that while a person looks different, they are otherwise just like you. This is the typical case in small-town New England, versus the cities where race relations are often strained.

I am not saying that exposure to other cultures is a bad thing. It widens one's view and experience of the world. However, people should not just assume that because someone was born in, say, South Korea, that they are culturally South Korean. The emphasis on and celebration of diversity promotes the linking of appearance to culture when appearance needs to be severed from culture. One can't be trying to reduce racism while also promoting cultural differences? It just doesn't make sense, the way cutting taxes while fighting a war doesn't make sense. Cultural differences become ingrained in minds, then are naturally applied to various people on sight.

It also goes deeper than cultural differences, this hits our understanding of the idea of "culture". People just don't grasp the concept that one's birth culture may no longer or may never have held a meaning or place in their life. I've done research; even the post-ethnic writers don't get it. Post-ethnicity gets equated with meta-ethnicity, which should be flat-out wrong. I have my own term, non-ethnicity, but it is so unheard of that I cannot even use scholarly sources to explain what it is supposed to mean.

So basically, an adoptee may see diversity itself as racist because they may simply lack ethnicity altogether. Everyone else assumes a link between appearance and ethnic background, hence you end up with not "I'm offended at a racial slur because I'm of that race" but "I'm offended at a racial slur because I look like that race, but actually have nothing to with it". Prejudice against a non-ethnic person is both empty and loaded at the same time. The dynamics between diversity and racism are seen by an adoptee in ways that are not by true members of a minority group. Therefore, prejudice is a much stronger force to said person, and they are hit from both the birth culture and the one which they presently attach to. Since diversity itself becomes a source of pain, said type of person only feels comfortable in a monoculture stripped of as much diversity as possible.

This is why said person values personal diversity more, the traits that one has control over. Only with a societal emphasis on personal diversity can a non-ethnic live in an ethnic world.
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cantab
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Re: My college acceptance(s)

Post by cantab » Mon Dec 01, 2008 8:45 am

DX wrote:cutting taxes while fighting a war doesn't make sense.
That makes perfect sense. Wars are unpopular. Taxes are unpopular. So as a politician, to be more popular and stand a hope of re-election, either stop the war or cut the taxes.
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Silence
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Re: My college acceptance(s)

Post by Silence » Mon Dec 01, 2008 10:46 pm

That's a lot to digest. :cool:
Duxburian wrote:The regional difference is that areas with large Asian populations tend to have dual cultures
Yep, I buy that. And now that I think about it, it's the same story in my city. Whites and blacks form the largest demographics (by far)...the few Latinos, South Asians, and East Asians haven't walled themselves in. Sadly, I don't know that there is a way to rapidly change cultural/group mentality, but society is slowly progressing.
Duxburian wrote:People just don't grasp the concept that one's birth culture may no longer or may never have held a meaning or place in their life.
That's because the vast majority of people have the same ethnicity and culture. Once again, I agree people may not do the right things, but it's difficult to change our beliefs about ethnicity.

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Specter
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Re: My college acceptance(s)

Post by Specter » Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:18 am

Well, I got my semi-custom Widener hoodie sweatshirt today. Ordered a medium, but should have gotten a small. I'm washing it in hot water to see if it will shrink a bit. I also got a t-shirt. they're really nice except for the fact that the screen print on the sweatshirt isn't perfectly straight. I would exchange it but there is a 25% restocking fee for items.
My "arsenal": Customizable APH, Storm 600 pistol (still haven't finished fixing this), launcher- Model:AB1.0(Decommissioned), AB1.5, soon AB 1.1(2"rebuild) maybe ill get something else in the future
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cantab
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Re: My college acceptance(s)

Post by cantab » Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:38 am

Stash? Already? You're keen.

I have a T-shirt with my college crest, a sedgwick club t-shirt and hoodie (different designs). I did have an assassins T but misplaced that. Should have a wireless society fleece but maybe lost that too :-@

I want one of these: http://www.godfrey.co.uk/clubproductvie ... &Submit=Go
I work on Windows. My toolbox is Linux.
Arsenal:
Super Soaker: XP215, 2xXP220, Liquidator, Aquashock Secret Strike M(odded), Arctic Blast M, CPS1200, CPS2100, SC Power Pak, 3l aquapack, 1.5l aquapack
Water Warriors: Jet, Sting Ray M, Shark, Argon M, Tiger Shark, PulseMaster
Others: Waterbolt, The Blaster, Storm 500, Shield Blaster 2000, generic PR gun, generic backpack piston pumper (broken), 3l garden sprayer M, 10l water carrier:

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Specter
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Re: My college acceptance(s)

Post by Specter » Tue Dec 02, 2008 3:31 am

heres my swag (took the pics with my new cell phone):
tshirt: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1 ... =778834301
hoodie (wide): http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1 ... =778834301
hoodie (tall): http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1 ... =778834301

I picked the logos I wanted on the clothing. I also got to pick other logos/text, like under I selected Mechanical Engineering. As I said the printing isn't perfectly straight but i have to live with it because of the stupid restock fee. Washing it in the hot water did help a bit. it does fit a bit better than when I first opened the mail package.
My "arsenal": Customizable APH, Storm 600 pistol (still haven't finished fixing this), launcher- Model:AB1.0(Decommissioned), AB1.5, soon AB 1.1(2"rebuild) maybe ill get something else in the future
My site Image My website/forum is back up and running, for the most part after it having been deleted in october

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Silence
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Re: My college acceptance(s)

Post by Silence » Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:50 am

Got into Illinois with a beefy merit scholarship (which I never applied for). I'll blame it on their high admit rate and low out-of-state student rate, though...

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SSCBen
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Re: My college acceptance(s)

Post by SSCBen » Wed Dec 31, 2008 4:26 am

Most schools I applied to gave me at least some scholarship, some larger than others. The out of state and private schools definitely seemed to give more, especially after hearing about it from others. Factoring in tuition, the price was often comparable to in-state public schools. I'm nearly convinced half of the cost is "waived" rather than paid for with a scholarship and the only people who actually pay in full are the rich with kids who are smart but not smart enough to get any money.

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