What is the best way to raise money for school?
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To go to the cheapest university in the state I had to get 2 federal loans as well as a large private one. And even that was cutting it close. My parent's aren't particularly poor... but the way the company my dad works for files their taxes it makes it look like my dad makes a lot more then he really does, and some how it's legal ( I don't know the specifics). Because of this we didn't get the kind of loan that we should have. And because of this I'm attending some dirt-tier Liberal Art's University. For a while it wasn't that bad, for the most part I liked the staff. I thought "Hey, when I'm done getting my bachelors I'll be able to afford going for my masters, and they don't have that at my school so I'll have to go elsewhere." That was all great, but today they said something that I just can't reasonably stay in their program after.
Starting this fall they are completely rewriting the curriculum. Their explanation was "these changes will make their students more employable" or something like that, it had a lot of corporate BS among the actual statement. But he also said at one point that only 6 students are graduating this semester from the CSC program. I looked into the changes, and what it is doing is making this an easy major. Every step of the way has been dumb-ed down so that anyone (almost) can get by, so that more people will graduate.
And because of all this I want to go elsewhere, and I want to do it fast. But back at my original statement, I can't afford it. I applied left and right for scholarships in highschool, never got a single one. And student loans aren't going to be enough...what should I do?
Starting this fall they are completely rewriting the curriculum. Their explanation was "these changes will make their students more employable" or something like that, it had a lot of corporate BS among the actual statement. But he also said at one point that only 6 students are graduating this semester from the CSC program. I looked into the changes, and what it is doing is making this an easy major. Every step of the way has been dumb-ed down so that anyone (almost) can get by, so that more people will graduate.
And because of all this I want to go elsewhere, and I want to do it fast. But back at my original statement, I can't afford it. I applied left and right for scholarships in highschool, never got a single one. And student loans aren't going to be enough...what should I do?
How far along are you in your degree? Have you completed all of your general ed requirements? If not, you should head for the nearest community college and knock out as many courses as you can at a considerably cheaper tuition cost, then transfer to a decent state university.
Lastly, get a job! Life can be tough. Get a tech support job or something that pays over 12 bucks an hour and work your ass off, it's that simple. You may not like it, but nothing comes easy. You will also learn some life lessons. I also recommend getting yourself an apartment. The moment your parent's cannot claim you as a dependent, the sooner you will have access to infinite student loans. Granted you'll have a lot of debt, but that's the way things work.
I'm curious what your definition of dumbed down is. What university are you attending so I may peruse their CS curriculum :). Also note, just because a school is completely rewritting a program does not indicate it'll be easy. Schools frequently go through curriculum updates for many reasons, be it to stay up to date, or keep their acm stat. What CS courses have you completed at this point?
Lastly, get a job! Life can be tough. Get a tech support job or something that pays over 12 bucks an hour and work your ass off, it's that simple. You may not like it, but nothing comes easy. You will also learn some life lessons. I also recommend getting yourself an apartment. The moment your parent's cannot claim you as a dependent, the sooner you will have access to infinite student loans. Granted you'll have a lot of debt, but that's the way things work.
I'm curious what your definition of dumbed down is. What university are you attending so I may peruse their CS curriculum :). Also note, just because a school is completely rewritting a program does not indicate it'll be easy. Schools frequently go through curriculum updates for many reasons, be it to stay up to date, or keep their acm stat. What CS courses have you completed at this point?
Beg on the street. Seriously, you can get more money than a job if you pick the right place.
Indeed you can. Recently the beggers have increased in number along my commute. I now have a shrimp monger selling frozen shrimp by the lb, a lunatic selling bottled water, a guy with no legs driving a pimped out rascal scooter, and a guy that lives in a van with his wife. They of course camp right outside my community because they know theirs cash to be made. If you go the begging route, get yourself a credit card processing account. Be innovative, the first bum to accept credit cards.
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Of course if you panhandle you'll have to be able to live with yourself knowing you're one of the worst forms of societal scum. But if that doesn't bother you, then go for it.
closed account (3hM2Nwbp)
Take it from me - if you're from the US, don't save up for college. The more money you make (on the books), the less that the government will support you. I worked for 3 years in a warehouse to save up some funds to get my associates degree in auto-mechanics and the university was able to wring it out of me halfway through the second semester. A friend of mine, however, (a bum pretty much) got a few grants and scholarships because he didn't make enough in the years leading up to enrollment. That's money that he will not have to pay back! Overall, I owe the government $13,000 more than he does - all because I wasn't a bum when I enrolled. Sad but true.
MSU but not all the changes (if any) have been posted yet. We got an email about all the classes that would be changing so that we knew what classes to register for next semester.
I'm currently at the end of my freshman year, I found out shortly after posting this that this is going into effect in a rolling basis, next year the intro to comp sci will change, then the semester after that the next class will, and so on and so on. So my room mate (a semester behind me in the major) is going to be in the last wave of the old curriculum, while I'm a year a head of the changes.
I've only been through the first 3 classes in the major, but I was worried that the rest of my education would be botched. As for a job, my parents don't want me getting one unless i'm not in school, and I know if I take a break to save up money I'll never go back, but if I dont save up i wont get to stay...it's a tough choice. Although next semester I have a job lined up with the tech support/web devs on campus. Pay is good and I love the staff there (mostly people I met at ACM)
Now. What they are doing to the curriculum first is dropping java and C++ from the primary langauges they use to teach programming. Instead as of next semester the intro class will learn Python, the first programming class will continue in python, and the following class will be C++. Where as now it is Java straight through. The reasoning was that there have been countless studies showing that those who learn languages like python first will find it easier to move on to C++ then if they started with java, or vise versa (Java to C++). Also he stated that Python is used more then java world wide. In the curriculum i'm progressing all classes in the department of Computer science are completely independant of language, you can use what ever suites you best so long as it is capable of getting the job done. (as in you won't use BASIC to write a Kernel). What I had heard earlier today was that they were making it so that Java would be the primary language after the C++ programming class. I found out at dinner that this isn't confirmed and might not even be true. Also they are dropping the Physics classes that were required by the major that taught about circuit design, computer hardware, etc etc. This has been confirmed. In the end, a lot of the information i had wasn't accurate and I have no reason to worry. That being said only time will tell how bad this is going to be for those who are just starting. I know that colleges change curriculum from time to time, but this one looked particularly bad.
Regardless of all this, I'm still going to work my ass off to be able to get into a good graduate program. I'm just worried I won't be able to save up enough.
I'm currently at the end of my freshman year, I found out shortly after posting this that this is going into effect in a rolling basis, next year the intro to comp sci will change, then the semester after that the next class will, and so on and so on. So my room mate (a semester behind me in the major) is going to be in the last wave of the old curriculum, while I'm a year a head of the changes.
I've only been through the first 3 classes in the major, but I was worried that the rest of my education would be botched. As for a job, my parents don't want me getting one unless i'm not in school, and I know if I take a break to save up money I'll never go back, but if I dont save up i wont get to stay...it's a tough choice. Although next semester I have a job lined up with the tech support/web devs on campus. Pay is good and I love the staff there (mostly people I met at ACM)
Now. What they are doing to the curriculum first is dropping java and C++ from the primary langauges they use to teach programming. Instead as of next semester the intro class will learn Python, the first programming class will continue in python, and the following class will be C++. Where as now it is Java straight through. The reasoning was that there have been countless studies showing that those who learn languages like python first will find it easier to move on to C++ then if they started with java, or vise versa (Java to C++). Also he stated that Python is used more then java world wide. In the curriculum i'm progressing all classes in the department of Computer science are completely independant of language, you can use what ever suites you best so long as it is capable of getting the job done. (as in you won't use BASIC to write a Kernel). What I had heard earlier today was that they were making it so that Java would be the primary language after the C++ programming class. I found out at dinner that this isn't confirmed and might not even be true. Also they are dropping the Physics classes that were required by the major that taught about circuit design, computer hardware, etc etc. This has been confirmed. In the end, a lot of the information i had wasn't accurate and I have no reason to worry. That being said only time will tell how bad this is going to be for those who are just starting. I know that colleges change curriculum from time to time, but this one looked particularly bad.
Regardless of all this, I'm still going to work my ass off to be able to get into a good graduate program. I'm just worried I won't be able to save up enough.
| Where as now it is Java straight through. The reasoning was that there have been countless studies showing that those who learn languages like python first will find it easier to move on to C++ then if they started with java, or vise versa (Java to C++). |
And they are correct. This is also MIT's approach and always my recommendation for first time programmers.
closed account (1yR4jE8b)
As a tutor/lab-advisor/teaching assistant, I have to say...my experience experience seeing the Python -> Java transition is the exact opposite.
Students seem to struggle alot more when they need to start thinking about static typing, explicit interfaces, etc... whereas in Python it's all done for you and you never need to think about it.
There's a running joke in the department that "n00bs get confused in Java when they can't understand why they can't divide a String by 9 like in Python".
Students seem to struggle alot more when they need to start thinking about static typing, explicit interfaces, etc... whereas in Python it's all done for you and you never need to think about it.
There's a running joke in the department that "n00bs get confused in Java when they can't understand why they can't divide a String by 9 like in Python".
| darkestfright wrote: |
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| "n00bs get confused in Java when they can't understand why they can't divide a String by 9 like in Python". |
Huh?
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Ha ha! Go Perl! It doesn't ignore types, it knows what type you want!
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I've been thinking a lot about doing a Master's program in Norway, and I read about this scholarship program for U.S., Canadian and Russian students: http://www.studyinnorway.no/highnorth .
You get a travel grant and spending money of around 800 Pounds per month, but you have to study in a northern institution. It might be worth your while researching into it.
I'm from the U.K. so I'm not eligible :(
EDIT: And most universities DO NOT CHARGE TUITION FEES.
EDIT (again): Upon close inspection the scholarships only for one year of your course and you have to be registered at an institution in the U.S. :(
You get a travel grant and spending money of around 800 Pounds per month, but you have to study in a northern institution. It might be worth your while researching into it.
I'm from the U.K. so I'm not eligible :(
EDIT: And most universities DO NOT CHARGE TUITION FEES.
EDIT (again): Upon close inspection the scholarships only for one year of your course and you have to be registered at an institution in the U.S. :(
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Danish universities are free (from tuition fees) for people within the EU (apparently it's the same in all Scandinavian countries but I don't think that's true). Bachelors courses are in Danish, but Masters and PhD courses can be done in English.
A simple google search revealed that:
MSU=
"Missouri State University"
or
"Montana State University"
or
"Michigan State University"
or
"Moscow State University"
or
"Mississippi State University"
on page 1.
MSU=
"Missouri State University"
or
"Montana State University"
or
"Michigan State University"
or
"Moscow State University"
or
"Mississippi State University"
on page 1.
| Danish universities are free (from tuition fees) for people within the EU (apparently it's the same in all Scandinavian countries but I don't think that's true). Bachelors courses are in Danish, but Masters and PhD courses can be done in English. |
@Chrisname: In Norway (I don't know about Denmark or Sweden), tuition is free for everyone regardless of nationality, (see: http://www.studyinnorway.no/Tuition-Scholarships/Tuition-fees). But the cost of living in Norway is among the highest in Europe (there's always a flip side :( )
But I suppose this is slightly off topic.
You could resort to soliciting :D
@Ink2019,
Is it really? Awesome, but I don't understand why they do that. I don't see how it benefits them, and most governments only do things that benefit them (stability in Libya -> oil; although I'm actually in favour of military action there because I want to see the spread of democracy, the sooner the entire world is democratic, the sooner we reach the next stage).
Is it really? Awesome, but I don't understand why they do that. I don't see how it benefits them, and most governments only do things that benefit them (stability in Libya -> oil; although I'm actually in favour of military action there because I want to see the spread of democracy, the sooner the entire world is democratic, the sooner we reach the next stage).
@chrisname:Unlike most countries Norway is very oil rich and has quite a low population (5,000,000 people). The government feeds a lot of the oil money into public services, education being one of them :D
In regards to Libya I support the current military action, and I do see a need to remove Gadaffi and institute a democracy but I don't think the U.N. or any other interest group could afford to pay for another long military campaign (like Iraq). Sometimes it's best to leave state matters for those directly effected by it.
In regards to Libya I support the current military action, and I do see a need to remove Gadaffi and institute a democracy but I don't think the U.N. or any other interest group could afford to pay for another long military campaign (like Iraq). Sometimes it's best to leave state matters for those directly effected by it.
I know a little about Norway's North Sea oil so that explains how they can afford it, but I don't see why they bother. I really like the idea of living in Norway, I'm a socialist so the whole high taxation and government spending thing is something I quite like.
I do kind of agree about the Libya thing, I would like to see it resolved but I'm glad they're restricting themselves to air forces and just supporting the rebels. I think it is better that way, it gives the impression that they're doing it themselves rather then "those damn Westerners policing the world again".
I do kind of agree about the Libya thing, I would like to see it resolved but I'm glad they're restricting themselves to air forces and just supporting the rebels. I think it is better that way, it gives the impression that they're doing it themselves rather then "those damn Westerners policing the world again".
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