World Beyblade Organization by Fighting Spirits Inc.

This thread might be similar to the "What do you want to be when you grow up" thread, however I'm trying to aim this more towards the older demographic within the WBO. Not so much of a 'What I want to be', but more of a 'How am I working towards this'. Explain your program of choice, and how it has been treating you thus far! Also those who have graduated are more than welcome to express their thoughts about their job, or their story as to how they got there. Things such as satisfaction while currently working, or moving towards other career options are also encouraged.

I'll start off!

I am currently a grade 12 student in Canada, for a long time I had been thinking about a degree in business despite my low achievement/capabilities in mathematics. With this in mind, in the last year I have completely changed my focus, looking at colleges for exclusively culinary. Currently in most recent weeks, I have been stuck in the middle of the two options, and I have actually decided to apply to both business and hospitality programs. Things such as Hospitality management, Human Resources, Marketing, and Culinary management are programs of interest that I will be applying to in the following months.

Of course to accommodate with this change, I will have to be taking a dreaded Grade 12 University level math course within the next semester. I will also have a Grade 12 level Food and Nutrition course next semester which I shall enjoy greatly.

I personally can't envision myself working a job in where I will have little to no interaction with other people, which is why these careers interest me so much.

As someone who will be in college in under 2 years, the pressure is starting to kick in, haha.

Personally, I'd love to work with either Nursing, Cinematography, or Graphic Design.

I know, very different things. I'd love to do something with the nursing field (I do not have the funds for a full-on medical school to become a doctor, haha). I love helping others and I'm not very squeamish, so it's certainly something that sparks my interests.

Then there's cinematography. I'd love to direct- I do films and school projects a lot and really enjoy it. I love being "behind" the camera and knowing all of the action taking place on the other side. It's a cool feeling to see something you envision coming to life. Hopefully getting in the class for it next year.

Finally, graphic design. This is my second year of taking digital art/design courses. I've done a lot recently and even had one of my works put into a local museum for the school's art show (not like in Elementary school when everyone had a featured work- it was actually fairly difficult to get into). I'd specifically love to do packaging designs and things like that- I've one several Beyblade box and Transformers boxes designs over the past year or so.

Pretty varied, but all are options I am really considering.

Excellent idea to create this thread! This could get really interesting.
So here you go:
I´m studying civil engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany and I´m in my third year now. In about one and a half years I will degree will (hopefully) earn my degree as a Bachelor of Science. Then I will matriculate again and continue studying until I have my Master of Science degree two years later (~September 2018). In my master degree course I can choose one of five core themes (construction engineering, hydraulic engineering, construction management, mobility+infrastructure and geotechnical engineering), which is gonna be mobility and infrastructure. My plan is to start working for the BASF as a traffic engineer after my degree and while already working do my doctorate.

Well, that´s the plan. Dr. Stoney sounds good, doesn´t it?

I would like to note, I had typed up a very long thing about this, then accidentally deleted it all by hitting the big "Post Reply " button T_T.

I want to be a musician!

Before moving, I was in the high school orchestra, the city orchestra, and I had a cello instructor of 50+ years of experience and played in orchestras all over the world. Now that I am in Texas, I am looking for a private instructor, and I am looking to go to competitions all over the world. If I can win a few, then I will hopefully be at the level that will allow my to go to Juilliard.

After Juilliard, hopefully I can become famous, and spread music everywhere, and be able to warn people about the dangers of cutting out art programs. People always say to read history not to repeat mistakes, in every society, when art is lost, the society falls not too long after. If I don't become famous for whatever reason, then I'll just become a music teacher. I'll probably end up a music teacher anyways, but playing around the world and being able to play all the time would be wonderful.

I'm glad a thread for this was made, there's been a bit of my speculative bantering scattered across the general discussion forum but now that I'm in grade twelve, and in an actual position where I will be making choices, I've got some more pointless garble to spew.

SO, I've been debating for the longest time whether or not to go away for university and live in residence. I think part of me wants to tell myself to stay at home, not only does this save me about 80 thousand but it also restricts my choices down to a few "local" university and makes everything a little less hectic. Or maybe I'm just too lazy to look into it all. And then the other part wants to truly live "the university experience".

I'll probably be pursing some kind of bachelors of science, and then specializing, to become a researcher. Or a pharmacist. Or maybe even a pharmaceutical researcher!

Queen's Life Sciences is renowned, so is the Western BioMed. But they're prestigious schools with crazy admission requirements. And then we have McMaster Sciences, which, even with a 95% average, you're barely scraping the finish line.

Yeah but all those big dreams aside, I'll most likely be going to UOIT (University of Ontario Institute of Technology) because I'll be home, relatively close to Toronto (for volunteer and co-op options) and as a big bonus, they're a new school - so its less stressful to get into and I'll have first hand experience with the latest technology.

(I wanted to become a nuclear engineer for the longest time but this 75% in math has me thinking otherwise lol and I don't even want to talk about physics right now).

I'll be officially submitting my applications over the winter break

I love anything psycology, sociology, and business related. I recently took my PSAT in October I do believe and I scored high enough to take all the AP courses. Since I scored high, I am offered the sociology course my school provides and I can't wait to take it next year as a Junior.

Ever since my scores were released, I have been getting letters from colleges NEARLY daily. It's great they are all colleges/universities that have great fields in what I like to do. If all else fails though with what I am planning right now, I still have my musical fantasy of making it big. I like to write lyrics and play the drums, and that really makes me consider music production.

(Dec. 09, 2014  2:46 AM)Tri Wrote: [ -> ]I love anything psycology, sociology, and business related. I recently took my PSAT in October I do believe and I scored high enough to take all the AP courses. Since I scored high, I am offered the sociology course my school provides and I can't wait to take it next year as a Junior.

Ever since my scores were released, I have been getting letters from colleges NEARLY daily. It's great they are all colleges/universities that have great fields in what I like to do. If all else fails though with what I am planning right now, I still have my musical fantasy of making it big. I like to write lyrics and play the drums, and that really makes me consider music production.

HUZZAH! MUSIC! I remember taking my SAT the beginning of my Sophomore year. It was sooo boring! And I spent the night at a friends house the night before, and forgot I had SAT testing, so his mother drove me to the test place, and I forgot a snack and a calculator. I only got a 1700 because I scored 450 on math due to lack of a calculator. And I was starving (I have hyperglycemia) the entire time. It was like, 6 hours without eating. That probably also effected my score, hard to concentrate when I'm hungry.

I remember getting letters from colleges from almost every english speaking country. I got letters from Canada, England, even one from Australia xD

To make it with music, you need thousands of hours of practise and study to make it anywhere. I have 5,000~ hours of practise, and I would probably be pushing it saying I'm average.

Best of luck to you

(Dec. 09, 2014  1:28 AM)sarabscientist Wrote: [ -> ]SO, I've been debating for the longest time whether or not to go away for university and live in residence. I think part of me wants to tell myself to stay at home, not only does this save me about 80 thousand but it also restricts my choices down to a few "local" university and makes everything a little less hectic. Or maybe I'm just too lazy to look into it all. And then the other part wants to truly live "the university experience".

Queen's Life Sciences is renowned, so is the Western BioMed. But they're prestigious schools with crazy admission requirements. And then we have McMaster Sciences, which, even with a 95% average, you're barely scraping the finish line.

Yeah but all those big dreams aside, I'll most likely be going to UOIT (University of Ontario Institute of Technology) because I'll be home, relatively close to Toronto (for volunteer and co-op options) and as a big bonus, they're a new school - so its less stressful to get into and I'll have first hand experience with the latest technology.

Hey, since we happen to be located around the same area, I know all of these schools and I can give some more perspective. (Or at least from my point of view.)

An extremely large portion of my year is interested in anything to do with science programs. (I would go as far as to say that seemingly at least 50% wants to become any type of doctor/nurse/pharmacist, or engineer.) Those who aren't in sciences are in business, leaving a very small portion of those who are not interested in either fields. So as you probably already know, It's seemingly very competitive.

I think the university life/college life experience is actually very valuable, While the costs may be high, you can often lower these by sharing an apartment near the university with a couple of friends. Of course as you already know, we have a TON of scholarships and loan programs available to us. OSAP is great. In my opinion, even with your 75% in math, you can still make it to western and/or Queens, as long as you buckle down for the rest of your courses. Any reason why you're not interested in UofT?

I hear a lot of good things about UOIT, and with our job market becoming more focused on technology by the day, I'm sure it would be a worthy investment.

While I'm in the same position as you, and I don't really have the right to say much, I would say to chase your dreams. Money comes to those who enjoy their career and what they do, as work is never work anymore.

(And yeah, Mcmaster is kinda insane.)

My career choice is a little different. I didn't want to go into a traditional office type job, but rather I wanted to get out of America and just do something crazy.

I have a friend who is from Osaka and one day during my senior year of high school he jokingly told me that I should just get on a plane and move to Japan. The thing is, I took his joke a little too seriously. Moving to Japan was my goal back in middle school but once I hit high school I dismissed it as just being a pipe dream since I can't speak Japanese. Also, I was a bit of a weeaboo back then.

Once I learned the requirements for teaching English in Japan I was set, there was no turning back. I began to do a lot of research and I even applied for a study abroad program. Sadly I can't afford to study in Japan so I decided to choose a major that I would at least enjoy. Currently I'm in my first year of college here in America studying photography at a local two-year college. I'm just focusing on photography related classes rather than general-education stuff because after my second year I'm planning to transfer to a small art school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After I obtain my bachelors degree in photography I will be moving to Japan to begin my new life.

And just think, it's all because of a joke.

(Dec. 09, 2014  7:11 AM)Wizard Wrote: [ -> ]My career choice is a little different. I didn't want to go into a traditional office type job, but rather I wanted to get out of America and just do something crazy.

I have a friend who is from Osaka and one day during my senior year of high school he jokingly told me that I should just get on a plane and move to Japan. The thing is, I took his joke a little too seriously. Moving to Japan was my goal back in middle school but once I hit high school I dismissed it as just being a pipe dream since I can't speak Japanese. Also, I was a bit of a weeaboo back then.

Once I learned the requirements for teaching English in Japan I was set, there was no turning back. I began to do a lot of research and I even applied for a study abroad program. Sadly I can't afford to study in Japan so I decided to choose a major that I would at least enjoy. Currently I'm in my first year of college here in America studying photography at a local two-year college. I'm just focusing on photography related classes rather than general-education stuff because after my second year I'm planning to transfer to a small art school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After I obtain my bachelors degree in photography I will be moving to Japan to begin my new life.

And just think, it's all because of a joke.

I personally was thinking of moving to Japan as well. Music is the same in every country (at least, the kind I study is... the real music! xD). There really isn't a reason not to, and I really like the culture (and food), and nothing I can see that would be restricting me (besides from the fact that I've heard they aren't too partial to foreigners). And I have plenty of time to learn Japanese by then. I whole 5 years.

Sounds like a great plan, but you have to consider that the working conditions in Japan are very different. You have to work minimum 10-12 hours a day, sometimes until 11pm, and you have only about 10 days for holiday each year. As a man, you usually don't have time for family life, even if you're married and have children. Also, not being successful is not an option in Japan. It's very hard to live and work there. Nevertheless, if you're ready to work really, really hard, go for it and enjoy the probably most beautiful country in the world.

(Dec. 09, 2014  10:58 AM)~Stoney~ Wrote: [ -> ]Sounds like a great plan, but you have to consider that the working conditions in Japan are very different. You have to work minimum 10-12 hours a day, sometimes until 11pm, and you have only about 10 days for holiday each year. As a man, you usually don't have time for family life, even if you're married and have children. Also, not being successful is not an option in Japan. It's very hard to live and work there. Nevertheless, if you're ready to work really, really hard, go for it and enjoy the probably most beautiful country in the world.

I already practise abut 11-12 hours a day, and I wouldn't be working in the traditional sense unless I became a teacher. I would probably be travelling a lot, until later in my life. If I did work outside of music, it would be programming, which means I could work for any company, or even as a free lancer. I feel like with what I am going with, I would have more options. If not though, I'm fine with hard work, I actually prefer it to not having much to do.

Actually, slightly similar to Wizard, my career choice was inspired by a joke. Up until last year, I was set on working in advertising or writing stories. Being alone at my old high school, I had lots of time to write. Once I transferred, I actually had friends, so I didn't write as often. Once I warmed up to my friends, I solidified myself as the "crazy, never-takes-things-seriously" person of my group, and I was always spurting out weird ideas. Then my one friend told me I would be dangerous armed with a psychological degree.

That struck home, and I began rigorously researching the field and reading psychology articles. I decided I wanted to go into social psychology, get a PhD at a good Midwest college, and go into private researching.

I was pretty glad I became interested in it, because besides advertising, this was the first good paying job Ive been interested in in my life. My friends might be terrified, but in excited!

(Dec. 09, 2014  5:30 AM)Priscient Wrote: [ -> ]Hey, since we happen to be located around the same area, I know all of these schools and I can give some more perspective. (Or at least from my point of view.)

An extremely large portion of my year is interested in anything to do with science programs. (I would go as far as to say that seemingly at least 50% wants to become any type of doctor/nurse/pharmacist, or engineer.) Those who aren't in sciences are in business, leaving a very small portion of those who are not interested in either fields. So as you probably already know, It's seemingly very competitive.

I think the university life/college life experience is actually very valuable, While the costs may be high, you can often lower these by sharing an apartment near the university with a couple of friends. Of course as you already know, we have a TON of scholarships and loan programs available to us. OSAP is great. In my opinion, even with your 75% in math, you can still make it to western and/or Queens, as long as you buckle down for the rest of your courses. Any reason why you're not interested in UofT?

I hear a lot of good things about UOIT, and with our job market becoming more focused on technology by the day, I'm sure it would be a worthy investment.

While I'm in the same position as you, and I don't really have the right to say much, I would say to chase your dreams. Money comes to those who enjoy their career and what they do, as work is never work anymore.

(And yeah, Mcmaster is kinda insane.)

I know, I've been told too - that you shouldn't hold back from going away, because it's good experience. You're own your own, but not really in a sense, because you will always have support staff/peers. So it's a great stepping stone. Plus the people you meet, friends you make, experiences, all that are for life.

OSAP and other bursaries are a godsend. Literally where/when else are you gonna have the opportunity to borrow money "for free" and have the piece of mind to enjoy and pay it back later.

I was honestly so set on going to U of T, mainly because my only friend goes there (UTSC) but I hate the Scarborough campus ... I think its so ugly. Also, as the rumors have it, UTSG is just a hell hole for the science field and the drop out rate is high. Unless you were going into research or already had a lot of contacts, I'd veer away from U of T from a science perspective. Apparently the humanities profs are top notch, though. Also I guess I'm a good student, or maybe its the senioritis kicking in - but I literally have no motivation to work hard anymore. I just have this fear that I'll end up being a university dropout if the course work is too rigorous and I'm not achieving as high as I'd like to (I want a degree, but I'm also aiming for a high GPA just in case ). I'm not competitive. I'm the more "oh I'll just do my own thing over here and succeed on my own terms". What is my place at U of T, really.

I also think that it's kinda dumb and pointless to go off other people's opinions and stuff to choose a university but up till now, that's all I've been doing. The only campuses I've been to are UOIT and UTSC. UOIT seemed like a clean and new campus, so. I really need to go hard on my research and explore options this winter break. I've been trying so hard to not get caught up with all this university talk and focus on my grades!!

Isn't it that Western and Queens are basically on par in terms to student satisfaction and academics? I might just end up applying to five universities and visit the ones that actually offer me an admission. I have a 89.4% average (last year) so I'm well off. I just don't feel like that good of a student. Maybe it's my laziness but I honestly want my university life to be as chill as possible. Wake up, drive to school, attend lectures, come home, chill, rinse and repeat. But then again, the residence life is something you can't really replace once the time has passed.

Right now, my prospects (programs I've been interested in aside from the ones at Mac):

1. UOIT - Life Sciences / Pharmaceutical Chemistry
2. Western - BioMed (lol who am I kidding)
3. Queens - Life Sciences
4. UTSC - Human Biology
5. Guelph - ???

As much as I'd like to get away, I know deep down that I'll end up staying. Definitely planning on going away if I decide on graduate school

And you know what, actually, I wanted to look into McGill and UBC too but their applications cannot be done through OUAC, right? Dang I'm really clueless right now but coming out of the winter break, I'll hopefully be more solid on my choices.

Or I could save myself all this trouble and apply to UOIT straight up, since it's literally a five minute drive from my house! Sweet and simple.

-exhales deeply-

(Dec. 09, 2014  10:58 AM)~Stoney~ Wrote: [ -> ]Sounds like a great plan, but you have to consider that the working conditions in Japan are very different. You have to work minimum 10-12 hours a day, sometimes until 11pm, and you have only about 10 days for holiday each year. As a man, you usually don't have time for family life, even if you're married and have children. Also, not being successful is not an option in Japan. It's very hard to live and work there. Nevertheless, if you're ready to work really, really hard, go for it and enjoy the probably most beautiful country in the world.

This is true. Some men have been recorded to work up to 16 hours in a single day and collapse from exhaustion, leading to lawsuits from the family of the deceased (This happened with an employee for a car manufacturer a few years ago). It's not uncommon for a child to only see their dad maybe once a week due to how hard they are working. It's mostly office jobs though, it doesn't really affect teachers as much. Most English teachers seem to only work a traditional 9-5 or evening schedule.

(Dec. 09, 2014  11:14 AM)FlyingWaffle Wrote: [ -> ]I already practise abut 11-12 hours a day, and I wouldn't be working in the traditional sense unless I became a teacher. I would probably be travelling a lot, until later in my life. If I did work outside of music, it would be programming, which means I could work for any company, or even as a free lancer. I feel like with what I am going with, I would have more options. If not though, I'm fine with hard work, I actually prefer it to not having much to do.

Take this from someone a fellow musician (Or, former musician now): We both know there's a difference between practicing 11-12 hours a day at a high school level and practicing 11-12 hours a day at a professional level. As a kid you can goof off with your friends and have fun, but if music is your profession you don't have time, and considering how unstable a job like that is it might not be something you can get a visa for. It's also one of those jobs where you would pretty much have be to communicate properly with your fellow musicians so you need a high level of Japanese.

As for programming, I just hope you don't plan to have a family. The work culture there is really sick, but your coworkers take the place of your family. You're expected to work 12-14 hours with them and go out drinking with them almost every night (It's rude not to). You need business level Japanese for this one.

Moving to Japan takes a lot of work, I suggest you begin to seriously study the language now if you really plan to go. Just know that you may have to teach English for a few years to get stable.

While I am in high school, I am not practising at a high school level. I am preparing my pieces for my audition, which means pieces like Elfentanz, and full concertos b people like Bach and Dvorak. I do not have time any more to bother with high school level music, so much so I'm considering not even doing regional or state because I feel it is not worth it.

I wouldn't mind being an English teacher for a while, I enjoy teaching, and I enjoy language. I just find it fascinating. As for studying, I am waiting for my books to arrive. I believe my highschool offers Japanese, so I am thinking of taking that as well.

And for programming, my point was I could work for an American company, and work from home. Unless for some reason that would be a no-no in Japan. But I am not relying on that as a back-up option, just something that's there in case I want it, because I don't mind working a lot at all. In fact, that's one of the points of Japanese culture I really like.

I am in the process of applying for colleges and scholarships. I have 2 sent off so far (senior year, eek) to Purdue University and Calvin College. I'm also applying to University of Michigan and IPFW. Calvin is my first choice, then IPFW (both small schools, which is a good thing in my book, and I can get a full-ride scholarship to IPFW based on my SAT scores, and basically half my family has gone to Calvin, which is a private Christian college) then Michigan, then Purdue. I don't particularly like the larger size of Purdue and UM, and don't feel like I would be comfortable there. My high school is all one building with approximately 2500 students; going up to IPFW or Calvin is less of a leap in size, with about 6500 students each, if I remember right. The other two are far larger. Campus size is another issue; I want to be able to walk from class to class (or ride a bike) without having to take 25 minutes out of my schedule and/or cross a lot of traffic.

Regardless of where I'm going, I will be majoring in electrical engineering with a minor in computer science. I've taken a ton of AP and dual-credit courses which basically knock out half the classes in my first two semesters, and leaves room for the extra classes for the minor while still keeping to a 4-year schedule or so without packing my schedule too much. I really enjoy robotics, programming, and game design, so CS / EE is definitely in my career path.

Without going into too many details, I finished school almost two years ago. Between the end of high school and college, I realised that what I liked doing the most was thinking, reflecting, finding solutions, evaluating causes and consequences, imagining possible repercussions, etc. As such, I found that the domain that would best benefit from my thinking was security. Ideally, I would be a detective right within a police department, but due to a few health issues, I chose a simpler way : there was a university bachelor's degree that could grant me the knowledge needed to at least start well in that domain, so I did it. It was actually a very social studies field, and all my life I had been almost exclusively in natural sciences instead and had been great at it, so it was a whole other perspective and I often had no idea what sort of things I was supposed to retain from the teachers' lessons or what to answer in exams exactly.

As of now I have been working in my domain for over a year. However, I have been very lucky, like with many things in my life (probably to compensate some other things ...) : most people in my bachelor's probably had to start with more global, and personally 'lower' jobs like security agent. Some students actually got hired by the company where they did their internship, so good for them, but the detective work involved there is actually not that great, most likely. The bachelor's degree mostly prepares us for a very administrative side of analysis where you barely get the chance to go out on the field and do 'real work', in my opinion.

For the future, after I have accumulated a few years of experience, I should try to get specialised, like in languages, and hopefully move into a much bigger company to help the world further. Other currently possible specialisations include technologies, for instance.


I was actually decided on going in a specific direction at first, but the I got advice from that very direction that lead me somewhere else altogether, although I had really worked hard to be completely ready up until that point, hah. I never really wanted to go study elsewhere, again mostly because of health issues, but I read that there were some interesting options in the United States too.

As I wish to be on the screen of SportsCenter in Los Angeles, I am currently working as an intern for my local newspaper, writing sports articles by going to high school games and keeping stats. So far, if I'm forced to stay here in NC, I think I may apply for a job there (once i get my associates degree when I graduate high school).

If not, L.A. here I come!

Considering Uni/College is coming up in the next two years, I had to start thinking about it. (Ugh, the wonders of growing up...)

I would like to do something around creative writing, as I like doing that and it is something I am good at. So, obviously I looked at universities that did that kind of thing. For me, it's either a uni in the UK, like Manchester or Dundee (Something as close to Edinburgh as possible preferably, but...) or a uni in the US. For the US, I'm looking at a uni called SCAD; the Savannah College for Art and Design, though I may go elsewhere. I don't personally mind where I go, as long as I get to do what I like doing best, but...

First, I have to pass my exams (the joys), so I'm focusing on those right now.

I just submitted my application on OUAC! I didn't want to carry over the nagging reminder into the new year that I still had to apply.

I guess it's sort of final then! My first choice was UOIT and I'll be going into a general science program and then specializing in second year. I'm thinking about either pharmaceutical chemistry, forensics, or biotechnology, etc ... but that's in the distant future.

The second and third choice were just for kicks to see if I could hypothetically get in/met their standards. So here's hoping I get accepted soon and then can work on scholarship applications.

All the best to anyone still deliberating, don't worry, just think it over. In most cases you aren't "stuck" - there's always the option of switching majors or even transferring credits to switch schools, too.

ooh this is a fun thread hello everyone

Luckily I already went through the college application process last year, that was a stressful time. It came down to Cornell, Yale, Duke, JHU and SUNY Stony Brook w full tuition+room and board as my top 5 acceptances. I actually don't like Yale's campus all that much and good lord the admissions officers and professors were hella elitist so that plus a little bit of money means I am Cornell Class of '18 right now!

Since I entered high school I've been pretty set on being a neurosurgeon. It's freaking awesome and my dream job, easily. So much cool stuff can occur with the brain that you can learn and witness, along with the fact that in an OR you are the master of your domain. Being able to help people in a way that only you can is a rewarding feeling.

I'm a Bio major and CS minor in the CAS at Cornell. I've had some prior experience with neuroscience, neuroanatomy, and hospital work so I have a pretty good idea what I'm getting in to. I know that neurosurgery requires me to receive education until I'm about 30 years old, but I think it's worth it for my dream. Fingers crossed that now I can make it into a good medical school! Right now I'm just trying to attain a black belt in taekwondo haha.

(Dec. 10, 2014  3:04 AM)X_C00L_R4NCH_X Wrote: [ -> ]I am in the process of applying for colleges and scholarships. I have 2 sent off so far (senior year, eek) to Purdue University and Calvin College. I'm also applying to University of Michigan and IPFW. Calvin is my first choice, then IPFW (both small schools, which is a good thing in my book, and I can get a full-ride scholarship to IPFW based on my SAT scores, and basically half my family has gone to Calvin, which is a private Christian college) then Michigan, then Purdue. I don't particularly like the larger size of Purdue and UM, and don't feel like I would be comfortable there. My high school is all one building with approximately 2500 students; going up to IPFW or Calvin is less of a leap in size, with about 6500 students each, if I remember right. The other two are far larger. Campus size is another issue; I want to be able to walk from class to class (or ride a bike) without having to take 25 minutes out of my schedule and/or cross a lot of traffic.

Regardless of where I'm going, I will be majoring in electrical engineering with a minor in computer science. I've taken a ton of AP and dual-credit courses which basically knock out half the classes in my first two semesters, and leaves room for the extra classes for the minor while still keeping to a 4-year schedule or so without packing my schedule too much. I really enjoy robotics, programming, and game design, so CS / EE is definitely in my career path.

One of my close friends is actually a freshman CS major at Purdue so I'll speak on his behalf.

Purdue's campus is large, but that does not mean that travel time is long. The walk to a typical CS class at Purdue is about 5-10 minutes maximum, and there's even a McDonalds along the way if you're in need of some food.

Campus population honestly isn't too much of an issue: you're not exactly going to be mingling with the entire student body at any given point aside from orientation. You make friends with the people you want to be friends with or see often; it works pretty similar to high school in that regard. People also are more honest with you in terms of their character as a person in college compared to high school: it just kinda happens on its own, byproduct of living away from parents in dorms and there's no incentive to be something you're not because you can be found out. I come from a high school with a student body of around 1800 kids, graduating class of almost 500 which is considered to be the largest in quite a while. Going up to Purdue or Cornell-level isn't too much of an adjustment.

Both Purdue and Cornell experience the wondrous phenomena of grade deflation: those two are particularly infamous for it. Be prepared though: it means you won't get easy As, thereby making As that you get at the two universities that much more valuable.

Of course, it's your life so apply where you will and commit to whatever you do choose to take in the end: being hesitant will lead to more regrets then choosing to put your all in to something.

Cheers!

Good Job on getting to Cornell, Ga!

For me, I'm in my Senior year of high school. Im not sure if I am intent on going to a university yet, but I do wanna finish my associates with the 5th year program my school offers. I've been getting interest from some big name colleges like Hofstra, Ohio, UNC-Wilmington, and my favorite, West Virginia. I'm thinking about it, and if I feel committed enough to at least get my bachelors, I hope to apply there and get a minor in sports journalism.

Yeah, seriously Ga' keep working hard and doing what you love. I'm wishing you well on your (quite long) journey to become a neurosurgeon. That determination, motivation and concentration, though!

Godspeed.

Also to latch onto this, I just got an offer of admission to my first choice university! This might be a bit cocky to say, but I'm not that surprised or excited as I already had a feeling I would get in without a problem since the university is super new (about 10 years old) and their suggested grades were hovering around 70%.

I'm going to hold off on officially confirming but this does give me a peace of mind! Woot woot!

Sorry for bumping old threads but there's so many good discussions which have died

But yeah as for me, I'm wanting to become a Crown Court Judge. I was studying a degree in Criminology with hopes to convert it to a masters of Law but sadly for me I had to stop for mental health reasons but when I'm good and ready I will be taking baby steps and doing a foundation Degree in law and criminal studies, and then get my batchlors in law rather than the long way round.

I know I can get pupilage without a degree but it's finding a lawyer or barrister what will take me under there wing. But when I do get round to studying again I will probably apply to be a Magistrate to get a taste of working in the criminal justice field.