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Your fraternity has a chef? Are you kidding me?

Cool Papa Bell — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:31:17 -0800

Did your fraternity / sorority have a full-time chef? Is this as common as my wife thinks? Read on... http://fraternitykitchen.net/ is the blog of a University of Washington fraternity chef.

I was gobsmacked. The frat house employs a full-time chef? And while we're not talking about a cheap diploma mill, neither are we talking about the Ivy League.

Neither my wife, who attended a Big 10 school, nor myself, who attended a piss-ant California state college, were in the Greek system. But my wife was completely unsurprised when she learned this. Of course they would have one, she said. It makes a lot of sense. Would you want a bunch of 20-year-old guys in charge of your kitchen? Can you imagine what you would find growing in that fridge?

* Is this common?
* Do you have first-hand experience?
* Is this paid-for by ongoing fraternity/sorority dues? Or is this the kind of luxury that gets handled by donations from wealthy alumni?
* How in the hell would this kind of thing get started? I just can't imagine a bunch of average frat boys sitting around thinking, "We really need to focus on our studies, so we should take some of the beer money and get a chef, so we don't have to worry about this."

What should I do this summer?

Paulefinch — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:31:16 -0800

What are some life-changing things I, as an art student, can spend my summer doing? Here's a little background before I get to my real question.

I'm a 19 year old, gay male student double majoring in Art Education and Studio Art at the University of Central Florida. I'm finishing my sophomore year this semester. After growing increasingly frustrated with the college grind, I want to make some changes! I don't like the fact that I have to have a degree to do what I want to do. What do I want to do? I want to design avant-garde clothing and performances. (e.g. Lady Gaga, Of Montreal, and the Cremaster Cycle by Matthew Barney) Instead of dropping out of school, which I know isn't a very good idea, I just want to develop the parts of my life not directly related to school. I'm considering dropping the Art Education major, because while I want love to teach, I don't think my school's College of Education is right for me. Next semester I'm taking a minimum number of classes (12 credit hours) instead of my typical 15-17, so I'll have more time to create work that my current schedule doesn't allow.

What should I do this summer? I really want to do something that will provide me with amazing experience. I would love to live abroad, study abroad (I have languages bases in French and German.), get an internship, visit museums, or get an apprenticeship. Basically I want to do something with my summer that will change the direction of my life for the better.

Is there something I haven't even thought of? I'm supremely interested in everything related to design, art, and culture, so I'm open to almost anything!

Housemate doesn't clean up after himself. Help.

dunkadunc — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:58:24 -0800

My housemate doesn't clean up, like ever. How can I do to make things work, or at least more bearable? I've been sharing an apartment since the beginning of September with an old acquaintance, and everything's been going well enough. EXCEPT:
My housemate doesn't help out with the cleaning. Every day I come home to even more mess, and it's starting to really bug me.

Some background here: My housemate and I are both 23, male, and college seniors. We went to high school together but lost touch after graduation. I was looking for a housemate for an apartment I found this August, and a mutual friend said Housemate (whose mom died last year) was looking for a place as well. We signed a lease, moved in and started school, so far so good.
The first hint I got that Housemate wasn't very good at cleaning was about a week in when he asked me what "rinsing" dishes meant. Since then, he's remained pleasant, but the amount of housework he's done has gone from little to almost none.

The main problems:
-His dishes stay dirty in the sink either until I wash them or there are no more clean ones, whereupon he washes a dirty one, uses it, and puts it back in the sink. The same thing goes for pots and pans. I can count the number of times he's washed all the dishes in the sink on one hand, and even then they've come out covered in brown curry grease and needed to be washed again.

-When asked to wash his dirty pots and pans that were filling up the sink, Housemate was surprised that I would want them to be cleaned even if I wasn't immediately going to use them. Housemate said that he would wash them before he needed them again "only as a favor". He cooks about four gallons of curry every two weeks.

-Although he was willing to split the cost of a $50 vacuum cleaner, the only time he's picked up a broom was when he broke a glass. He's been leaving brown greasy globs of curry on all the kitchen surfaces and covers the floor in oil when he cooks. All these problems with cleaning up have carried over to the bathroom as well.

Apart from all this, he's been a decent housemate, asking if I want to watch cartoons or split a pizza or whatnot, or coming out to parties with me.
I've talked to him about washing dishes and cleaning up around the apartment, and he's always said "sure"- the problem is it doesn't end up happening. He tends to drink beers and watch cartoons when he's done with schoolwork and doesn't have anything to do, so it seems like a combination of procrastination and just not knowing how to run a household: his mom used to do all the housekeeping.

What can I do to encourage him to do his share of housework, or failing that, what can I do to minimize the amount of mess I have to deal with? Ideally, we would clean up after ourselves, and if someone else missed something then the other would clean it, no problem.
I don't want to be that passive-aggressive guy, but something's got to change, since I'd like to be able to have guests over without feeling embarrassed. I'd be tempted to only clean up after myself, but I'm afraid the apartment would be taken over by maggots.

Was I ripped off by the graduate school admissions committee at a top 10 university?

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:25:51 -0800

Was I ripped off by the graduate school admissions committee at a top 10 university? I applied to a CS master's program at a top 10 US university a few months ago. I had still not received any sort of answer from the school (mail, email, or otherwise) the weekend before the term (I had applied for) began. I called the program that Friday, but nobody answered. I emailed three different addresses; only one person answered, the director of the program. He emailed me on Sunday morning, the day before the term started. His email said that my application was rejected because I haven't had any math since high school, and because the admissions committee could not determine my mathematics background. In reality, I have taken five math courses in college, including an entire Calculus sequence, and I got A's in all of these.

These math courses were on my undergraduate transcripts; the university's "application status" website indicated that these transcripts had been received, so the program should've been aware that I had taken these courses. I emailed the director back, but he dodged my questions and became argumentative. He's now ignoring my email messages to him.

I feel that my application wasn't taken seriously, that the admissions committee made mistakes in evaluating my application (and is refusing to admit that they did), and that it was wrong of the school to inform me of my admission status the day before the term I applied for was to begin (if I wouldn't have emailed them, I probably would've have never known if I had been admitted or rejected--they have never sent me an official rejection letter). In short, I feel ripped off.

I paid nearly $100 to apply to this program, and I am far from rich. Am I entitled to refund? What would you do if you were me? I emailed the president of the university, explaining my situation, but my emails have been ignored.

Is a BS a BS? Or just BS?

ctmf — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:20:03 -0800

Is a BS degree a BS degree, or are there "lesser" degrees - I don't even know how to ask this. I'll try, though. I've finally decided to stop giving in to the reasons to put it off. I'm going to pursue a degree for myself. It turns out that, between my military experience and a handful of community college courses I took, I'm only 30-odd credits from a BSAST from Thomas Edison State College. A few CLEPs and a few courses, and I should be there. Plus, the GI bill should pay for it. So I'm fairly excited about that.

Here's my reservation about it, tell me if I'm being paranoid:
I have this pamphlet about degree programs from the Navy College office where I got most of my info. In one section it explains that there are "academic" degrees, and "professional/technical" degrees, and then lists some typical course requirements. The BSAST degree is a "technical" degree, is the impression I get. Am I getting myself into what amounts to a fancy-sounding cert program like CCNA or MCSE?

My other option is trying to take night classes from UW after doing everything I can at a community college. Financially, that would not be an issue, but the thought of years and years of night school is not appealing.

I eventually want to apply to OSU's Master of Health Physics degree. The requirements say "4 year baccalaureate degree" which it sounds like I would have. I'm just afraid when I put my degree on my resume for jobs, or for the OSU application I'm going to hear, "no, we meant a REAL degree."

Maybe it's just because this sounds too good to be true and I'm suspicious. Can anyone (especially someone with HR or college admissions experience) comment on that?

Group assignment advice

mattoxic — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:58:17 -0800

I've to hand in a group assignment tomorrow and the input from one of the members is crap- terrible writing, no references, no clue, nice guy. I want to remain friends but want to dramatically edit his work. How can I break it to him that his work needed treatment? I'm terrible at this sort of thing. btw, this thread doesn't really answer my question as we're handing in tomorrow. Also- he's old buddies with the other group member who I don't know very well.

Academic careers in the humanities.

ms.codex — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:26:23 -0800

Tell me why you decided NOT to pursue a PhD. My partner, an academic, thinks that the humanities departments in the US are suffering a major brain drain-- that smart students these days are drawn to law, consulting, science, investment banking, etc., and NOT to graduate study in the humanities. I'm inclined to disagree but of course I have no evidence for either view. I'm curious to hear the experiences of people who considered pursuing a PhD and an academic career (especially in the humanities, but all fields welcome) but ultimately decided not to. It seems to be common knowledge that it's a very tough job market out there for recent PhDs, and I'm wondering if that grim reputation has actually deterred people who are making decisions about graduate study and career paths. I'm also curious to know how prospective or current grad students weigh the pros and cons of a potential academic career-- the specific intellectual satisfactions versus any frustrations you think are specific to academia.

Drinking in Behind Enemy Lines

me3dia — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:40:30 -0800

Tangentially college sports-related food/drink question: At your school, was there a bar or restaurant where fans of your rival team would congregate? What I'm after is analogous to, say, a Bears bar in Green Bay, but for NCAA teams. This is for a post on a travel blog I write for, in case you're curious, so the particular rivalry isn't all that important.

Going to the same university for undergrad and grad-good or bad idea?

pdx87 — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:28:34 -0800

Did you receive your graduate degree at the same university that you received your undergraduate degree from? If so, do you regret not branching out and going to a new university for graduate school or are you happy with your decision? Graduate school is coming up. Yikes!

Option 1-Stay in the city that I am currently in and pursue an MS at the school I am currently attending.

Option 2-Move 3 hours away and pursue the same degree at a different institution.

I guess I am worried that I will burn out after going to the same school for so long. I would love to hear from people who went to the same university for undergrad and grad. What was your experience like? Do you wish you had gone to a new institution for graduate school? I'd even like to hear from people who went to different institutions for undergrad and grad. Thanks!

Education tax credit - can we claim it twice for two students?

deadmessenger — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:38:37 -0800

Can more than one student filing on the same US tax return claim the new American Opportunity Tax Credit? I am currently a half-time undergraduate student at a US university. I plan to claim on my 2009 US Tax return (1040) the American Opportunity Tax Credit (an expansion of the Hope tax credit), so as to receive a refund for some of my tuition expenses. In addition, Mrs. Deadmessenger plans to enroll in college for the first time this semester, and thus will have substantial eligible expenses of her own.

So, here's our question: The IRS's webpage is pretty clear on the fact that the maximum annual credit is $2500, representing 100% of the first $2000 in eligible expenses, and 25% of the next $2000. Is that $2500 limit a per-student limit, or a per-family limit? In other words, if I rack up $4000 in eligible expenses, and Mrs. Deadmessenger does as well, would the credit on our joint tax return be $2500 (meaning that the limit is per-family), or $5000 ($2500 for each of us, or a per-student limit)

The IRS' FAQ on the credit doesn't address this scenario.

Oh, and just to get it out of the way: You are not my tax professional, accountant, CPA, tax attorney, enrolled agent or tax preparer. Thanks in advance for your help anyway!

I would make tea at the BBC.

lhude sing cuccu — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:22:36 -0800

What would be the best route to go after finishing an AS degree? Many questions about New England, and the regular England, rolled into one inside. I am starting community college in 2 weeks and, even though school hasn't even started yet, I've started to look ahead. I'm trying to figure out what I should do when I've graduated. I don't want to do anything impulsive; something fun for now but just expensive in the long run.
I live in Virginia, and I'm lucky because financial aid grants are covering me so far, but it's going to take a lot of research to keep myself out of debt when I go on to transfer.
I've started realising that the nagging feeling telling me to move out of the US isn't going away, and although going to an in-state school and just studying abroad would be the most logical option in the minds of most, of course I have to keep on until I uncover my every option.

1. I don't really want to stay in Virginia, but if it comes to paying $8,000 instead of $20,000, I will do it. I would like to find a college in New England to go to, one that has very good financial aid.
I found a place called Williams College in MA, which I just loved as soon as I saw the front page of the website, but they said they only accept about 4 out of the 110 transfer applicants they get each year. (?!) I couldn't compete with that, even if I did get a 4.0 GPA. (They also want a high school transcript, and my 1.5 GPA won't help me there. I am going to community college to start over.)
How can I find colleges in New England (DC to Maine) that have really decent need-based aid?

2. I've wanted to move to the UK for 5 going on 6 years now. I know I should study abroad first to see if I even like it, but I wonder what would really be the best option in case I did like it. If I studied abroad, I'd have to graduate at that US college, and I don't know what kind of visa I would even qualify for after graduating. I heard the best visa to get would be a student visa, and the fact that it can lead to a Tier 1 visa makes it sound even better. Should I just go for a non-study UK visit first? I could plan a trip. And take the train around.

3. More general UK questions. Is England really going "downhill" like I've heard so many times? Am I just so enchanted by the BBC that it's clouded my judgment? I'd consider moving to Wales, maybe Scotland, but I am most attached to England. What are the facts here? I haven't heard anything except for the vague..."You'll never get a job...it's all just immigrants living there now...British people are all trying to move to the US now..." Maybe it was all just said by a bunch of people who lived in and hated London. Isn't the US just as bad, or am I missing something?

4. More importantly, would I even be able to get a job? Or do they give all the jobs to EU students and I could never do anything except answer phones until I die? And what's all this about "No self-employment"? Will I be able to play my guitar in my one-man band anymore?

5. Is there any way to immigrate that is as simple as the Tier 4 Student Visa seems? Immigration, of course, is just speculative. I don't know what I'm planning to become, but I'm sure I won't make enough money to get all the points I would need to be a "highly skilled worker".

6. Would I be able to afford living in the UK? I lived in Chicago for a year just fine; sure I had financial aid and a job though. Are the grants/scholarships available to the average everyday non-handicapped/veteran/singlemom/hispanic/4.5GPA people like me?

If I could only afford to study abroad, I guess I wouldn't die, but that leads back around to question #1 again.
Or maybe...go to college in-state and transfer in? What does a BA count for there? Do I have to complete a whole BA degree in the UK to qualify for the Tier 1 Post-Study Visa?

7. Will they hate me, an American? I don't pick up a lot of enemies easily, but you never know.

Apparently, an AS degree is only equivalent to a Foundation Degree and I'd have to go for the full 3 years to get a BA. Those over-achievers.
Maybe I should call a university and ask, but it always seems like they know as much as I do at their international office, and different schools might have different rules.

I think that's it. Thanks for any and all advice you can give me. I guess I'm just trying to do the all-elusive "do what I want and not lose any money doing it". I've read other questions here about moving, but it seems like they all already had some kind of job lined up, which I am far, far away from having.

And sorry my questions are always so darn long.

Help me help new college students

brainmouse — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 11:48:50 -0800

How do I offer support for people attending/wanting to attend college, but who have very different situations from anything I knew? 2 different scenarios! I am in two very different situations where I want to give support to people attending or who will attend college. I grew up in an environment where everyone I knew went to college, including all of my family and almost everyone from my high school. I didn't have to deal with any "issues" surrounding it -- I had an excellent support system of people who'd been there. Now I want to be able to offer that support in two ways:

1) A good friend of mine is starting college (across the country from me, and far away from anywhere he's lived before) in about a month at age 25. As far as I know, I'm the only person he speaks to often that has been to college -- none of his family, very few people from where he grew up, etc. He's also going to a very different type of school than I did. What sort of help/support is the most useful from me? I want to be helpful but not obnoxious (no "well when I was in college...").

2) I'm starting involvement in a mentoring program for kids from a underprivileged community near me that might be going to college. Basically, the school district spends all its resources on getting the low-end kids to not drop out, pass the exit exam, etc., and one of the schoolboard members decided he wanted to do something to support the high-end kids. He started getting them donations/scholarships to attend summer programs at some east coast schools, and now he's getting alums from those schools to mentor them. Some of these kids are going to be seniors and are actually doing the college application thing, some are younger and are just thinking about it. Like I said above, these kids have grown up in a very different environment from me, and I just have no idea what to do to help them in this process. Any advice?

Thank you!

Metafilter:Guidelines :: Apartment:???

yaymukund — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:40:08 -0800

What are some things you wish you knew (or were glad you knew) before you moved into your first apartment with roommates? I'm looking for methods of splitting up chores, cooking, finances, resolving disputes, and dealing with common problems.

Protecting a Laptop from the Internet

yellowbkpk — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:16:03 -0800

What's the best way to get a laptop ready for a sibling's trip to college? My younger sibling is getting ready to head off to college 600 miles away at the end of the month. We just ordered a standard 'ol Dell laptop and I'm looking for the best way to get it set up so that I don't have to worry too much about remotely fixing and diagnosing problems.

My plan so far:
1. Wipe Vista off
2. Partition the drive into 3 partitions: 2 equally-sized OS partitions, one larger data partition.
3. Install Win XP SP3 with all updates.
4. Install required productivity software, video, image, browsers, etc.
5. Somehow clone C:\ to the second partition so that it can be recovered in the event of a virus.

Any other ideas? What's the best way to protect the laptop from nasties that a teenager nowadays inevitably will accumulate while surfing the web without my intervention?

What's a good piece of software that can do step 5?

Lots of money, zero support

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:57:52 -0800

I'm getting great scholarships, but my faculty hates me. Do I stay in grad school? Yes, it's another "what to do about grad school?" question, but I hope my situation is unique enough to keep things interesting.

Okay, so since I started grad school last year (my MA year; I'm entering PhD this year), I've received two very prestigious government scholarships for my work. The one I received this year will cover me for the next three years, is worth a lot of money, and is an honour few people in my field ever receive.

Sounds good, right? The problem is that I am hated in my faculty, and am considered by many to be a feckless troublemaker. This is causing me huge emotional distress, so much so that part of me is screaming to abandon school altogether, despite the huge piles of cash thrown my way. Yes, it is that bad.

It's hard to say exactly how I became branded in this manner. I swear in other facets of life I am considered congenial and likeable. But in grad school I have managed to build up an impressive cadre of enemies. Keep in mind that I still keep in touch with my profs from undergrad, who encourage me vehemently to continue my work, and I have made good contacts with faculty from other schools. But where I am studying right now I'm some sort of menace, apparently. I often wonder why that is so, but that's a topic for another question.

At the moment, nobody is willing to support the research for which I won this three-year scholarship. In fact, a prof recently wrote me a scathing screed detailing why such research would fail. It is not the first such screed. The main issues, by the way, are related to methodology; in my field, my current school goes about its research in a unique way, and any deviations from this standard are met with derision (nor is any consideration given to the fact that other approaches are worthwhile).

Opportunities to transfer to another school are slim, given my field and the limitations of my scholarship (in country only). Recently an opportunity presented itself to continue my work in a school in another country, but this plan is contingent on securing the necessary funding, which is dicey.

At the moment my main problem is this huge mental block I have with grad school. It's not easy having your own faculty repeatedly tell you what a pile of rags you are. My escape plan is not without merit, but any emotional investment in school at the moment causes considerable pain (yes, I am seeing a medical professional about this). The thought of throwing it all in the dustbin is so so tempting, but I worry about what that will cost me in terms of money and future career opportunities. Plus I'm not sure if any career would suit me as well as academia, though academia seems so sour to me at this point I'm not sure if it's worth the effort.

So, what to do? Any and all suggestions are welcome. E-mails may be sent to the temp address gradschooldidmein@gmail.com.

Keep the black dog at bay

teraspawn — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 02:08:47 -0800

Depression in University/College: most of you seem to have been through it, do you have any tips? According to my research, about 90% of Mefites suffered from depression while they were in university ^{[citation needed]}. You gave me some amazing advice in my previous question about taking a year out from my course, and I'm happy to say I feel like I'm mostly out of the woods now and ready to start second year again in September.

However, as someone who's fairly prone to depression, I'm a little apprehensive about trying to keep up with my work, socialising and looking after myself (when I don't have my mum on hand to feed me!).

I've read this question on a similar topic, but I'm looking for general advice and tips on how to depression-proof my time at university, and how to do well academically without driving myself absolutely potty. What do you think, Hive Mind?

Can someone attend school full-time and still get unemployment in Illinois?

sugarfish — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:18:24 -0800

Is it legal to draw unemployment benefits in Illinois while attending college as a full-time student? I'm asking this for my mom. She was laid off a few months ago and has been drawing unemployment while looking for work. The economy being what it has, she hasn't had much luck, and is considering going back to college. She wants to go full-time, though, and I'm not having much luck googling an answer about whether or not she'll be able to keep drawing unemployment (while still looking for work!) if she goes back to school. The Illinois unemployment website isn't very helpful, and when I search I keep getting a bunch of yahoo-answers like sites.

Thanks for your help.

Where to major in film and the sciences?

elisabethjw — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:47:17 -0800

My sister is a junior in high school and beginning to look at colleges. We're having difficulty finding colleges which would be a good "fit" for her (film major). Help? My sister is an aspiring director. She's very talented, but we've had some difficulty finding colleges for her to look at. So far, she's expressed a lot of interest in Cal Arts and Brooks Institute -- however, upon visiting, I don't think her or my mother were big fans of the Brooks Institute.

Here's the thing: She's absolutely brilliant, especially at math/science/etc., and she'd like to double-major in something related to those fields, so we'd like to avoid any conservatory-type colleges.

She also is not your typical film or art student -- she's relatively shy and conservative (not so much politically -- she's relatively apathetic about politics -- but in dress, mannerisms) very friendly, kind of goofy, sweet and silly. We aren't sure if she would fit in with some of the quirky abrasiveness that can come with an art school (that's more my scene) or the massive population at a school like UCLA or USC.

She'd also like to be in California, but my mom isn't sure about the distance (we're from the Midwest).

I spent a ton of time looking for colleges when I applied, and I'm racking my brain for good fits but coming up short. I'd like to give her a list of colleges to check out that have:

film programs (preferably reputable ones)
strong academics (I strongly believe she could get into any top 25 university with her academics, barring the randomness of college admissions)
smallish student body -- perhaps a strong liberal arts school?
potential for scholarship money is a plus
preferably west of the Mississippi

(Also, don't mention Northwestern -- I am a student there and I've recommended it, but she doesn't like the huge Greek scene.)

Help!

Good online business degree in Florida?

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:58:20 -0800

Besides University of Florida (UF), are there any good, accredited schools in Florida that offer completely online business degrees (or Economics... maybe General Studies worst case)? I was kicked out of a state school (hereafter, SS) 3 years ago, after attending full time for 4. My GPA was 1.8. With that kind of GPA and credit deficit, I was basically permanently kicked out. So, I switched majors and went to community college!

I just finished my Business AA from a community college. Now I'd like to finish it up my BA. Unfortunately, I can't get back into SS (I still live in the same city, do not plan to move, have great job making more than all my coworkers with degrees). I've already appealed and was denied readmission. My GPA after CC was 2.15, but for the business program only, it was 3.62. I have like 60-70 credits of HORRIBLE grades dragging me down.

Because I am not in good standing with SS, I can't go to UF (you have to be in good standing with all previous institutions). Also, because my GPA is horrible, I can't go anywhere but another SS, or a degree mill (university of phoenix, etc), unless there are some extremely understanding private schools out there I don't know about. With an AA from a Florida Community College, you're guaranteed admission to a state school.

Are there any other schools in Florida I can go to, without moving? Does anyone have any advice or experience with this kind of situation whatsoever? Basically I spent 4 years in a major I thought I liked, but hated and was not good at, digging myself into a huge hole, because I was young, dumb, irresponsible, etc.

Should I just not say anything about my previous SS experience and apply to UF anyways?

1. ??? 2. Ph.D. 3. Profit!

ailouros08 — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 12:05:09 -0800

The eternal question: A 2d bachelor's degree, or straight to grad school? Another rehash of a fairly common question on AskMe, but with a fun, crushing-financial-burden? spin.

My darling girlfriend is considering going back to school for a Ph.D. in Ecology or Environmental Science. She is currently the not-so-proud owner of a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies (her particular brand includes a mixture of biology, chemistry, environmental science, sociology and anthropology). She's been out of school, working in retail, for about five years. While she has managed to avoid the lay-offs so far, the chances that her company will still be around by next February are vanishingly small. So, she's finally mustered the courage to take a stab at her dream: Getting her Ph.D. in Environmental Science.

Complications? Her graduating GPA was a mere 2.3, so it would be difficult, if not outright impossible, for her to get into grad school without some prep work. So right now she's trying to decide between getting a 2d bachelor's in Biology, taking classes as a Post-Bacc at a local university, or taking classes at a local community college in order to boost her GPA.

Her question really revolves around the cost-benefit of each of these paths. The financial considerations, while still significant, will lessen considerably once I finish school in May 2010. Though I won't be earning the big bucks, I'll be able to replace her earnings (we live quite frugally) and she'll be able to focus entirely on being a student.

1. A 2d Bachelor's would take longer, but it would be easier to get financial aid. All the past AskMe's we've looked at suggest that its effect on admissions to a graduate program would be negligible.

2. Post-Bacc classes would be the fastest way for her to beef up her GPA. Additionally, she would be taking them at one of three great research universities in the area, so she'd have networking opportunities. However, Post-Bacc students aren't eligible for financial aid, so this would be the most expensive option (and she would probably have to work part-time to help defray the cost.)

3. Taking community college classes is the cheapest option by far, but unless she actually enrolls in an Associate's Degree program, she won't be eligible for financial aid. Her worry with this option is that the rigor of the classes (or lack thereof) may hinder her when she applies to a grad program.

I apologize for the long question, but she is at a very big crossroads in her life, and needs all the advice and encouragement she can get. So, fellow mefites, have you taken any of these paths? What would you recommend? Should she focus on quality or affordability? Advice/warnings? Alternatives?

Best way to go back to school in an unrelated field?

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:39:39 -0800

Possibly going back to school in an unrelated field (engineering); what's the best way to approach this? note: (anonymous due to my boss being a regular reading of metafilter and knows my screen name).

My eventual goal would be a dual masters degree in engineering (civil / environmental) and international affairs (IA/IR). I know this is relatively uncommon and as a result I've had a hard time getting advice (even from professors). I'm hoping someone out there will give me some insight. Although they sound like an unusual combination to almost everyone, it would seem like expertise in something like water resource engineering and policy planning/analysis would be quite useful (in fact I did find that Tufts has a dual degree for that very combination).

Background Information: I'm 23 and graduated last year with a degree in economics and am currently working in banking. With my economics background (with a decent amount of political science and language) I think I have an okay chance of getting into an MA program for IA; the problem is engineering. I have no engineering background and in college took relatively few math and science classes. I know as it is right now my chances of getting into any MS engineering program is nearly impossible.

I was reading a similar thread on metafilter (http://ask.metafilter.com/69429/Should-I-go-back-to-school-for-a-second-degree) and I guess my main question would be the differences between getting a second bachelor's degree (in engineering) or rather taking the required background classes and applying directly to a M.Engineering program? I've read in multiple places that a second bachelor's might just end up being a waste of time, but I'm unsure as to which one would give me a better chance of getting into an engineering program.

COME ON!!!

gergtreble — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:39:02 -0800

So... I may be going on television... There is a chance that I will be going on University Challenge (College Bowl for you Americans) in the next month or so. So I need the most bad-ass awesome T-shirt to wear. Can I buy an AskMefi shirt? Also any other tips you want to send my way would be well received!

French-speaking university for a student from the U.S.?

non-kneebiter — Tue, 19 May 2009 21:36:49 -0800

What are some universities which teach in French that a student from the U.S. should consider? (Especially in Quebec.) I'm a high school student in the U.S. currently trying to figure out where I would like to go for college. I'm interested in going to a school in a French-speaking location and at a school where classes are taught in French. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions for places to consider, especially in Quebec (or New Brunswick?), from anyone who has attended one or knew someone who has.

Thanks!

Educate me (and mine).

mds35 — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:05:15 -0800

Which colleges or universities still offer free tuition to children of employees who get accepted to the school? I once worked at a university where an employee's child (provided the parent was at a certain job level/rank and had been in the job long enough to qualify) could go to any of the undergraduate divisions for free if they were accepted to them. If the child went to another college, the university would pay half of the tuition.

Pretty sweet deal.

I know that schools are doing away with this kind of benefit, but what schools do you know of where this is still offered? My career is such that I can work in the academic setting, so where should I look for employment if I want my kids to get a free education?

This regards the US

Is college after university a good idea for career development?

cranberrymonger — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:00:47 -0800

What are your experiences with college after university? Is it helpful with career progression? (Some specifics - skip to the bottom paragraph if you like!)
I'm done my BA (in Ontario) and I'm considering some local college programs (in particular, this one).

I'm evaluating programs mainly based on whether or not the experience will help me professionally.

This particular program includes an 8-week placement with a public sector organization (presumably the government). The FAQ lists all kinds of lofty post-graduation employment opportunities but I can't tell how realistic these are based on completing a one-year college program.

I plan to get in touch with the program coordinator and ask some specific questions... but I want to ask MeFi:

What are the benefits and drawbacks of attending college after university? Did you find the experience helped your career? Did the field placement help?