Hm... (Give me college advice!!)

[ltgmars]

I've been lurking for the last few days, but I'm back and active and stuff now that I sort of have things figured out. Kind of. College help/advice/input is greatly appreciated.


For now, I'm sending in my acceptance notification to Notre Dame, but I'm staying on the waitlist for Haverford. If I get into Haverford, I'm going to Haverford. If not (which is more likely), I'm going to work my butt off at Notre Dame for a year and then transfer to whatever east coast school will take me for the next three years. Regardless of where I spend the next four years, I'm going to attend graduate school (preferably on the east coast) afterwards.

Major complications:

I plan on double-majoring in Chemistry and Japanese (or at least majoring in Chem and concentrating in Japanese, since Japanese isn't always a field students can major in).

I want to study abroad. In Japan. But very few science courses are offered in Asian study abroad programs.

WE HAVE NO MONEY. Staying at Notre Dame for four years would be cost-effective, but I itch desperately to study on the east coast during undergraduate school. (It's an environment thing. I really want to get out of Indiana, and I love the east coast. And there's a good number of super-frickin'-sweet schools on the east coast.)

So for anyone who knows, please help me out:

How difficult is it to double-major? Does transferring make it more difficult to do so? Is it possible to study abroad if you double-major (or if you major in something (e.g. science) that isn't really supported wherever you're going)?

Is studying abroad really worth the trouble?

Is transferring really worth the trouble?

(Anything else!)

These plans are, of course, highly volatile. The whole transferring thing really depends on my freshman year experience (and, well, if I get into Haverford, then the whole transferring thing is completely irrelevant). If the marginal cost of the trouble of transferring exceeds the marginal benefit of being on the east coast during undergraduate school, then economics demands that I stay at Notre Dame; besides, as they say, "You always have grad school!"

But... undergraduate east coast. Ooh.


Anyway.

Ohisashiburi~. It's been a long couple of months without you guys. ;_;

And for those of you interested (i.e. the fangirls), I've got a few backlogged picspam posts coming your way within the next couple of days...
Hint: Unfinished business, a particular j-drama episode, and something Akadot Retail sent my way (officially the last thing I'm allowed to buy online this year... ~_~).

\(^0^)/

So yeah.

*snuggles everyone*

P.S. BBC Colin Firth Mr. Darcy makes my heart go ドキドキ. I'm so glad Claire finally gave me my DVDs back. XDD

Comments

[moja-zabcia.livejournal.com]

*huggles Nezzy madly* Sorry I kept your Pride and Prejudice so long ... I just wanted it to be a nice surprise for your spring break! Really!

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[ltgmars.livejournal.com]

XDD I was watching some of it last night, all "lima watt" ("five watt" -- what my parents say to describe someone who can barely keep his eyes open)... Ahhhhh, Mr. Darcy, you pompous ass... *___*

[evilyn9.livejournal.com]

Congrats on getting into Notre Dame! Aren't you relieved that the waiting is over (for the most part)?

I myself am having a hard time deciding on where to go. So many options! Basically, I'm waiting for my financial aid packages right now from some schools.

[evilyn9.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I do not know much about double-majoring, studying abroad, and transferring, so I can't give advice there. I would say go with whichever you feel will make you happy but is practical at the same time (though the two don't always go together unfortunately :/).

Good luck in college!

[ltgmars.livejournal.com]

Hee, thanks. ^^ Congrats on all your college acceptances, too, though I guess it makes it that much harder to pick, huh? ^^;;

And thanks for the advice. Practicality isn't really high on my list of priorities, but it is a minor concern, I think. XD I just need to keep in it mind more of the time... >_>

Good luck to you, too! Do let me know where you decide to go, ne?

[eternitat.livejournal.com]

Living at home for undergrad was extremely cost-effective for me. And I doubt your parents are stricter than mine. I mean- do they make you go to church every week AND on days of obligation?

It is better to save the money and use it for grad school.

I never did study abroad. Hard to find for science.

[ltgmars.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, my parents aren't strict at all. They're behind me 500% as long as I'm being reasonable and I'm doing something that'll make me happy. It's just that the idea of sticking around this city for another four years isn't terribly appealing to me. I want to try something different and to really step outside of my comfort zone, but I can't really do that in a city -- and on a campus -- I know like the back of my hand. I figure that since I'll be doing the wholly unfamiliar "college" thing anyway, I may as well go all-out and do it in a completely new place.

It is a good idea to save money for grad school, though... I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for your advice. ^^

On an unrelated note, I forgot to mention it before: You look adorable in your Tomoyo cosplay icon. :D

[eternitat.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the compliment. For some reason I do look cute in that piccie.

I DID go to college in a new city. It's just that my whole family moved there and I lived at home.

And I did get my graduate degree in another school. And I lived (and still do) in my own apartment. So that was a change- although I did take college classes while working before entering library school, so that may have helped. Plus it was all night school in commuter campuses.

Hope this helps. I may be returning to school for a post-masters certificate within the next couple of years.

[ltgmars.livejournal.com]

Hm, I guess there'll be a lot of change no matter what happens, huh? That makes me feel so much better, actually... Thanks! ^^

[melts.livejournal.com]

Eee, congrats on getting into Notre Dame! :O!

As for traveling abroad and double-majoring, they're usually really good about that, and would make sure you'd still finish on-time and all that good stuff. I'm pretty sure it's best if you study something that's related to where you're going, since that's generally a quality those programs look for...

Transferring...I know next to nothing about it XD;;

[ltgmars.livejournal.com]

Hm, thanks~! And hopefully I'll have good academic advisors or counselors (or whatever they are) who'll help me figure out what I need to do to travel abroad and double-major and transfer... though maybe it's frowned-upon to tell your academic advisor that you want to transfer just when you've set foot on campus... >_>

[jenhime.livejournal.com]

I double-majored and I think you'll do fine as long as you realize that a.) it takes more hours than a single major (meaning extra semesters or extra hours per semester) and b.) you really need to watch your classload. I found that by matching up the requirements for each major helped me to pick the correct classes to take. A lot of times I could take a single class that fulfilled more than one requirement, which was completely awesome. I took 1 or 2 classes each summer and 16-20 hours a semester and graduated cum laude in 4 years, so it can be done as long as you know your limits. :)

Transferring could make double-majoring more difficult, depending on the requirements of the school you transfer to. My suggestion is (if you expect to transfer after a year) focus on taking core classes: English 101, non-specialized math/science, etc. That way you (hopefully) won't end up with a lot of classes that only transfer as "elective", requiring you to take similar classes again to fulfill your requirements. In fact, if you know the particular school you want to transfer to, get a copy of their coursebook and compare the degree requirements with the ones for Notre Dame. (Probably their degree requirements information are on-line, even.)

I know several people who went to Notre Dame and LOVED it there. I realize it's different when you've grown up in the area -- it makes it seem less appealing and even a bit dull -- but, trust me that it's an awesome school. ;) I know you said that money is tight, but you'll get a whole different college experience by living on campus than at home. Living off campus makes it too easy to isolate yourself and not get involved in campus life. I highly recommend looking into staying in the dorms because a lot of times being away from home just requires living away from home. (You might even be able to get a housing allowance/scholarship.)

I don't know about studying abroad. I only did it over a summer and I didn't take classes. I know my friends who did study abroad loved the experience though. (Although they did go to a school with a cooperative degree program, so all their credits transferred properly.)

Whether or not transferring is worth the trouble depends on completely on you and if a.) Notre Dame has the programs you want and b.) you're happy.

That's my advice anyway. Take it or leave it. :)

[ltgmars.livejournal.com]

Eh, I'm hoping I'll be able to handle double-majoring (and really, if push comes to shove and I find that I won't be able to handle it, I can just concentrate/minor/whatever in Japanese)... To be honest, I've always been really amazed by people who double-major... it really doesn't seem like there's much time left to do anything, but I guess I just need to sit down and plan everything out -- it'll help if single classes can fulfill different requirements. And I really hope my academic advisor is helpful, though I think I'll be fine with whomever they throw at me (I guess I'm slightly jaded because of my not-so-great high school counselors, but this is college, so they should be better, right?).

Notre Dame isn't a bad school... it's just that I don't want to go there. >< Maybe it's just that I need a major attitude adjustment. I suppose the reluctance will go away once I take the time to learn to make the best of my situation, but right now, I'm just sitting here mumbling "I need to get away from here" in a dark corner of my room. :/

I don't doubt it's a great school, though. My dad and I had dinner with an undergrad and her family on Sunday, and she was basically the talking advertisement for the school. XD

Anyway, thanks so much for your advice. You're so worldly. *_* What did you double-major in, by the way?

[jenhime.livejournal.com]

Ha! "Worldy" -- that's not a word I'd expect to be used to describe me... but then maybe you just mean "old." ;)

I double-majored in English and Music (both BAs) and minored in German. And here I am working in absolutely none of those fields!

[iikanji.livejournal.com]

I also want to go to Japan but financial issues restrict me to do so. I can go to Japan if I really want to (since I'm under the student loan program), but it seems a little bit impractical for me, at this moment.

I also want to shift my minor from History to Asian Studies, but I still have to wait till the end of this semester to do that. As for getting double majors... Well, I am not sure, but let's just say that you should take your time. I also want to get a double degree, but I realized that it wouldn't work for me so I just took an Advance Degree, and will probably take another (general) degree after I graduate.

With regards to Japan... I'll probably work there, but I have to fix my acads first (my grades are falling, oh noes!) before I dream of doing something big.

I dunno how things go in the US (I currently live in Canada), but I hope my ramblings helped. XDDD

[ltgmars.livejournal.com]

Ah, your ramblings were very helpful indeed. I keep forgetting just how impractical it is to study abroad (especially with my other circumstances pending), so it's good that you reminded me. Thanks. XD

[iikanji.livejournal.com]

Why don't you work in Japan instead? At least you can support your tenipuri fandom by working XDDD

[ltgmars.livejournal.com]

Psh, my parents would kill me if I told them I'd be working in Japan after college.

...

Augh, now I'm seriously considering it... XDD