As a junior of a four-year, state-funded university in Pennsylvania, I feel as if I should have no problems when it comes time to schedule for my second semester of my junior year. In theory, I should have seniority and scheduling should come easier to those that are older and need classes to graduate. The key phrase is "in theory."
As scheduling for the spring semester draws near, I am in a constant state of worry. I have my classes figured out. Everything seems to work out great. Of course, I have a week until I actually schedule. The issue? Two of my six classes that I am required to take for my major (and are only offered in the spring) only have one section being taught during this coming semester. This means if I am unable to get into these classes, I will have to wait until my final semester to take these required classes and may possibly fall behind.
"Ask your professor to sign you in."
In many schools, this would work. However, at my university, professors are not as eager to sign students into their classes. In their minds, the longer a student stays at the university, more money the student will shell out to the school. Several of my closest friends are staying for at least another semester and some are even staying extra years due to scheduling conflicts throughout the semesters.
I feel that this is completely unjust. College students nowadays are in more debt than ever before. State-funded universities are not making it any easier for a young person to obtain a college degree. With tuition prices on the rise, staying an extra semester or paying for a few extra credits during "off-semesters" cause students to fall even further in debt and discourage young people from doing what they really want to do in life.
All of these thoughts stem from the simple concern of possibly not being able to take the appropriate classes I need for my major and the university's failure of providing an adequate amount of class sections. It's a domino effect. For now, I'm crossing my fingers that I am able to get into the classes I need to stay on track and graduate in Spring 2011 with little to no problems.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Science/Math vs. Liberal Arts: A Never Ending Battle
I'm sitting on my computer doing my hourly checks of my favorite websites. I always start on Yahoo! because it's my homepage, and it is home to my standard e-mail account. I tend to click a lot of Yahoo!'s news stories because they interest me. One category that is particularly interesting to me are the career articles. Today's article of choice? Most Lucrative College Degrees.
The main focus of this article is the top 15 highest earning college degrees. Almost all of them have the word "engineering" in them. The rest are science or math-based. This is not surprising. They even say it's a supply & demand thing. A lot of students go into liberal arts nowadays and very few graduate with science or math-related degrees. What bothered me about this? Well, after discussing the lowest earning degrees (communications is included in this list--not that I'm surprised; I'm well aware of this.), Ed Koc, director of research at NACE, stated in this article that "few grads offer math skills, and those who can are rewarded."
I hate the phrasing of this. Here's the thing: I CAN do math very well. I passed Calculus AB & BC with A's. I understand they are talking about graduates here, but this is one of the many statements that lead to science & math majors constantly thinking they are superior to those of us in the liberal arts majors. The entire world puts these people with science & math careers up on this pedestal. It's so impressive that they chose a major in said fields. How come no one is ever impressed when I mention my degree in Communications (Public Relations) & minor in English Literature. While they are racking their brains trying to create formulas and solve problems for one class, I'm taking the course load of two areas of study.
I am in no way saying their majors are easy. I just don't appreciate the world constantly believing that these majors are "better" than those of us studying in the liberal arts fields. I, personally, chose my major because I enjoy it a lot. While money is a concern of mine, it's not my primary concern; I just want enough money to get by in life. I respect those that do see money as a primary concern. I just feel like no one appreciates those of us that follow our "dreams" or passions. In the days of energy crises, global warming, and biological warfare, very few of us liberal arts majors get any recognition.
Again, I do respect everyone who goes into these intense fields. We need people in all areas of work. Nevertheless, my hope is to one day see an article on Yahoo!'s homepage praising those of us in the communications, English, arts, and humanities fields. It sometimes feels like it's us against the world, but I am not going to let it stop me.
The main focus of this article is the top 15 highest earning college degrees. Almost all of them have the word "engineering" in them. The rest are science or math-based. This is not surprising. They even say it's a supply & demand thing. A lot of students go into liberal arts nowadays and very few graduate with science or math-related degrees. What bothered me about this? Well, after discussing the lowest earning degrees (communications is included in this list--not that I'm surprised; I'm well aware of this.), Ed Koc, director of research at NACE, stated in this article that "few grads offer math skills, and those who can are rewarded."
I hate the phrasing of this. Here's the thing: I CAN do math very well. I passed Calculus AB & BC with A's. I understand they are talking about graduates here, but this is one of the many statements that lead to science & math majors constantly thinking they are superior to those of us in the liberal arts majors. The entire world puts these people with science & math careers up on this pedestal. It's so impressive that they chose a major in said fields. How come no one is ever impressed when I mention my degree in Communications (Public Relations) & minor in English Literature. While they are racking their brains trying to create formulas and solve problems for one class, I'm taking the course load of two areas of study.
I am in no way saying their majors are easy. I just don't appreciate the world constantly believing that these majors are "better" than those of us studying in the liberal arts fields. I, personally, chose my major because I enjoy it a lot. While money is a concern of mine, it's not my primary concern; I just want enough money to get by in life. I respect those that do see money as a primary concern. I just feel like no one appreciates those of us that follow our "dreams" or passions. In the days of energy crises, global warming, and biological warfare, very few of us liberal arts majors get any recognition.
Again, I do respect everyone who goes into these intense fields. We need people in all areas of work. Nevertheless, my hope is to one day see an article on Yahoo!'s homepage praising those of us in the communications, English, arts, and humanities fields. It sometimes feels like it's us against the world, but I am not going to let it stop me.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Fate vs. Freewill
Everything happens for a reason? You control your own destiny? Which one of these famous cliches are correct?
A friend of mine from another blog site brought up the discussion of freewill & fate. It's quite an interesting discussion and it all has to do with personal beliefs. I understand everyone's beliefs are different, but it got me thinking about which side I favor.
I'm the moderate, can-see-both-sides-to-every-story, relatively open-minded friend of any group. I've never been extreme on a side of any issue and I understand most arguments for everything. As a result, I can't pick one or the other. I believe there's a combination. How diplomatic of me, I know, but hear me out.
I believe there are several decisions made for every instant in life. For instance, I had written a series of words before I typed up that last sentence, but I decided to delete them. As a result, this blog entry has been changed and will lead me in another direction than the blog entry that may have resulted if I kept the same series of words. I believe that there's a path or maybe predestined consequences with every decision. I feel that individuals have the ability through freewill to chose which path (of the many possible paths) they chose. I know a lot of people probably feel this same way because it's an easier belief for humans to wrap their mind around.
I'm currently reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. The timing of this topic is kinda ironic (fate maybe? ha!) because this book touches on this topic quite a bit. *General Spoiler Alert* Henry, the main character, time travels. Obviously. However, the reason he can do this is because events in his life have already happened/are simultaneously happening all at the same time. No matter what time period he's in and no matter where he appears, it's impossible for him to change life because everything has already happened and things are already planned out. This concept was incredibly hard for me to follow for awhile. I finally understand it in the context of the book. Nevertheless, I do not agree with this idea. I'm fascinated by the idea that things are happening at the same time as things in the future are happening, but all of this is too difficult for my human mind to even fathom. *End of Spoiler Alert*
Forever or life itself is a confusing concept for everyone. The idea that every single part of our life is planned out and things are "destined" to happen is an idea that is impossible for me to grasp. If this is the case, why are so many people living in terrible conditions? I feel fate is our way of trying to make sense of life--a life no one can truly understand until its over. Fate is a comforting factor that allows us to not feel guilty about our mistakes and choices.
Despite this argument of mine, I do feel like there are a lot of things we can not control. I believe a lot of things do happen for a reason, but the reason is because we made a choice. As I said before, I believe our choices lead us to other choices and lead us to our destiny. I do not believe the whole thing is planned out for ourselves. I guess my beliefs are more towards freewill than anything, but I'd like to hope there's fate somewhere out there. Fate is a comforting factor, and it allows many of us to carry on and hope for the future. We all need that hope sometimes.
I'm not gonna stop making choices and chasing after what I want just because someone tells me "if it's meant to be, it's meant to be." I will, however, keep the idea that I'm on a path with many possible consequences. There's a life out there waiting for me and all I have to do is make the specific decisions to lead me there. We'll see how it goes and what my path is like. This was all very Robert Frost of me.
Anyone else think about fate and freewill? Anyone else's opinions differ? I love seeing people's point and arguments on topics like these. It's interesting to see people's stances on life and choices and the future.
A friend of mine from another blog site brought up the discussion of freewill & fate. It's quite an interesting discussion and it all has to do with personal beliefs. I understand everyone's beliefs are different, but it got me thinking about which side I favor.
I'm the moderate, can-see-both-sides-to-every-story, relatively open-minded friend of any group. I've never been extreme on a side of any issue and I understand most arguments for everything. As a result, I can't pick one or the other. I believe there's a combination. How diplomatic of me, I know, but hear me out.
I believe there are several decisions made for every instant in life. For instance, I had written a series of words before I typed up that last sentence, but I decided to delete them. As a result, this blog entry has been changed and will lead me in another direction than the blog entry that may have resulted if I kept the same series of words. I believe that there's a path or maybe predestined consequences with every decision. I feel that individuals have the ability through freewill to chose which path (of the many possible paths) they chose. I know a lot of people probably feel this same way because it's an easier belief for humans to wrap their mind around.
I'm currently reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. The timing of this topic is kinda ironic (fate maybe? ha!) because this book touches on this topic quite a bit. *General Spoiler Alert* Henry, the main character, time travels. Obviously. However, the reason he can do this is because events in his life have already happened/are simultaneously happening all at the same time. No matter what time period he's in and no matter where he appears, it's impossible for him to change life because everything has already happened and things are already planned out. This concept was incredibly hard for me to follow for awhile. I finally understand it in the context of the book. Nevertheless, I do not agree with this idea. I'm fascinated by the idea that things are happening at the same time as things in the future are happening, but all of this is too difficult for my human mind to even fathom. *End of Spoiler Alert*
Forever or life itself is a confusing concept for everyone. The idea that every single part of our life is planned out and things are "destined" to happen is an idea that is impossible for me to grasp. If this is the case, why are so many people living in terrible conditions? I feel fate is our way of trying to make sense of life--a life no one can truly understand until its over. Fate is a comforting factor that allows us to not feel guilty about our mistakes and choices.
Despite this argument of mine, I do feel like there are a lot of things we can not control. I believe a lot of things do happen for a reason, but the reason is because we made a choice. As I said before, I believe our choices lead us to other choices and lead us to our destiny. I do not believe the whole thing is planned out for ourselves. I guess my beliefs are more towards freewill than anything, but I'd like to hope there's fate somewhere out there. Fate is a comforting factor, and it allows many of us to carry on and hope for the future. We all need that hope sometimes.
I'm not gonna stop making choices and chasing after what I want just because someone tells me "if it's meant to be, it's meant to be." I will, however, keep the idea that I'm on a path with many possible consequences. There's a life out there waiting for me and all I have to do is make the specific decisions to lead me there. We'll see how it goes and what my path is like. This was all very Robert Frost of me.
Anyone else think about fate and freewill? Anyone else's opinions differ? I love seeing people's point and arguments on topics like these. It's interesting to see people's stances on life and choices and the future.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Outside Internships
Recently, I got myself into a predicament. I am trying to network and get to know several companies relating to PR opportunities and other media-focused businesses. I would love to get out of this small area outside of Pittsburgh and internship at one of the major cities. I know this is not the easiest approach to finding an internship, but I really do not want to settle.
I know New York City offers summer housing if you get an internship early enough. As a result, I've been trying to network early and find opportunities for next summer as soon as I can. Through my research, I found a company called Planned Television Arts. The company announced that it was already interviewing interns for Summer 2010. "Great!" I thought. "Exactly what I am looking for." I e-mailed the company and got a pretty rapid response back. The woman suggested I e-mail a resume, and after, we could set up an in-person or over-the-phone interview.
After I got my final grades for the semester, I sent in my resume and just received a response. The woman assumed I would be available to do an in-person interview and has set me up with a date & time. Obviously, I am going to explain that I was hoping for an over-the-phone interview and try to get this rescheduled, but I'm concerned about this.
If I want an internship outside this area, is it expected that I travel to the city for every interview? Are there opportunities where I can apply for internships and not be expected to interview in person? I'm willing to find housing for summer 2010 and live in the area at that point, but I can't exactly go to NYC every time a possible internship arises. I live 6.5 hours away. How do I chase after these internships outside of my area without being unrealistic?
I know New York City offers summer housing if you get an internship early enough. As a result, I've been trying to network early and find opportunities for next summer as soon as I can. Through my research, I found a company called Planned Television Arts. The company announced that it was already interviewing interns for Summer 2010. "Great!" I thought. "Exactly what I am looking for." I e-mailed the company and got a pretty rapid response back. The woman suggested I e-mail a resume, and after, we could set up an in-person or over-the-phone interview.
After I got my final grades for the semester, I sent in my resume and just received a response. The woman assumed I would be available to do an in-person interview and has set me up with a date & time. Obviously, I am going to explain that I was hoping for an over-the-phone interview and try to get this rescheduled, but I'm concerned about this.
If I want an internship outside this area, is it expected that I travel to the city for every interview? Are there opportunities where I can apply for internships and not be expected to interview in person? I'm willing to find housing for summer 2010 and live in the area at that point, but I can't exactly go to NYC every time a possible internship arises. I live 6.5 hours away. How do I chase after these internships outside of my area without being unrealistic?
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