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I plan on transferring out of Community College this coming semester (for anyone still in HS, avoid community college like the plague!) Anyhow, I'm looking at four year universities. I'm curious where you guys went or where you live. I'm looking for not only a good institution, but a nice campus, intermural sports, and a cool town and environment to hang out in.

Right now my #1 choice is University of Texas, but I very much doubt I will get accepted. My #2 riight now is Auburn because I've heard only good things about it. Looking at Wisconson, Rollins (kinda expensive), Rutgers, Florida, and maybe just follow my boy Spurrier to SC! ;)

Anyhow, I'd like to know where you guys went, any tips also highly appreciated. One other question I have:

HOPEFULLY Ill be going in as at least a sophmore, hopefully more along the lines of Junior, but depends on how credits transfer. Do you suggest living in a dorm for a semester or two or would you suggest living on my own. I think I'd prefer to get an apartment, my biggest fear is going after a Computer Science degree is meeting people. I'd prefer to spend my evenings and spare time doing things besides helping poindexter build his love robot!

booooooo auburn. they beat us. i go to tech and its pretty cool.

stay out of the dorms if you can afford it.

nothin wrong with dorms, its a good way to meet people and you are close to all the classes

i'd have to disagree big c...it's a good way to get stuck with people you don't like too...

I have a lot of family that went to Auburn, and yes, it is a very cool school.

My older brother and sister both went to Tech, also very cool, though a little too big for my taste.

I went to James Madison. Excellent school, beautiful campus, tons of hot chicks, lots of great parties, and abundant, reasonably-priced off-campus housing.

I lived in the dorms my first two years, and I did meet lots of great people that way, but living off-campus is definitely more fun.:Smoker: :headbange :party-smi :FIREdevil




btw, JMU's College of Integrated Science and Technology is a great place for those interested in a Computer Science degree.

Yeah, I have lots of friends at in-state schools. Mason, Madison, W&M, a couple at tech, couple at UVA. Looking more at out-of-state schools. Thanks for the help!

If you want to come to upstate NY I can give you plenty of advice and tell you all about the SUNY system. ;)

As for the living situation, at a new school I would definitely suggest living in the dorms initially if you want to meet a bunch of new people. As much as it can suck at times, overall it's worth it for the social part. I always had a blast in the dorms.

After a couple of semesters in the dorms then I would look to get an apartment, but at least then you already know a bunch of people. If you go skip the dorm and move in to an apartment right off the bat, it will be much harder to meet new people. You tend to get stuck in your own little world off campus.

dasael, i went to Salisbury University...a University System of Maryland school on MD's Eastern Shore...and I had a blast!

I took a few CS classes, and had friends major in CS...the department is pretty decent. The school is smaller than what your choices are (enrollment is around 6000), but the college atmosphere there is great. Check it out ([url]www.salisbury.edu[/url])...

As far as dorm v. off campus...I lived on campus all 4 years, and it made my life a lot easier...most of my classes were on the main campus, and i could get up 10 minutes before class and be there on time. it was easier for me to meet people living on campus as well, but i not very out going when i first meet people...

i had friends that lived off campus and their biggest complaint was finding parking...if you live off campus not within walking or biking distance, be prepared to park and be on campus early and stay all day. however, it's usually cheaper to live off campus...my sister is a senior there now, and walks to campus from her house all the time...

Salisbury, MD is definitely a college town...plenty of bars to hang out at, most of the housing around campus is college students, and the beach is less than 30 minutes away. Single A affiliate of the Orioles plays 5 minutes from campus (once or twice during the spring semester, they have a college night, students get in for free)...and plenty of great places to play golf...

The intramurals are great, because they are played on lighted fields during the evenings, it's a great way to unwind after a long day of classes...the campus is fairly small, but currently expanding. the dining hall is incredible...i had so many friends come down and rave about the dining hall. and the females...you'll have to see for yourself...

PM me if you're interested in going down one weekend...i've got fraternity brothers that can put you up and show you around...

Great point about transportation, on campus you can walk everywhere no problem.

Off campus unless you have a car it can really suck. I hated having to depend on the bus to get around. It was never on time and most times it wasn't worth going home between classes so I was stuck on campus most of the day. Most of the time there was nothing to do but smoke butts :cool-smil What a hard life! LOL

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]If you want to come to upstate NY I can give you plenty of advice and tell you all about the SUNY system. ;)

As for the living situation, at a new school I would definitely suggest living in the dorms initially if you want to meet a bunch of new people. As much as it can suck at times, overall it's worth it for the social part. I always had a blast in the dorms.

After a couple of semesters in the dorms then I would look to get an apartment, but at least then you already know a bunch of people. If you go skip the dorm and move in to an apartment right off the bat, it will be much harder to meet new people. You tend to get stuck in your own little world off campus.[/QUOTE]


Hey Matty, Which SUNY School did you go too? I'm proboly going to SUNY Brockport next year.

There is +'s and -'s about living on campus. I would recommend living on campus for at least a year. I believe you could ask for a roommate more your age also. The advantages that I rembember are easy walking distance to classes, dont have to worry about cooking-although most are not great, the food is not bad. It sounds like you will be going somewhere where you will not know anyone so you can meet people easier living on campus. I was lucky and got good roomates. The bad side to living on campus is a little lack of privacy, other roomates or people in the next room talking or playing music, while you are trying to sleep-but you can get them back in the early morning.
As far a picking a college what is more important partying or education? Do your research and make sure that the program you want is good on campus then check for the parties and other activities. As far as joining a fraturnity, I never did but if I had it to do all over again, I might of joined. I was a manager on the football team, which paid for my tuition. I dont know if the bigger schools would pay all the way or not. You would probably have to work for free for a while-a semester or two, but would be worth it in the long run. The travel was really fun too.

I definitely concur with the opinion that it's beneficial to live on-campus for at least a couple semesters. It's the best way to make a diverse group of friends as you adjust to college life, and it really can be a lot of fun.

I also agree that it makes life a lot less complicated, especially in terms of avoiding the whole commuting mess.

It's definitely best to live on-campus for at least a portion of your college career, but once you establish a solid group of friends, you'll definitely want to live off-campus and enjoy the freedom of having your own room to crash and hookup in, without having to worry about a roommate being there all the time.

Plus, living in an apartment prepares you somewhat for the responsibilities you'll have once you're out of school-- rent, utilities, bills, managing your finances.

But I would recommend starting out on-campus your first semester or two.

My first semester i was in a dorm and with in two weeks my roommate had been arrested for not only draining my bank account but also when they came to arrest him they found a pound of weed in the closet. so I was not allowed in my room for a week because it was a crime scene. After that it was pretty good, if you can get a private room.

[QUOTE=Gmanc711]Hey Matty, Which SUNY School did you go too? I'm proboly going to SUNY Brockport next year.[/QUOTE]

Cobleskill and Oneonta.

Brockport is a good school, what are you going for? I looked at their business program but there was no way they would let me in with the GPA I had at that time, LOL

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]Cobleskill and Oneonta.

Brockport is a good school, what are you going for? I looked at their business program but there was no way they would let me in with the GPA I had at that time, LOL[/QUOTE]


Hey Matty, don't you mean "stonyonta"...lol. I am from there better known as a townie. Remember the good old days when Oneonta was the home office for Letterman's Top Ten List and when Oneonta was rated #1 for having the most bars per capita.

[QUOTE=NY_Skinsfan]Hey Matty, don't you mean "stonyonta"...lol. I am from there better known as a townie. Remember the good old days when Oneonta was the home office for Letterman's Top Ten List and when Oneonta was rated #1 for having the most bars per capita.[/QUOTE]

oh yeah definitely stonyonta

I can definitely account for all the bars they have there, I think it's water street that has bar after bar after bar. Good times.

Thanks a lot guys, it's been very helpfull. Keep the comments coming!

JoeCrisp - could you give me a little more information about Auburn if you have it? I'm very interested in it so far!

BDBohnzie - could certainly be interested. I'll let you know!

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]Cobleskill and Oneonta.

Brockport is a good school, what are you going for? I looked at their business program but there was no way they would let me in with the GPA I had at that time, LOL[/QUOTE]

I'm going in for communications and minoring in business, most likley marketing. I got declined out of high school but I got my GPA up enough to get in there at community college.

I go to Averett University in Danville, Virginia. It's a private school so certainly cost is going to be a factor. To cut down on the cost of living, I communte about an hour a day to school. Yes, it does get expensive to do even that, but it's somewhere around an extra $5,000 at least a year (or maybe just a semester) to live on campus. Of course if you're planning on going out of state, you'll probably have to deal with the cost of out-of-state tuition anyway. Averett is a rather small school, small campus. I feel more comfortable in a smaller school myself just for the fact that you can get to know your professors better and you're not considered just a number.

Well - seeing as how my high school had 59 people in our graduating class, I'd like to see a larger school! I just got accepted to George Mason, and I'm seriously considering it. We'll see!

Well, I've decided to attend mason this semester and also apply to Texas, Florida, Auburn, and perhaps BDBohnzie's school for next semester. I need to get out of community college. Thanks for all the input guys, it really helped guide me through my decesion process. I didn't expect to get so much personal help through an internet message board, perhaps it's because you think I'm Spurriers son, but I'm guessing you're just very kind. Thanks a lot, and I still may call some favors up, especially Bohnzie!

Looks like you just missed the [URL=http://www.nbc4.com/news/4069329/detail.html]fun[/URL] at Mason

[QUOTE=smootsmack]Looks like you just missed the [URL=http://www.nbc4.com/news/4069329/detail.html]fun[/URL] at Mason[/QUOTE]
Yeah, kinda ticks me off that I find out about this through a newscast and not through an official Mason email.

daseal...just PM me, and i'll hook you up with some guys down there that will take care of you. depending on when you decide to go down, i might be able to make the trip...

[QUOTE=Daseal]Well - seeing as how my high school had 59 people in our graduating class, I'd like to see a larger school! I just got accepted to George Mason, and I'm seriously considering it. We'll see![/QUOTE]


Sounds like a very good choice in George Mason, Daseal! Good luck! You should do well...I always feel those who attend community college at least a couple years have a leg up on those who went into a four-year university straight out of high school. You're able to get alot of those nasty gen eds out of the way which alot of times can make your schedule at the University alot more flexible...depending on what all transfers of course.

[QUOTE=skinsguy]Sounds like a very good choice in George Mason, Daseal! Good luck! You should do well...I always feel those who attend community college at least a couple years have a leg up on those who went into a four-year university straight out of high school. You're able to get alot of those nasty gen eds out of the way which alot of times can make your schedule at the University alot more flexible...depending on what all transfers of course.[/QUOTE]

and another good point is when you transfer, the credits transfer but not the actual grades. so if you have one or two bad grades that might keep gpa down, that all goes away and you have a fresh start. if you get a bad grade after tansfering it doesn't affect the overall gpa as much (because you have more credits accumulated) as it would in you first year of college.

That is true! I was pleasantly surprised at my GPA after my first semester at Averett. It certainly gives you alot of confidence.....

My question is, how do they calculate GPAs if you want to transfer a 3rd time? Do they take the average of your two GPAs? Or do they take all the credits and average out that GPA? Anyone know?

Daseal.... what do you mean by a third time? Like going from junior college to a university and then to transfer out of that university into another one? That's a good question....I'm going to say as long as you hold up the GPA necessary to get into another college (usually is at least 2.5 for higher), then you start out fresh and just hope that all of your credits transfer from one university to the next....which isn't always the case! If it is something of graduating with your Bachelor's and then going on for your Master's, then of course you would start over fresh with a new GPA.

whenever you transfer credits transfer but not the grade so when you go to even a third school you start fresh.

but the more you transfer the chances are the more you will have to repeat classes

i went from a four-year to a two-year back to a four-year....ended up with a 3.24...but after the first year of school i never would have had that if i stayed..worked out great for me.

Samething sort of happened to my Fiancé. She transferred from VCU to a local community college and had to repeat a few classes because the credits didn't transfer. I have found it to be easier to transfer credits from the junior level to the university level rather than the other way around.