The Indian Thread #20 (a)

[mechrockz]

@Tizil "whole idea of rote memorization is very good"

lol
u just earned your place in the frat pack.

[shrey228]

Who does ISC? How was the paper today?

[desivader]

@shrey228 ISC here!

Today was English Language. Went awesome!

Had to write a Principal certificate (a.k.a. counselor recommendation) as a report. God just wants me to keep thinking about US admissions, not boards :-P

[shrey228]

haha, i know what it was, im in isc too
yeah the testimonial bit was nice, though i was kinda hoping for a movie/book review. My multipurpose reusable answer: slumdog millionaire :P

which essay did you do?

[Tizil7]

Cobalt, you didn't sound like a braggart

HC, let me re-phrase ... rote-memorization is essential after understanding the stuff. Now, I don't want anyone to take this in the wrong way but I never really notice that I'm understanding a concept. It comes naturally. So the most important part for me is rote-memorization from thereafter. Trying to *only* memorize without understanding is an utter waste of time. *However*, there's an exception here as well. Sometimes, I just memorize a concept even if I don't understand it, but once I read further, say, do two more topics, I understand the original one. Hence I say that rote memorization is quite useful

I'm not sure if I'm able to get the point across, though I am trying

Haha Mech, I will definitely have a social group, but definitely not a frat house. At least not the stereotypical ones

shrey, desi and other ISC guys, are these your boards? In any case, good luck!

[mysticgohan]

@hm2711: Your suggestion of getting everyone's opinion on who will get in where is one of the most ludicrous I have ever seen. It seems to me that the only objective that will achieve is to enhance the already high level of apprehension about college decisions. And damage the self esteem of many of the members here.

[Tizil7]

^ Stop on.

I'm only so [strike]paranoid[/strike] enthusiastic about college decisions

[Tizil7]

Notorious Edit: I meant "Spot On" in the previous post. Mac auto-correct >.<

Firstly, I must thank you, MG and YIATG for being here and participating in our discussions Your posts are helpful and it's always helpful to have someone experienced to talk to. I have a few questions for you both:

Once we '16ers get our decisions in the coming month, what factors should we use to decide where to go? More specifically, what did you both (see that you're the only active '15ers here) look for? I think I might have a hard time deciding between the overall prestige of the college and the value of having an engineering degree from that college.

Should I be looking out for things such as class size, student-teacher ratio, location (Stanford vs Dartmouth; only contrasting the location), professors, weather, grade inflation or deflation (Caltech?), starting pay for particular majors?

I don't think that I can get the "feel" of a college unless I visit it. Is visiting a college worth it - in terms of getting a sense of classes / a typical day? I know this question is better suited for admissions officers, but it would help if any of you did this

Is college confidential a good place to get a feel of students' general opinion of their college? Say, juniors, sophomores or seniors posting here?

Lastly, and to make full use of the resources at our disposal, why not start with you guys? How would you MG, describe your Caltech experience, and you, YIATG, describe your Berkeley experience? It would be interesting to see two POVs from such different type of schools.

Thanks once again for taking out time to read this and (perhaps) reply ^_^

[mysticgohan]

Well Im not sure how adversely class size affects your learning experience but I haven't had the opportunity to reap the supposed benefits of a small class since I have not delved into the intricacies of my major yet. Dont worry about not getting a feel for your colleges. You can't. Unless you're rich and can afford to visit your colleges for PFW and all that jazz. So just go by what you hear and you'll learn to like where you study. Or at least you'll learn to make the best of what life gives you.

Specifically for Caltech, I'd like to be objective. This is not a place for the faint-hearted. If you think you're good and you don't have to worry, you are wrong. This place is the biggest challenge you'll ever face in life and many a time you will wonder if it's all worth it. However, for the right people, the challenge can be immensely rewarding and inculcates a discipline and work ethic that will serve you well throughout life. Expect the most rigorous and punishing intellectual experience that will be ultimately rewarding(hopefully). Don't expect a normal college experience.

[YeahImThatGuy]

For me, I had a tough time rejecting my other acceptances but I was certain that if I was to go into CompSci, it made sense to choose either Berkeley or CMU. Both are superb schools, but I liked the atmosphere of Berkeley more plus its proximity to Silicon Valley. Another key factor for me was interacting with as many people from the concerned colleges as much as possible. Apart from general details about the university, this gives you a feel of what the student community there is like. CMU seemed to be the quintessential nerdy place, it had a similar vibe to that of IITs in India, but cooler. Berkeley on the other hand seemed hypercompetitive but super laid back at the same time. I would be unfair to my college if I didn't mention the word 'liberal' here. I saw myself at Berkeley more than any other place. I was (or for that matter, still am) the type of guy who doesn't study 20 hours the day before the exam, but would create a ruckus if I lost even a single mark. I could imagine myself more at Berkeley than CMU and that was a key point in me taking the decision I took back then.

As far as my experience so far goes, I'll repost my post from another thread on the Berkeley forum:

Originally posted by YeahImThatGuy
As far as academics and the students at Berkeley are concerned, let me put it this way: If you end up here then it's because you were always the best in your high school, far ahead of all the folks in physics and math. That reality, however, is about to change.
Berkeley will overpower you at first, especially since you're a hard science major. If you get intimidated, then hard luck. But if you're brilliant and tough, Berkeley will outmatch your expectations and keep challenging you and pushing you everyday. It will make a champion out of you by the sheer talent you will have to keep up with around you and though initially you might resist this major change, eventually you'll fall in love with it.

That's what I love about it the most

[TheEcnegilletni]

'15ers, I am awed by your maturity and wisdom. You're only a year or so older than us, but you might as well be Dumbledore!

[phr34k]

Got into UMass Amherst

All you folks especially the 15'ers, how would you rate UMass as?

[Ascaris]

UMass has a pretty good computer science program. I was considering applying there.

[desivader]

@shrey228 I went with the original short story prompt. Any answer sheet is incomplete without zombies, IMHO :P

[Tizil7]

Originally Posted by Goten

PFW and all that jazz

Haha I heard that Caltech's PFW consisted of "doing" hard Maths problems in the day and "doing" pretty crazy stuff during the night. <- Paraphrased from the 2009 CC thread

Originally Posted by Gotenks

Don't expect a normal college experience.

I can understand how the Caltech experience will be different from, say, a tier-two college. However, how do you justify calling it different, in terms of intellectual intensity from other top colleges, say Berkeley or Stanford? Is this because of Caltech's small size, and therefore more interaction?

Originally Posted by YIATG

I was (or for that matter, still am) the type of guy who doesn't study 20 hours the day before the exam, but would create a ruckus if I lost even a single mark.

Sounds like me Anyways, your post seems to suggest that you based your decision more (not completely) on where you "saw" yourself in terms of the students who surrounded you vs other quantifiable aspects. Is that true? If so, I understand the pros of this approach, however, is it not prudent to check for other factors as well?

Thanks both of you ^_^