Confused Swedish girl needs your help!

College Search & Lists
1

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I’m planning to go to the States next fall to study and I’m a bit confused with all the different terms y’all are using, all the “minor” and “major” and “double-major”-stuff and so on and so on, haha… would someone please explain to me how this all really works? I’ve understood so far that I would be most suitable for an undergraduate degree, and I’m wondering if that’s “enough” to get a job later etc? Or is it really important to apply to a gradute program as well, after the undergraduate part is finished? </p>

<p>My dream has always been to study in NYC, and I’m interested in NYU, F.I.T and perhaps Parsons. What is the common opinion of these schools? Are there any other schools in NYC that are similar or perhaps even better? I’m going to New York in a couple of weeks to visit the schools, and I would hate to miss out a good school just because I couldn’t find it on the net… I would like to study marketing/communications/advertising and the Music Business program at NYU. </p>

<p>I need your help!! You guys are the experts :)</p>

2

<p>Quick and dirty, since it’s REALLY late here:</p>

<p>One’s major is the main field of concentraton (what you get your degree in). In the US, colleges encourage breadth of knowledge so around half the credits required for graduation may be related to the major while the others satisfy gen ed requirements. Some people choose to concentrate in more than one field (I’m interested in biology and philosophy, for instance) – a double major. Sometimes institutions give two undergrad degrees for this, but often it’s just one with a notation that you did a second major. Minors aren’t really important or required. If you’re interested in something, you can satisfy requirements for a minor in a few courses usually.</p>

<p>People don’t go on to graduate school here unless they’re doing law, medicine, business (usually after they have years of work experience) or are going to be researchers/academics. Undergrad education is sufficient for the workforce though a Master’s *could *help if you are up to it. You will know all about this after a while in college so don’t worry too much. Many people don’t even know what they want to do now.</p>

<p>You’ll need to take the SAT or ACT. Collegeboard.com is a great resource regarding this. E.g.
[College</a> Search - New York University - NYU - At a Glance](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?match=true&collegeId=3186&searchType=college&type=qfs&word=nyu) lists basic stats and you can of course search for other colleges if you’re interested. Pay attention to the 25-75 SAT scores. Your SAT percentile will probably be somewhere around whatever percentile you get for standardized tests in Sweden, as a really rough estimate. Conversion is here: <a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools. You may also need to take the TOEFL but it shouldn’t be a problem judging from your post. NYU requires SAT II Subject Tests.</p>

<p>Financial Aid will probably suck, though I’m pretty sure it’s horrible for transfers from any country to another. Colleges do take into account whether internationals can pay.</p>

<p>Good schools in NYC that I can think of immediately include NYU, Columbia, Syracuse, Pace, and Fordham. I don’t know anything about FIT other than it being a reputable fashion school. You don’t need to be familiar with US academia to know what the “common opinion” is that. Though I’m sure it’s a good institution for what it’s intended for. I don’t think I’ve heard of Parsons before.</p>

<p>To get a very general idea of what people think of various colleges, look up either USNews rankings([US</a> News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1natudoc_brief.php]US”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1natudoc_brief.php)), THES ([University</a> rankings :: world’s top universities :: Times Higher Education THE - QS rankings - QS Top Universities](<a href=“http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/]University”>http://www.topuniversities.com/worlduniversityrankings/)), or ARWU ([ARWU2008](<a href=“http://www.arwu.org/rank2008/ARWU2008_TopAmer(EN).htm]ARWU2008[/url]”>http://www.arwu.org/rank2008/ARWU2008_TopAmer(EN).htm)</a>). Of course, on this site the methodology will be disputed but for the layman they’re fine. They don’t list the state there but you can Google some list of NYC schools. (Sorry, I’m tired!)</p>

<p>I would highly, highly recommend NYU to anyone though. The only thing is it doesn’t have an enclosed campus.</p>

<p>I’m probably missing a ton of things. Do you have any more specific questions?</p>

3

<p>Tips for possible NYC living:</p>

<ul>
<li>Start doing housing research as soon as possible</li>
<li>Its never too early to study which neighborhoods are the best/worst</li>
<li>Its never too early to learn the subway system</li>
<li>Start saving yesterday (NYC is so expensive)</li>
<li>Never use the term y’all in Manhattan</li>
</ul>

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<p>FIT and Parsons are solely for those interested in pursuing degrees in Fashion, the arts, design - that sort of thing. NYU has a very broad spectrum of schools and majors. I went to NYU, so if there are any questions you may have I would be happy to try and answer. </p>

<p>You could do a search on collegeboard.com for schools in NYC that have the majors you are interested in. Also look at the individual schools on this forum listed alphabetically under the “colleges” heading and ask questions.</p>

5

<p>aaa12321 did a good job with your question. I would only add this:</p>

<p>Major: typically tends be about a third (10-12 courses) of your total course work (about 30-36 courses) and usually within one department (mathematics, or political science, or art history, for example). Schools vary greatly in what they want you to do with the other two-thirds, but it is common to see another third spent meeting distribution requirements and/or required courses and the remaining third on electives (courses which just interest you). Since there is usually enough leeway available through elective choices and by taking an above-average load of courses, some students choose to do coursework towards an additional major. Alternatively, many schools offer minors, which require about half the coursework of a major. As aaa12321 mentioned, the net result is usually one degree, but sometimes additional work is deemed sufficient to award two degrees. This usually requires at least an additional year of study, however.</p>

<p>Employment: Yes, the bachelor’s degree awarded at the end of undergraduate study is typically sufficient to start a salaried position in business or government.</p>

<p>Specialty Schools: Like Parsons and FIT might not require standardized test scores for admission. Check their requirements. You are also likely to find that their degree requirements are quite different from those described above.</p>

<p>NYC schools: Some of these schools will have dormitories which will relieve you of the immediate burden of figuring out where to live.</p>

6

<p>are you really swedish? i love swedish girls…</p>

7

<p>

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<p>There’s a school that starts with “C” and ends with “olumbia.” Try looking into that one ;)</p>

<p>Also check out nearby cities like Boston (to NYC’s north) and Philadelphia (to NYC’s south)</p>