Graduation

[dramasnot6]

Hi everyone
Recently I graduated from high school, October 27 to be specific, and it really got me thinking. After so many years of schooling it's hard to accept that it's finnally over, except for university, for most, of course. It still comes as a real shock, and I was wondering if anybody here would like to share their graduation experiences or impressions? Be it from high school or anything else. What does it mean to have "graduated"? Is it more of an end or a beggining?Any good howlers of anybody tripping on stage during the ceremony? :P Does anybody wish they could go back? Or was all the work worth it? Any advice for those yet to have graduated?

[SleepyWitch]

Congrats drama!
er, hang on, you're 15 and you graduated from highschool? did you take some fast track course for gifted kids?

[Virgil]

Hi everyone
Recently I graduated from high school, October 27 to be specific, and it really got me thinking. After so many years of schooling it's hard to accept that it's finnally over, except for university, for most, of course. It still comes as a real shock, and I was wondering if anybody here would like to share their graduation experiences or impressions? Be it from high school or anything else. What does it mean to have "graduated"? Is it more of an end or a beggining?Any good howlers of anybody tripping on stage during the ceremony? :P Does anybody wish they could go back? Or was all the work worth it? Any advice for those yet to have graduated?

Congratulations Drama. But aren't you young at 15 to have graduated high school? Are you so smart, and perhaps you are based on all the things you have written here on lit net, to have skipped three grades?

I graduated high school in 1979. :eek: That's 28 years ago. I bet that's before most of lit net members were born. It's hard to remember that far back. That was literally a different person. ;)

[Koa]

It's been a shock every time and I've never been able to accept it - I'm into this "crisis" for the third time...
I graduated from high school in 2001, age 19, that's the norm in Italy, and it felt like all my certainties were gone and it was really confusing.
I went to Uni, graduated in 2005 and it felt like ahead of me there was a lot of fog.
I did a Master, just finished it, and this time I am seriously looking for a job and to leave the student life... if in one-two years I still feel like I can't get into real life, I'll go back and do a PhD and become a boring academic. :P

[Petrarch's Love]

Congratulations Drama! :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: Like others here, I am surprised you're out of high school at 15. Is this a more normal age to graduate where you are, or did you just skip a few grades? Are you planning to go to a university right away or are you looking about for a job? I personally felt released when I got out of high school. I really felt like I was ready to get out at least a year earlier, but then I was 18 when I graduated and I was already accepted to a university for the coming fall, so I don't think I experienced that awkward "so now what?" time that some people seem to go through because I was too busy planning to move out and start my first year at university. I similarly felt completely ready to move forward after college graduation and start graduate school. It's not that I didn't enjoy these periods of my life, it's just that I was happy to take what I'd gotten from that phase and move onwards towards my future goals. I have never been tempted to go back.

I can see it might be different graduating from high school as young as 15, though. You might not have as deep a sense of having completed a chapter in your life. My grandmother skipped a few grades and graduated high school a few days after her 16th birthday, so she was about your age. She went to college right away, and she's always told me that, while she felt it was great from an intellectual/academic standpoint, she did feel that it was difficult socially speaking in her first year at UCLA. She says she felt a little left out and a little over her head when it came to dating, parties etc. in her first semester (and this was in the 30's when she had a dorm mother and a strict curfew regulating things. I can imagine being 15 or 16 in a modern college dormitory would be quite an experience, though one I'm sure you can handle). Before long, however, she did adjust and make friends--even got her first boyfriend before the year was out--and she says it was ultimately nice to be done with university at 20 and be able to get a head start in doing all the things she wanted in life. Since she's raised three children, gotten her PhD and worked as a college professor, written 11 books, played the piano in chamber music concerts in her spare time and travelled all over the world well into her late 80's, I would say the couple years head start was worth it. ;) So, while it's normal to have a bit of nostalgia when making this kind of transition, just think that graduation is letting you loose to begin doing all the brilliant things that are no doubt in your future.

[thelastmelon]

I graduated from High-School at the age of 19 (just like Koa, it seems quite normal in Europe), and that was 1,5 years ago, June 2006. Right after I got out I was just happy I was able to relax and not do anything for a while, but quite soon I felt that I was too restless and I needed something to do. I took some crappy jobs until I got a good part-time job at a preschool in the area. That really got me thinking about my future, and now I've moved to a different town (Stockholm, the capital of Sweden) and I am studying to become a teacher.

Take your time, do what you want to do, but open your mind to your future and what you want to do with it. :) It's not stressful yet, you're young and have all the time in the world. Some people are too quick to continue their studying, but I am glad I waited a year after High-School until I went to the University. :thumbs_up

[Niamh]

I graduated from Secondary school when i was 17. Went on to college after that but didnt last very long. Been to college twice but i dont think i'm that academic. well i was when it came to Archaeology, just not anything else i studied. But i had some practicals/ tutorials other than lectures which i did really enjoy. Especially theatre studies and film.
Graduating from Secondary school was good though. i do sometimes miss being in school. Real world isnt all that great!:p

[Chava]

My transition from highschool to uni this summer has been sucha great experience! I'm really enjoying it so far, and no doubt you will too.

[manolia]

The only bad thing i can think of, concerning graduation, was the separation from certain friends who went to Uni in different cities or abroad.
Otherwise, graduation was a relief for me (since i spent the last three years of highschool studying endless hours in order to secure a place in the Uni - in my country we have these exams which take place during the last month of high school all over the country, in order to get to the public Universities- and when i graduated was so frustrated, stressed and tired that the only thing i wanted to do was sleep or lay all day on the beach doing nothing ;) ). And school wasn't a particularly nice experience for me anyway ;) .

[Lily Adams]

No, not yet for me, Mira. :D But I'm so clumsy I'm pretty sure I'll trip on the stage when I get my diploma.


Wooooooooooo, congratulations to Mira!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Koa]

Oh I miss school so much... I did study an awful lot, certainly much more than at Uni, but everything was more special... I don't miss Uni as it was the dullest and the least stimulating experience in my life, but I miss my Master, which ended only two months ago and I still act like it wasn't over, I'm even tempted to go and sit in the library instead of at home........ I think I have serious problems leaving the past behind...

Is it even legal to go to University at 15-16? :eek:

[dramasnot6]

Awww :blush: :blush: :blush:
Shucks, thanks you guys. It was a hard,intense few years but I'm glad I made it out alive :P Battle is not over yet though, I am still taking university entrance exams and this is why I have been so absent from my favorite site
:(
I'm going into university yet though, I'm taking some time off. that way I won't get arrested Koa :P


Congratulations Drama. But aren't you young at 15 to have graduated high school? Are you so smart, and perhaps you are based on all the things you have written here on lit net, to have skipped three grades?
:lol: I wish! Wouldn't it be great to get a LitNet diploma?

I graduated high school in 1979. That's 28 years ago. I bet that's before most of lit net members were born. It's hard to remember that far back. That was literally a different person.
I assure you that you are still a youthful, lively Virgil at heart :D Graduation seemed to go by so fast, so in a way even though it happened barely a month ago, it feels like such a big leap in life that it cut across time as well.


Oh I miss school so much... I did study an awful lot, certainly much more than at Uni, but everything was more special... I don't miss Uni as it was the dullest and the least stimulating experience in my life, but I miss my Master, which ended only two months ago and I still act like it wasn't over, I'm even tempted to go and sit in the library instead of at home........ I think I have serious problems leaving the past behind...


I know exactly how you feel! I keep finding myself peeking into my school, feeling like I still belong. The teachers and students treat me so differently though, it's really scary. I feel like I still belong and yet I don't?
I guess you just get attached, for all we complain that homework still seems a lot better than "the real world".

[Virgil]

But Drama, how are you graduating high school at 15? In the US typical is 18.

[dramasnot6]

Congrats drama!
er, hang on, you're 15 and you graduated from highschool? did you take some fast track course for gifted kids?

naw, I just worked really really hard to intensely cram my credits into a lot fewer years.

[Virgil]

naw, I just worked really really hard to intensely cram my credits into a lot fewer years.

Good for you drama. That is incredibly admirable. I hope you can relax a little and enjoy your success.

[dramasnot6]

But Drama, how are you graduating high school at 15? In the US typical is 18.

I know, and the friends I grew up with in the US are still the class of 2010. I just starting taking masses of Junior and Senior subjects while I was in 8th grade and have crammed a lot in the last 3 years. To graduate here, you need to get a C average in 10 full year Junior/Senior courses. This can balance out with As in courses, an A will cross out a fail so you are left with the equivalence to 2 Cs. A's in 8th,9th and 10th grades(high school here is grades 8-12). I took and got As and Bs in a lot of Junior and Senior classes early on because I was getting really ahead in my 8th grade classes when I was in 8th grade and could not stand it any more. 8th and 9th grade count as middle school, and middle school credits don't count towards high school graduation, of course(even though the middle school is integrated into the "high school" just as a seperate section). So I replaced my middle school courses with Junior and senior ones. Hope it's clear? It confuses me sometimes. *headache*


Good for you drama. That is incredibly admirable. I hope you can relax a little and enjoy your success.

Thanks :D I definetly plan to!


Real world isnt all that great!:p

That's what I'm afraid of! this concept of the "real world", like the "student world" is a fake in that you aren't fully independently living your own life and majorly depend on parents/teachers,etc. to lead you. However, I then think about independence in the 'real world' and wonder if it is so different? On one hand, you have to drive, make your own money, take care of your own house. But on the other, you still get married, ask favors of friends, and seek guidance, just in different ways.
But when you get down to it, the real world is probably most scary because you have to leave your mom :)

Photos!
Sorry, I had to share:blush: If anybody else has graduation photos I would love to see! We need to see you in your ancient graduation robes Virgil! :P
Well,technically this is the graduation ball, but I'm in my yucky blue senior uniform for the ceremony and I liked the rose dress better ;)
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p231/dramasnot6/ball.jpg

[SleepyWitch]

get a part-time job, save up some money and travel around the world :)
you'll never have as much free time again as between graduation and univ (well, you'll have time after you retire, I guess, but that's a long time to wait)

[Niamh]

thats a lovely dress Mira! I with sleepy. Travel!

[Virgil]

That's what I'm afraid of! this concept of the "real world", like the "student world" is a fake in that you aren't fully independently living your own life and majorly depend on parents/teachers,etc. to lead you. However, I then think about independence in the 'real world' and wonder if it is so different? On one hand, you have to drive, make your own money, take care of your own house. But on the other, you still get married, ask favors of friends, and seek guidance, just in different ways.
But when you get down to it, the real world is probably most scary because you have to leave your mom :)

You know, we think we can project into different lives. But really i have found we can't completely. When I was a teenager i thought I knew what college was like, but whe I got there it was different; I thought I could project what married life would be like, but again when i got there it was different; I thought I could project what I thought it would be like to be middle age, but now that I'm there it is different. One thinks one could project what it's like to be old, but I now realize that it's beyond my ken. It will be different because I cannot fully comprehend the ramifications of certain things. One knows those things, but one doesn't really know how one will feel then or the unforeseen implications.

[Niamh]

If anybody else has graduation photos I would love to see!

Okay you asked so heres my grad photo( please excuse the pictures. i had to take photos of photos because i dont have a scanner:( In one of the pics you cant really see my face.)
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q268/niamhking/me001.jpg
This is my Debs.(the ball we have a few months after we graduate, around time of leaving cert results.)
(like i said no face)
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q268/niamhking/me.jpg

[Pretty^Athens]

hey all,
well i haven't graduted yet, i'm a senior now, but thinking of gradutaing soon and leaving a routine that i used to for so many years just drives me nuts! it's a feeling of confusion, wondering and enexhauty. i don't know what i'm doing after school yet.. and that's really scary!

[Virgil]

hey all,
well i haven't graduted yet, i'm a senior now, but thinking of gradutaing soon and leaving a routine that i used to for so many years just drives me nuts! it's a feeling of confusion, wondering and enexhauty. i don't know what i'm doing after school yet.. and that's really scary!

Don't worry Athens. It's all part of growing up. Just realize that everyone has gone through it too. Wish you the best.

[Pretty^Athens]

Don't worry Athens. It's all part of growing up. Just realize that everyone has gone through it too. Wish you the best.

have you had any doubts at that time? and what are you doing in your life at all?

[kilted exile]

I didnt attend my graduation. We all went to a friends house and watched cheesy B&W horror films instead. I did attend the leaver's ball however, the main highlight of which was getting drunk with the teachers we had annoyed the last 6 years - then attempting to get into clubs in the middle of Glasgow whilst wearing kilts & dinner jackets

[applepie]

have you had any doubts at that time? and what are you doing in your life at all?

I just graduated college and I still have doubts. I don't think I'm one of those people who will ever really know what they want to do with their life. I'm more worried aobut not screwing things up and getting horribly into debt. My doubts keep me grounded and I'm not quite the dreamer I was because of them. I'm always wondering if I have made the correct choices in my life, or if I made the right choice in a career path.

[BlueSkyGB]

I'm always wondering if I have made the correct choices in my life, or if I made the right choice in a career path.

Even at my age, I have those same thoughts.....:D
and this is coming from a person who has had quite a few different careet choices........:lol:

[Pretty^Athens]

I just graduated college and I still have doubts. I don't think I'm one of those people who will ever really know what they want to do with their life. I'm more worried aobut not screwing things up and getting horribly into debt. My doubts keep me grounded and I'm not quite the dreamer I was because of them. I'm always wondering if I have made the correct choices in my life, or if I made the right choice in a career path.

ell it's always happening to me. i'm torn between my own dreams and the ideal career and salary. i don't know what i'm doing i don't whether i'm making the right choices. i don't wanna screw up and live a cheap life but i don't wanna give my dreams up either

[Virgil]

have you had any doubts at that time? and what are you doing in your life at all?

Well, I'm 45 years old and long graduated college, Athens. I went through it too. I agree it is intimidating. Do you plan to go to college or Uni as the English seem to call it?

[dramasnot6]

You know, we think we can project into different lives. But really i have found we can't completely. When I was a teenager i thought I knew what college was like, but whe I got there it was different; I thought I could project what married life would be like, but again when i got there it was different; I thought I could project what I thought it would be like to be middle age, but now that I'm there it is different. One thinks one could project what it's like to be old, but I now realize that it's beyond my ken. It will be different because I cannot fully comprehend the ramifications of certain things. One knows those things, but one doesn't really know how one will feel then or the unforeseen implications.

Well put, I guess we just have to do as much as we can with what's put in front of us?

[Virgil]

Drama and Niamh, you both looked very nice. I don't remember getting dressed in evening clothes for graduation. I wore cap and gown at the graduation. Unfortunately there were no digital cameras then and I think photos from back then are all at my mother's house.

[dramasnot6]

thats a lovely dress Mira! I with sleepy. Travel!

:D Thanks! I want to, maybe I will have to work a little first for the money though. But I want to travel around the world to visit my LitNet friends!

[dramasnot6]

Okay you asked so heres my grad photo( please excuse the pictures. i had to take photos of photos because i dont have a scanner:( In one of the pics you cant really see my face.)
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q268/niamhking/me001.jpg



That's such a lovely blue dress! Your hair looks so nice :)

[dramasnot6]

I didnt attend my graduation. We all went to a friends house and watched cheesy B&W horror films instead. I did attend the leaver's ball however, the main highlight of which was getting drunk with the teachers we had annoyed the last 6 years - then attempting to get into clubs in the middle of Glasgow whilst wearing kilts & dinner jackets

:lol: Sounds like a blast! I would have loved to see what my teachers were like drunk...

[Pretty^Athens]

Well, I'm 45 years old and long graduated college, Athens. I went through it too. I agree it is intimidating. Do you plan to go to college or Uni as the English seem to call it?

i'm planning to go to either Jerusalem Uneversity (The Hebrew Uneversity as we call it) or Tel-Aviv uneversity. But i don't know yet i'm torn bretween career thing like physiotherapy or speech therapy, and my own desire- double degree of journalism and English litreture. i'm afreaid to screw up... i want a good salarty but i don't wanna give my dreams and desires up...

[Virgil]

i'm planning to go to either Jerusalem Uneversity (The Hebrew Uneversity as we call it) or Tel-Aviv uneversity. But i don't know yet i'm torn bretween career thing like physiotherapy or speech therapy, and my own desire- double degree of journalism and English litreture. i'm afreaid to screw up... i want a good salarty but i don't wanna give my dreams and desires up...

Don't worry Athens. You're first year perhaps even two of college is general and can lead to many careers. I started with liberal arts (which is fairly general) then switched to physics and then switched to engineering. It did take me a little longer with the switches, but no harm was done. And then later on I went and got a masters in english literature at night after work. There is always the poweer to evolve. Nothing is fixed. People change all the time.

[Pretty^Athens]

Don't worry Athens. You're first year perhaps even two of college is general and can lead to many careers. I started with liberal arts (which is fairly general) then switched to physics and then switched to engineering. It did take me a little longer with the switches, but no harm was done. And then later on I went and got a masters in english literature at night after work. There is always the poweer to evolve. Nothing is fixed. People change all the time.

you're calming me down by all the things you're saying. what do you do now for living anyway? and do you work with your english degree?

[Virgil]

you're calming me down by all the things you're saying. what do you do now for living anyway? and do you work with your english degree?

No not my english degree. That was for my own pleasure and personal learning. I'm a mechanical engineer.

[SleepyWitch]

Don't worry Athens. You're first year perhaps even two of college is general and can lead to many careers.
I'm afraid that's not the case everywhere. I know it's like that in the U.S. but in many other countries you have to pick a specific course right from the start and stick with it or start studying all over again if you change your mind. you'd better check that, Athens, to make sure you can switch without problems.

[applepie]

ell it's always happening to me. i'm torn between my own dreams and the ideal career and salary. i don't know what i'm doing i don't whether i'm making the right choices. i don't wanna screw up and live a cheap life but i don't wanna give my dreams up either

This is where I compromised. I married young (I was barely 18), and I had my son the following year not long after my birthday. So at 19 I was married with a new born baby. I went into a panic because I knew that there was no way I could support my son if anything happened to my husband. I decided that I needed to go to college, but my career choice does not pay that well. I wanted to be a marine biologist, but after 6-8 years of school and tens of thousands in student loans I could expect to start out making only 25-30K a year. I decided instead to go for business. There is the widest range of possibilities, at least it seemed so to me, and I was able to do much of my school online through an accredited college. This meant no expensive childcare while I was in class full time each week. In the end, I've stayed home for a little more than 4 years and I've been both a mother and full time student for much of the time. I've just completed my Marketing degree, and while it isn't my first choice I'm satisfied in knowing that I can support my kids. Maybe in the future I'll do more schooling, or I'll settle for making good money and being able to afford my other love SCUBA. Sure, I'm not a scientist like I always dreamed of, but the tradeoff was a good one. The point of this narrative is that there is no need to give up on your dreams, but every now and then you have to compromise on them for practicality reasons. You'll figure it out when the time comes, and the real key is to never look back and think of what may have been. You will only make yourself unhappy that way.

[Niamh]

I'm afraid that's not the case everywhere. I know it's like that in the U.S. but in many other countries you have to pick a specific course right from the start and stick with it or start studying all over again if you change your mind. you'd better check that, Athens, to make sure you can switch without problems.

:nod: Its the same here. But we have a few different types of third level educations.
Plc/fetac, Uni's, Colleges, ITs you can get a cert from
The Uni's, Colleges and Insitutes of technology you can get diplomas and degrees from.
Uni's and Colleges for masters and Phd's.
With BA degrees you generally select three subjects you want to study in first year, drop one and do two of them in second year and major in one in third year.
For nursing, Engeneering, art and Architecture, business, accounting, Cultural studies, multimeadia etc you have to select when applying for a course before you even do your leaving cert.

[Pretty^Athens]

This is where I compromised. I married young (I was barely 18), and I had my son the following year not long after my birthday. So at 19 I was married with a new born baby. I went into a panic because I knew that there was no way I could support my son if anything happened to my husband. I decided that I needed to go to college, but my career choice does not pay that well. I wanted to be a marine biologist, but after 6-8 years of school and tens of thousands in student loans I could expect to start out making only 25-30K a year. I decided instead to go for business. There is the widest range of possibilities, at least it seemed so to me, and I was able to do much of my school online through an accredited college. This meant no expensive childcare while I was in class full time each week. In the end, I've stayed home for a little more than 4 years and I've been both a mother and full time student for much of the time. I've just completed my Marketing degree, and while it isn't my first choice I'm satisfied in knowing that I can support my kids. Maybe in the future I'll do more schooling, or I'll settle for making good money and being able to afford my other love SCUBA. Sure, I'm not a scientist like I always dreamed of, but the tradeoff was a good one. The point of this narrative is that there is no need to give up on your dreams, but every now and then you have to compromise on them for practicality reasons. You'll figure it out when the time comes, and the real key is to never look back and think of what may have been. You will only make yourself unhappy that way.

yeah well you're absolutely right... i'm planning not to think right now but to wait and take my time but i can't help it :( i'm glad uyou gave me your advice, but i thouhgt that in the us there are plenty of optopns and that you can work in any field. isn't that true?


I'm afraid that's not the case everywhere. I know it's like that in the U.S. but in many other countries you have to pick a specific course right from the start and stick with it or start studying all over again if you change your mind. you'd better check that, Athens, to make sure you can switch without problems.

i can switch without any problem, but switching many courses might be a bit financially harmful.. that's why i need a speciffec path to go through. what about you sleepy?

[applepie]

yeah well you're absolutely right... i'm planning not to think right now but to wait and take my time but i can't help it :( i'm glad uyou gave me your advice, but i thouhgt that in the us there are plenty of optopns and that you can work in any field. isn't that true?


I can find work in most any field that I can go to college for, but the pay would be very different. There are tons of options, but narrowing them down are not always easy, and business covers the largest range of things. With a business degree I can find employment in most any type of business office in some type of capacity. Some fields are much more difficult to find employment in because they are mostly filled to capacity with all the people that are needed.

[Virgil]

I'm afraid that's not the case everywhere. I know it's like that in the U.S. but in many other countries you have to pick a specific course right from the start and stick with it or start studying all over again if you change your mind. you'd better check that, Athens, to make sure you can switch without problems.


:nod: Its the same here. But we have a few different types of third level educations.
Plc/fetac, Uni's, Colleges, ITs you can get a cert from
The Uni's, Colleges and Insitutes of technology you can get diplomas and degrees from.
Uni's and Colleges for masters and Phd's.
With BA degrees you generally select three subjects you want to study in first year, drop one and do two of them in second year and major in one in third year.
For nursing, Engeneering, art and Architecture, business, accounting, Cultural studies, multimeadia etc you have to select when applying for a course before you even do your leaving cert.

So you're saying there are no overlapping courses that all majors take? I can understand specialized classes, but what's the difference for a lit class for a history major and a lit class for an engineering major?

[Pretty^Athens]

I can find work in most any field that I can go to college for, but the pay would be very different. There are tons of options, but narrowing them down are not always easy, and business covers the largest range of things. With a business degree I can find employment in most any type of business office in some type of capacity. Some fields are much more difficult to find employment in because they are mostly filled to capacity with all the people that are needed.

i actually was planing to study and go to the US to look for work there... i think i should take it esay and take all the time i have to figure it out...

[SleepyWitch]

So you're saying there are no overlapping courses that all majors take?
nope.
in Germany, we don't really have 'college'. we have a selective secondary school system. if you go to the most 'academic' type of secondary school, you take A-levels at the end of year 13 (now year 12; around the age of 18/19/20). The two last years of school are called 'college'. This basically means that you can drop a few subjects, but you still have to take around 10 subjects. you take your A-levels in 4 of these (old system, will spare you the new one), but you sit exams in all your subject during those two years and all the marks count towards your final mark. When you've got your A-levels you can study whatever you want at univ. There's no SAT or other univ entrance exam because the A-levels are 2 in 1.
Even if you took your A-levels in History, Latin, Chemistry and R.E. you can still go on to study English and French at univ if you like.
So after you graduate from secondary school, you decide what you want to study.
If you're studying to become a teacher, you choose 2 (or sometimes 3) subjects and none of them is a major or minor, they both have equal status. E.g. I'm studying English and Geography and I have to take the same type of exams in both of them. I only have to write a graduation thesis in one of them, thank God, but I'll have loads of written and oral graduation exams in both of them.
If you're doing an M.A. (in the old system there was no B.A.,), you could either choose 2 subjects, which would both have equal status ('2 majors') or 1 major and two minors. Unders this system, 'major' means the subject in which you have to take more written final exams and write your M.A. thesis in. what does it mean in the U.S.?
so there are no overlapping courses that all majors take. of course, someone studying American Literature will have overlapping courses with someone studying English Literature, but not with engineers etc.

[Pretty^Athens]

nope.
in Germany, we don't really have 'college'. we have a selective secondary school system. if you go to the most 'academic' type of secondary school, you take A-levels at the end of year 13 (now year 12; around the age of 18/19/20). The two last years of school are called 'college'. This basically means that you can drop a few subjects, but you still have to take around 10 subjects. you take your A-levels in 4 of these (old system, will spare you the new one), but you sit exams in all your subject during those two years and all the marks count towards your final mark. When you've got your A-levels you can study whatever you want at univ. There's no SAT or other univ entrance exam because the A-levels are 2 in 1.
Even if you took your A-levels in History, Latin, Chemistry and R.E. you can still go on to study English and French at univ if you like.
So after you graduate from secondary school, you decide what you want to study.
If you're studying to become a teacher, you choose 2 (or sometimes 3) subjects and none of them is a major or minor, they both have equal status. E.g. I'm studying English and Geography and I have to take the same type of exams in both of them. I only have to write a graduation thesis in one of them, thank God, but I'll have loads of written and oral graduation exams in both of them.
If you're doing an M.A. (in the old system there was no B.A.,), you could either choose 2 subjects, which would both have equal status ('2 majors') or 1 major and two minors. Unders this system, 'major' means the subject in which you have to take more written final exams and write your M.A. thesis in. what does it mean in the U.S.?
so there are no overlapping courses that all majors take. of course, someone studying American Literature will have overlapping courses with someone studying English Literature, but not with engineers etc.

so are there good options to those who study languages and stuff in germany?

[SleepyWitch]

so are there good options to those who study languages and stuff in germany?

depends. if you're studying to become a teacher and you get good marks in your final exams (and gone through 2 years of teacher training blablabla) you can sit back for the rest of your life. teachers are civil servants and they get astronomical salaries :).
if your doing a master in humanities (languages and stuff) and you don't wanna stay on at uni to take a PhD, you end up as a taxi driver or working in some field totally unrelated to your studies.

[Virgil]

nope.
in Germany, we don't really have 'college'. we have a selective secondary school system. if you go to the most 'academic' type of secondary school, you take A-levels at the end of year 13 (now year 12; around the age of 18/19/20). The two last years of school are called 'college'. This basically means that you can drop a few subjects, but you still have to take around 10 subjects. you take your A-levels in 4 of these (old system, will spare you the new one), but you sit exams in all your subject during those two years and all the marks count towards your final mark. When you've got your A-levels you can study whatever you want at univ. There's no SAT or other univ entrance exam because the A-levels are 2 in 1.
Even if you took your A-levels in History, Latin, Chemistry and R.E. you can still go on to study English and French at univ if you like.
So after you graduate from secondary school, you decide what you want to study.
If you're studying to become a teacher, you choose 2 (or sometimes 3) subjects and none of them is a major or minor, they both have equal status. E.g. I'm studying English and Geography and I have to take the same type of exams in both of them. I only have to write a graduation thesis in one of them, thank God, but I'll have loads of written and oral graduation exams in both of them.
If you're doing an M.A. (in the old system there was no B.A.,), you could either choose 2 subjects, which would both have equal status ('2 majors') or 1 major and two minors. Unders this system, 'major' means the subject in which you have to take more written final exams and write your M.A. thesis in. what does it mean in the U.S.?
so there are no overlapping courses that all majors take. of course, someone studying American Literature will have overlapping courses with someone studying English Literature, but not with engineers etc.

Oh, I don't like that system at all. Where's the flexibility? How many 18 year olds really know what they want to major in and how many change along the way? Like I said earlier, I changed and I bet that was by far the majority of students.

A major is the discipline you actually get a college degree in. For instance I majored in mechanical engineering. One's college degree is in the field one majored in, and so satisfied all the curriculum requirements for it. This is stamped on your diploma, which is what you will need to show to an employer. We also have a thing called minors, which is a secondary discipline. This doesn't have much of a professional value, except perhaps if an employer wants to see what other skills you have. I kind of minored in English lit as an undergrad, but it was never officially stamped anywhere. In fact I had satisfied enough of the curriculum to have a major in English lit as well as an undergrad. But I didn't follow through with it though and get a diploma. I did show my course work accomplishments to enter my Masters program in English lit. Those courses satisfied pre-requisites to get into the Masters program.

[SleepyWitch]

Oh, I don't like that system at all. Where's the flexibility? How many 18 year olds really know what they want to major in and how many change along the way? Like I said earlier, I changed and I bet that was by far the majority of students.

dunno.. I don't know many people who've changed their mind.
You're right that there could be more flexibility. maybe there'd be more people studying engineering or IT over here if they could dip into it.
but seeing as we already do the general studies thing in the last 2 years of school, it would be a waste of time to do it all over again. our degree courses take long enough as it is.
now there's a new system with B.A.s and new M.A.s. for everyone (now M.A. stands for Master of Arts, before it was Magister Artium :D. seriously!). which means, teachers can get an M.A., too, and have to take a B.A. --> they will have even more graduation exams ("state exams" + B.A. exams)

[Pretty^Athens]

depends. if you're studying to become a teacher and you get good marks in your final exams (and gone through 2 years of teacher training blablabla) you can sit back for the rest of your life. teachers are civil servants and they get astronomical salaries :).
if your doing a master in humanities (languages and stuff) and you don't wanna stay on at uni to take a PhD, you end up as a taxi driver or working in some field totally unrelated to your studies.

are you telling me that teachers have good jobs in germany?!

[Virgil]

but seeing as we already do the general studies thing in the last 2 years of school, it would be a waste of time to do it all over again. our degree courses take long enough as it is.


So you do general studies at the end? We basically do them at the beginning. Here's how the degree system works in the US:


United States
In the United States, since the late 1800s, the threefold degree system of bachelor, master and doctor has been in place, but follows a slightly different pattern of study than the European equivalents.

In the United States, most standard academic programs are based on the four-year bachelor's degree (most often bachelor of arts, B.A., or bachelor of science, B.S.), a two-year master's degree (most often Master of Arts, M.A., or master of science, M.S.; both of these programs might be three years in length) and a further two years or so of coursework and research, plus teaching experience and the writing of a dissertation for the doctorate (most often doctor of philosophy, Ph.D.) for a total of about nine years from starting the bachelor's degree (which is usually begun around age 18) to the awarding of the doctorate. This timetable is flexible however as, for instance, students in accelerated programs can sometimes earn a bachelor's degree in three years or, on the other hand, a particular dissertation project might take four years to complete.

Some schools—mostly junior colleges and community colleges, but some four-year schools as well—offer an associate's degree for two full years of study, often in pre-professional areas. This may sometimes be used as credit toward completion of the four-year bachelor's degree.

In the United States, there is also another class of degrees called "First Professional degree." These degree programs are designed for professional practice in various fields rather than academic scholarship. Most professional degree programs require a prior bachelor's degree for admission (a notable exception being the PharmD program), and so represent at least about five total years of study and as many as seven or eight.

Some fields such as fine art or architecture have chosen to name their first professional degree after the bachelor's a "master's degree" (e.g., M.F.A.) while the professional degree in medicine is known as "doctor" (e.g., MD or DO); the legal profession has renamed its degree from Bachelor (L.L.B.) to Doctor (J.D.). Despite being named "masters" some master's degree programs may require about the same amount of time to complete as "professional doctorate" programs in other fields so the naming is somewhat arbitrary. For example, despite being a "masters" level degree, the first professional degree in architecture may require 3 to 3.5 years to complete. There is currently some debate in the architectural community to rename the degree to a "doctorate" in the manner that was done for the law degree decades ago.[1] It is important to recognize that first-professional degrees in these fields, which are normally earned after the bachelor's, are not normally original research-oriented degrees.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_degree

[SleepyWitch]

So you do general studies at the end? We basically do them at the beginning. Here's how the degree system works in the US:
at the end of highschool, not univ (c.f. my post above)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_degree
thanks, I'll read it later. the american education system will never cease to amaze me. there seem to be as many version of it as people you ask to explain it to you :) thanks

[applepie]

thanks, I'll read it later. the american education system will never cease to amaze me. there seem to be as many version of it as people you ask to explain it to you :) thanks

:lol: I think you have the right of it Sleepy. I'm afraid I can think of at least 6 different educational paths I could have taken that would have ended with a variety of different recognized papers.

[Pensive]

Congratulations, dramasnot6! :)

[dramasnot6]

Thanks Pensive! :D
University entrance exams have now ended, but the last few(and the upcoming) weeks are no less stressful it seems. We're packing up to move back to the USA and things seem just as intense as they were in school time, if not more so.
I guess stress is far from ending even after school.

[Niamh]

goodluck with the uni exams and the big move back to the states! Do you hope to get into a good uni back home in america?

[SleepyWitch]

Thanks Pensive! :D
University entrance exams have now ended, but the last few(and the upcoming) weeks are no less stressful it seems. We're packing up to move back to the USA and things seem just as intense as they were in school time, if not more so.
I guess stress is far from ending even after school.
I thought you were in the US? where did you stay in between?

[Niamh]

Shes been living in Australia. (lucky Drama!)

[SleepyWitch]

Shes been living in Australia. (lucky Drama!)

yep, lucky kid! *envious*

[dramasnot6]

I am back now! :D Which means...more time for litnet! Thanks for the luck Niamh! I got my results back a couple days ago and was in the 94.75th percentile for scores. :)

[subterranean]

Drama and Niamh, you both looked very nice. I don't remember getting dressed in evening clothes for graduation. I wore cap and gown at the graduation.


Me too. And when I wore it for the first time, I have this thought, 'all those years I spent, all those text books I read and all those classes I attended, ended with this oversized gown and funny hat'.

[dramasnot6]

I always wondered what it was like to where those strange cornered hats, I didn't think schools actually did that anymore.

[Zelly]

Oh, but they do... Colleges too.. At least here in California. Even kids graduating Junior High (Middle School) wear cap and gown at graduation.

[Koa]

I don't think I'm one of those people who will ever really know what they want to do with their life. I'm more worried aobut not screwing things up and getting horribly into debt. My doubts keep me grounded and I'm not quite the dreamer I was because of them. I'm always wondering if I have made the correct choices in my life, or if I made the right choice in a career path.

That's what my life looks like now, and every other time I've finished school.



if your doing a master in humanities (languages and stuff) and you don't wanna stay on at uni to take a PhD, you end up as a taxi driver or working in some field totally unrelated to your studies.

And that's instead how my life will look like in the future. :D Well my driving skills are so poor that I can't be a taxi driver, but for the moment I'm attempting to try the random jobs option (and even that one is not going well!!!) unless I compromise and do the PhD thing... maybe later in my life. Or go and become a language teacher, which has always been the last thing I wanted from my studies :(

I recently had my graduation ceremony from my Master. I didn't want to do it at first but in the end it wasn't boring and I admit the gown wasn't ridicolous as I thought, it was in fact extremely cool. We don't do that in Italy.

[dramasnot6]

Dori needs to put his pink prom photos up on here! :p

[Sir Bartholomew]

congratulations dramasnot6. before my high school graduation me and my two closest buddies had this dispute. i remember during the ceremony when the others were throwing their caps in the air, us three we hugging and crying. then after that our class had this post grad party and the sub groups (the populars, the jocks, the suck ups, the nobodys [which I was in] etc) had this wild food fight.

but in college I didn't attend the ceremony because the administration won't let me. bad reputation I think: talking back to profs, not greeting and smiling when I meet them at the corridors

[djy78usa]

I almost didn't make it to my graduation ceremony. Some friends and I decided that it would be fun to take a case of cheap beer to the beach and have a pre-graduation party. That case turned into two or three. Needless to say, none of us were in any state to drive to the ceremony, so we got in a cab and raced back across Tampa Bay to arrive just in time for the rehearsal. Nobody had time to shower, so we still smelled like the beach and had sand everywhere.... it was great :)

[dramasnot6]

congratulations dramasnot6. before my high school graduation me and my two closest buddies had this dispute. i remember during the ceremony when the others were throwing their caps in the air, us three we hugging and crying. then after that our class had this post grad party and the sub groups (the populars, the jocks, the suck ups, the nobodys [which I was in] etc) had this wild food fight.

but in college I didn't attend the ceremony because the administration won't let me. bad reputation I think: talking back to profs, not greeting and smiling when I meet them at the corridors

Thanks Sir Bart :)

Food fight eh? Haha, I only wish ours got that wild! Although I suppose the after-ball party was fairly drunken and crazy.
That's so unfair that they didn't let you! And just for not being friendly and being opinionated? Geez.

[dramasnot6]

I almost didn't make it to my graduation ceremony. Some friends and I decided that it would be fun to take a case of cheap beer to the beach and have a pre-graduation party. That case turned into two or three. Needless to say, none of us were in any state to drive to the ceremony, so we got in a cab and raced back across Tampa Bay to arrive just in time for the rehearsal. Nobody had time to shower, so we still smelled like the beach and had sand everywhere.... it was great :)

That sounds so fun! :D I wish I could have spread sand around mine!