Damaramu 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2003 Ok so....here I am...my sophmore year of college. I'm a an English Major at OU. Well the only reason that I took this as my major is because my advisor told me it was what I would be best at. And English has always come easy to me. I've always been able to just write papers with little to no effort and still get an A on them. It's just a natural talent of mine. Well I've come to realize that I am very unhappy with this major. I try to think of what career I would do with it and all I can come up with is "Teach...and write books on the side." But I don't want to do that...at all. And then I think hard on it and decide that my real passion lies in Science. I've always been pretty good at science and my senior year of high school I did a year long science project entitled "Using Rocks and Fossils to Reconstruct Ancient Environments". Basically I went and dug up some fossils and rocks and used the story they told to reconstruct and ancient environment. Pretty self explanatory. Well I found out that I had a real knack for it. And I really enjoyed it. So I think that I want to become a Geology Major. Be a Paleontologist. It's what I've always wanted to do. So I'm sure you're thinking by now "Well Dam....you're good at both but you want to do the Geology one....so change your damn major and quite whining to me!" Well my friend it's not quite that simple. There is one subject at school that I am really really bad at. While I got a 28 on every other portion of the ACT and a 17 on this one....yes I am talking about MATH. Yes I am bad at Math. Really really bad. And to do any degree in science you have to do Calc 1-4. So I am trying to figure out what to do. I mean if I change my major I'll do what I love but risk the chance of killing my GPA(and my chances at getting into a good grad school) by doing poorly in Math. Then again I could always get a Math Tutor and work very hard on it. My plan was to only take 13 hours next semester. I was going to take Chinese 2, Zoology Lecture and Lab(have to have it for Geology or English major), and Calculus. And I think that if I were to only have 3 classes and could work hard on Math with a tutor then maybe I could get good enough to pass it. So what do you think? Stick with what I don't like but am VERY good at? Or move to what I like and run the risk of hurting my GPA? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Edwin MacPhisto 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2003 You're only a sophomore, so you have plenty of time to do a major from scratch and get that Geology thing going. Take what you want for next semester, the calc and everything, to see if you can get through it, and take an English course as well so you won't fall behind if you decide against going to Geology. If you do go Geology, then you've read a few good books and written a few good papers next semester. No big loss there. If you go English, you haven't gotten out of practice and you're in good shape to finish in the 4 semesters you have left. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2003 Do whatever you want -- it's not my money being wasted on tuition... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2003 Do whatever you want -- it's not my money being wasted on tuition... It's not mine either....it's the governments......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 Figures... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 What? I have a PELL grant. It's for students who can't afford to go to school but can still make the grades to go to school. That's why I have it. Because I make above a C in everything. Like he said...I'm only a Sophmore. The bulk of courses I've taken are General Education courses that go to EVERY degree. I only declared my major at the beginning of this semester and have only taken TWO English courses toward fufilling that requirement. Plus if I were to switch my major I found out that they'll count towards electives...which counts towards my Bachelors of Science in Geology. So I fail to see how I've wasted anybody's time or money. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest stardust Report post Posted October 26, 2003 What two English courses have you taken, though? Just out of curiosity. For some reason I think you would really enjoy some Creative Writing courses. And being an English major doesn't necessarily pigeonhole you into having to be a teacher and that's it. You could find yourself working for some big firm somewhere doing their technical writing or their press releases or such. Or you could even end up going into business somehow. *shrug* The closer I get to graduating from college, the more and more I hear people say "y'know, you never end up working in the field you majored in anyway." But if you want to go geology, do geology. I'm sure you can do well enough to keep your grades high enough to still receive your financial aid. Although if you're anything like the typical college student, you'll change it again (hell, I started college as a journalism major, then changed that to psych and now I'm simply a General Studies major because I realized I'm just too damned interested in too many things). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 Well I'm in Intro to Critical Reading/Writing and European Literature. They're alright...kind of boring though. I dunno...I may keep English on as my minor. But I just know that Geology is what I want to do. Ever since I was a kid. I was just afraid of Math, and that's why I didn't do it. Well dammit...I'm not scared of Math anymore! *math walks around the corner* Someone protect me! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest stardust Report post Posted October 26, 2003 (edited) I agree with you on the Math, though, Dam. Fuck some math. I might end up having to swallow my pride and actually get help with my math class this semester just so I can take stats next semester (yes, I'm a dumbass who waited until her last two semesters of college to take two required math courses simply because she fucking hates math with a burning passion). And those English classes are gonna be boring, they're your basic, run of the mill English classes. The stuff that's more specific, like a creative writing class, or late 18th century American literature or what have you--those are the interesting classes. One of the best classes I've ever taken was actually an English class titled "Race, Class, Gender and Ethnicity in American Literature and Film." Not only did we read some very good novels and have some very good, in-depth discussion (Sherman Alexie's Indian Killer is an amazing novel), but we also watched some very good films (like Gas, Food, Lodging and Smoke Signals and dammit, I can't remember what it was called, but it was directed by Spike Lee and had one of the Wayans brothers in it--very good film, actually). That class was the epitome of what a good college course should be about--taking something fictional, discussing it, and figuring out how it does apply to our lives and really thinking about how the things we do effect everyone around us, and how our beliefs effect those around us, too. Plus, the prof was a Buffy/Angel fan so a handful of us would spend a few minutes before class discussing current events in the Whedonverse and somehow apply a social commentary to those events. It was pretty damned cool. Edited October 26, 2003 by stardust Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 Math owns That is all Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 Actually the European literature is one of the specific English classes you're talking about.......and it's boring. It's not basic either. It's an upper-division course. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest stardust Report post Posted October 26, 2003 Actually the European literature is one of the specific English classes you're talking about.......and it's boring. It's not basic either. It's an upper-division course. Ah. I was just thinking about here, where there's a basic European Lit course that's only like a 2000 level course. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 What? I have a PELL grant. It's for students who can't afford to go to school but can still make the grades to go to school. That's why I have it. Because I make above a C in everything. Get a job, hippie... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 I do have a job....I use it to pay bills and insurance. I can't work full time and go to school.....unless I want to go crazy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 Oh, it's GREAT fun let me tell you... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted October 26, 2003 No it isn't. It's even less fun that just working like hell, to make money for school later on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chaosrage 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 What maths did you take in high school? I made a 18 on the math part of the ACT but the highest my school went up to was Algebra 2. There was a lot of trig and calc questions on it. And I really don't think Calc is as hard as everybody makes it out to be. Trig was tougher. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 My school went up to Algebra 2. Yeah I've done a little bit of Trig on the test...didn't have a clue what I was doing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chaosrage 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 Alright, well then you didn't do bad on the ACT only because you're bad at math. Your school was just shit. How did you do in Algebra and Trig when you took it in college? Like I was saying, I don't think Calc is that horrible. The first time I took College Alegbra, I failed it and took it again and passed it with a C. Then I took trig and barely passed it with a D. Two years later (after I forgot everything about math) I took Calc 1 and passed it with a C. Now I have an A in Calc 2. Go me. But maybe I'm just getting better at it. (shrugs) What I do is try to make index cards of all the problems the prof works in class. It's calc so that only comes to around 4 or 5 a day. When the time comes to study for the test, you just sit down and try to do the problems. If you don't remember, you just flip the card over and see what he did for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chaosrage 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 (edited) Anyway, with Calc, as long as you can understand that the derivitive (slope on a graph) of x^(a number) becomes (the number)x^(number - 1), example: x^3 = 3x^2. the derivitive of 14x = 14. derivitive of x = 1. Any number by itself = 0. and the anti derivitive of x^(a number) is x^(number + 1) divided by (number + 1), example: x^3 = (x^4)/4. you've pretty much got the whole course. Later you'll get into intergrals where you have to subtract the anti-derivitive of two numbers. And sometimes you'll have to multiply derivitives. To do that, you take the derivitive of the left number and multiply it to the right and add the derivitive of the right number multipled to the left. To do limits, you usually just have to take the derivitive of the top and of the bottom. Either that or divide everything by the biggest X in the bottom. But most of it comes down to algebra. Edited October 26, 2003 by chaosrage Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 I failed College Math the first time I took it. Sucks to because I had A's and B's in everything else. Kind of messed up my GPA. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rising up out of the back seat-nuh 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 Palaeontology is pretty easy BUT it is boring as fuck. Basically, most of a degree coursse is gonna be doing shitty manual work, mainly microbiology and the like. It's not that hard to do, but it isn't that interesting, especially when you have to spend hours in the wind and the cold in the field and not finding anything. There is some amazingly iteresting stuff to learn, but there's a lot of crap there. And into that the fact that you have to be well versed in both Biology and Geology before you get to grips with the palaeontology, and the fact that a hell of a lot of the stuff is bullshit and theories which change all the time, so you have to go through a stack of journals before you find what you need. It's also a very wide subject, with very little resources, so you might spend ages looking for the simplest bit of information. Finally, Palaeontology is not a good degree. Most of the people doing it are living on a shoestring or doing menial prep work. The only money in it is doing TV or other consultancy work. There are few jobs, and because most palaeontologists are cunts, they aren't gonna be fun. BUT... If you really want to do it, it is an interesting degree. The best bits are like doing some major detective work, putting together all the clues to figure out the answer. And, it is a simple degree, especially if you are willing to put the work in, stay interested in the subject and put up with the shit. And, once you get through the basics you can diversify into a branch of palaeontology that suits you, and if you don't wanna carry on with it, you'll have a relevant qualification for Geology, Biology and Lab Work. However, being a disillusioned, unemployed palaeontologist, I wouldn't really reccomend it unless you're really into the subject. Chicks love it though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 I am really into the subject. And I do know a few Palentologist that are really into the subject and they are actually doing quite well for themselves financially. Not to mention the fact that it's a Bachelors in Science in Geology. I mean yes it is a focus on Paleontology but I can use it for other things. I think I'm going to go for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rising up out of the back seat-nuh 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 Fair play. And a straight Geology qualification means you can always get well paid work if you're down on your luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted October 26, 2003 No it isn't. It's even less fun that just working like hell, to make money for school later on. What, you mean a full-time student working a midnight shift on Friday nights and working a 16-hour shift from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon because that's the only way you can get your 40 hours at your one job ISN'T fun? This is why I have ZERO sympathy for today's college students when they moan about financial difficulties. I did it -- you can, too. Our grandfathers worked back-breaking jobs in the mines and mills -- we can survive paying for college... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
