Did anyone actually like "Beginnings" ?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

<p>I went back and saw it again and I absolutely loved it. There are some creepy people (like the girl who goes "in high school you have these prescribed molds into which you must fit..." or the "jewish war" guy) but overall it's an excellent video!</p>

<p>I especially like that nerdy chick who says "i'm takin a sign language class, and i've never done anything like it before" (the accent!), and the one in the beginning "i'm here to learn what my strengths are and more importantly what my weaknesses are." Among guys, the spec man who talks about "takin a roman history class... who knows if i change my mind, maybe i'll become a historian" and the "i'm really excited! i'm reaalllyy excited!!" guy were just great (i'd want them as friends!)</p>

<p>The best quote was probably: "As long as you can think about it, you can do it. Here, it's what you wanna think about" that the theatre guy says. And of course Tilghman's reassurance of a debt-free graduation...</p>

<p>The WORST part was that chick who talks about the chemistry exam and goes on to say that "whether you do well or not, you go on and you really enjoy it" in a way that makes me wonder if studying is even at the back of her mind! She goes on to say that "I think I wanna be an engineer, yeah. Not entirely certain though" and this one theme recurs SO MANY times it's annoying (what with tilghman's junior year major change). Another bad, rather made up thing was the asian girl learning chinese... what she says seems to be scripted.</p>

<p>Anyway, I think it is an excellent vid, highly recommended while you await your RD decision. :-)</p>

2

<p>Meh, it was all right. There was plenty of eye candy, but the dialouge wasn't so great in my opinion. Adding to your list, I also hated the overly-enthusiastic guys who ran on state to thank the admissions director....</p>

3

<p>i thought all the kids seemed like suck-ups that had nothing intelligent to say. the video made me realize that MIT is much more for me.</p>

<p>"in high school you have these prescribed molds into which you must fit..."
BS! the people that get in to princeton are the ones that have fit into the prescribed molds the best. (squares)</p>

<p>"i'm here to learn what my strengths are and more importantly what my weaknesses are."
what a load of suck-up BS. you're there so that you can show off for the rest of your life and make a lot of money.</p>

<p>"whether you do well or not, you go on and you really enjoy it"
typical ivy league BS. when these kids do badly, they consider suicide, they don't enjoy it.</p>

<p>"I think I wanna be an engineer, yeah. Not entirely certain though"
why is every1 so proud of the fact that in the first 2 years of college, they don't really learn anything useful? in england, they narrow it down to 3 subjects by the age of 16, and in college, you do one subject for 3-4 years straight, no minor, no liberal arts, no BS.
these kids pay $40,000/year to learn sign language and roman history when they're gunna be engineers? how about just focusing on your studies and then reading a few books after college? isn't that what some1's thats "truly intellectual" would do?</p>

<hr>

<p>the people in the video are the type that i will make fun of if i go to princeton.</p>

4

<p>Wow, bitter much? On every college campus in the United States you're going to find kids who are like that.</p>

<p>If MIT is much more for me, then you really must like high school. Oh yea, plus you must like going to the biggest school for squares there is.</p>

5

<p>As an MIT prospective, you really shouldnt talk about suicides and squares.</p>

6

<p>Wow there always seem to be more rants than raves about this video. david, first of all, that was an excellent post!! I agree with most of what you said :) Now:

[quote]
why is every1 so proud of the fact that in the first 2 years of college, they don't really learn anything useful? in england, they narrow it down to 3 subjects by the age of 16, and in college, you do one subject for 3-4 years straight, no minor, no liberal arts, no BS.
these kids pay $40,000/year to learn sign language and roman history when they're gunna be engineers? how about just focusing on your studies and then reading a few books after college? isn't that what some1's thats "truly intellectual" would do?

[/quote]

I absolutely totally completely disagree. Down here in India, we study 6 subjects till grade 10, then switch to 5. In college, as you said, students study ONE subject for the entire 4 years. BUT THIS ABSOLUTELY SUCKS! One needs choice. I dont wanna back that with more arguments cuz I've had enough.... and anyway this is about the vid, not Princeton :p yeah, lots of eye candy, I agree raven :D</p>

7

<p>Most def. I was almost ready to consider that "Beginnings" might not be the greatest admissions movie ever, but not to that degree. It's not the best, but I wouldn't say it's the worst. For me, the worst was that CD that UMich mailed. Yuck.</p>

<p>I enjoyed Beginnings mostly because of the beautiful campus shots. And stuff from the first day(s). That's going to be us in 8 months!</p>

8

<p>Moi aussi. I'll damit I watched th video at least 20 times for the video shots.... the weird bald guy with the deep voice came off as being almost like a nazi. interest in judaism, shaved head, and dumb questions... that's my theory at least.</p>

9

<p>"They were intensly fascinating..."</p>

10

<p>lol.....yeah, I went back and watched it again (not smart). But it was hilarious. That Russian guy looks like he came right out of central casting. I also like the "Princeton is free" song that continues relentlessly throughout the "no debt" section.</p>

11

<p>davidn08 i must say MIT is not the school you want to compare your comments to.</p>

12

<p>In response to davidn08, I have to say that I disagree. I think it's important to expand your horizons while you're in college. Many jobs require someone who is well-rounded and takes classes (or majors) in multiple areas---not just the one relating to their future career. For instance, science is an ever-changing field, and biology, chemistry, and physics are now relying on each other. That's why biology majors don't go to college to JUST taking biology classes. Need to write up a research report? That's why biology majors a writing course.</p>

<p>Basically the point is, college is a time to explore other areas (that's what those two years are for) so that you major in something that are actually interested in and knowledgable about. I think it's actually more wasteful to spend those two years with a designated major that you might change in the future because you didn't make an educated decision.</p>

13

<p>i'm all in favor of choices. for example, since i'm a math guy, i think the perfect UG education for me would be many choices in stuff like comp sci, engineering, physics, economics, pure math, applied math, business etc..... (i wrote that in my college essays). i also think that 1-2 courses in useful stuff like writing is a good idea...</p>

<p>however, that's not what a liberal arts education is. people argue "people should study lots of literature to be 'educated'". literature won't help you. if you're truly an intellectual, then you'll read for the enjoyment, not for the grade.</p>

<p>furthermore, in countries like england where they have to decide what career they want by 17, they do, and they're fine with it. it's only because you have the choice to decide late that you think you need more time.</p>

<p>i am not square. i'm the most liberal person my peers know. i'm the long-haired kid that plays guitar. i also think i'm intelligent, and that most of the people in this video just try to seem intelligent with a lot of fluff.</p>

14

<p>For gods sake, its a damn admissions video. </p>

<p>"however, that's not what a liberal arts education is. people argue "people should study lots of literature to be 'educated'". literature won't help you. if you're truly an intellectual, then you'll read for the enjoyment, not for the grade."</p>

<p>What? English classes in college involve more than just reading. Its something called discussion that forms the heart of these classes. You'll learn more from these discussions than you could ever learn just by reading a text alone.<br>
On that note,
If you're truly an intellectual, you could also learn "comp sci, engineering, physics, economics, pure math, applied math, business" on you're own and not for the grade. I think it was in Good Will Hunting where Matt Damon said something along the lines of "you dont need a 100k harvard education when you have a library card."</p>

<p>"furthermore, in countries like england where they have to decide what career they want by 17, they do, and they're fine with it. it's only because you have the choice to decide late that you think you need more time."</p>

<p>Thats great for English kids, at least we have the option to decide. I know that I'm not sure of what I want to do and yes, if I had to pick now I could make a choice but that extra time would really help me know if I'm making the RIGHT choice.</p>

15

<p>clap clap clap</p>

16

<p>
[QUOTE]

i thought all the kids seemed like suck-ups that had nothing intelligent to say. the video made me realize that MIT is much more for me.</p>

<p>"in high school you have these prescribed molds into which you must fit..."
BS! the people that get in to princeton are the ones that have fit into the prescribed molds the best. (squares)</p>

<p>"i'm here to learn what my strengths are and more importantly what my weaknesses are."
what a load of suck-up BS. you're there so that you can show off for the rest of your life and make a lot of money.</p>

<p>"whether you do well or not, you go on and you really enjoy it"
typical ivy league BS. when these kids do badly, they consider suicide, they don't enjoy it.

[/QUOTE]

Really, and how do you know this? Have you gone to four years at an Ivy League school? Think before you judge, please. Unless you are not truly intellectual.</p>

<p>
[QUOTE]
"I think I wanna be an engineer, yeah. Not entirely certain though"
why is every1 so proud of the fact that in the first 2 years of college, they don't really learn anything useful? in england, they narrow it down to 3 subjects by the age of 16, and in college, you do one subject for 3-4 years straight, no minor, no liberal arts, no BS.

[/QUOTE]

Having a broad education is not BS, it is important. For example, look at science:
-science is a philosophy (if you don't believe me, look up the scientific revolution)
-science uses math
-science uses written language; scientists must communicate effectively and there is a strong social element among researchers
-science must adhere to ethics; more philosophy, and now politics and religion too
-science must adhere to the law; goverment
-science must produce useful goods and services to exist;economics</p>

<p>I could go on forever, but I hope you see that all fields are closely related, and so should therefore be their educational preparation.</p>

<p>
[QUOTE]

these kids pay $40,000/year to learn sign language and roman history when they're gunna be engineers? how about just focusing on your studies and then reading a few books after college? isn't that what some1's thats "truly intellectual" would do?

[/QUOTE]

That's just it. They pay, they choose. Supply and demand (yes they are non-profit but the principle applies). These schools make it clear that this is what they offer. If that is not what you desire, pay to go elsewhere. Unless a large number of people or the school itself changes in the supply-demand scheme, this change will not occur.</p>

<p>To say that the students coming out of these colleges are either not intellectuals or not prepared for engineering is ridiculous. An engineer may not have time to devote himself to a literature study like a college student can. He will, however, encounter engineering on a daily basis, and will have to maintain study of it to stay up to date etc, and the education gained from a lifetime of engineering after a great education at a school like Princeton will more than make up for a half a dozen course changes in school. That is intellectual.</p>

<p>I liked the video alot. I thought that there were some moments of BS, but I take it for what it is worth: it is a promotions video.</p>

17

<p>
[quote]
the weird bald guy with the deep voice came off as being almost like a nazi. interest in judaism, shaved head, and dumb questions... that's my theory at least.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Funny, I thought the same thing. Nazi seems strong, but he was... strange.</p>

18

<p>OKAY GUYS. While what david says is not too correct, I agree with him on one account:

[quote]
furthermore, in countries like england where they have to decide what career they want by 17, they do, and they're fine with it. it's only because you have the choice to decide late that you think you need more time.

[/quote]

It's the same in India (and probably the rest of asia too). I cannot take biology now in college even if I wanted to. And I'm fine with it. So david IS RIGHT here and stop shouting about the freedom and option and blahblah....if you don't know what you wanna study till you're halfway thru college, you've wasted those two years IMO. Hands down.</p>

19

<p>Looks like we digressed again, but to answer the original question, I enjoyed Beginnings. It was dramatic, but it accomplished the purpose of showing off the campus, getting people excited, whatever. So duh you know it's biased, but I liked it because I'm biased =) It's got nothing on Lumina Princetonia though</p>

20

<p>I'd say that when we go to college, we need to decide if we want a deep or broad education. Mercurysquad, I know the indian system - its great but its one helluva narrowminded one. You study one subject all the way through college (if ur studying in india) and in your third year, u realise that u hate it. what the hell to do? go repeat your undergrad? thats not possible. Thats why U.S unis and some U.K ones allow us to get more opportunities - be exposed to a variety of things. </p>

<p>"these kids pay $40,000/year to learn sign language and roman history when they're gunna be engineers? how about just focusing on your studies and then reading a few books after college? isn't that what some1's thats "truly intellectual" would do?" - a real intellectual can probably balance life better. Learn a variety of things. MIT has a tough courseload, and it emphasises on well roundedness. its not like the IITs of india - top schools with a narrowminded outlook. Merc, u probably know the outcome of such an approach. its a bird brain with a lot of one subject stuffed in it. Reading books is not enough. You gotta LEARN through interaction. thats the significant difference between the two systems. An MIT grad will get an equally good education as one who has studied like a horses-with-blinkers (as in india), but also will know stuff that books will never teach.</p>