<p>Well schaden, this is how i take my classes. If i sign up for a class…il try to attend 100% and do my best to contribute and show the teacher that im actually interested in the subject and not just to pass by. Because at the end its only my loss if i just try to get A’s and not try to learn anything. Also, Boring or not…you got to do what you got to do. And its never about whose smart and who isnt, its about who wants to work hard and who wants to just pass by. And about the 5% part, that 5% can show the professor that you are interested. That can save you from passing or failing a course, that 5% can get u an A from a B and end up saving your hope scholarship or something. Every little point matters and if someone is serious about a class they should be mature about it and leave discomfort behind and do what needs to be done…this is my way of thinking when i take a classs…and im sure if i fillow that il be successful</p>
<p>Since we are talking about physics courses…any recommendation on whether to take the regular 2211 Intro course vs. the matter and interactions one?</p>
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<p>Akbar, it sounds like you’re a perfect candidate for Tech then. As long as you’re willing to put everything on the line for that extra 1% for your grade and force yourself to attend boring classes and learn dry material for hours on end for 4-5 years, you’ll do OK.</p>
<p>Well…“boring” is really an opinion, I enjoy physics,computer science and mathematics…heck one of my favorite pastimes is watching physics videos and reading books about math. So the material may be “dry” for you, but in my opinion it is very interesting. Schaden, i really think that you dislike tech because after attending it you realized that you are just not interested in science/technology which is why you found the material boring and dry. There is nothing wrong with that, what i think is wrong is the fact that you seem obsessive about posting your opinion about tech every chance you get.Yes some materials i will find boring…classes like literature and some other humanities classes but besides that all classes in CS department in my major should be awesome. I actually attend classes to learn and im usually pretty exited to go to class because i enjoy learning new things. So the bottom line is that it really depends on an individuals interest and passion…if they enjoy learning new things and working hard then im sure they will enjoy their time at tech and gain lots of knowledge.</p>
<p>Going to three, 50 minute Physics lectures a week means you are selling your soul to Georgia Tech?</p>
<p>I found the physics lectures to be interesting actually. However, I had Jarrio who was a good professor (opinion). Honestly, if you find the subject of physics (a pretty broad subject) to be boring, an engineering degree may not be a good degree to pursue.</p>
<p>It’s one thing to enjoy the material, but if the material is not presented in a stimulating manner, that can make a difference in the attendance. People tend to stop attending once they believe that they acquire their knowledge from the book alone because they don’t seem to be getting anything extra from lecture. That is perhaps one thing I liked about taking physics here. I hate physics, but it seems that even the worst of teachers went out of their way to find ways to make us understand the material (demos, whatever). I had to appreciate that effort. And it did make attending class enjoyable even when finding the material difficult. I don’t know if that’s the case at Tech. I’d have to wonder if the profs. there just stand there and talk/work problems. </p>
<p>The only thing that bothers me about schaden’s posts is that he/she makes it seem as if Tech is the only school that makes it hard on science majors/ or where many science majors are having a hard time. Trust me, among top schools, it’s not. Tech is especially hard in math, physics, and chemistry, as we are in biology, neuroscience, chem, and psychology. Being a science/engineering major is hard at most top schools. The only things that may make it easier at other schools are accessibility to learning resources and the teaching styles of the profs. As I said before, it seems like profs. here perhaps try much more to successfully convey the material. I don’t know though. G.P. Burdell spoke on this in another forum. And honestly, science majors here probably have higher GPAs from taking easier humanities courses, like other private schools. Tech will not have as many options in that arena, plain and simple. Given that, GPAs will be lower. Also, take into its size. Surely some will fall through the cracks.<br>
If you want to be an engineer, I think Tech is an ideal place to study. Great opportunities, and gives an awesome work ethnic, and for a decent price. If you had gone to a top private school with engineering, you’d be paying a lot more and experiencing the same workload/difficulty. To top it off, you may be at a school known for inflation, which can sometimes hurt grad. school opportunities. Employers and grad. schools know about the rigor/grading practices at Tech. From what I’ve seen from the many Tech graduates/students I know. It’s worth it.</p>
<p>As for you comment on humanities and lit. classes akbar: That may change in college. Often colleges offer some of the most interesting humanities/social science courses that are completely worth it and are very intellectually stimulating. Mainly because of the way in which they are taught (often profs. are very enthusiastic about the matter, not like high school, which often yields very formal teaching styles. It makes a difference, trust me). Then again, I go to Emory, which is probably why I can make such a claim. Given that there certainly is no strong emphasis on liberal arts at Tech, I would not expect you to have the same experience as I am. But honestly, if you can, check out some offerings here, I think you can joint-enroll in classes here for Tech tuition (then again, that may only be for classes pertaining to your major), and there is a shuttle. I think your opinion may change. I’m a science major, but my horizon has broadened a lot since college.</p>
<p>For clarification akbar, you can’t cross-register until junior year. Apparently you can take anything not offered at Tech.</p>
<p>@bernie2012 I already attend a community college so i have taken some humanities/lit courses. I really enjoyed philosophy but literature seemed a little dull to me…probably because i analyze things through science/mathematics perspective and most of the literature i was faced with had more of a “fantasy” theme to it.I enjoy books and stories that are based on science fiction…but im not sure if you would count those as literature. I do have one more humanities class to take and i cannot decide on what to take. I am not too much into foreign language or music so im very confused as to what to take…any suggestions?</p>
<p>Do y’all have any religion, anthropology, or sociology courses. Again, I am biased. I go to Emory, where liberal arts and humanities are big. There are many interdisciplinary based humanities here that cater to broad interests. There is an extremely large array of special topics courses and seminars here. One of our big initiatives lately has been to unite science with religion and various humanities.</p>
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<p>Boring is an opinion. But before you’ve even been to Georgia Tech you can’t really make any informed opinion on whether the material is dry or not. Science and technology=interesting. Georgia Tech=not.</p>
<p>Out of all the subjects I studied at Georgia Tech, I probably like physics the most.</p>
<p>What I didn’t like was the watering down of the material to be mind numbing, the focus on formulas and numbers in class rather than concepts and ideas, and the cut-throat way they made the grades (5% attendance grade, 5% recitation grade, for instance). I’d much rather find information on the internet than go through that (and I think I’d learn about just as much, if not more).</p>
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<p>Pretty much. Did you see the link that akbar gave? Less than a third of the class had a 90% attendance rate. For a school with as many “motivated hard workers” (such as Akbar) as Tech, that’s pretty bad.</p>
<p>@bernie We do have world religion ,intro to sociology and intro to anthropology…the only one of those that would stike my interest would probably have to be world religions.</p>
<p>@schaden Your right, i cannot make an informed opinion untill ive taken the classes myself. Then and only then i can truly say if its interesting or just plain boring. Because of biased opinions i am reluctant to choose what & who to believe…which is why i plan to experience it for myself and then decide. But then again…everyone has a different experience…maybe it was a certain department that you felt was unfair…but that doesnt mean the whole institution falls under the same category as that department. If it was all that bad i dont know why so many employers would like to hire graduates from Ga Tech with great salaries. In general, im sure schools with the same rank as tech are just as difficult if not more.</p>
<p>schaden’s posts are useful in that they provide an alternative viewpoint on aspects of Tech life. All prospective students ought to be advised, however, that schaden does not represent the majority of Tech students: since 2001, [only</a> one in five](<a href=“http://www.irp.gatech.edu/apps/factbook/?page=94]only”>http://www.irp.gatech.edu/apps/factbook/?page=94) students was not retained after four years. The overwhelming majority of students stay and graduate. Since 2000, the six-year graduation rate has been 77% or higher; less than one in four students does not graduate at Tech, whether due to transferring out or dropping out.</p>
<p>I refuse to believe that these students only stayed because they had no other choice. There are less demanding and more “fun” schools out there, and nothing prevents most of our students from filing the paperwork and leaving. It’s one thing to transfer to Yale, but it’s a whole other thing to transfer to UGA or Southern.</p>
<p>I’m willing to bet Jarrio is the best Physics 1 professor because I had him as well and I can safely say he is the best professor I’ve had at Georgia Tech. My Physics 2 professor was no where near as stimulating and interesting. How good the professor is affects how many people show up to daily lecture halfway in the semester. </p>
<p>Also once again to those worrying about Phys 1/2 labs: don’t. They’re easy, almost like a free giveaway 10% to you grade. Your main worry should be the course material itself and the tests, which can be hard. I’ve had bad experiences with Physics tests. You’d think the free response section is the hard part, but I would almost get full points on those questions. It’s the dumb multiple choice questions that get me. Some of them can be worth as much as 10 points. So if you miss 3, that could mean at least a full letter grade drop on that test. :(</p>
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<p>Employers like to suck every ounce of blood they can from their employees-a Tech degree proves you will do that, and that’s why Tech provides such an attractive degree.</p>
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<p>I’m not sure if you’ve heard about the students who advise the prospective students touring the campus not to come, and from what I’ve read on here it’s pretty common. That’s got to count for at least another 20-30% of students who want to leave, but cannot for some reason- grades, money, lack of conscience or whatnot.</p>
<p>Hm so 50% actually want to be there, and the rest still complain about all the work they have. Doesn’t sound so attractive anymore, does it?</p>
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<p>They tend to give good grades in the labs- that doesn’t take away from that they’re 2-3 hours every week and might be conducted by someone who can barely speak English.</p>
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<p>Dr. Jarrio does explain things well in class (and even sometimes gives real life examples) but his grading is pretty harsh and outside of class he’s generally a jackass.</p>
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<p>Ah, so you’re going to marginalize me here? You don’t agree with anything I’m saying?</p>
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<p>So are employers supposed to want lazy employees? Many of the jobs Tech grads go into are 40 hour a week positions. That is hardly getting their blood sucked out… You should also realize that some people genuinely enjoy their majors and the work they do after Tech, so working hard is actually not a burden on them. It is unfortunate that you have had such a bad experience with Tech and that it is not the place for you, but I (and I presume others) would appreciate if you would limit your commentary to your personal experience and not make broad unsubstantiated statements about the experience of other Tech students.</p>
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<p>You cannot simply make up numbers to fit your argument. As I said above, please speak for yourself, and let others speak for their own experiences. (Or you could supply actual evidence to back up what you say.) </p>
<p>The tour prank you speak of is a tech tradition, it is listed on the sheet of 100 things to do before one graduates, and they are usually not being serious. (I can say this as a Tech tour guide who has spoken to numerous students who make such commentary.) </p>
<p>Lots of people at Tech complain about the rigor in a joking manner(myself included). Just because you hate the place does not mean that everyone you encounter that complains about an upcoming test or some other aspect of their life they are currently frustrated with wants to leave and hates the school. So let me reiterate, unless you can suddenly read minds, stick to discussing your personal experiences and do not play your experience off as representative of 50% of the student body.</p>
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<p>So would you rather have labs be 30 minutes long and have TAs with impeccable pronunciation, but get a lower grade? You have a habit of only looking at the most negative aspects of Tech and dismissing anything that is good. Your negativity towards this school is so strong (and often so irrational or one-sided) that it probably qualifies as some sort of pathological neurosis. I suspect this attitude is a large contributor to your great distaste for the school. Jefferson said we are about as happy as we make up our minds to be. You might do well to heed his advice. </p>
<p>As for labs, I am sure there are bad TAs and TAs who cannot speak English very well (just like there are at just about every other school in the nation), but I have personally never had such a TA. So I can say that there are also good TAs who work with you, make efforts to shorten lab as much as possible, and who lack any problematic accent. Lab length is also pretty standard no matter where you go to school.</p>
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<p>I do not think you are being marginalized. You speak for your own experience and your commentary is being recognized as what it is (one person’s experience). If you want your words to be representative of some larger student population then perhaps you can go start an I Hate GT Club, get yourself elected president, and then walk around proclaiming to represent half the student body (provided such an unlikely large number actually joined.). I wouldn’t expect SGA funding though…</p>
<p>As for people not agreeing with anything you say: This is probably not entirely true. What is happening is that you are so lopsided in your presentation of Tech that the other posters likely feel they need to explain why your views are not very comprehensive, rather than bolster an argument that they mostly disagree with. Just as you have the right to post your personal experiences, others have a right to disagree with you and explain how their personal experiences differ from your own. You can freely represent yourself, but you should not be offended when others refuse to recognize you as representing a substantial portion of the student body.</p>
<p>schaden, i think its common sense that if an employee is happy/satisfied he will work harder and be more productive compared to an employee who is just there because he cant go anywhere else…employers are happy as long as they are making profits. So about employers “sucking blood” that may be true in some cases that the employer is p i s s e d off at the world and he wants all of his employees to suffer. Usually employers like those do not get very far because noone is willing to be work for them. Now, the majority of the employers dont have a passion for “sucking blood” out of employees. All they care about is the well-being of their company and profits rolling in. And you dont need to be a business major to know these things because its simply common sense. Therefore, tech graduates are not hired because employers want to suck their blood. So, why do you think they hire Tech graduates?</p>
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<p>Sure I’ve heard about that: [it’s</a> #14 on the “99 things to do before you graduate”](<a href=“http://www.nique.net/fsg2009/100003]it’s”>http://www.nique.net/fsg2009/100003) list from the Technique. But you are guessing that up to 30% of the campus seriously tries to discourage the touring students from coming. No one knows exactly how many students want to leave but don’t or can’t; that statistic isn’t kept by the Institute, and how can they?</p>
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<p>If you want to present a realistic view of Tech, prospective students ought to know that 80% of students are retained after four years and 77% of students graduate after six years. Since you were not retained after four years, you are not alone in your views, but you hardly represent the majority.</p>
<p>I agree with you that Tech is not the most fun university to study at. But if you and FASET try to paint opposite pictures of Tech, I’m somewhere in the middle.</p>
<p>I almost always experienced that on Physics tests feez. The multiple choice would often be my downfall.</p>
<p>Hmm, I’ll answer questions too…I just finished up my freshman year-dizzle andd I know all about that whole on-campus housing stuff.</p>
<p>@singalongforever Whats your major?</p>