<p>I’m directing my question to any CC parent who was in an intense studying/workload environment in College, and who felt AT THE TIME like you were under a great deal of pressure.</p>
<li><p>If you could do it over again, would you have studied more, less, or the same amount in college? Why?</p></li>
<li><p>In your career/life after college, how would you compare the level of pressure you have been under, compared to your college years?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’d like to see what you all think…then I’ll discuss an ongoing conversation we’ve had at the astro-house.</p>
<p>I went to a state school after two years in community college, so I don't have an HYP-type comparison. However, I will say that for the last 18 months of my college career I had a "part-time" job -- 32 hours a week, plus a 45-minute commute, so, basically, a full-time job. The connections I made at the job were quite valuable for my career, and I loved the job. I felt under a good amount of time pressure, which translated into not a lot of free time to become a part of the college community. That's kind of a bummer, but my friends from work were my drinking buddies instead of college pals. I just never developed college relationships.</p>
<p>Oh, and I went to college, even during CC, every summer so that I didn't have to take such a heavy load during the year and could keep my grades up and scholarships intact.</p>
<p>College wasn't difficult academically. I don't feel like I studied much and still only got one C the whole four years. I did tape lectures so I could listen to them again in the car to and from work, so I do think I made good use of my time.</p>
<p>To answer your questions: </p>
<p>1) I should have studied a bit more.</p>
<p>2) Oh, please. College is a breeze compared to real life. It FEELS like a lot of pressure at the time, but stakes are higher when you're working to support a family, etc., making my time in college feel like a walk in the park.</p>
<p>I did go to HYP, and honestly I worked harder or at least it felt like it in high school. The only term I felt pressured was the one I took Physics with the pre-meds. For some reason the tail end of the course assumed knowledge from chemistry which I hadn't taken and the pre-meds were all working much harder than I wanted to. I managed to get a B however. If I had it to do again, I might push myself a little more. Though as I recall some of the courses I wanted to take that might have been more challenging kept conflicting with courses I had to take for my major. Now grad school was another matter. I've never worked so hard in my life - and that despite the fact that it was all pass/fail.</p>
<p>My work life can be stressful, particularly once I decided to have a solo practice. There's a lot of pressure when anything that goes wrong is likely to get blamed on you. I put some of the pressure on myself by procrastinating and then having to stay up late to finish promised projects.</p>
<p>College (architecture major) was far more intense than anything in my work life. It appears worse for current archi. majors (or perhaps I have selective memory). I truly believe it has taken on a life of its own more from tradition than by necessity. I've never had to "pull an all-nighter" in the work world, despite plenty of deadlines or fast-tracked jobs.</p>
<p>I also think the typical architectural training does a disservice to many talented students (and ultimately the profession). Architects claim to come from multi-faceted, well-rounded educations, but in reality intense studio demands actually prevent most student from being well-rounded, or from mixing with (and learning from) students of other majors.</p>
<p>I didn't feel much pressure for undergrad. I worked a ton of hours but it wasn't stressful per se for the most part. I felt much more stress during my Masters' and there were crazy periods, but it was only two years. </p>
<p>At the PhD level, it was stressful beyond comparison to anything I'd ever experienced before, or since. Stressful in every possible way: the workload, the difficulty of the work, and the toxic environment in which we had to coexist with our professors. We had two years of full time course work, along with research obligations, two independent summer projects, then comprehensive exams, and THEN our dissertation (while we also taught our own MBA courses for the first time). All in four years (much pressure to graduate in four). Our quant courses were brutal. And each seminar course required deep processing of a stack of journal articles so high that when placed on the floor came up to one's waist. Every friggin waking hour was spent getting through the workload. After two years of coursework, we had our comprehensive exams. This involved a 48 hr take home exam (during which time no one slept or ate), 2 days off, then another 48 hr take home exam, 2 days off, then another 48 hr exam. If you failed one of these exams- and out of the class of 5 before us, 3 did- you had to leave the program, and basically have nothing to show for two years of course work. </p>
<p>From it I got the most amazing training and fabulous success in my career (its the best possible place one could have done a PhD in my field), so with hindsight I'm very very grateful everyday for the outcome. But I had no idea what I was getting into nor how I did it at the time. I love my career and hope my child is fortunate enough to have a career they love as much as I do, but I would never want my child to go through that kind of educational experience.</p>
<p>Re Post #4, that's why I'm glad I had a liberal arts undergrad experience, even if it meant that it was longer before I became an architect. But at least I only had three years of misery! I've stayed up till one or two a.m. in a couple of offices on a few occasions, but not often. In my own office the pain is entirely self-inflicted.</p>
<p>From observation I think that being a biology professor is much more stressful than being a grad school. Getting published, getting grants, getting tenured, running meetings it's just one stress after another.</p>
<p>Well, college sure SEEMED stressful at the time. In retrospect it was nothing compared to what's experienced in real life. I mean what was the WORST THING that could happen during UG? A bad grade?</p>
<p>I found my four years in the military right after high school to be off the charts stressful, mostly due to the lack of control (you can't quit, which is scary). </p>
<p>College and grad school were relatively easy. Didn't have to study much because the classes were primarily just reading and writing papers; made straight A's, so wouldn't change anything. Biggest stress was disagreement with advisor over my master's thesis, which resulted in the worst piece of writing--from a content perspective--I've ever been forced to publish. I put my copy in the trash immediately upon approval. Not sure what I could have done differently except perhaps save my original and publish it independently.</p>
<p>Work is work, which is to say I'm not one of the lucky ones who has found a career they love, just something that paid the bills. I quit on Friday and have no idea what I will do next, but want it to be as far away from what I have done for the past 20+ years as possible. My husband also hates his job, we feel little geographic flexibility due to our rising senior high schooler, and our investments have taken a beating, so I guess I'm in the camp that life is generally more stressful than college. </p>
<p>S1, in college as an enginnering major, isn't finding it stressful. He thought high school was worse.</p>
<p>I asked the questions originally to get a different perspective than what H and I have on the subject.</p>
<p>D and a friend are having significantly different college experiences. D's friend is at an uber-intense school, one of those that has the "School X....where fun goes to die" t-shirts. D's friend is usually quite stressed, and even as a freshman, is spending most of the time studying, and mumbling, "I hate this <em>ing place". The opinion of D's friend is that school is the time to study your a</em> off, and the stress and pressure that you put on yourself in college is worth it, because you'll get a better job, will be happier in life, and will have less pressure ahead of you in life.</p>
<p>On the other hand, from the experiences H and I had in college, and our general point of view on life--we've obviously had some impact on D. While she is studying a lot, and had all A's first semester, with a couple of tough classes... she is having a lot more FUN in college. Takes advantage of the fun of being an ACC sports fan, goes to cultural events, and goes into DC at least once a week. We're of the point of view that college is some of the best times of your life, and while I thought I was under a lot of stress and pressure in college, it was NOTHING like the level experienced in "real life".</p>
<p>D had AP credits such that she could have finished college w/ a double major in 3 years, if she'd taken some summer classes. We advised her to take it easy, enjoy herself, take lighter courseloads instead of having 17+ credits per semester. Basically, study, get good grades, and have fun.</p>
<p>It's interesting the differences. Guess that's what makes this world interesting, huh?</p>
<p>I went to a college that felt very stressful at times to me because I had all As in high school and it didn't come as easy at this school and I had a father who expected the same string of As that I had in high school. My stress was self induced and I did didn't get straight As and fortunately stress didn't afflick the friends I ultimately found so looking back the stress was sporadic at best but I was not unhappy when my S1 picked a more easy going college. That said, I still have alot of pride when the topic of college comes up and I have to tell people where I went and they say, 'that's a tough, tough school."</p>
<p>I went to a very demanding school, and I studied A LOT. It was really, really hard work. However ... I DID have balance in my life. I was very involved in activities at school (and after hours!), and I had a wonderful time. My college friends & I agree that we learned how to juggle many demands while at school and that this has helped us in our lives. I imagine there were students at our school who felt incredibly stressed & hated it. My friends & I were more concerned with balancing things than with being the best. Some of us were top of the class, others were more around the middle. The interesting thing is, it isn't just the top of the class kids who have had amazing careers. Quite a few of the ones who some might have considered less than stellar students are very successful in the traditional sense. </p>
<p>In retrospect, I think part of what kept us balanced was that we all did co-op (freshman through senior year, required by the school). We knew what was required in the workplace, and we did what we needed to do in school to get our degrees ... but we made sure to have fun, probably because we knew what was in store once we graduated!</p>
<p>If my kid wanted to be miserable at a ridiculously tough school, that would be her call. However, I don't think it's necessary to go through that in order to be successful in life.</p>
<p>I have a sibling that went to same school as I for the same exact major (one that self eliminates due to professors weeding out the less motivated). Now we both finished with the same degree, 2 years apart. I had ALOT of fun, got decent grades, not a straight 4.0, but had fun :) refused a full time job till after summer finished after graduation wanted ONE more carefree summer. Sibling STRESSED To the max over grades, was miserable, worked almost full time near the end of school, self choice, not mandatory.</p>
<p>Though my background is not in any especially rarified academic setting, I did have 2 very different college experiences. First, music major, which I found very intense. Major instrument, minimum several hours of practice a day required for 1 credit. Supplementary voice or keyboard classes, 2 credits. Performance group, 5 or so hours per week, 1 credit. And then there were the academic classes. Made for a very busy and exhausting life, as playing an instrument well is hard work both physically and mentally. </p>
<p>Then I went to nursing school. Most of my classmates felt it was difficult. And it was busy, however the papers were formulaic, as were the tests. Science classes and clinicals were a challenge. But of the two majors, music felt far more rigorous. </p>
<p>Having young twins and a bad marriage was far more difficult that anything I could imagine in school. Despite the rigor of college, there were vacations, Friday nights. When my kids were young, there was little respite. With one, on occasion, with twins in my situation, no.</p>
<p>I was an intense student- NMS, took the rigorous courses, studied hard. Discovered my limits, eg math- probably well above most, but not at the top after 3 semesters of Honors calculus. My father was so silent when I told him about the C (my only one) in a chemistry course junior year- how I hated statistical thermodynamics. I had parental pressure and HS high achievement to make for high expectations. My small group of close friends figured that the reason none of us were Phi Beta Kappa like one because we were the ones dragging him out of the library on Saturday nights. I think I evolved in my 4.0 gpa attitude, but had other stressors- such as the need to be able to be financially stable in my future. Economics were always something influencing minor spending. Boy, you're making us dredge up some unpleasant memories from eons ago.</p>
<p>I would have studied a little harder in Japanese my final semester. I wouldn't change anything else about that.</p>
<p>I felt a lot of pressure in college because I loaded my plate with non-academic commitments. If I'd had nothing to do but four courses a semester, I would have felt very little pressure (and I would have been bored to death).</p>
<p>This is such an interesting question and the answer isn't always what you expect. I have two kids the same age, both freshman at different Ivy schools, one of which is noted for its academic intensity. But the two kids are totally different, both in their interests and in what stresses them out. The one at the "intense" school feels much happier and more comfortable in that environment and has found time to join at fraternity, volunteer for probably more clubs than he should, is doing well with grades, and is as happy as he could be. The other is loving her classes, but not quite as happy with the social scene and, as such, is finding life much more stressful.</p>
<p>It really does boil down to what an individuals needs are.</p>
<p>I went to a state school and found that my studies were not that difficult, but I had a major that was also not that difficult. I still wish i had studied more and taken advantage of other academic opportunities. I was able to participate in a lot of ECs which seem way less important now than they did then. I do think kids should have FUN in college -- I probably was the poster child for fun but my education was paid for my parents and my major was not that rigorous. My husband, on the other hand, saved his own money for college and took a double major on a more difficult program. As we get ready to send our son off to college, we want him to get a good broad-based education that will serve him well over his life, but we also want him to have a great time. There will never be another time in his life like college. </p>
<p>I also hope my son will be able to study abroad. Our school offered a program in London and I didn't have the gumption or the money to get there. I really regret that. Thirty three years ago I probably could have earned the money very easily. My parents were not wealthy and since they were paying for my college and it was a struggle, I didn't want to ask them for that money.</p>
<p>I'm a young alum, not a parent. But it's an interesting topic, so I want to contribute. Take it for what you will.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I would have studied more in my first couple of semesters, back when I didn't really know how to study for long periods of time. I would have studied about the same amount of time in later semesters, but I would have figured out (I hope) how to make it more efficient. I couldn't have studied much less and actually got through, so "less" wasn't an option.</p></li>
<li><p>The real world is so much less stressful (for me). Period. No question, no contest. It has been like diving into a cool pool after walking across a desert on a blistering mid-summer afternoon.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>(Incidentally, "the real world" for me includes being a part-time grad student at a different institution, in addition to a full-time job. It is still no contest.)</p>
<p>My undergrad had a lot of intense highs, and a lot of intense lows. I had a lot of fun, but a lot of pain as well. The stress level was nearly always high, whether I was on a high or a low or some of both. </p>
<p>Now, my life is more stable and calm. I know now that I can succeed in the real world, where as an undergrad I lived in terror of screwing up my life so badly that there would be nothing for me. My relationship with my mom, which I thought was going to be destroyed for a while, has recovered (too personal a story to go into here, but it was caused by college-related issues, not just happening to be going on at the same time). I'm gaining back my confidence in my own intellectual abilities, and college has left me with a higher level of confidence in myself in other areas (like resilience, for one). I'm financially independent now, which is terrific freedom. I have more free time, and free-er free time, than as an undergrad. I'm physically and mentally healthier.</p>
<p>I did take on some roles in ECs in college that increased my stress level (the only ones that really increased my stress and took up a lot of time were the student government ones, of which I had a few). But the stress level would have still been way higher than what I have in the real world even without those.</p>
<p>Interesting thread ... the Op mentioned two ideas and tied then together ... intense and pressure ... and I do not think they necessarily go together.</p>
<p>I went to three intense programs (undergrad and two masters) and consistantly faced the firehose of problem sets, mid-term exams, and finals ... personally once I got into my major I enjoyed this workload; I had found a major for which doing the academic work was essentially intellectual play ... and I virtually never felt "pressure" about school work. I was stressed about the workload but not really feeling pressure. The first instance of intense pressure was when my first full-time job hunt wasn't going well ... about that I felt pressure.</p>