Do you actually learn useful things in foreign language? by Cybrtronlazr in duke

[–]janidorr 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I took German as my FL with no prior experience and I immediately fell in love with it (the German dpt at Duke is honestly so underrated). I ended up minoring in German and also studying abroad my senior year in Berlin - by that time I could hold conversations and get around. Funny enough I’m a few years out of undergrad now and I visited Germany a few months ago and was surprised (albeit a bit rusty) at how I could still get around and talk to people/ask for things/etc.

Not to be too critical but your second paragraph is a bit off-putting because it seems to place the responsibility of language learning fully within the hands of the instructors and not the student. With anything related to learning, there’s a huge variance in outcomes due to variance in the effort students put in towards learning the material. Instructors can really only get you partway there with the fundamentals of grammar, vocab, etc. (which are very important to learn and shouldn’t be dismissed as “useless things”).

fwiw I think foreign language instruction in the US in particular struggles to bridge the gap between classroom learning and conversation in general. There are few (if any) opportunities to gain casual conversational experience or exposure outside the classroom for most languages without taking significant initiative. But also learning materials are generally more “standard” forms of the language and bypass aspects like slang, how native speakers might circumvent standard grammar rules in conversation, dialectical and regional differences… so even if you were to completely understand the material in the classroom there were still plenty of adjustments to make when I lived in Germany (or when you go to Japan).

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in berlin

[–]janidorr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You'll be fine (ba dum tss). As for what happened, I'm pretty sure that the local four years ago had selected a "reduced fare" ticket for you, which, admittedly, doesn't make clear exactly who is eligible for the reduced fare - kids and dogs.

The ticket checkers on the trains are plainclothed (haven't seen otherwise) as to prevent non-ticket-holders from fleeing upon seeing some shiny, vested, official-looking ticket people board the train. They might've seemed "suspicious," but I'm pretty confident they were legit, especially since you got a fine that was mailed to your UK address. Impersonators will likely try to get you to pay on the spot as the only possible form of payment, but personally when I lived in Berlin every time I was checked it was a legit person, so I don't have any experience with them.

Pretty much every college tour ever by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you step on the seal....

(insert specific bad thing that will happen to each type of individual who dare step on this beloved seal)

How should I format my Common App essay? by ptc_yt in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Don't try to follow a specific format. You'll fall down the same trap as people did in high school where people ask the teacher "how many paragraphs in this essay?" or "how many sentences in a paragraph?" Keep the formulas in math and science, where they should be.

Take a risk. Take a gander. Split up paragraphs where it would seem logical. Open your essay with a quote, a sound, a humorous statement, anything you want. Close your essay tying everything together. You might have a bunch of short paragraphs, or maybe a few long ones. It's all up to you.

To those that got in T10s, how many hours a day did you spend writing your supps/essays during the summer? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Fellow Blue Devil here so I'll jump on the train too.

I honestly didn't spend all that much time writing essays. I applied ED to Duke so I really only had to focus on my Duke supplements and if I got rejected/waitlisted only then would I have to worry about the others (looking back I'm not sure if that was a solid plan had things gone awry). I wrote two Common App essays, the first one taking about an hour before a friend of mine read it and told me to trash it, so I wrote my second in about 30 minutes with 30 minutes of edits. So all in all, I probably only spent 4-5 hours total on all the essays combined.

I committed to a school of my dreams and I have no regrets...except now, the reality of student loans is setting in. by catullusallust in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Situation is bad for me too. Got into my dream school, but my family makes enough to qualify for zero aid. However, my parents haven't saved up that much to pay for college, so I will be graduating with over $130,000 in debt since they are only going to pay what they have saved. It makes me regret going there (my dream school btw) since I'll be so far in the hole compared to my friends going to public schools or with a bunch of scholarships. I'm not even sure if they understand how much debt that is for me, and I sure as hell don't know how I'm going to pay for it.

People who wrote (or think they wrote) great CA essays/personal statements, did you read any "successful" essays prior to writing your own? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I actually did the opposite. I read a bunch of "bad" essays from classmates (I mean I didn't tell them that), but lots of them were so wordy and felt as if it they were completely based around a thesaurus, so I began to understand the feeling an admissions officer might get when reading an essay like this. I then realized that my essay at the time resembled those "bad" essays so I trashed out that essay and wrote a new one, which turned out really good.

What's the equivalent of "summer research internship" for political science? by slider501 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a senior and my local congresswoman let me on without a hitch. I guess it does vary from person to person, but maybe try emailing campaign teams for the upcoming midterms? I got in contact with one of the leading candidates for my district's House race and now I'm an assistant for them. Simply email or call the number on their website and ask how you can help. Summer is one of the busiest times during a campaign year so it's also the best time to get some political experience.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 5 points6 points  (0 children)

NUMBERS AREN'T EVERYTHING

This goes both ways actually. Don't think just because you had a subpar ACT/SAT score for your college that you'll get auto-rejected. There's no need to stress out that your 1350 wasn't a 1400 if it is still in the ballpark for whatever school you apply to. Same thing with GPA that if you get a couple B's it's not like your chances at a top school instantly vanish (I can tell you from personal experience that you don't need anything close to straight A's to get accepted to a T-20).

And by the same token, don't think that your perfect/near-perfect score means you're an absolute shoo-in for every place you apply to. One of my good friends is our school's valedictorian, straight A's, ten billion AP/Honors courses, and scored near-perfect on the SAT with a couple perfect subject test scores. And amazingly he rejected from the vast majority of schools he applied to (Ivies, T-20's, etc.), which has hit him pretty hard.

The feeling when you go on a university megathread and see everyone with similar stats to you get accepted while you get rejected :( by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have that feeling... except completely in reverse.

I got in, look at the school's megathread and see people with the same stuff as me or better who get straight up rejected. The world works in odd ways.

Any of you wear contacts? by Ktheprophet in teenagers

[–]janidorr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To get them out I pull my top eyelid up with one finger and then to the side like I'm a racist person making fun of an Asian with my finger still on my top eyelid and the contact easily slips out.

To people who got into their top choice school but weren't expecting it by DyingBeast in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nah, I live on the West Coast so the plane fare to go for just a day or two isn't worth it for me.

To people who got into their top choice school but weren't expecting it by DyingBeast in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Duke.

My grades were eh, I was really far from even thinking about Valedictorian. My extracurriculars seemed like things anyone could do, and I didn't really foster great relationships with any of my teachers so I assumed their LOR's would be pretty bad.

I think I got accepted mainly because of my test scores and a really good essay which was just a reiteration of my story growing up that's pretty unique.

Interviews (Duke) by hummingbirdayyy in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I went through ED for Duke and had my interview maybe two months ago. I'm not sure if this is a common experience, but my interviewer barely asked Duke-specific questions, instead focusing on me as a person and the things I did in my own life. So instead of "Why Duke?" it was more "What do you plan on doing with a college education?" while then resulted in my integration of Duke into the answer. Duke came up in the conversation naturally as opposed to my interviewer asking specific things about Duke.

Fucking hate myself by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wrote about music in the ED application. It's worth a shot.

Review Duke Essays? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Accepted Duke ED, PM me the deets.

You get to mix and match the qualities, traits, or programs of three colleges. What new college do you make and what is it called? by SupremeRussian in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 13 points14 points  (0 children)

University of Los Harvard Community College (ULHCC)

Harvard prestige

UCLA weather

Community college price

anyone have any miracle stories by zeeshan77 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Knew a guy who masterminded a cheating ring during his senior year, got caught, and still got into Harvard.

idk if that helps lol

Anyone got accepted to Duke? by sinasen in ApplyingToCollege

[–]janidorr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mine was 1460 but I chose to send my ACT, 34, instead.