Aziraphales Actually Alliterative And Awesomely Affluent Random Banter #104

[randman22222]

Well, it "doesn't count" in that it doesn't affect your college applications, but if you do well enough you get scholarship money.

(/took it a year ago, is a semi-finalist, possibly finalist if they like my essay)

I hope I get money.

Although one of the schools I'm looking at might offer me a Full Ride, capitals, No Money Paid To The School At All. THEY pay ME to come study with them. I'm going to check it out next week, and if I like it....


Regarding books:

I love WATERSHIP DOWN.

And

PAPER TOWNS by John Green came out the other day and I HAVE TO HAVE IT!!!! John Green writes young adult romance (LOOKING FOR ALASKA, AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES). He also has a video blog with his brother; they're Nerds with a capital N. Anyway, KATHERINES is one of my favorite books and I WANT PAPER TOWNS!!!!! :smallwant: (<--we need that emoticon )

*Is jealous. Very.*
I was only commended!

What kinda score did it take to become a semi-finalist? I ended up with a 200.

[Dragonrider]

*Is jealous. Very.*
I was only commended!

What kinda score did it take to become a semi-finalist? I ended up with a 200.

I got a 225. I don't know what the cutoff is, but according to my calculations, the highest possible score is 240 (three sections, 80 points possible in each). therefore, again by my calculations, I got a 93.75%, leading me to guess that anything about a 90% - or a 216 - gets semifinalist distinction.

But actually, I just remembered it's the top 1600 in the country. Are semifinalists. After that, they send you a hellish fold-out form and ask you to write an essay in a 6x8" box (no going over the edge!). Basically anyone intrepid enough to traverse the form gets to be a finalist - about 1500 people. And those with the best essays get to be "winners" - in other words, WIN SCHOLARSHIPS.

My fingers are crossed.

[randman22222]

225. I don't know what the cutoff is, but according to my calculations, the highest possible score is 240 (three sections, 80 points possible in each). therefore, again by my calculations, I got a 93.75%, leading me to guess that anything about a 90% - or a 216 - gets semifinalist distinction.

But actually, I just remembered it's the top 1600 in the country. Are semifinalists. After that, they send you a hellish fold-out form and ask you to write an essay in a 6x8" box (no going over the edge!). Basically anyone intrepid enough to traverse the form gets to be a finalist - about 1500 people. And those with the best essays get to be "winners" - in other words, WIN SCHOLARSHIPS.

My fingers are crossed.

*State of jealousy becomes a state of being impressed. Very.*
Wow, good luck with that. I'll be crossing my fingers for you too.

Have you taken the SAT proper yet?

[The Rose Dragon]

Huh. All me had to do to get scholarships was to get in the first 1000 in me country.

Then again, me country is filled with a lot of stupid people who like giving away money to people like me.

Me ain't complaining.

[Dragonrider]

*State of jealousy becomes a state of being impressed. Very.*
Wow, good luck with that. I'll be crossing my fingers for you too.

Have you taken the SAT proper yet?

Yup. Last year also. I got a 2180. And I took the ACT in May and that was a 32. I'm WAY over-tested.

And I'm taking two SAT subject tests in December (Math and Literature) because one of the schools to which I'm applying wants it, and if I do I have a chance - like I said - to NOT PAY ANYTHING...which is pretty serious. And I can do Math/Lit tests in my SLEEP at this point.

[randman22222]

Yup. Last year also. I got a 2180. And I took the ACT in May and that was a 32. I'm WAY over-tested.

And I'm taking two SAT subject tests in December (Math and Literature) because one of the schools to which I'm applying wants it, and if I do I have a chance - like I said - to NOT PAY ANYTHING...which is pretty serious. And I can do Math/Lit tests in my SLEEP at this point.

Huh. That trumps my 1980... Big time. You actually made my jaw drop... That doesn't happen so often over the intertubez.
I shan't be getting any free rides, but I'll be able to get some decent scholarships, and get into honours programs, so I can be happy about doing that much.

Now if only I can find a way of transporting, and storing, all my instruments to wherever I end up going to college...

Oh, and this is WC you're talking about, yeah?

[Mr. Mud]

Yup. Last year also. I got a 2180. And I took the ACT in May and that was a 32. I'm WAY over-tested.

And I'm taking two SAT subject tests in December (Math and Literature) because one of the schools to which I'm applying wants it, and if I do I have a chance - like I said - to NOT PAY ANYTHING...which is pretty serious. And I can do Math/Lit tests in my SLEEP at this point.

Well, uhm, I took an IQ test... once... But I'm apprently smarter than Arrrnooolh.

But seriosuly, I'm taking the SATS (again ) this year... Any tips?

[Dragonrider]

Oh, and this is WC you're talking about, yeah?

No, WC is definitely an option but they don't have a great financial aid package, which makes my parents kinda nervous...I mean, we qualify for a lot of aid, but it's a small school so they don't have a lot of funds for covering admission costs.

The one where I might get a free ride is the honor's attached to the University of Oregon....we'll seeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.......


@ Mrmud: Do lots of practice tests. That's what mostly helped me. My math score was my lowest and it would have been WAY better if I had taken the SAT AFTER AP calculus instead of before...but as it is I'm not complaining.

ALSO...make your essay LONG. At least a page an a half, preferably two and a half. Mine was too short.

[Mr. Mud]

No, WC is definitely an option but they don't have a great financial aid package, which makes my parents kinda nervous...I mean, we qualify for a lot of aid, but it's a small school so they don't have a lot of funds for covering admission costs.

The one where I might get a free ride is the honor's attached to the University of Oregon....we'll seeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.......


@ Mrmud: Do lots of practice tests. That's what mostly helped me. My math score was my lowest and it would have been WAY better if I had taken the SAT AFTER AP calculus instead of before...but as it is I'm not complaining.

ALSO...make your essay LONG. At least a page an a half, preferably two and a half. Mine was too short.

Okay I'll keep all of that in mind. . . *mumblers about stupid AP Calc.* Also for the essay, I've heard many, many times that they love the semi-colon. As in, he look this kid used a semi-colon! 9/9! Any word on that ?

[Quincunx]

It wouldn't surprise me. The semi-colon, beyond being a dying punctuation mark, requires finesse in knowing when two thoughts are related but not to a degree where a conjunction would be the more appropriate choice. Students, if I remember rightly, start spattering semi-colons recklessly over their paragraphs at about the time of the PSAT, as they did with the comma seven years before.

[Dragonrider]

I love semicolons; I use them all the time.

"I love semicolons, I use them all the time" is technically incorrect and "I love semicolons. I use them all the time" contains what is arguably a sentence fragment. Semicolon to the rescue!

But I don't know if they win or lose you an essay, one way or the other. I know I used them and wasn't entirely happy with my score - largely because I write draft-style most of the time, which involves a lot of editing, and when you only get one (hand-written) draft...

[banjo1985]

Semicolons make me curl up and shiver in the corner, I never know when to use them and when not to...they mock me!

[The Rose Dragon]

In Turkish, semicolon has very specific uses, so it's hard not to use it where it's needed.

I don't recall using semicolon once while writing in English. I wonder why.

[randman22222]

Ugh. I'm gonna be up fairly late doing English hwk, again.
And I still haven't received my admission letter. It's been quite a while...

Hmm...
*Gets on English hwk.*

I use semi-colons all the time.
Well, not all the time, but I do know how to use them correctly. It's colons and dashes that I'm a bit shaky on.

[Dallas-Dakota]

Well, I've had a wonderfully relaxing day, home alone! I've just cleaned up most of my room in the last 15 min, and did the dishwasher so my parents won't feel it was a bad decision about leaving me alone and I had a nice dinner with pancakes.



G*d, I needed this....

[Zakama]

My Mom has a mug that says: "The semicolon is not used enough; the comma is used too often."

(Yes, the semicolon is red on the mug)

[Destro_Yersul]

Wll, I went and got me some books today. Picked up that Anansi one you reccomended, Curly, as well as Thud! (didn't have Good Omens in stock), the Malus Darkblade omnibus and a collection of Asimov's Robot stories.

[CurlyKitGirl]

I got a 225. I don't know what the cutoff is, but according to my calculations, the highest possible score is 240 (three sections, 80 points possible in each). therefore, again by my calculations, I got a 93.75%, leading me to guess that anything about a 90% - or a 216 - gets semifinalist distinction.

But actually, I just remembered it's the top 1600 in the country. Are semifinalists. After that, they send you a hellish fold-out form and ask you to write an essay in a 6x8" box (no going over the edge!). Basically anyone intrepid enough to traverse the form gets to be a finalist - about 1500 people. And those with the best essays get to be "winners" - in other words, WIN SCHOLARSHIPS.

My fingers are crossed.

Allow me to emote my undying envy of scholarships from America. Here scholarships (aka: a free ride for you) are varied but small. £100 - £5 000 depending on the course you take, uni and various other specifications.
Basically, anyone who gets all their costs paid is either very, very rich or extremely lucky. Or has promised to work in a certain place for x amount of years.
I am none of these things.
So accept my envy and the envy of every other person who has been to Britain for uni any time after about 1998.
Though we do get help from various places.
These scholarships of yours cover accomodation, food, the lot? Or just uni fees?

So, for E Lang coursework I've decided to do an analysis based on the language of the supernatural throughout time. Well, from say 1558 to the present day. I'm possibly thinking of narrowing down supernatural to representation of the fey. Any suggestion for good texts?
And they have to be in the original 'transcript' i.e. not adapted into modern English spelling, punctuation or grammar in any way.

EDIT:
@^: you'll love Anansi Boys, it's fairly based on Jamaican/West Indian/similar mythology and Thud! is just amazing. It's great reading on its own, and so much better if you've read more the the Watch books.
Happy reading.

[Jibar]

Thinking about train bridges makes me head go all funny...








...it's weird.

[CurlyKitGirl]

As in bridges used by trains or bridges that go over train tracks?

[Dallas-Dakota]

No, its obviously tracks that go over bridge playing trains.

*wonders what Jibar means with train bridges as well*

No possible offence ment at your intellect Curly.

[Jibar]

As in bridges used by trains or bridges that go over train tracks?

Oh God...
You've made it worse...

[Dragonrider]

Allow me to emote my undying envy of scholarships from America. Here scholarships (aka: a free ride for you) are varied but small. £100 - £5 000 depending on the course you take, uni and various other specifications.
Basically, anyone who gets all their costs paid is either very, very rich or extremely lucky. Or has promised to work in a certain place for x amount of years.
I am none of these things.
So accept my envy and the envy of every other person who has been to Britain for uni any time after about 1998.
Though we do get help from various places.
These scholarships of yours cover accomodation, food, the lot? Or just uni fees?

Below is a convoluted look into the financial mess that is finding a college.

Spoiler

Show

I don't know how it works in Britain, but here, the typical cost to go to a private college for one year, including dorms, meal plans, etc., is approximately $45,000 to $50,000. So, $200,000 for the full four years.

Now, there's no way in a million years my family is rich enough to pay this (what's scary is how many families ARE) so we fill out a form and the government tells us, "You can afford to pay $12,000 a year out of pocket." It's up to the various schools to make up for the remaining $38,000, whether it be in grants, student work, or loans (ugh). Some of the richest schools (Harvard, Stanford, Amherst, Swarthmore) have announced that for families who make below $120,000 a year, they will make it up SOLELY in grants, no loans - meaning students can graduate with zero debt, which is practically unheard-of.

The majority of schools, however, simply don't have the funds for that. I'm applying three places: WC, MHC, and CHC.

WC has a policy of not requiring loans about 15% of total cost, meaning students rarely graduate more than $25,000 in debt, but they also don't guaruntee full coverage - meaning they could, concievably, tell me that their package will only cover $35k of the $38k we need them to, and I'd have to find a way to make up the extra $3,000 (in addition to the $12k my family already has to pay). It's not TECHNICALLY illegal but it's certainly dishonest, and it makes me nervous.

MHC has a similar 15%-ish cap, except the difference is that they DO promise full coverage - so they won't leave me hanging with an three thousand dollars I need to pay.

CHC is the one that might give me a full ride - my mom talked to a woman in admissions who said I was definitely high on their list of considerations. So if they were to do so, then yes, it would cover the full $50,000 or however much CHC costs. I think I'd still have to pay for textbooks (EXPENSIVE!) but not for room and board or anything; that would be covered. I wouldn't even be required to WORK. This is my parents' favorite option, obviously. It certainly is appealing, IF I get the scholarship.

No wonder so many Americans are up to their eyeballs in debt.

This is why I HATE HATE HATE the whole college search and application thing. IT'S SUCH A PAIN.

[CurlyKitGirl]

English is wierd like that. I could go into depth but I don't want to induce comas.

EDIT:
Actually, I've just seen Jibbers/Jibjab's above post and that ambiguity of English is prolly why 'train bridges', whatever they may be or how you interpret that phrase, makes his head fuzzy.

FURTHER EDIT:
@DRider: by private college (college being uni - yes, I do have to remind myself) you mean what?
Also: Holy Io's Eyeballs!
Here one years tuition of every English or Welsh uni is £3 145, not including accomodation, food, books and so on. Scottish unis charge less tuition wise, but the course is four years, not three.
I think most students would have to find, say £13 000 a year. I'm not really sure.
But the government gives us maintance grants based on household incomes(no payback), the county can give aid too, unis can give scholarships/bursaries/similar and the rest of it we pay ourselves or take out loands.

$50 000 . . .

[The Rose Dragon]

On college finances:

During my 11th year of private education, and only paid any money for the first year. What I would spend on the tuition and other college stuff, I spend on getting myself a single room (because I've had a terrible roommate my first year) and other stuff, like books and DVDs and drawing supplies.

You should see my drawing. It sucks.

On English:

English is not so weird. British is what is weird. What with all the unnecessary "u"s everywhere and "z"s being pronounced "zed" and being strangely replaced by "s"s at places, and poodles being called...

Well, poodles. I guess you're OK on that one.

Yet I'm pretty sure Turkish is an even weirder language. It's my native language and it makes less sense to me than quantum strings theory does.

And I don't even know jack about quantum strings theory.

[Jibar]

EDIT:
Actually, I've just seen Jibbers/Jibjab's above post and that ambiguity of English is prolly why 'train bridges', whatever they may be or how you interpret that phrase, makes his head fuzzy.

No I...

I think about a train bridge, and then I picture it and then it feels like my head isn't big enough for my mind.
Now I don't know what I was picturing and it's just gone... fuzzluggle.

...my head is weird.

[Dragonrider]

@DRider: by private college (college being uni - yes, I do have to remind myself) you mean what?
Also: Holy Io's Eyeballs!
Here one years tuition of every English or Welsh uni is £3 145, not including accomodation, food, books and so on. Scottish unis charge less tuition wise, but the course is four years, not three.
I think most students would have to find, say £13 000 a year. I'm not really sure.
But the government gives us maintance grants based on household incomes(no payback), the county can give aid too, unis can give scholarships/bursaries/similar and the rest of it we pay ourselves or take out loands.

$50 000 . . .

In the U.S., I believe the difference between a college and a university is that you can get a graduate degree at a university but not at a college...but I might be wrong. It's fuzzy.

Actually, I'm not wholly sure about the difference between public and private. Privates are smaller and can be more selective; publics all have the word "state" in them, or else the state's name. Also, they're easier to get into.

Yeah. 50 thousand. For four years. It sucks big time.

[CurlyKitGirl]

But by train brige you mean one a train uses?
I don't see why that's so hard to picture. It's just a normal bridge that a train drives on. But can a train really drive if it can only follow the tracks?
Does that mean it's guided?
Does it follow them on its own only needing reminding to slow down for corners?
Is it alive? Iron horse.
Now my brain is a bit confused. Or I'm just in an odd frame of mind.

EDIT:
@^: so most colleges are private then? Don't get it. A college is a college; I don't even know if Brit unis are private or not. I'd think they all were.
And surely when you apply to college you start an undergraduate degree and leave with a BA/BSc. Unless you're in Scotland in which case you get an MA/MSc after four years.
So in the US four years gets you a Bachelors. Then you go to your(?) uni for your Masters aka, a graduate degree?
I will never understand any education system except this one. And even then it's the devil trying to explain it to another person.
Me and another girl had our private French oral this week on university fees and we had to explain the education system to the teacher (she is French) who didn't understand it even though she's been here years.
And it was worse when she tried to explain the French equivalent.

[Dallas-Dakota]

But privates usually have better quality I think....

Would seem logical....

Also, love for Koorly's new avatar.

[Destro_Yersul]

I can fix that for you, Jibbers. Make the Train a Steampunk train and put a ton of rivets on the bridge it's going over.