College Anxiety

PopeKyrillos

Hey guys,

I am in need of prayers. College is approaching and I dont know where to go so im kind of anxious about it. I need some divine guidance.

PK

egyboy

what I am about to tell you was told to me by a priest in my church.

God does not care where you go to college! If you are IN the will of God then whatever you do will be according to HIS WILL!
so what does that mean?
it means that throughout the Bible, God has revealed to us what His will is! giving thanks in everything, suffering for good rather than evil, living in purity, etc..
follow God's will, and whatever you do will within God's will
God's will is not 1 point on a map, it is a field, with a length width and height... we are all called to His will and must not let our will stray from the "field" of His will

God Bless you and please pray for me and my weakness

PopeKyrillos

All I ask is for your prayers.

TITL

You got mine.

peterfarrington

The Lord have mercy on you and guide you.

Trust in the Lord.

George_Mina_Awad

I'll pray for you; please pray for me too, for the same reason.

The advice I've been getting from people has been 100% contradictory. Some say pray about it and God will make it obvious which I should pick. Some say that no matter what I do the decision will still be mine to make, and it might not be so clear-cut which one I should choose. I'm definitely spending a good couple of weeks/months thinking about this before making a final decision.

ilovesaintmark

Go to a school near your family.  You are better off living at home.  Do not do the dorm thing.  You will regret it.

user00

Or if you have to dorm, be sure there's a Coptic Orthodox church nearby and that you'd have some way of getting there (people to give rides, car,etc.).

ilovesaintmark

user00,

Good thought.

yousiegtennis

[quote author=ilovesaintmark link=topic=10600.msg129481#msg129481 date=1296692269]
Go to a school near your family.  You are better off living at home.  Do not do the dorm thing.  You will regret it.


Dorms are horrible...apartments with 3 other people isn't too bad...depends on the people you live with I suppose...

user00

[quote author=ilovesaintmark link=topic=10600.msg129521#msg129521 date=1296737305]
user00,

Good thought.


That's what happened in my case. Although I tried to go somewhere I could commute to, they didn't have my program. It worked out though, God took care of everything and planned everything ahead of me.

TITL

Jimmy,

I doubt God will appear to you in a vision with the name of the school He wants you to attend. The only way it'll be super obvious is if you only got accepted to one school, then I would say it's God's will ;)

I agree with Marenhos Epchois' priest: God doesn't care where you go to college.

Just get the education you need, whether it'd be Havard or.... the opposite of Harvard (wherever that is), then go to the desert and become a monk. They don't care where you graduate from. I already asked.

If you're really having a hard time deciding and the choice is something and Rutgers, then go to Rutgers. It's quite the party school, but with the phenonmenal dramatic increase of Copts, I think tasbeha night will soon replace bar night.

You need not to worry.. (jamaican accent) "because every little thing is gonna be alriiight" 

George_Mina_Awad

Hehe TITL, that's exactly what I've been told. It's more complicated than that though; I have 5 to choose from, and only one of those 5 has been definitively eliminated.

TITL

Go to the cheapest (scholarships/grants included) and best rated.

This should help narrow your search a bit:
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges

jfarag92

"You need not to worry.. (jamaican accent) "because every little thing is gonna be alriiight""

TITL!! you will not believe what happened.  I had pandora playing the bob marley station, And this song started as i was scrolling down and that lyric in the song played almost at the same time i started to read that sentence!
I am in a similar situation as the starter of this thread, and have been stressing out lately, idk 'tis a coincidence? or 'tis a message?  I would like to think that God tries to communicate to me through bob marley so i'll go with message

George_Mina_Awad

Thanks a lot TITL :)

One more thing to complicate it- you mentioned that Rutgers would be a nice place to go if it's on my list; in fact, it is on my list. But I can't decide between the campuses (Camden or New Brunswick). I live closer to Camden and was accepted to the honors college there, but there are people still suggesting that I go to New Brunswick despite this. I'm also probably the most indecisive person you'll ever meet... :P

TITL

[quote author=jfarag92 link=topic=10600.msg129607#msg129607 date=1296783012]
"You need not to worry.. (jamaican accent) "because every little thing is gonna be alriiight""

TITL!! you will not believe what happened.  I had pandora playing the bob marley station, And this song started as i was scrolling down and that lyric in the song played almost at the same time i started to read that sentence!


That's happened to me quiet a few times and I'll get really excited while everyone else looks at me like I'm stupid. It's an exciting thing. I'm excited for you.

Jimmy,

Go for Camden. Never decline any acceptance to any Honors program, despite the warnings you get from other students. Trust me, they take care of you like family. They'll do everything but wash your clothes and tuck you in... but if you ask, it can be done. It's like high school in college; they make sure you're on track with your work, they make sure you cry every once in a while (its good for you), and they make sure your homework is turned in. Freshman, especially, need that kind of pressure in college life, or else they become too spoiled and lazy.

You need to set good habits for yourself on the first day. There is no "later".
Everything counts.
Everything counts.

Also, they usually have free pizza for the Honors students.

And Chocolate Chip cookies.

And the good kind of soda... not the cheap stuff at New Brunswick.

I don't know what else to say to convince an indecisive person, but hopefully the food thing worked.

George_Mina_Awad

Free cookies?!




lol anyway, thanks a lot, TITL. You've been a big help, and I'm actually strongly leaning toward Camden now (all I really have to do is visit) as are my parents. My dad is pretty much saying the same thing you are, that I can't turn down an offer for an honors program.

And I think the pressure for me to do my work will be a good thing. Exactly the type of thing I need.

yousiegtennis

I have kind of the same problem...but not really...I'm applying to Graduate school and I'm stressed already lol...there's a very good chance I might have to go out of state and I barely know anybody in other states :'(

dzheremi

I am in the same position, GLM, and just today I received a rejection letter from UCLA, the last of the in-state schools I applied to. I am very nervous, to say the least. I don't even know if there are Coptic churches in places like New Mexico or Colorado. Lord have mercy!

yousiegtennis

[quote author=dzheremi link=topic=10600.msg129797#msg129797 date=1296954355]
I am in the same position, GLM, and just today I received a rejection letter from UCLA, the last of the in-state schools I applied to. I am very nervous, to say the least. I don't even know if there are Coptic churches in places like New Mexico or Colorado. Lord have mercy!


Hmm well...there are only two good programs for my major in CA that I'm applying to...the rest of the good programs are on the East Coast but I made it a rule for myself not to apply to any school in a state where there's no Coptic church (no matter how good it is!)...pray for me...I am also extremely nervous.

LORD HAVE MERCY indeed.

yousiegtennis

[quote author=George_Mina_Awad link=topic=10600.msg129727#msg129727 date=1296922006]
Free cookies?!



LOL I LOVE COOKIE MONSTER!! ;D

f753789

[quote author=GODlovesme link=topic=10600.msg129754#msg129754 date=1296930512]
I have kind of the same problem...but not really...I'm applying to Graduate school and I'm stressed already lol...there's a very good chance I might have to go out of state and I barely know anybody in other states :'(
[quote author=dzheremi link=topic=10600.msg129797#msg129797 date=1296954355]
I am in the same position, GLM, and just today I received a rejection letter from UCLA, the last of the in-state schools I applied to. I am very nervous, to say the least. I don't even know if there are Coptic churches in places like New Mexico or Colorado. Lord have mercy!



Me three!
..I felt left out not joining the party! :D
There is one Coptic church in Colorado in the city of Denver.

dzheremi

Ah, yes, it appears you are right, Stavroforos. Thanks! Also a "Coptic Community" (I guess this is something less than an actual church? Can anyone explain what this means?) is listed for New Mexico (St. Pishoy, Albuquerque) on the Southern US Diocese website. They meet usually every two weeks...sounds great to me, going from meeting zero times every/any week where I am now! :) I will pray that God bless you (and GLM, and me) in your future education plans. Please pray for me. I really need it. (This isn't my first round of graduate school applications... :-[)

yousiegtennis

dzheremi, if you don't mind my asking, what is your major?

dzheremi

Linguistics.

yousiegtennis

Hmm well...I'm an English major...I'm not exactly sure if they're the same process as far as applying or not...but my advice to you (if this is your second round of applications) is to try and apply to different programs within your field and if there are supplemental materials that you have to turn in, try getting help from one of your old professors or someone who knows a lot about graduate applications and such.  For example, I am aiming to get into a Ph.D. program in English (most graduate programs in English are Ph.D.)...however, I am also applying to M.S. programs in Library Science, M.A. programs in English (the very few out there), and M.F.A. programs in Creative Writing.  I'm keeping my options open.  Now, to get into the Ph.D. programs in English, I have to submit a 20-30 page critical writing sample and for the M.F.A. programs in Creative Writing, I have to submit between a 20-40 page fiction writing sample...I am lucky that my professor is willing to help me out with both of these writing samples.  Also, I don't know if you have to take the GRE for your major but a good solid score on the GRE will help you a lot.  The professor who is helping me out with my critical piece is actually the one who does the admissions for the Graduate program at the university I am currently going to.  He told me that there are two important things: your GPA and your GRE scores...these are the two primary things they use to weed out applications in the first round of applications.  After that, they use supplemental materials you would have had to submit to weed out others and finally, they use your personal statement.

Hope that helped a little.  Pray for me.

PopeKyrillos

wow, lots of seniors on tasbeha lol

dzheremi

Yeah, linguistics is a little different than that. More emphasis is put on the writing sample, since it's primarily an academic discipline (they want to know that you can write journal articles and book chapters and whatnot) and the personal statement. GPA and GRE of course matter, but some places don't even require a GRE (UCLA doesn't). I am in a somewhat disadvantaged position because I finished my B.A. in a very short time (1 year, 9 months), so I don't have very close relationships with any of my former professors or advisers. I had to ask my Arabic professor for a recommendation to one school that required 3 letters instead of the normal 2...that probably doesn't look great, but what can I do? I just didn't have very much sustained exposure to more than two professors (luckily they're both great and very supportive).

Also, a terminal M.A. is virtually unheard of in linguistics. I applied to 7 places and none of them have it. I thought I'd be done within 2 years of getting my B.A. until my adviser smacked me over the head with the news that NOBODY does a terminal M.A. in our field. You can get one, but to every institution or other future employer it looks like you went for the Ph.D. and quit early. Very bad. So I'm pretty much forced to go for the Ph.D.

It's kind of an insane career choice...hahaha...

yousiegtennis

LOL don't get me wrong...the writing samples for English are WAY important haha, it's just that they won't look at or even consider your application unless you have a strong GPA and GRE scores.  That's really interesting that applying to a Ph.D. program in Linguistics doesn't require you to take the GRE.  In almost every major I have seen, you are required to take the GRE's.  Well, you don't have to be close to these professors but are any of them familiar with your writing or your work habits?  You can have one of your employers or even a priest or a close friend write you a nice recommendation letter.

LOL I guess we're both in the same situation...I am looking to work as a professor of English at the University level (and do research) and I wouldn't be able to do that without a Ph.D.

[quote author=dzheremi link=topic=10600.msg129850#msg129850 date=1297023546]
It's kind of an insane career choice...hahaha...


AGREED :) but no matter how insane it is, I enjoy it and am passionate about it.  I think that's important when looking into a career.

user00

The East Coast is full of churches-- especially New York and New Jersey! I wouldn't rule out school in this area...