Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

College Advice I Wish I’d Taken

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–68 of 68 posts

Re: College Advice I Wish I’d Taken

#61

Post by pdimitar »

Tade0 wrote: post #38

I barely made it through college and I can tell you what eventually was the most valuable thing I that was doing there: Networking. I didn't fail linear algebra because a friend explained one important concept to me twenty minutes before the exam. I got my first(not related to my education) job because I helped a friend with calculus(his father was a manager in a company and hired me shortly after his son passed his…

Agreed with your whole comment except this:

> try to be likable

You can't do that. But showing genuine interest in what people think and do, being a listener and not only a talker, is what gets many people to like you. And that's not something that's easy to fake. You have to be genuinely curious about other people's perspective and context.

Re: College Advice I Wish I’d Taken

#62

Post by pdimitar »

RhysU wrote: post #23

...aaaaaand learning things takes a back seat to credentialism in the whole article. We should go to college because it is the most cost effective way of learning things, not because our profs bestow favors on the front row.

As mentioned in the article -- "professors are humans too".

If you show genuine interest, they'll remember and favor you. That's how us the humans work.

Re: College Advice I Wish I’d Taken

#63

Post by Tade0 »

pdimitar wrote: post #61
Tade0 wrote: post #38

I barely made it through college and I can tell you what eventually was the most valuable thing I that was doing there: Networking. I didn't fail linear algebra because a friend explained one important concept to me twenty minutes before the exam. I got my first(not related to my education) job because I helped a friend with calculus(his father was a manager in a company and hired me shortly after his son passed his…

Agreed with your whole comment except this: > try to be likable You can't do that. But showing genuine interest in what people think and do, being a listener and not only a talker, is what gets many people to like you. And that's not something that's easy to fake. You have to be genuinely curious about other people's perspective and context.

I didn't specify how exactly you should be achieving that so I'm assuming you assumed that I was assuming that networking is all about drawing attention.

Anyway I originally went entirely against your advice here and it worked for me. Mostly because my fellow computer science students hated initiating smalltalk and enjoyed a good story, so lifting this burden off them was good.

I guess what it shows is that neither of our approaches are guaranteed to work.

Re: College Advice I Wish I’d Taken

#64

Post by taway_1212 »

slackingoff2017 wrote: post #31
cyberpunk0 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Soooooo fuck over the town for selfish, egotistical means. Got it.

I fail to see how moving to a place with better benefits is either one of those things. Isn't that the reason that pretty much everyone moves? Better jobs, better schools, less crime, etc... I guess it can be seen as egotistical and selfish if you're the kind of person that doesn't like anyone to build housing that spoils your view. The NIMBY archetype

I'm assuming The town/state people are taxing themselves to provide affordable education for people in their community, not for random exploiters.

Re: College Advice I Wish I’d Taken

#65

Post by shayaknyc »

hprotagonist wrote: post #14

My top 3. 1. Show up to office hours. Even if you sit there and do nothing, TA's notice -- and TAs will absolutely spill the beans on what to prep for for exams, even unintentionally. 2. If you're so brainfried that you can't study any more, go to the gym. Not only is exercise generally good, I'm real convinced it's good for memory consolidation too. 3. If you're attending an expensive private university, networking…

>2. If you're so brainfried that you can't study any more, go to the gym. Not only is exercise generally good, I'm real convinced it's good for memory consolidation too.

I read a study a while back that showed taking breaks after learning/studying is crucial to efficient memory consolidation. Breaks can be filled with other activities, like working out. Promoting general blood flow, prob doesn't hurt in getting fresh O2 to the brain while it's doing it's thing....

Re: College Advice I Wish I’d Taken

#66

Post by pdimitar »

Tade0 wrote: post #63
pdimitar wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed with your whole comment except this: > try to be likable You can't do that. But showing genuine interest in what people think and do, being a listener and not only a talker, is what gets many people to like you. And that's not something that's easy to fake. You have to be genuinely curious about other people's perspective and context.

I didn't specify how exactly you should be achieving that so I'm assuming you assumed that I was assuming that networking is all about drawing attention. Anyway I originally went entirely against your advice here and it worked for me. Mostly because my fellow computer science students hated initiating smalltalk and enjoyed a good story, so lifting this burden off them was good. I guess what it shows is that neither o…

Yep, wrong assumption.

Also, small talk and a good story aren't mutually exclusive. ;)

Re: College Advice I Wish I’d Taken

#68

Post by hprotagonist »

emodendroket wrote: post #54
hprotagonist wrote: post #14

My top 3. 1. Show up to office hours. Even if you sit there and do nothing, TA's notice -- and TAs will absolutely spill the beans on what to prep for for exams, even unintentionally. 2. If you're so brainfried that you can't study any more, go to the gym. Not only is exercise generally good, I'm real convinced it's good for memory consolidation too. 3. If you're attending an expensive private university, networking…

> 1. Show up to office hours. Even if you sit there and do nothing, TA's notice -- and TAs will absolutely spill the beans on what to prep for for exams, even unintentionally. Just showing up and hanging out in the TA's office when you don't have any question seems kind of weird to me.

I've been on both sides. It is a little strange, but even the quiet kids who show up and listen tend to get better grades.
Post reply on HN