I would choose imabi.com, but like you said, someone else has it. The new option I have now is much smaller than the original. It can always be looked up as IMABI with google. It is the first result, but surprisingly it isn't the only one.

It is really good point that it's what you do in college and not where you go. That's why no matter where I go I'm going to continue with my project. There will be even more time for it then.

UT is still a good school. I wouldn't have a lot of other extra expenses if I went there versus somewhere else in the country.

@vix86
You're right, what you do in undergrad is most important. However, being at a top university makes it much easier to move mountains due to the resources at your fingertips. Top researchers, highly competent peers, eminent visiting professors, and international conferences are invaluable resources. Furthermore, the networks such universities have should not be overlooked. While the situation that Kainzero described does happen, it is definitely an uphill struggle. Just go to the "current graduate students" page of any department in a top program, and you'll see that most students did their undergrad at prestigious schools. Anyway, I should mention that the admissions process I described is from my experience in philosophy. From what I've heard, science admissions are more merit-based and egalitarian (i.e. who wrote your recommendations or the prestige of your alma mater matter little, and the quality of your undergrad research takes precedence).

Personally, I think liberal arts colleges provide the best undergrad education. I regret taking courses in giant lecture halls...

Last edited by vileru (2012 April 08, 7:32 am)

imabi wrote:

It is really good point that it's what you do in college and not where you go.

Don't agree with this at all - a good teaching method would have saved me years of private study.

I really wanted the qualification and it qualified me for some grants etc. You say you have no problems now and tbh I was like that at your age or so - but Japanese is VERY hard and grammar really tripped me up, and almost choked me out.

A good teacher would be very useful, a bad one catastrophic.

Harsh.

? Some people need more time to absorb things than others. Some people definitely do need guidance, and anyone can gain more with it available for sure at a quicker rate.

I am sure Josh is doing his very best with Japanese. It sounds like he had a bad experience with it in school, but he at least survived. That is a good testament.

HonyakuJoshua wrote:

A good teacher would be very useful, a bad one catastrophic.

Nowhere does it say that prestigious schools are filled with good teachers, either.

Just reading through this quickly, you do know you can appeal to BU for financial aid when you get a relevant finaid offer from UT? Most colleges, especially some state colleges do offer competitive finaid offers. This might not make BU as affordable as UT but might help take the cost down from 60k.

imabi wrote:

From how you describe it seems that he is very respectable for beating all the odds to where he wanted to get. Being able to strive for better things and actually getting there is inspirational. Giving oneself challenges just to better oneself really takes dedication.

that's not how i saw him. this is real life, not a TV show or a novel with a feel-good take home message.

what i saw was a guy who was interested in math, interested in research and the forefront of math in general and that as his studies progressed it was only natural that the top universities wanted to pick him up. universities were an extension of what he wanted to accomplish, not the other way around.

regardless of what university you attend, you're probably in the dark about what's out there being researched in academia and what's in demand to be studied. use your first year to get to know that and absorb yourself in it. my former roommate knew about this and involved himself in academia before he even started attending university.

@vix86: www.imabi.net now works! This will definitely make more traffic come in. Thank you! I would have never thought of looking for its availability.

Edit: Maybe not now. It may need a few more hours.

Last edited by imabi (2012 April 08, 4:03 pm)