You didn't go to college. You went to the safety school for idiots.

[Trivun]

I'm at the University of Leeds, which is one of the best in the UK, apparently. We're part of the Russell Group (which is the top twenty research universities in the country), and we officially have the best student union in the country too, according to the NUS.

I didn't actually choose any sort of 'safety school', per se. I chose all universities that were good, one of which (Aberystwyth) happened to give me a low offer (and thus was my second choice, Leeds being my first) but was otherwise pretty damn good. Simply, they were a really good uni with a great location in the countryside, near the sea in Wales, but they weren't one of the 'big' universities so didn't have as stringent requirements as others.

For me, the crap places, the actual 'safety schools', were the ones nearest me. Wolverhampton, Birmingham, even Coventry (though I can't say much bad about there, Coventry is where my cousin went, but only because she lives there anyway and it was easier than moving across the country, especially with her job). I decided to stay as far away from those universities as I could, because they are the butt of so many jokes at my old secondary school...

 

[JRCB]

"If you can walk and talk, go to Brock"

That's what I hear from people all around the city I live in (Toronto). And even my mom has said it, so I guess Brock has pretty low standards.

 

[SimuLord]

I live in Idaho, so BYU-I gets a lotta flak (Childbearer U)
Also, in Boise, we have BSU. I don't really gotta explain that, do i? It's kinda obvious.

Good ol' BSU. Has Kyle Brotzman come out of hiding yet, or does he still fear for his life after that monumental choke job he pulled at my school three months ago?

GO WOLF PACK!

 

[Cobelo]

I live in Idaho, so BYU-I gets a lotta flak (Childbearer U)
Also, in Boise, we have BSU. I don't really gotta explain that, do i? It's kinda obvious.

Good ol' BSU. Has Kyle Brotzman come out of hiding yet, or does he still fear for his life after that monumental choke job he pulled at my school three months ago?

GO WOLF PACK!

I heard he tried to commit suicide for how much flak he took, but i'm not sure. I'll have to look that up again.

Quick Edit: Now that i look, that's not true, it's more a small meme. Though i'm not sure that anyone's been tossing the Cheetos into his hiding place lately.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Whats wrong with UMass (Is probably gonna end up going to Umass Boston or Dartmouth)?

UMass Amherst is one of the biggest "party school" colleges in the Northeast and the campus experience is composed primarily of catching sexually transmitted diseases from the girls at nearby Holyoke College.

UMass Lowell...well, one needs only walk the campus, preferably armed, with a buddy, and in broad daylight. Come to think of it, UMass Boston has the same problem, since it was built in a part of town where you take your life into your hands getting off the T and walking to class. Wasn't like that when they built the school (it was a working-class Irish neighborhood, sure, but it wasn't bad), but now it's in a part of Dorchester that is mostly known for being an example of how nasty the endgame is for de facto segregation as housing and police policy. It speaks volumes that I know five different women who went to UMass Boston and got raped during their college years...and only one of them got date-raped, the other four made the mistake of walking alone through that neighborhood.

UMass Dartmouth isn't a bad school, though. Nobody's going to confuse it with Ivy League Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire, but it's not a bad school.

I was being sarcastic, but good to know xD. I heard horror stories about Amherst and its constant parties. One of my father's friends actually went there to get his Engineering degree and said that he could barely sleep at night because of the noise going on in the dorms. They're literally the inspiration for the College party stereotype.

I went to Umass Boston back in October for a tour of the campus. It didn't look to bad then. The buildings looked nice, it isn't that far away from my home and even if I did decide to live on Campus, the dorms (Or apartments seeing as how they lack dorms) are only a few blocks away. I live in go to school in New Bedford, I'm smart enough to know not to be walking the streets at night.

And Dartmouth...well...its where everyone average goes.

But none of it really matters. I hope to transfer out of it when after a year or two and finish my degree at Bridgewater.

 

[SimuLord]

Whats wrong with UMass (Is probably gonna end up going to Umass Boston or Dartmouth)?

UMass Amherst is one of the biggest "party school" colleges in the Northeast and the campus experience is composed primarily of catching sexually transmitted diseases from the girls at nearby Holyoke College.

UMass Lowell...well, one needs only walk the campus, preferably armed, with a buddy, and in broad daylight. Come to think of it, UMass Boston has the same problem, since it was built in a part of town where you take your life into your hands getting off the T and walking to class. Wasn't like that when they built the school (it was a working-class Irish neighborhood, sure, but it wasn't bad), but now it's in a part of Dorchester that is mostly known for being an example of how nasty the endgame is for de facto segregation as housing and police policy. It speaks volumes that I know five different women who went to UMass Boston and got raped during their college years...and only one of them got date-raped, the other four made the mistake of walking alone through that neighborhood.

UMass Dartmouth isn't a bad school, though. Nobody's going to confuse it with Ivy League Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire, but it's not a bad school.

I was being sarcastic, but good to know xD. I heard horror stories about Amherst and its constant parties. One of my father's friends actually went there to get his Engineering degree and said that he could barely sleep at night because of the noise going on in the dorms. They're literally the inspiration for the College party stereotype.

I went to Umass Boston back in October for a tour of the campus. It didn't look to bad then. The buildings looked nice, it isn't that far away from my home and even if I did decide to live on Campus, the dorms (Or apartments seeing as how they lack dorms) are only a few blocks away. I live in go to school in New Bedford, I'm smart enough to know not to be walking the streets at night.

And Dartmouth...well...its where everyone average goes.

But none of it really matters. I hope to transfer out of it when after a year or two and finish my degree at Bridgewater.

You mentioned Bridgewater and I couldn't help but think of the infamous mental institution (Bridgewater State Hospital) before I thought of the college.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Whats wrong with UMass (Is probably gonna end up going to Umass Boston or Dartmouth)?

UMass Amherst is one of the biggest "party school" colleges in the Northeast and the campus experience is composed primarily of catching sexually transmitted diseases from the girls at nearby Holyoke College.

UMass Lowell...well, one needs only walk the campus, preferably armed, with a buddy, and in broad daylight. Come to think of it, UMass Boston has the same problem, since it was built in a part of town where you take your life into your hands getting off the T and walking to class. Wasn't like that when they built the school (it was a working-class Irish neighborhood, sure, but it wasn't bad), but now it's in a part of Dorchester that is mostly known for being an example of how nasty the endgame is for de facto segregation as housing and police policy. It speaks volumes that I know five different women who went to UMass Boston and got raped during their college years...and only one of them got date-raped, the other four made the mistake of walking alone through that neighborhood.

UMass Dartmouth isn't a bad school, though. Nobody's going to confuse it with Ivy League Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire, but it's not a bad school.

I was being sarcastic, but good to know xD. I heard horror stories about Amherst and its constant parties. One of my father's friends actually went there to get his Engineering degree and said that he could barely sleep at night because of the noise going on in the dorms. They're literally the inspiration for the College party stereotype.

I went to Umass Boston back in October for a tour of the campus. It didn't look to bad then. The buildings looked nice, it isn't that far away from my home and even if I did decide to live on Campus, the dorms (Or apartments seeing as how they lack dorms) are only a few blocks away. I live in go to school in New Bedford, I'm smart enough to know not to be walking the streets at night.

And Dartmouth...well...its where everyone average goes.

But none of it really matters. I hope to transfer out of it when after a year or two and finish my degree at Bridgewater.

You mentioned Bridgewater and I couldn't help but think of the infamous mental institution (Bridgewater State Hospital) before I thought of the college.

Its a small town. The only thing they're known for is the School and the Hospital. =P You can google Bridgewater and you'll get the school's website before the towns.

 

[WhamBamSam]

Here in Twinsburg (suburb of Cleveland, Ohio) ours was either Tri-C (Cuyahoga Community College) or Kent State (Can't read? Can't write? Kent State.)

Honestly though? I myself made fun of the kids in my high school who chose to go to OSU. Almost forty percent of the class above me went there. Do you know why they went there? Football. None of them have real majors, most of them have actually either dropped out or changed schools.

I made fun of the fuckwits who chose a school to go to because they liked watching the football team there. I'm sorry, but $30000 a year to watch football doesn't seem like a good investment of your parents money, in my opinion.

I'd have expected Ohio State to be the safety school.

As you've probably guessed from that statement, I'm a student at the University of Michigan. Most people from my high school go to Michigan State, so those of us at U of M like to needle them about it[footnote]We really are a bunch of elitist bastards here in Ann Arbor.[/footnote]. Lansing Community College is the real safety school though, at least for those that aren't just using it as a cheaper alternative to the first few years at State.

 

[Gxas]

Here in Twinsburg (suburb of Cleveland, Ohio) ours was either Tri-C (Cuyahoga Community College) or Kent State (Can't read? Can't write? Kent State.)

Honestly though? I myself made fun of the kids in my high school who chose to go to OSU. Almost forty percent of the class above me went there. Do you know why they went there? Football. None of them have real majors, most of them have actually either dropped out or changed schools.

I made fun of the fuckwits who chose a school to go to because they liked watching the football team there. I'm sorry, but $30000 a year to watch football doesn't seem like a good investment of your parents money, in my opinion.

I'd have expected Ohio State to be the safety school.

As you've probably guessed from that statement, I'm a student at the University of Michigan. Most people from my high school go to Michigan State, so those of us at U of M like to needle them about it[footnote]We really are a bunch of elitist bastards here in Ann Arbor.[/footnote]. Lansing Community College is the real safety school though, at least for those that aren't just using it as a cheaper alternative to the first few years at State.

Honestly, I despise both your school and OSU. Both had hardcore fans in my high school. I still stand by my, "You don't attend the school so why the fuck do you care?" statement. Maybe college sports are just over my head.

 

[Zeraki]

I went to a really crappy high school that has declined even further since I graduated(as hard as that is to believe). Most people usually move on to the local community college, if anything at all. In fact that school did get very notable news lately... it has one of the lowest overall SAT scores in New Jersey.

Not many kids in my class made fun of other schools, because they didn't give a damn about their education to begin with.

 

[Toriver]

I don't really know what my other classmates made fun of (I am a rather shy person, despite being 6 foot 5, and built like a football player), but I like to poke fun at the people who go to community colleges for their education ("Ha ha! You have to go to Everett Community College while I got accepted to UW Bothel! Nya, Nya, Nya!"). I am from Washington by the way.

First, just want to say that your avatar there shows a pose I tend to make probably far too often when I'm thinking. The hair and eyes only makes it look more like me. Nice

Second, growing up in a small-town area with a community college, the community college is often the subject of ribbing and ridicule within the high school classes in the area. Yet every year a good number of the graduates end up there anyway. I didn't, I ended up going to an expensive 4-year school where I still didn't really learn anything but still ended up with a 3.5+ GPA and a B.A. in Political Science for it, but many of my friends from high school wound up in the community college, and some didn't even finish two years of school there. Yet they will likely end up living happier lives, have the ability to save more money, and even get better jobs from their decision. *sigh* There are tons of problems with the education system in the US, and throwing money at them or just pushing more kids through the system is not the solution to all of them. Look at the QUALITY of the education, people. More money and/or more students graduating =/= better quality.

EDIT: I should also mention that I am finding my current degree absolutely useless and if I had the money, I would consider going back to school to actually learn something I can do something with. However, the reason I don't have the money is because I'm paying off all the loans I took out to get the original useless degree. But, I have no excuse for that, as I went to a private university of my own choice.

 

[Monkfish Acc.]

I think the only college with any recognition over here is Trinity College in Dublin, and even then it would probably draw blank faces abroad.

I think I'd probably end up in UCC in Cork if I ever actually reached that stage. Which I most likely won't.

 

[Eumersian]

"ha ha, you're going to Dumbass Amherst.

I've only heard it called ZooMass?

OT: BHCC, Salem State, the works. Nobody makes fun of the UMasses as far as I know. We all know that most people get in, but many people go there actually end up pretty good, or at least OK. Sure, I've heard them called "schools for lazy people" (it was the only school my brother applied to, and because of his grades, he's lucky he got in as far as I can tell) and places where you go because you don't want to work hard until you really know what you want to do. But I've never heard any smack about the UMasses.

Now BHCC, that was like the plague. Avoid it.

 

[Vault101]

soooooo.....know anyone one went through one of thease "saftey schools" and came out ok?

In Perth, we are considered somwhat of a country town compared to the rest of Australia, we have 5 univerisitys,

I think ECU is on the bottom of the pile, UWA (university of western Australia) is technically on the top (the only one that offeres medicine), Curtin is considered good I think, Murdoch..Im not sure I think its the only place where you can study vetinry science, Notre dame..is kind of hard to compare to the others because its a on a different system, its private and quite small, aparently its the place to go if you want to do nursing

none of them are really bad, it also depends on what your studying I guess, Ive been to both ECU and curtin though Ive droped out now

My brother is now studying at the univerity of melbourne because aparently the history at UWA is crap

 

[astrav1]

When I was in high school in beautiful Wakefield, Massachusetts, the shining jewel of loveliness by the lake, there was a hierarchy of colleges by which students who got into them would be ranked in the eyes of their fellow teenaged suburban spoiled so-and-sos. My graduating class (1995) sent 88% of our students directly to college that fall, and most of the rest of us (myself included) eventually went on to at least an associate's degree if not more later in life. So college was kind of a big deal.

And of course we had the Ivy League smart kids (we sent seven to Harvard and 16 more to other Ivies out of a graduating class of 235), the kids who went to the good tech schools (MIT, Worcester Poly, I think one even went all the way to CalTech), the good but not Ivy League schools (Boston College, Boston University, Colgate, Carnegie-Mellon, and other really good schools)...

And then there were the "safety school" kids, the ones who didn't get into the good colleges and ended up going to school wherever they could get in with practically open enrollment. Which in Massachusetts at least meant UMass Amherst and UMass Lowell. And of course, throughout the rest of senior year, there was good-natured ribbing like "ha ha, you're going to Dumbass Amherst. Should've showed up sober for the SAT, huh?"

For Discussion! So where's the school that your high school class pokes fun at or that you yourself may have put in as the "safety school" application so you could at least get a college education even if you couldn't get into a more prestigious college? And what state/province/commune/farshimmelt potrzebie are you from in your country?

Surprisingly enough, people from my school were happy to get in to the Umass schools. They did mock Mass Bay however.

 

[SimuLord]

"ha ha, you're going to Dumbass Amherst.

I've only heard it called ZooMass?

OT: BHCC, Salem State, the works. Nobody makes fun of the UMasses as far as I know. We all know that most people get in, but many people go there actually end up pretty good, or at least OK. Sure, I've heard them called "schools for lazy people" (it was the only school my brother applied to, and because of his grades, he's lucky he got in as far as I can tell) and places where you go because you don't want to work hard until you really know what you want to do. But I've never heard any smack about the UMasses.

Now BHCC, that was like the plague. Avoid it.

There are plenty of good reasons to go to community college. Most of them have to do with either economic circumstances or some sort of personal-redemption story.

As in I went to Truckee Meadows Community College at age 31 in order to get the education I was too young and immature to get when I was 18. Transferred to Nevada-Reno, finishing my bachelor's in 2012, then possibly going to grad school for a master's degree. None of that would've been possible without the open enrollment.

Which in turn says something about community college---if you see an adult there (a real adult, not the overgrown children that the Millennial Generation turns out of their high school classes), chances are he or she is there to work hard, bust ass, and make something of themselves (with maybe a little bit of "I'll show you young bucks what's what" in there...) If you see a kid (as in 18-21) in community college, they were probably a teenage fuckup and they're probably going to be a slacker in school as well. Whereas now that I'm at "the big boy college" (as my friend Jasper calls the four-year school), age matters a lot less, especially at the junior/senior 300-400 level classes where the chaff's already been filtered out in those first two years. Doesn't matter if it's me at 33 or some other student at 21-22, the classes are much more equalized.

 

[AugustFall]

I don't really know what my other classmates made fun of (I am a rather shy person, despite being 6 foot 5, and built like a football player), but I like to poke fun at the people who go to community colleges for their education ("Ha ha! You have to go to Everett Community College while I got accepted to UW Bothel! Nya, Nya, Nya!"). I am from Washington by the way.

Shoreline Community College FTW! In Scotland the university kids can be snobby as hell towards colleges, probably because if you go Uni you're most likely going to one of the Ancient Universities.

 

[SimuLord]

Yeah, this is pretty much worse than bullying if you ask me. There's pretty much nothing inherently funny about someone going to a "lesser" college. If that's what they chose, then it's none of your frickin' business to tell them otherwise. And hell, the only reason you're "joking" about something like is because it makes you feel superior.

Inb4 - "LOL YOU WENT 2 STOOPID SKOOL!!"

I went to UT Austin for my undergrad and I'm currently doing a Masters degree at Rice.

You gotta love any school named after a food item. (all kidding aside, congratulations on your achievement---they don't just hand out post-graduate degrees in Cracker Jack boxes!)