What do you assign to Orthanc?

[Andsigil]

The ubiquity of sordid commercials for "Girls Gone Wild" and Extenze.

[kementari]

Wish they were vanished to Orthanc and never unearthed...Don't want to be reminded of my bills!

[Loslote]

I assign skiing on a lake, looking down, and realizing that the lake wasn't actually frozen. Still, it was a beautiful day.

[Hakon]

Originally Posted by Loslote

I assign skiing on a lake, looking down, and realizing that the lake wasn't actually frozen. Still, it was a beautiful day.

Are you okay? What exactly happened? It sounds like a good story.

[Pitchwife]

Originally Posted by Loslote

I assign skiing on a lake, looking down, and realizing that the lake wasn't actually frozen. Still, it was a beautiful day.

So what did you do - go water-skiing?

[Loslote]

In the winter, my mom and I go skiing on the lake all the time. Only, the night before it had rained. So the top layer was slush. There wasn't any danger of actually falling in, but it was scary! My mom was about a hundred feet ahead of me, and I was only twenty or so feet out on the lake, when I realized that her tracks were just two long puddles. So I asked if she was sure the lake was frozen, she looked down, and we retreated as fast as we could go. Looking back, it is kind of funny.

[Laurinquë]

Originally Posted by Loslote

In the winter, my mom and I go skiing on the lake all the time. Only, the night before it had rained. So the top layer was slush. There wasn't any danger of actually falling in, but it was scary! My mom was about a hundred feet ahead of me, and I was only twenty or so feet out on the lake, when I realized that her tracks were just two long puddles. So I asked if she was sure the lake was frozen, she looked down, and we retreated as fast as we could go. Looking back, it is kind of funny.

That has happened to me more than once too.

I assign searching for a university. It's fun to look at where I could go and do but rather less fun looking at the prices. Why does it have to be so expensive for international students to study in the UK? I may have to actually go to an American school as I lack the $90,000 it takes to do a full course abroad.

[Brinniel]

Originally Posted by Laurinque

I assign searching for a university. It's fun to look at where I could go and do but rather less fun looking at the prices. Why does it have to be so expensive for international students to study in the UK? I may have to actually go to an American school as I lack the $90,000 it takes to do a full course abroad.

You know, there are a lot of schools in the US that offer programs to study abroad for a semester or year. I spent a semester in Europe and it was an amazing experience. I have friends who have studied a year in Spain taking courses at a Spanish university in Spanish and well, that's certainly one way to become fluent in another language.

Anyway, I don't know if spending four years at a foreign university is the best idea. It's enough of a headache for me to travel across the country during breaks; going overseas would make it really hard to come home very much (expensive and inconvenient). I love living away from home, but I wouldn't recommend studying out of the country for your freshman year at least. Living away from home is a very different experience and it can take a little while to adjust. You never know how you might handle it; some people get homesick. If you move out of the country, you're not just dealing with being on your own but also with culture shock...and that's a lot to handle all at once.

Good luck with the college hunt. Tuition prices in the US can be very high (mine is close to $30,000), but keep in mind that some schools offer good financial aid. And I know the whole application process can be a major pain. But then, every college student has to go through it.

[Aganzir]

Originally Posted by Laurinquë

Why does it have to be so expensive for international students to study in the UK?

How about Finland? It's free here. Plus you'll get to see lots of nice people, and even the climate isn't that different from Alaska.

I assign staying up till morning with friends, for reasons that should be pretty obvious. It's so much fun... until you have to wake up.

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Laurinquë

Why does it have to be so expensive for international students to study in the UK? I may have to actually go to an American school as I lack the $90,000 it takes to do a full course abroad.

Unfortunately because of the changes in British higher education we have the situation where the government has insisted on vast numbers going into higher education without funding it properly and overseas (non EU) student are regarded as cash cows more than ever. At the same time we have yet to develop the system of support from Alumni which funds many bursaries in the US.


A British University education isn't what it was - my cousin had to pay tuition fees and received about 5 hours of contact time a week! His mother and I who got free tuition and maintenance grants as standard had over 20.... We aren't particularly sorry that his sister didn't go as things turned out.

Unless you are going to a top flight institution (and may be even - my cousin's is one regarded as inferior only to Oxbridge) I suggest you might get better value for money by either doing the exchange programme or saving the money and just having an extended trip over here maybe including a short course somewhere.