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When Tech Schools Go Bad?
profet asks: "I am currently in the middle of my senior year at Polytechnic University. When I began my journey here I was told by all that it was a good school. Since attending I have gone through much discomfort. The University decided to close down the campus that I attended. Then they decided to change course requirements so that they no longer offered courses that were required for graduation. After talking to others in college it seems that being 'shafted' is common at tech schools. I was wondering how others have faired at their schools." For those who found themselves in this situation, what did you do to resolve your issues?
As a graduate of that very same university, (actually, I got my BS, as in bullshit, degree from the Farmingdale campus right before it closed. A week later they had the windows boarded up), I can vouch for the validity of this article.
:)
There were only 6 people in my class for junior and senior year (Mechanicl Engineering). Four of them were taking the aerospace electives, which means the university couldn't justify opening up a whole class for just two students. Fortunately we got through taking senior-level courses from other majors as electives.
In terms of education, though, it really is a pretty good school. Good professors (mostly) and reasonable resources. Administration wise the school is an absolute nightmare. Unfortunately, I'm hearing that most colleges are like that. (I once got a bill for $0 and my account suspended because I didn't pay the balance. It took me three trips to the registrar to fix that one!)
My advice? Hold your breath, close your eyes, and get it over with. You've made it this far, and you'ld be stupid to quit now. And don't forget to bitch to the administration. A lot. The squeeky wheel get the grease.
And hey profet, kick Emperor Chan in the nuts for me if you see him
=Smidge=
Poly is unfortunately,a terrible school in terms of student relations. I went there starting in '95 and transfered out asap. Sorry to have to say this, but their proiorities aren't churning out good graduates, but sucking them in.
From that stupid 3 person staffed registrar area, to the badly admined sun servers (is utopia.poly.edu still around?), bad computer labs, terrible classrooms.
Maybe it was a great school 20 years ago, but a lot has to be fixed before they start building new things like the gym, the dorms (which are only like a third full and such.
-
ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only
Haha, you thought the registrar in farmingdale is bad...
Believe you me, in brooklyn, it's 10 times worse. We get online registration, but not really - you have to go see the woman in person to get a hold removed from your account so you can register online (!?!?).
Check out http://www.polytalk.com for an inside view of what's goin on at brooklyn nowadays.
-Tomaj
I checked it out, and that site sounds like a bunch of freshman whining. I was hearing those same complaints when I was there (BEE '91), all of which are highly overblown.
I lived on-campus all three years I was at GT, and rarely had problems with parking because I didn't try to drive to class (it's only like a mile between the two farthest points on campus anyway), and I did most of my commuting (grocery store, errands, etc.) during off-peak hours. I wasn't always able to park 50 ft. from my dorm, but I was always able to find a spot somewhere.
As for food, I didn't mind it. I ate at Woodruff and the SU regularly, and never had any complaints. They were no Chez Junior's (a local eatery called "Juniors" was), of course, just straight cafeteria fare. When I needed a change, I just hit one of the bazillion off-campus options.
Housing? Be realistic in your expectations, don't go expecting Club Med. It was darned convenient to live on campus, because I didn't give a shit about who my roommate was--- I was so busy with work and classes, I never saw them anyway. The dorms aren't posh, but they're far better than what GTSux makes them out to be. That includes the year I spent in Techwood, a 1940's-era (?) building that was reclaimed from a nearby housing project and turned into student housing.
Now, about academics. I'm a graduate of the engineering school, so I have limited experience in the other schools other than hearsay from fellow dorm-dwellers. But my impression is that their experiences were similar to mine. That includes the Architecture school and College of Computing.
I _never_ felt I was getting shafted, or that the profs were being unreasonable. All the professors uniformly expect you to work hard and to know how to apply the material, not just regurgitate it on a test. If you can do that, then you'll get by just fine. And you _can_ do that, if you put your mind to it. During times I was genuinely trying but struggling, the professors were very supportive.
If, on the other hand, you intend to spend your time at GT living scenes out of Animal House, you're in for trouble. The whiners behind GTSux probably fit into this category.
Just my $0.02.
b.g.