/sci/ - Science & Math

Do you know anything about South Africa other than what you've seen in the World Cup?

>>1377625
Actually quite a bit, did my research on their universities and such

Also my girlfriend will be living there.

It's your choice.
In my opinion, you are really pretty fucking stupid for wasting your opportunity of studying at a good university in the USA.

>>1377632
Why? At the end of the day I'll probably end up getting the same/similar job yet enjoy my studies with an excellent night life and being away from America for a while...

>>1377628
right.
go back to bed kid

And also, just to point this out, I never said South Africa :))

>>1377648
>wants to study in africa
crazy
>not even south africa
insane

>>1377661
well i want something in South Africa but I never said that, so they were just making implications

what's so wrong with south africa? their club life is astounding ... the people are awesome, not to mention the BZZZZZZZZ

>>1377661
Don't say that. He just wants to ruin his future to spend time in a shithole with his highschool girlfriend.
You could perhaps use the words "stupid" or "dumb fuck".

>>1377675
no no , it has nothing to do with her!

If you really want to know, I love their weather, not too hot not too cold, not to mention I can say I got my education in fucking Africa

Also, I was originally thinking about this before I met her, this was just a plus

lol op

with the european union etc our US citizenships aren't really good for anything outside of the united states. you can't just permanently move to europe, you would have to come home after you graduated from whatever college, and the degree you got would be less useful than a degree from an american school.

to stay after you graduate you would need to get work visas and then go through the process to become a citizen somewhere, which for many places (sweden, norway, switzerland) it is essentially impossible.

and you sure as fuck don't want to do this in south africa. especially with a girl with you, just check out the rape statistics in south africa. rape capital of the world, also aids.

>>1377693
implications implications

I have Croatian citizenship, which is joining the EU within the next year or two :)

So I decidied.. it's either northern Europe which is fucking cold but decent night life...

OORRRR

South africa which is mild with awesome night life as well.

And yes, I am basing my University on how nice the area to party area around will be

Not implying I wouldn't study.

>>1377701
i can not express with words the amount of rage i feel for you
just die

>>1377721
i don't understand what's the big deal, i don't want to fucking end up like everyone else..

doing great in high school, have a decent chance of a nice astrophysics career ahead of me, and why the fuck would I just go to some gay state college that every other mediocre kid goes to?

my point being.. at the end of the day I would probably have a similar job, only I would also get to experience different parts of the world at the same time!

>>1377739

you want to become an astrophysicist? So your career options are limited to academia. Unless you want to work for a museum.

So.. you want to work in academia. I hope you realize that academics is all about who you know and the prestige of your program. There are exactly jack-shit astrophysicists who come out of african universities, with the exceptions of those in south africa, and even that is going to shit.

Your undergraduate degree will consist of learning textbook approaches to astrophysics. A bachelors degree in astrophysics gets you nowhere in the field of astrophysics. To have a career in astrophysics, you need graduate education. And *drumroll* how would you get admitted to a graduate program in astrophysics? Oh yeah, from your African university.


Go right ahead, but blame no one but yourself for your mistakes.

>>1377778
sigh, you're probably right then.

But still, fuck this shit

OP didn't mention what breed of human he is.

>>1377825
i'm a slav

>>1377793

If you're that capricious and flimsy when it comes to your career options, you weren't all that sure of what you wanted anyway. Relax. This is normal. You're barely out of fucking high school. You will hear this a million times in the next few years:

You do not know jack shit about the career you are entering. You will have absolutely NO CLUE what it's even about until you put down whatever media or textbook representation you gain your ideas from and experience real work firsthand. This will mean getting a real job, or at the very least an internship, working in a research laboratory as an undergraduate, or volunteering as a last resort.


Your ideas will be influenced 100 different ways in the next few years. I do not care how many AP courses you took and what your high school GPA was, or how well you did on the PSAT/SAT/ACT. For the record I took 8 AP tests and performed great on those stupid ass tests. I went to a state school and changed my major twice. Now i'm doing what I like doing. The work I did in other subjects made me better able to decide where my talents and interests lie.

If you want to avoid mediocrity, avoid the culture of instant gratification that's the norm in this goddamn country. You will not be languishing in some dump by attending your state school. Look at how many Nobel laureates attended state schools, for Christ's sake. The next 4-5 years of your life are your time to work things out for yourself and Africa sure as hell isn't the place to do it.

>>1377739

You have yet to realize that you WILL end up like everyone else because that is what smart people do. They go to a good school, get a good degree, get a good job, shit on the poor, and start a famwry.

The fact that you think you will turn out better for going to an overseas school makes me wish you would grab a piece of wood and knock some sense into your thick skull.

Also, you think you will get the same job with an overseas degree over someone with an "in state" degree...you are sadly mistaken. Why is it that the US is one of the biggest (I believe it is #1 but I'm not certain) importers of foreign students. They come to America to get a degree so they can get a job back home. You want to throw away this rare opportunity that only ~300 people in the world are capable of achieving way easier than the other 6.5 billion.

TL:DR you're an idiot, stay in the US, maybe study abroad a semester and don't fuck up your life.

>>1377838

Also, I must add that if you want to go to Africa (why, for the love of God? To revel in their poverty and corruption like the other hundred thousand "concerned-about-human-rights-college-students"?) you will have plenty of chances to do so during your college in the United States. Unlike African universities, U.S. and European institutions usually have enough funding to let their students do things like study abroad, or conduct research in association with a foreign college.

>>1377847

>~300 people
I meant ~300 million people, my bad

>>1377838
>>1377847

thanks for inspiration, but to clarify a few things

i wasn't that sure about this .. i didn't even intend on doing it, it was just more of a thought in the back of my head so i decided to ask.

Anyways, I think USA sucks, really and honestly. No offense, it's a great country for opportunity and education, but when it comes to any kind of social life it's just...crap, to be nice about it. This is why I'm considering to try other Universities around the world, esp. considering I'll be a member of the European Union .. I travel all over Europe every summer, and the life there is just spectacular, even if I was forced to be studying 8 hours a day. If I can go out a hour a week to go to a discotech, I'm happy.

They don't have that shit in USA.

>>1377876
not to mention the girls.. i don't intend on ever being with an American girl, just because of sexual preference no other reason.

>>1377876

Then make it dumbass. You're an American and you're smart (so you say). I bet a lot of people would like to do those things as well, especially near a heavily populated area where your demographic is more populated.

Get rich, then buy a mansion in your EU.
-"And he lived happily ever after" The End.

>>1377876

If your education and career isn't important to you, don't waste your time by attending a university. If you feel that you have been so deprived of important social functions such as le discotheque in America, by all means take the next plane to the EU and spend some time there.

If those are serious thoughts in your head, then there's nothing anyone can tell you that can change your mind; we will all sit back and let Experience and the Real World (tm) have its way with you.

For your information, and this is coming from someone who's traveled widely over Europe as well as America, all big cities are exactly the same no matter where you are. You get access to different levels of society based solely on *drumroll* HOW MUCH MONEY YOU HAVE. That's right, you can get anything you want, anywhere, if you have MONEY. When you are disco-hopping in Zagreb, please do yourself a favor and ask how rich or poor the clientele is. There aren't exactly lines of the welfare class stretching outside the clubs.

>>1377894
it's not so simple.. I'll probably have to end up going for a Ph.D which I have no inspiration and motivation to do so if I don't have a good social life

just on a side note, I become an 'official' American within this month :P

>>1377876

Where the fuck are you from, Bumfuck, Iowa? I'm American, born and raised, and I'm not arrogant enough to claim to know the entire country. Fuck, would some farmer out in Bumfuck, Croatia know or care about Zagreb or Dubrovnik? In fact - the Eastern european grad students I work with are smart enough to discount knowing everything about their country. Your problem is that you're on a high horse because of your EU citizenship and your AP classes, and you have something to prove. If that's your insecurity, I'm sure some disco dancing would cure it...right?

If you weren't being serious I would bawl laughing.

>>1377905
again, all of the education I've been expose to so far was a joke. I don't think I've ever rigorously studied for anything and passed waaay above average without one single problem

I understand life isn't that simple in the university, which is exactly why I'm considering looking for an educational facility which could have a decent area to ... socialize, European style, because that's the only way I find socializing 'fun' to myself!

I still have a lot of thinking to do, and you guys probably know more than me on any given subject, but I personally think it would improve my studies if I'm exposed to an atmosphere where I can relax and actually study in peace knowing I'll have a good social life.

Not to mention, this isn't fucking engineering! I will have to take PROBABLY more than a B.S in order to get a decent career going for me.

Also, nice job with the whole Zagreb thing :)

>>1377907

Hey, dumbass, unless your family has a secret pile of money from before World War II or something, you aren't going to get rich out of thin air. You are going to finance your high-roller social life how, exactly? Anything worth achieving academically or in terms of employment takes sacrifice. If you can't balance having a decent social life with working hard, then that's who you are, and you shouldn't complain. There are many, many other people who have the brains and the motivation to put in hard work as well as relax and have fun.

Also, astrophysicists do not make money. I repeat: They make no money. You don't go into academics to get rich, fuckhead.

And also, I can speak fluent German and Croatian, which opens up some opportunities to non-International universities in the shit hole of eastern Europe and Germany.

Would you guys think, if I were to get accepted to a nice international German or Swedish school, it would be close enough to a decent USA university?

Actually never mind Sweden, too damn cold.

>>1377942
An astrophysics career will get me through of my university debt and life spending in general i think

And no, I don't plan on spending any more extra money on social life occasions than a drunk engineering student does every weekend!

>>1377907

God forbid you can't have fun every day of your life. I'm an engineering student going for a double major. I have realized that I needed to make a sacrifice in my social life to have a good future. And when I do have my grand, beautiful future. I'm gonna have the time of my life being able to afford all the thing's I've wanted to do.

My point is, if you say you want a PhD, but you want to party first, then you are being childish. Unless you are damn good with time management and don't need to study hard (and you will, trust me). Then maybe you could party all the time while you blow through college and graduate school. I just wish you aren't the guy who is in charge of something important that could jeopardize my life.

I understand that you are in high school and you have this dream of partying in Africa because it's "fucking awesome". I guarantee you will find a better night life in any city you end up in. Just because you hear the nightlife is great doesn't mean it is. "The grass is always greener..." I hope you keep that in mind before you seriously decide your future.

>>1377926

So you went to a shitty school. BIG FUCKING DEAL, NOW YOU'VE GOT AN INFERIORITY COMPLEX OVER IT. Get into a good American or European school. If you're such hot shit, get into Karolinska or Cambridge or Max Planck. I guarantee that within the first 12 months you will be forced to decide between giving a shit about school or going to your discos.

This is my last message to you. You're the second European I've heard of that has this attitude, thankfully there are still innovations and original research coming out of Europe. In other words the world will go on without you. You're welcome.

>>1377952

1. engineering students being drunk all the time is a myth.

2. successful engineers know how to manage their budget as well as their time.

3. the above engineers are usually naturally smart. or naturally rich.

4. how would you know how much an average engineer spends on anything?

>>1377961
>implying I didn't go to a high school with over 4,000 students,and one of the largest in Ohio!!

I'm probably similar to how many of current undergrads were in their high school career, in terms of knowledge any way.

Like you said, original research coming out of Europe, why would you not recommend me to go there in order not to just improve my studies, but enjoy myself at least an ounce a month!

>>1377971
Was just using the /sci/ meme, gosh.

>>1377979

there are very intelligent kids coming out of american high schools. what would the size of your high school have to do with anything? if you're as smart as you claim, you would have done something really impressive like concurrent enrollment at a fancy university to demonstrate how talented and intelligent you really were when it came to astrophysics. OR studied independently. OR done research as a high school student.

the fact is, you did none of those things, whereas kids EVERY YEAR in american high schools do ALL of those things. whether their class size was 200 or 6000.

if you were so obtuse and single minded to lock yourself in your european box and not notice the opportunities available to you, it's your own damn fault. why should you have things handed to you on a platter? who the hell do you think you are?

you have some really strange ideas about the american educational system. do you have any friends who are going to do anything worthwhile with their lives? or guidance counselors? sure doesnt sound like it, if you're whoring on /sci/ for attention.

>>1377979

I'm gonna go ahead and say this and wash my hands of this conversation.

You will never have a future if you go to a shitty school. You aren't as special or unique or as smart as you think, because if you were, you would realize how stupid you sound and if you carried that attitude of yours anywhere, you would have as much luck of getting a job, let alone getting into any school; as I would of fucking Nancy Reagan.

I hope you realize how much of a douche you sound like and do something to change that. I wish you the best of luck fuckface.

>>1377979

go for it brah, the leipzig institute will take one look at your application and roar with laughter (unless youve done something real spectacular with your life.) hell, i'll even put in a good word for you. what's your name and email address?

>>1378000
nope, not whoring around for attention, just asking a damn question ,, you guys act like i'm a fucking Christian or something.

You guys are seeming to misunderstand a lot of things.. first of all, I never claimed I was super smart!! I just said the current educational system is super easy, and just for the record, the current school I go to IS one of the most advanced in Ohio!

Second of all, I'm not done with my high school educational career, not for a long shot, let's leave it at that.

And finally, as you've mentioned the opportunities, I have taken quite a few. I have done independent research for a few months at an observatory! I have taken university course physics offered to me because I did well in earlier science classes!
Not to mention, I will have an associates degree from a community college BEFORE i even get my highschool diploma!

So i'm taking an advantage of many things man!
I just want to get out of this shit hole of a place! I can't stand it! If I stay in the USA, I will be going to OSU, and ahhh hell nawww!! They have nothing there except a bunch of cocky arrogant assholes! Well, I'm generalizing, but still, nothing in terms of socializing interesting there for me!

>>1378030
>implying you're not a cocky arrogant asshole

>>1378030
> They have nothing there except a bunch of cocky arrogant assholes!

WOW! You'd fit right in!

fuck you!!!!!! Everytime I ask a damn personal question on here you guys flame me

How am I an arrogant asshole!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a damn stupid high school student and I just want to know some damn answers, why are university undergrad/grad students flaming me?

and also I'm not thinking straight i have just gotten back from drinking, so excuse any ignorant things i ahve said please

This thread is exactly why the world hates America. I can't believe everyone here seriously thinks the quality of education outside the United States is absolute garbage. It's not. Get over it.

@OP, do what you want, but a decision of this magnitude should not be made on a whim, and certainly not for a fucking social life. Get off 4chan you faggot and walk around your block a few times. You'll make more friends there than you will in Africa/Europe.

>>1378061
because you are a cocky arrogant asshole. i'm not an undergrad student. i'm going to be a senior in high school. i read over your posts, and concluded that you're a cocky arrogant asshole.

>I'm in high school and think the US sucks


typical angsty faggot.

>>1378077
unlike most intelligent people, (and yes i'm implying im more intelligent than the average Joe), i cannot dismiss a social life for education, even though I understand how important it is! Also, I have plenty of friend!

>>1378087
i don't think the US sucks, i said in terms of social life it does! and that is just pure opinion.. america has a .. 'special' way of socializing, and i don't like it

als o keep in mind if I am seeming arrogant please excuse it . it's the internet and I sometimes don't know how that would sound in real life.

I'm sure there are many smart kids who go to a big school like OSU. I go to a state school and I have already met a freshmen who took graduate level physics classes in his freshmen year. You just have to find them.

http://www.arwu.org/Country2009Main.jsp?param=South%20Africa

>>1378105
I'm not doubting there arwe intelligent people in US or US schools! I know there are ,actually

>>1378111
Then don't worry about it and go to make smart friends. Just go, unless for some reason you really hate Ohio, in which case you can get into another state university.

>>1378117
you following the thread?!
I have no problems with anything in USA except peoples way of socializing, and hell, it's not even the people, it's the society. Americans aren't entertained by the same things I am .. and the rest of Europe for that matter

I 'm looking for a cheap inexpensive thing to do once a week and meet nice Euro girls. Not implying that US doesn't have nice girls either.

This cheap inexpensive thing to do, and most of all that I like, is pretty much going to a decent but not over priced club (that plays Euro-dance and Techno music, which most Americans are not fond of, thus why no such clubs are frequent) in pretty much any city there is a university in as well in Europe.

I've read through the posts in this thread; In my opinion, op, some of the suggestions are reasonable, but most of the people here are being douches. On the off chance that you were actually asking seriously, I'll throw in my two cents.

First, no place is really "fucking awesome". This is something I know firsthand. Ask half the yellow-fevered weeaboos on this board which country they'd most like to live in, and then talk to somebody who's actually lived there. The difference in viewpoints is pronounced.

I had a friend who spent some time in Australia as a child. Her high school life was kind of shitty, and she ended up wanting to get as far away from that place and those people as she could. She ended up going to school in Aus, and even working there a few years.

I don't think she ended up in any better or worse a position than she would have been in had she stayed here, but her perception of the place definitely changed because of the experience.

>>1378129
Sorry , but I'm having trouble understanding your post!

This girl had lived in Australia her high school life, decided she hated it, and then ended up moving to USA? Her perception of USA then changed?

Please clarify if you can, and also thanks for your response!

Former South African here. You do not want to do that. The universities are over run with negros who get in with C's and are dumb as fuck.

The universities are shit compared to what they once were even WITS Stellenbosch or Rhodes are the only last good ones but even they are shit now.

Protip: University in RSA = bad idea.

>>1378143
She had an idea of Australia, from her own memory of living there. She ended up romanticizing this idea because she really wanted to get the hell out of the US. During high school, she saved some money and visited a couple times, and this only served to cement it more in her mind.

She applied to schools down there, and even graduated HS early, determined to escape. She graduated from the university down there after three years, and ended up working there for a couple more.

Her perceptions of Australia as a place before and after the experience are vastly different. That's not to say she hates living there, or would rather live in the US, just that she no longer sees it as some kind of far off, exotic locale.

>>1378168
I see.. yeah I'm afraid of the same thing

I live in South Africa, UCT is the only one I would say you might want to consider.
Anything else is BLACK

>>1377617
OP my Step Dad Studied his master's in Electrical Engineering with majors in Utility Systems Engineering. I have been to South Africa. Its a fucking shithole. The Blacks are everywhere and Amazingly small like 5'2. They are all poor and its nothing like what it is potraited as on TV or via FIFA. They were self succifient for years and years and built amazing universities. They are also majorly industrial and produce most of thier own products without much trade. NOTE: If you white, you will probably get alot of hatred toward's you. I went there and pulled 50 rann out to buy an ice cream, because it was hot and dry. I got a bunch of black kids following me around wanting cash. But, There is a lot of wealth and since they need bright people to constantly improve thier self sustained state, they heavily fund thier universities. If you want to study Europe, Come visit me at stuttgard University Germany. I got a free mason's scholarship as well as a bursary from Genesis Energy New Zealand to study a Electrical Engineering and Information Technology B.Sc. Do what you want though

>>1378185

WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU ON ABOUT.
They do NOT heavily fund thier universities.

>If you white, you will probably get alot of hatred toward's you
Wat? If you go into a taxi rank looking like a fucking stupid foreigner i'm sure you will.

>I went there and pulled 50 rann out to buy an ice cream, because it was hot and dry.
R50 for an ice-cream? Where the fuck were you.

> I got a bunch of black kids following me around wanting cash
Its called street children, welcome to the 3rd world. You tell them to fuck off, or you give them R5 so they can sleep in a shelter that night.

Ive lived here all my life saying you have to get used to all the black people would be like me going to America and getting used to all the fat people.

>>1378172
To contrast, I stayed relatively close to home for undergrad. Toward the end of my BS, I found a subject I liked and was good at, so I continued on to grad school.

Turns out some of the top people in my area of study are in Mexico, and my adviser recommended I go there to continue my research. I really didn't have any preconceived notions of what Mexico would be like; I hadn't even considered visiting, let alone living there.

I guess my point is that, as much as you plan, you can't be sure of how shit is going to go. When I went to college originally, I thought I was going to be a software engineer, and now I'm in Mexico getting a PhD in math.

>>1378195
Bro, I only saw university of Cape Town, And It was pretty good compared to Massey University In New Zealand where I did my first bit of study. Yeah 50 rann, caz that's the smallest change I had. Yeah, The Niggers are fucking everywhere and I really wondered why they dont sterilise them on mass

>>1378200
UNAM?

>>1378233
I don't want to completely remove the veil of anonymity... I will say that if you're familiar with the instituto de matemáticas, we might know some of the same people.

>>1378304
>>1378304
CU or Cuernavaca?

>>1378336
CU