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The disgrace of my inbox

Posted by $ SarahMontalbano 8 years, 6 months ago to Education
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I checked my email today, and as a high school student looking to go into college soon, I get a lot of information about different colleges. This was a snippet from University of Notre Dame, telling me about pre-college programs I could enroll in:
Confronting Poverty: Bringing Service to Justice—Through an interdisciplinary lens, this course aims to answer the enduring question: Why are people poor? Students will explore the forces that maintain poverty and the forces that resist it. This unique course will also offer students the opportunity to engage in the local community to understand poverty through facts and lived experience. By the end of the course, students should have a sense of the history of poverty and of how poverty could become history.

How is THAT supposed to attract me?

(I just had to share this one, but there's been quite a few of a similar strain from different universities - goodness, public education is a mess!)

All Comments

  • Posted by $ SarahMontalbano 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I've found no definition of "ace erasure", all I've found is some usage in articles of asexuality, where I'm not sure it's meaning the same thing.
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  • Posted by $ jlc 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    If she never spoke about anything other than molecular bio, you might be right. But if Sarah spoke up about her views on politics, then her grades and prospects in molecular bio could be negatively influenced - read some of the stories on this thread (and the news, which is talking about safe spaces a lot).

    I tried to look up "ace erasure" and found some comments but no technical definition. It seems to refer to a disapproval of someone choosing a solitary lifestyle. Can you clarify?

    Jan
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  • Posted by johnpe1 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    you would be paying that much per month??? -- j

    p.s. and Yes, Of Course, the loss of freedom is first;;;
    it hurts having your free will amputated without anesthesia.
    .
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    " Your world view, were it to be known, might well influence your grades and your prospects. "
    What's this world view? Does she believe in "ace erasure" or something. (Sorry, I find a way to work that term into any discussion about "safe spaces" on campus.) But really, as insane as the safe space thing is, I don't think it has any impact on someone studying biochemistry.
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  • Posted by $ jlc 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Sure. You have a peculiar problem in that you are the person that "Safe" zones are trying to exclude. Getting an education in such an environment will be no easy task.

    Good luck.

    Jan
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  • Posted by $ SarahMontalbano 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Florida Tech is looking like a good option, simply because it does tolerate diversity. My BS isn't going to matter as much as where I get my PhD, and it would probably be best to save some money for a top-notch grad school.
    Thanks for your help Jan!
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I am finally unable to stay on my non-PPACA-compliant plan. I talked to one agent who had non-compliant policies. He quoted the premiums and the prices including the penalty. Apparently he has many customers who buy non-compliant plans that have basic medical underwriting, not all the preventative and psychological stuff required by 'ACA, and he regularly sells them to people who want insurance to protect their wealth without the bells the whistles required by PPACA.

    The only downside is his non-compliant plans are not HSA compatible. HSA is really powerful. We've been pouring in the max for years, investing it, and never pulling it out. It goes in tax-free, grows tax-free, and comes out tax-free. I think we're going to get a compliant plan to keep the ability to use HSA.
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  • Posted by Mamaemma 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    To be honest, John, my insurance premium is paid by my corporation in before tax dollars. The penalty would be of equal cost. There is no deal for me, and that's my point, that my country is effectively a dictatorship at this point. That's what upset me more than the money.
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  • Posted by $ jlc 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Thinking:

    Does it matter where you go for your undergrad degree, if you intend to go on for your PhD?

    Perhaps...the best solution may be to go to Florida Tech for your BS. Four years from now, FT might have CRISPR or CRISPR might be old hat by then and you would need to set your sights on the even-newer tech somewhere.

    This would allow you to get the feel of the ropes of the academic system at a college that at least tolerates diversity (!), Florida Tech, and then transfer somewhere else for grad/postgrad work. (And you would be able to talk to jbrenner!)

    Jan
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  • Posted by johnpe1 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    oh, no! . that's awful, and I wonder what process you might
    go through to get a better deal -- take the penalty hit and
    go with an association doing the catastrophic care thing??? -- j
    .
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  • Posted by $ jlc 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Do you have the academic legs to go to MIT? I am seeing a lot of CRISPR work done there (more than at CalTech, though there is some there too).

    (You would have to keep your mouth shut - really the only course to steer. I am rather too outspoken for this to work well.)

    Jan
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  • Posted by Mamaemma 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Well, John, I just found out that my cheapest, doesn't pay for anything, health insurance will now be $1827 a month for my husband and me. And I have NO choice in the matter. It made it very clear that I do not live in a free country.
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  • Posted by $ SarahMontalbano 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    It very well could influence my prospects and grades. Reading about the experience of gaiagal's daughter, who commented earlier, I don't want to put myself in the same situation. But would the benefit of a great technical education be worth the ideological ruins? I'm not sure as of yet.
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  • Posted by $ jlc 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The problem is that a science department does not live in an ideal world. Your world view, were it to be known, might well influence your grades and your prospects.

    Would you be comfortable spending 6 or 8 years holding your cards very close to your chest?

    Jan
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  • Posted by $ SarahMontalbano 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Thank you, Jan, for looking into it. I've read a lot about CRISPR and Cas9 research as part of my Science Olympiad events (Protein Modeling in particular). It's an exciting field of research and I might (key word) be willing to tolerate a Berkelian. Maybe.
    I've looking into Florida Tech's research projects and there are none associated with CRISPR or Cas.
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  • Posted by $ jlc 8 years, 6 months ago
    Sarah Montalbano -

    johnpe asked me to look into this, but I can give you no advice that is better than jbrenner's. As a molecular biologist, you want to go somewhere that is a hotbed of CRISPR and Cas9 research, but Doudna (one of the main developers of that tech) is from Berkeley (with all that implies).

    CRISPR tech is well dispersed in industry, which probably means in Higher Ed as well. If Florida Tech is doing active research in CRISPR as part of having a good molecular bio dpt, then you should start with it at the top of your list.

    I could not find a CATO or other source that ranked the US universities per reasonable standards. Does anyone else have such a list for Sarah?

    Jan
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  • Posted by johnpe1 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    that's why capitalism works -- it gives opportunity with
    Real Results for nearly any effort -- just work and think
    and work some more ... and the results will arrive::: Bucks!!! -- j
    .
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  • Posted by johnpe1 8 years, 6 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Ah! . wonderful ! . now, let's find a school where you can
    get the absolute best education. . . . . Jan (jlc) might be
    a fine adviser -- will ask her. -- j
    .
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