hey y'all! I have been informed by Zach (who hopefully will be commenting on this too...) that this is the best way to get in touch with the rest of ye. before I begin rambling, allow me to apologize for the strange & mysterious fact that blogger keeps automatically converting everything I type in the title box to a different language (Arabic?). what I was trying to say was "Hampshire?"
so, here's my conundrum thus far. I am seriously considering transferring out of Goddard College. I mean, at this point, it's almost a definite that I will, and well, I probably should. Goddard is a magical place where amazing people converge, and for eight days out of every semester, we have an amazing time of it together, but for the rest of the semester I feel pretty directionless & stressed. now I am just trying to figure out what to do next. seeking more structure, direction, guidance, opportunities, and academic rigor, but still fully planning on going to a progressive, loopy, hippy-dippy school that will encourage me to be a good & eccentric person. also, I would really like to be in New England, because I'm in love with it.
what I would love to know from you all is: how do you like Hampshire, really? what are its awesome points? drawbacks? frustrating things, exciting things? anything I should keep in mind if I decide to apply? do you feel like you have too much freedom, not enough? how does the funky academic process really work, with divisions & projects & all that? at this point anything would be helpful & welcome.
thanks everybody! it was awesome seeing all of you in Mass. maybe I will again? like, every day? would that be cool?? aaaah...
4 comments:
What Hampshire is, as far as I can tell, is a complex and slightly structured exercise in networking. It can be really awesome if you can get to know the right people. Conversely, if for some reason you can't convince the people you want to work with you it can be really frustrating (Zaidee can tell you a lot about the frustrating parts). Different schools (Cognitive, Natural Science, Humanities, Interdisciplinary Arts, etc) each have their own rules and types of insanity. Natural Science can be the most down-to-earth or the craziest depending on who you talk to. There are certainly great opportunities to be had (Pixar), but you really have to go searching for them sometimes.
We have a great (if slightly underfunded) fabrication shop, a friendly group of artists, a crazy intense video/film department, a demented science department, and a building that calls itself Cognitive science that contains everything from Linguistics to Computer Science. There's plenty of hoops to get involved in each one, but if Hampshire has what you want it's worth it to go through them.
by the way, your title language seems to be Hindi? And not only is it in Hindi, it also the word"Hampshire" in Hindi.
Okay here come the frustrating parts. Some of them, well all of them, can be avoided, you just have to stay on top of things. So, thus far this semester I have had to drop a course because Central Records failed to fully register me in it. I have been lacking an advisor this entire time and am now slowly falling through the cracks. Also, no one finds it necessary for me to be doing independent studies and is too busy to work with me on my committee. Now, I'm sure I sound full of gripe, but that is the truth. I've learned that there is no use in waiting to hear back from people, you have to keep on top of them to make sure they are available for work and for meetings. The good thing about Hampshire is that if you find the right people, all the confusion can go away and there will be a lot more flexibility within situations like this.
What counts here is persistence and creativity. There are a lot of options and opportunities through the five colleges in this area and Hampshire certainly has an interesting assortment of courses. There is also a great sense of community here and it is overall a very positive and fun place to be.
Hey you two, thanks for giving me the scoop on all the insanity and goodness. My mini-crisis actually seems to have resolved itself after much consternation. It sounds like Hampshire is both an awesome and frustrating place to be, and that describes Goddard as well -- I figure it describes any small progressive liberal arts school a person could go to, and as in any relationship, you have to know what kind of eccentricities you're willing to put up with for love. So, for love of Goddard, I am going to put with its loop-de-loops and try to resolve some of my issues with it myself. I'm glad I wigged out though; I needed to realize why I go to this place and think about what I am doing with this education. If I ever do decide to transfer for some reason, though, I'm glad I'll have the inside skinny on Hampshire. Thanks for reading my slightly melodramatic ramble and answering so helpfully.
By the way, WTF? "Hampshire" is a word in Hindi?
Hope you're all doing well on your side of the sky.
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