Students Life In US

[chenchow]

DecentMerson sent me this message:
"Hi, Chen Chow!!! Just wanna know is there a forum about life in US??? if there isn't, can all the seniors chuck into a forum to tell us about wat u guys do over the weekdays and weekends.(as detail as possible if possible) ;).... and tell us more about the hostel life??? pls, thank q.... "

So, here it is, the forum. DecentMerson, in the future, feel free to start your own new topic! Choose the right category and start it!

Hope that some Malaysians who are in US could share on this topic and I would also like to urge those who are coming to US, especially those ATU 10 people, to voice your questions here. As I promise in Intec that day, all responses would be replied within 6 hours and often you would find some responses within minutes.

[chiunlin]

Undoubtedly,The first question that most ATU students will like to ask is:
How are the hostel conditions there? (As detail as possible, start by describing the room, toilet, kitchen, internet connection, heating system, etc. And I hope to hear about the hostel conditions of as many universities as possible....to make some comparisons)

[chenchow]

I think in terms of hostel, generally is pretty alright.

For Cornell one, you can go to this website to have a look. http://www.housing.cornell.edu/

You can see the facilities for each dorm. For freshman, you will stay in north campus.

It depends on what kind of housing you choose or you get. For instance, there are dorm with rooms on both sides of corridor, just like those hotel. Or you can find suite-based, which means 2 single room, 2 double room in a suite and each suite has a toilet.

Kitchen is typically one large one per floor for those rooms along corridor one. For suite based, typically 6 suites will share a kitchen.

There is also townhouses for freshman, where it is a double story with hall, kitchen etc for 4 people. There are 2 rooms on upstairs with each room has 2 people. For townhouses, the price for a person in double room is the price for a person in a single room in other dorm.

Internet is generally 10Mb/s . Heating is not a problem for most dorms.

Many Malaysians are staying in International Living Center
http://www.housing.cornell.edu/housing_residential/hilc.asp

[sanghanuman]

I'm from U of Wisconsin in Madison. Although I didnt live in a hostel, but I worked for the university housing for a year. Basically, for freshmen, we have one popular dorm for girls(where I worked) called elizabeth Waters. Usually its a large bedroom with 2 people sharing. Furniture includes a table, a closet, a drawer and a bed for each resident. Like in Cornell, these rooms' are like the hotel rooms, with a small corridor between rooms. One floor shares one(or maybe two, can't remember) toilet. The toilet is okay..Theres always workers coming in and clean it, so it is usually bright white.

Food. For residents, the cafeteria provides meals at a discounted price. You can get a meal for $2.00-$3.00. The usuals are soups (Chicken noodle, tomato, various cream soups), chili, sandwiches( custom made- turkey, beef, ham, egg, tuna), hamburger and fries, veges (steamed ones so they dont really have taste), pasta and sauce (sometimes with meatball), and some special meals. The cafeteria tries to grant residents tastes by offering food from all over the world at special dinner time. I had served food on China dinner(all chinese food), African American dinner, and several others. This also gives you opportunity to taste other types of food at a lower cost! The quality of the foods is ok, i guess. Theyre cheap, so we cant hope too much.

For special cases, like muslims who choose not to eat meat, as long as you eat cheese, you are fine. The salad bar is like lautan that you can dig in. Same goes for vegetarians.. theres always selection for you, although sometimes could be limited. One thing I should mention, the muslims who do not eat meat products should watch for the mashed potato gravy, bcos usually it is made with meat-based gravy. That's all for now. Will update later.

[mrkikilala]

2 questions
r the accomodation expenses directly billed to jpa?
r we given the liberty to choose our housing? e.g. financial restrictions

[screw3d]

It all depends on which university you go, it can be deathly boring or wildly exciting. Even living conditions would differ too much for anyone to give a good answer.

You'll do well to ask your seniors of whichever university you are going! Even then, it'll all depend on the person to make the best out of the place that he/she lives in ;)

However, generally, you'll probably not be disappointed.

[jiinjoo]

yeah! Get a dorm! Go live the freshman dorm's life - at least once in your life 8) . Dang CMU housing made a mistake on my housing application and I ended up in a senior year student apartment - people are either totally nerdly or totally nutty.

You won't be disappointed if you make the most out of it - don't just stay home, go join the activities by your dorms (hostels) - There are definitely stuff that suites your type.

Learning to tolerate your roommate is probably a more scary and/or exhilarating experience than the actual living conditions of the dorm.

[z]

I think the most important aspect of dorm life is not the physical condition/facilities but rather the dynamics of the dorm. In my experience, it's always about the people. Whether you're staying in one of the 5-star hotel in USC or the *interesting* Cemara/Akasia of UiTM Section 18, your experience will be greatly affected (and to a certain extent determined) by your fellow hostelmates (sometimes more like inmates.. hehe).

Since the hostel condition should not affect your narrowing down of college choices, the question, if really necessary, should only arise when you have finally narrowed it down to a Top 3 list. And it that situation, you'd want to consult (by asking specific questions) the students of the shortlisted universities for a glimpse of the student life.

Having said that, Stanford has a variety of housing options housing.stanford.edu and based on my rather limited experience living in the dorms, I must say I'm happy with the facilities, the food (yes, food is definitely worth more consideration, although I'm sure most if not all Malaysians will pull their college life through fine in (almost) any condition), and all sorts of interesting people!

Unfortunately, people come and people go. Furthermore, you won't know what kind of people you're gonna be living with until you're really there. As such, it's almost impossible to tell what the dynamics will be.

Fortunately for me, California is diverse (with specific reference to racial composition) and it's known to be laid-back. The people are generally really friendly (it's the direct opposite of what you'd expect in New York City). Not forgetting the awesome weather!

[Thirdshifter]

Fro my experience travelling from school to school with my dad, University of California, Davis is where i had the most fun at. Maybe because of the weather. People generally are well mixed up in campus. From CA, GA, NY and CT everyone is friendly.

Dorms on the east coast tend to be larger and more comfortable, i guess because east coast have a long winter. UCONN, where my dad is at right now is crazy.. The dorm is like a big party.. its a fun campus for a young guy like myself. Unfortunately i didnt go there to know exactly how it is.

I think it al ltakes adaptation, once you have made a lot of friends, you'll be fine almost anywhere.

[dinna_g]

2 questions
r the accomodation expenses directly billed to jpa?
r we given the liberty to choose our housing? e.g. financial restrictions

if you live on campus, the acoomodation will be billed directly to jpa. let jpa know about it. you will only receive 60% of your allowance if your housing does not include board (food). you will receive 20% if your housing includes board. this rule maybe different for other sponsors.

if you have a choice, try to live on campus on your first year. it will be easier for you to make friends and get involve with campus activities. as far as the condition, it differs from schools to schools. however, the condition is usually a lot better than on campus accomodation in malaysia.. hehehe.. if you're into parties and "better" social life, go to party schools such as ohio state, u of wisc-madison, u of michigan. there are all sort of rankings about on campus life in www.review.com those rankings might be helpful. good luck!

[chenchow]

To mrkikilala question, you are allowed to choose your own dorm and bill to JPA.

The allowance works in that if you choose to stay off campus and cook yourself, your allowance is USD674 for Kadar A, USD607 for Kadar B. Whether it is Kadar A or B, it depends on its location. Ask seniors which category the university is in.

If you choose to stay on campus and cook yourself, then you would get only 60% of the allowance. If you choose to stay off campus and get on campus food, you will also get 60% of allowance. If you choose to stay on campus and get on campus food, you will get 20% of allowance.

Almost everyone at Cornell stay on campus and get campus dining hall food. Food is not a problem at a university that prides itself for its award-winning dining hall. Just a sample. Everyday you would have Chinese food, kosher food (where muslims here do eat meat from there), normal entree, salad bar, grill, pasta, pizza, deli, dessert, porridge, rice, soup etc. Basically everything in dining hall is buffet. I am on a meal plan of unlimited buffet. On certain day of the week, you would have dim sum (Yeah, the true dim sum!!), korean food, nacho, wings, sushi, koey teow th'ng, green bean soup, cheese cake etc.

Food wise not a problem at Cornell. I don't see anyone complaint of lacking in food, but I do see many grow in size~! As every meal is buffet, you have to limit yourself.

Yeah, I fully agree with Jiin Joo, about learning to accomodate and stay together is more important and tougher than having good facilities. My next door is littlebigone, who seems don't need to sleep, so may be he is a good person to help me jaga pintu. But don't worry about security, esp at International Living Center in Cornell. We don't lock our room....oops, i tell this in public!

Just a bit publicity for International Living Center. You do need to write essay to apply for this living center. This is where most of the international students stay. But I would advise you go and explore normal dorm for your first year. Then, you would really know American. But if you would like some comfort zone, this is the place. There will be country night every fortnight. So, we had Malaysia Night there, as well as many other nights. We had Casino Night, International Dinner(they charge $2 for such dinner, what a great subsidy), dance night, movie night (every fri and sat), bonus-in(on average, 3 times a week, free meal in dining hall for those without meal plan), coffee hour(10pm Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri), ice cream hour (10pm Wed), Trip to NYC(they do charge only $10 or $20 for a day-trip to NYC, including Broadway show and other tourist attractions!), many other activities. Basically everything here is greatly subsidized.

Yeah, agree with z that dorm is not the first few consideration. May be as you cut your list to 2 or 3 universities and you need to make a choice and you don't know, this would come into consideration.

[tree007]

money wise....

got any money woes b4? ( if got, provide examples and solution)

or u guys always got cash to burn? :P ( in this case, how u spend it:P)

[screw3d]

money wise....

got any money woes b4? ( if got, provide examples and solution)

or u guys always got cash to burn? :P ( in this case, how u spend it:P)
I have money woes now and I'm still looking for the solution :oops:

[jiinjoo]

i felt that (i'm not under jpa) in general the funds are not sensitive to the region's living standard. can't pay umich students and stanford students the same amount... one will dry out pretty soon.

[chenchow]

I think it depends on how you spend. If you do not live luxuriously, the allowance is more than enough. My parents haven't sent a cent for me since I came here and I have been traveling to many places. I didn't really work too.

So, it depends on your own. Spend only up to as much as you have. Don't overspend.

[jiinjoo]

Sorry for generalizing chenchow, but I do have this stereotypical idea of the living conditions in Cornell where by it is hard to spend money anywhere in the secluded campus area... Consider the livestyle of a metropolitan where necessities might lie out of reach (i.e. you need a car or pay expensive transportation). Or consider your campus situated in a high-class neighborhood where food is expensive. I guess my intention to say that is because i think students are here to study and to perform optimally they should not have to compromise. I know people who refrain from buying textbooks when it is optional (including myself sometimes) or not participating in local events because they charge some fees; sorry not very convincing examples - it is just a thought anyway..

[chenchow]

jiinjoo, i agree with what u say. Metropolitan life and a suburb life would be different. The cost structure that JPA provides was just a simple 2 rate and Cornell, despite its pretty high cost, is in Kadar B which gives a lower allowance.

It would be great if sponsoring agencies in Malaysia were to provide as high an allowance as those sponsoring agencies in Singapore and Thailand, but personally I still think that if live in moderation, a student could somehow survive.

May be the cost management would be a good help to students, if they live within their means.

[topdog]

i'm grateful enough for the free ride in college, i wouldn't mind even if JPA gives zero allowance...

but ann arbor is pretty expensive though. in fact, rent here costs as much as boston's. it's ridiculous.

for what it's worth: link (http://www.forbes.com/2002/05/10/0510home.html)

[DecentMerson]

refering to chenchow about "creating a new forum", i just dun wanna create another same forum if it is created by some one else.....;)

my queries are as below:
1. how about the holidays? are the allowances remain the same even u go travelling??

2. drinking in the dorm are strictly prohibited as i know, but izzit true??

3. how's the frat party like? issit something like we watch in the movie 'american pie'???

4. money, money, money.... i learn that buying a car and bringing it back to malaysia after u graduated is much cheaper.....anybody knows about the procedure....

5. anybody experience any kind of discrimination b4???

6. is there any curfew time for the dorm???

7...... err....let's leave for next time.....so that ppl won't be intimidated by my questions....... ;)

thank u!!!![/quote]

[DecentMerson]

1 more question pop into my mind b4 i log out....

how's the working on campus like??? since most local students(americans) work, izzit better (in a sense of maintaining a close rapport, equality and experience wise) to work a semester or two????

how's the pay like to work in the library and stuff like that???

thankx again.....;)

[z]

a movie costs $10
a decent dinner out costs $20 (including tax and tips)
i don't spend on cell phone plans. minimum $30/month
i don't have to pay for my internet connection. $10/month
i only eat out occasionally with friends.
i don't call home, so i guess i save a lot on calling cards. web-conferencing is free, at least for you (taking for granted that your parents are using a reasonably fast connection at home, like Streamyx).

you can (and should) also safe money by spend some time researching online for cheap stuff/bargains (but careful not to waste too much time!)
buy used textbooks. buy all those "wants" only when there's a sale/special bargain.
when buying expensive items (e.g. computer), find the best deal after considering the factors like sales tax, shipping costs & time. (sales tax is not charged if you purchase online from an out-of-state store).

really, it's not too hard to survive with limited funds if you try hard enough. Malaysians really boleh in surviving the toughest of conditions :)

however, if you want to splurge on fancy clothings, appliances, electronics etc. or travel, you should really consider getting a (part-time) job. an F1 visa allows you to work on campus for 20hrs per week. depending on the minimum wage in the particular state, the pay could be quite decent.



btw, are we actually allowed to reveal the actual numbers of our allowanc... the percentage etc? ^_^

[chenchow]

1. how about the holidays? are the allowances remain the same even u go travelling??

If the dorm is close and most dorms are close over summer and winter, and if dining hall is close, then your allowance would be adjusted to the right rate.

2. drinking in the dorm are strictly prohibited as i know, but izzit true??
Drinking is prohibited for under 21. And you are not allowed to drink in the presence of under 21. But if you are above 21 and no one is under 21 in your room, feel free to do whatever you want.

3. how's the frat party like? issit something like we watch in the movie 'american pie'???
I leave it to littlebigone, who has stayed in frat and others to reply.

4. money, money, money.... i learn that buying a car and bringing it back to malaysia after u graduated is much cheaper.....anybody knows about the procedure....
Leave for others to reply

5. anybody experience any kind of discrimination b4???
Not that I know of, especially if you are at a town like Cornell, with the population are Cornell Students, Cornell faculty, Cornell staff...

6. is there any curfew time for the dorm???
Nope, do whatever you want. There is no quiet hour, no curfew, nothing!

7.how's the working on campus like??? since most local students(americans) work, izzit better (in a sense of maintaining a close rapport, equality and experience wise) to work a semester or two????
I think you could work for many semesters if you want, but I would suggest work in somewhere that you learn something.

8.how's the pay like to work in the library and stuff like that???
It depends on your skills, varies from $6.++ - >$10 per hour.

[DecentMerson]

hehe....i think i''m addicted to recom too....
just can't get offline

just another question, i think chenchow can really help out since he just came back from US.......;)

how's the visa thingy now....cause i was told that everytime you get out of US, u need to reapply that visa, even if the valid date is still a long way to go...

and issit expensive to travel via train ride in US???coz i have a cousin in delaware, and i think (based on Uni i applied to : UIUC, Purdue, UPenn and UMich-Ann Arbor) i will have to pay her visit every now and then...(coz of formality...hehe;)) and of course, i'm born a traveller....so opportunily to travel makes me drool.....!!!hehehe

thankx again

[z]

From what I've heard, some schools have really strict alcohol policies and they really enforce it with no exceptions. There are also schools on the other extreme where students experience really limited restrictions. Somewhere in between of those two extremes, some schools have rather strict alcohol policies but enforcement is quite limited because the schools believe in giving the students the liberty to learn, experience and discover alcohol, their drinking limits, the after effects, etc. As long as you don't get into trouble (for example, get really wasted and end up in the hospital, or possess alcohol in public when you're under 21), you're treated as a rational, mature, thinking adult who can decide what's best for him and the community.

As for curfew, I haven't heard of any of such practices in US. No one can, or is going to, control your movement. You are free to wander around, say at 4am, without carrying a keg of course..hehe. Obviously, it's not wise to wander around shady places alone at the wee hours of the morning at places like New York City.

[z]

If you have a multiple entry visa, there's no need to reapply for a new visa every time you need to reenter US unless of course if your visa has expired.

Based on the latest INS development, however, you would have to be registered every time you enter and leave US. On the very first entry, you'll have to go through Special Registration. In addition to finger-printing your left and right index finger, as well as taking a mug shot, you'll be "interviewed". Basically what happens is that you'll be entered into a seperate database in addition to the normal procedure for all other visitors. The Special Registration process took almost an hour (excluding waiting time) for me at San Francisco airport. Waiting time is about at least an hour. I think it'll be even longer at the Los Angeles airport.

[chenchow]

On traveling, I think the cheapest mode of traveling would be to rent a car and drive together with your friends. Cost sharing. I think generally rental for a day of car is about USD20+-30+. Petrol is quite cheap, like USD1.50-2.00 per gallon, although the cost has risen a lot lately. That would be the most cost-effective.

But if you are visiting your cousin, then I would think bus would be the cheapest mean. www.greyhound.com , you can check it out there. Train is kind of expensive. If you are traveling coast to coast, then I think flight is more worth it.

For visa, just make sure that your visa is multiple entries when you apply and when you get your visa. If it is multiple entries, then should be no problem!

[dinna_g]

and issit expensive to travel via train ride in US???coz i have a cousin in delaware, and i think (based on Uni i applied to : UIUC, Purdue, UPenn and UMich-Ann Arbor) i will have to pay her visit every now and then...(coz of formality...hehe;)) and of course, i'm born a traveller....so opportunily to travel makes me drool.....!!!hehehe

like chenchow said, train can be expensive. but you may wanna watch out for rail sale and if you buy very early, you can get very good deal. go to www.amtrak.com to learn more about the train services.

[chiunlin]

Just curious to know, which cities in the U.S have subway systems?
How are they like? Are they much different from Malaysia's LRT?

[dinna_g]

Just curious to know, which cities in the U.S have subway systems?
How are they like? Are they much different from Malaysia's LRT?

As far as I know, NY, boston, chicago, and LA. These are the cities that I've been to. I don't know about other cities. The subway system is very very reliable, fast and has a big network especially in NY and in Chicago. In boston, it doesnt have as big network as in NY or chicago but it is fast and very reliable. Sadly, in LA, the subway network is very small. Regarding condition, LRT has better condition because it is newer. For instance, the subway system in chicago started since 1890s, so you can expect the system to be relatively ugly ;).

[__earth]

actually, there are many more. St. louis has one too. most major cities have it.

[chenchow]

Yeah, subway basically exists in most big cities, besides the list given by dinna_g, cities like Washington, Philadelphia etc do have subway or they call it metro or other names.

Generally it is alright, much longer than LRT, but it is old, since it has existed for many many years. Typically it is flat rate, like NY is $2 per entry, irrespective of how far you go within the Subway system.

[taufiq]

there are also subways that you can even eat them..
yeas.. i mean EAT
:D

[DecentMerson]

there are quite a number of Subway outlet in Malaysia too..... ;)

how's the frat party like? issit something like we watch in the movie 'american pie'???

anybody can help me with this Question..??
[/quote]

[DecentMerson]

there are quite a number of Subway outlet in Malaysia too..... ;)

how's the frat party like? issit something like we watch in the movie 'american pie'???

anybody can help me with this Question..??
[/quote]

[chenchow]

For frat parties, to put it as a stereotype, a lot of alcohol and possibly drugs, but in reality, I think there are a lot of different kinds of fraternities. Personally, I haven't been to one, although I do follow a frat house to go go-kart before.

There is a lot of camaraderie in frat house, and personally, I would advise you that if you want to sample, go ahead, but do make sure you set forth what is your own do's and don't.

It is a pity that others' descriptions etc on frats and other issues were lost. Hope everyone could repost.

And hopefully, we would continuously see more questions come charging back at us!

[chenchow]

For frat parties, to put it as a stereotype, a lot of alcohol and possibly drugs, but in reality, I think there are a lot of different kinds of fraternities. Personally, I haven't been to one, although I do follow a frat house to go go-kart before.

There is a lot of camaraderie in frat house, and personally, I would advise you that if you want to sample, go ahead, but do make sure you set forth what is your own do's and don't.

It is a pity that others' descriptions etc on frats and other issues were lost. Hope everyone could repost.

And hopefully, we would continuously see more questions come charging back at us!

[wesleyanne]

there are quite a number of Subway outlet in Malaysia too..... ;)

how's the frat party like? issit something like we watch in the movie 'american pie'???

anybody can help me with this Question..??
[/quote]

I think I wrote bout this before, but its gone, so I'll just rewrite it since im done with my midterms! hehehe :)

really, there ARE different types of frats, and the intensity of greek life (partying, alcohol) really differs from campus to campus. I believe there are 3 main types of frats; honor frats, professional frats, and social frats.

I don't like grouping professional and social frats together with honor frats, since honor frats are on a league of their own. usually when admitted into honor societies/frats, students are of good/excellent academic standing and have obtained a minimum GPA. Phi Kappa Phi would be the best honor society to seek admittance in. Alpha Lambda Delta is a pretty good one to gain admittance in as well.

and if given a choice between professional frats and social frats, I would much rather opt for professional frats. Social frats can be beneficial in certain aspects but definitely not towards your education. If drugs would ever to be an issue, it usually crops up in the social frats ;) but seriously, with the hazing issues that have been plaguing the frats, most frats have taken their "craziness" down a notch. I don't see drugs as being THAT big an issue compared to alcohol, which is like a staple product in ANY frat party.

Professional Frats. Well, don't know much about other professional frats, but for example, if you were a business major, and joined AKPsi, the largest bus frat in the US, you seriously gain networking skills, professional experiences, and boost your ability to communicate with different people. Professional frats like AKPsi usually have tons of events, such as conferences, success institutes, leadership institutes etc that you can gain lotsa experiences from, as well as getting to meet a whole lotta ppl in your field that may help you in the future. They also have scholarships to give out as well. And of course, there's also a whole lotta partying in professional frats too but you dont have to attend/drink/socialize if you choose not to.

Also important to consider is that pledging really isnt an easy process. You may have to spend one month for the whole pledge process, taking exams, learning the history, waking up at 6 am, attending mock court etc etc etc. Costs to join are also exorbitantly high, depending on the school you're attending, (some range from $80 to up to $1000) and you do NOT automatically gain admittance into the frat houses.

but overall, there is a general misconstrued concept of fraternities. While it is understandable where most people derive their reputation of frats from, not all frats are alike and definitely not ALL frats are like what they portray on tv. There's a whole lotta stuff that also goes on behind the scenes, that DO NOT involve partying such as fundraising, community service etc.

[wesleyanne]

there are quite a number of Subway outlet in Malaysia too..... ;)

how's the frat party like? issit something like we watch in the movie 'american pie'???

anybody can help me with this Question..??
[/quote]

I think I wrote bout this before, but its gone, so I'll just rewrite it since im done with my midterms! hehehe :)

really, there ARE different types of frats, and the intensity of greek life (partying, alcohol) really differs from campus to campus. I believe there are 3 main types of frats; honor frats, professional frats, and social frats.

I don't like grouping professional and social frats together with honor frats, since honor frats are on a league of their own. usually when admitted into honor societies/frats, students are of good/excellent academic standing and have obtained a minimum GPA. Phi Kappa Phi would be the best honor society to seek admittance in. Alpha Lambda Delta is a pretty good one to gain admittance in as well.

and if given a choice between professional frats and social frats, I would much rather opt for professional frats. Social frats can be beneficial in certain aspects but definitely not towards your education. If drugs would ever to be an issue, it usually crops up in the social frats ;) but seriously, with the hazing issues that have been plaguing the frats, most frats have taken their "craziness" down a notch. I don't see drugs as being THAT big an issue compared to alcohol, which is like a staple product in ANY frat party.

Professional Frats. Well, don't know much about other professional frats, but for example, if you were a business major, and joined AKPsi, the largest bus frat in the US, you seriously gain networking skills, professional experiences, and boost your ability to communicate with different people. Professional frats like AKPsi usually have tons of events, such as conferences, success institutes, leadership institutes etc that you can gain lotsa experiences from, as well as getting to meet a whole lotta ppl in your field that may help you in the future. They also have scholarships to give out as well. And of course, there's also a whole lotta partying in professional frats too but you dont have to attend/drink/socialize if you choose not to.

Also important to consider is that pledging really isnt an easy process. You may have to spend one month for the whole pledge process, taking exams, learning the history, waking up at 6 am, attending mock court etc etc etc. Costs to join are also exorbitantly high, depending on the school you're attending, (some range from $80 to up to $1000) and you do NOT automatically gain admittance into the frat houses.

but overall, there is a general misconstrued concept of fraternities. While it is understandable where most people derive their reputation of frats from, not all frats are alike and definitely not ALL frats are like what they portray on tv. There's a whole lotta stuff that also goes on behind the scenes, that DO NOT involve partying such as fundraising, community service etc.

[Yeogolas]

If you all said at US is best .. but not in my place Sarawak.. at my college I and my friend has rent house to live in Kuching...
I think my college is big but not at all .. I'm very dissanpointed about but this best is you has friend... If you all at my situation what would you do? Many thing I could't tell you all.

[Yeogolas]

If you all said at US is best .. but not in my place Sarawak.. at my college I and my friend has rent house to live in Kuching...
I think my college is big but not at all .. I'm very dissanpointed about but this best is you has friend... If you all at my situation what would you do? Many thing I could't tell you all.

[littlebigone]

there are quite a number of Subway outlet in Malaysia too..... ;)

how's the frat party like? issit something like we watch in the movie 'american pie'???

anybody can help me with this Question..??
[/quote]

what you watch in american pie would be more of a house party. Frat parties are more organized as the frats have money and organization and also they need to make it cool for people to want to join their frats.

[littlebigone]

there are quite a number of Subway outlet in Malaysia too..... ;)

how's the frat party like? issit something like we watch in the movie 'american pie'???

anybody can help me with this Question..??
[/quote]

what you watch in american pie would be more of a house party. Frat parties are more organized as the frats have money and organization and also they need to make it cool for people to want to join their frats.

[silverblue]

Cool? hahaha... most of the frat parties that i've been to (particularly those at ur 'ex' frat house, littlebigone) have only TWO main elements...

1) BOOZE and BOOZE

2) BOOZE and BOOZE

oh.. and may I add a third...

3) junk/bottles/food strewn everywhere

and not even good music or any dancing at all.

But I did enjoy the company of your hilariously eccentric 'brothers' though... and that of yours, of course.. :P

[silverblue]

Cool? hahaha... most of the frat parties that i've been to (particularly those at ur 'ex' frat house, littlebigone) have only TWO main elements...

1) BOOZE and BOOZE

2) BOOZE and BOOZE

oh.. and may I add a third...

3) junk/bottles/food strewn everywhere

and not even good music or any dancing at all.

But I did enjoy the company of your hilariously eccentric 'brothers' though... and that of yours, of course.. :P

[littlebigone]

1) BOOZE and BOOZE

2) BOOZE and BOOZE



what's so bad about that?

[littlebigone]

1) BOOZE and BOOZE

2) BOOZE and BOOZE



what's so bad about that?

[Shian_Ling_the_Duchess]

wow, looks like i am a little behind in taking part in this discussion..

haha, anyways, i do think that being overseas, it's a great opportunity for us to test our weekness/strength.. to learn to hold on to principles, and to be open to new ideas and thinking.

however, there are a few things that i jz personally do not do, no matter how many people do it/whatseoever,
no drinking, no partying (frat or sorority)

everything is all about personal choice. but one thing i definitely enjoy here is definitely the kind of intellectual diversity and intellecutual freedom...u can have a brunch in the marketplace one day and suddenly find yourself ending up talking about Socrates/Gandhi/Hunduism/Nietzche with some random people....heheh it's fun.

:p

[Shian_Ling_the_Duchess]

wow, looks like i am a little behind in taking part in this discussion..

haha, anyways, i do think that being overseas, it's a great opportunity for us to test our weekness/strength.. to learn to hold on to principles, and to be open to new ideas and thinking.

however, there are a few things that i jz personally do not do, no matter how many people do it/whatseoever,
no drinking, no partying (frat or sorority)

everything is all about personal choice. but one thing i definitely enjoy here is definitely the kind of intellectual diversity and intellecutual freedom...u can have a brunch in the marketplace one day and suddenly find yourself ending up talking about Socrates/Gandhi/Hunduism/Nietzche with some random people....heheh it's fun.

:p

[silverblue]

When you go to a party, you expect to let your hair lose (by dancing, drinking, etc), have a good time (good music and good finger food), make friends, socialize and chat, and forget about work for a bit.

I'm not saying that booze is all bad.... but when all there is to a party is just ppl drinking beer non-stop till they pass out or a bunch of drunk people mumbling incoherent sentences around, I just don't think that that makes a good party.

Perhaps I haven't got to go around that much... but that's the perception I get out of frat parties at Cornell... (there are always some exceptions of course!)

[silverblue]

When you go to a party, you expect to let your hair lose (by dancing, drinking, etc), have a good time (good music and good finger food), make friends, socialize and chat, and forget about work for a bit.

I'm not saying that booze is all bad.... but when all there is to a party is just ppl drinking beer non-stop till they pass out or a bunch of drunk people mumbling incoherent sentences around, I just don't think that that makes a good party.

Perhaps I haven't got to go around that much... but that's the perception I get out of frat parties at Cornell... (there are always some exceptions of course!)