Unfashionably late bandwagon thread

[Halo]

So I've been muchos preoccupied the past couple days and am coming to this bandwagon in a rather untimely fashion, but I've rather enjoyed reading other peoples' responses and questions so I thought I'd give people an opportunity to ask anything they want to know. I'm a fairly open person when asked, so there probably isn't too much I'd be uncomfortable with sharing - ask away, dinnae be shy son.

[idlehands]

Did you settle on a university to attend?

[Halo]

idlehands said
Did you settle on a university to attend?

Yes and no. In the UK, universities can give you what's called a "conditional" offer. They accept you on the basis that you meet some condition between the time of the offer and the time of entry to the course. Most of the time, these conditions are based around your exams - which are nationalised, here, rather than done intra-school like I believe it is in the US. Everyone in the country studying English at Higher level follows (roughly) the same curriculum and has the exact same exam, taken at one time at the end of the year.
So, I have accepted my conditional offer for Imperial College London - the fancy-ass uni I was all embarrassingly boastful about a couple months back. However, if I don't meet the conditions of the offer, I have an unconditional offer (I'm in regardless of what I get between now and joining the course, which I think is the same as how it works in the US) for The University of Edinburgh as a backup. I won't know whether I met my conditions for another month.
What a long-winded answer to a simple question! Heh.

[idlehands]

Sounds exciting and nothing wrong with being proud about being accepted to such a good university. I do wish you luck, you seem pretty smart and a hard worker. Don't let anything stop you from attending college. Also, you need to say more stuff on Skype calls, you have an adorable accent.

[Halo]

idlehands said
Sounds exciting and nothing wrong with being proud about being accepted to such a good university. I do wish you luck, you seem pretty smart and a hard worker. Don't let anything stop you from attending college. Also, you need to say more stuff on Skype calls, you have an adorable accent.

Thanks, Idle. Don't worry, I won't - I'm too horribly impractical to enter the real world yet, so I need uni . And I'm just more of a natural listener, particularly at 5am, but I and my accent will make more of an effort to participate next time we decide to commit card-based crimes against humanity.

[KnightShade]

What are you most looking forward to about university? What worries you most about it?

[idlehands]

Halo said Thanks, Idle. Don't worry, I won't - I'm too horribly impractical to enter the real world yet, so I need uni . And I'm just more of a natural listener, particularly at 5am, but I and my accent will make more of an effort to participate next time we decide to commit card-based crimes against humanity.

Good, I'd like to play again because I have to pander to you for points. :D

[Halo]

KnightShade said
What are you most looking forward to about university? What worries you most about it?

I think it's hard to pin down any one thing. There's the obvious - like a newfound sense of freedom and independence from the various and numerous pressures I have in my home life just now. I'm also looking forward to the extra challenge. Here in the UK your university course is specialised in one subject, not as much "general education" as there is in places like the US, and therefore the depth of the learning and difficulty of the coursework is escalated - particularly at Imperial, who has somewhat of a reputation for pushing its students hard. I look forward to having my interest and ability stretched to (and probably far beyond) its limits - and I will be surrounded by others who are equally passionate for, dedicated to, and capable in that specific subject (Theoretical/Mathematical Physics). I'm the only one in my year at school going into that particular area, so though I know many people who are very dedicated and passionate for their subject, I know very few who are interested in the same subject to the degree they'd want to talk about it with me. It'll also be nice to be around those who share my interest, is what I'm saying ^^
What worries me most is moving away from my current group of friends. It was only really this year that I bloomed like a little social butterfly, and it sucks to lose a cohort of amazing friends I've made as soon as I've met them. I'm not worried about making new friends, but more about losing touch with the old ones who mean a lot to me - almost all of my friends are going to the same university, and I'm not accompanying them, so it would be easy for me to end up being unintentionally squeezed out of the group.

[Halo]

idlehands said
Good, I'd like to play again because I have to pander to you for points. :D

I feel almost ashamed of how easy it is to 'play me' into giving you the points x) Oh well.

[idlehands]

Halo said I feel almost ashamed of how easy it is to 'play me' into giving you the points x) Oh well.

It's because I know you like for it to make some sort of sense, which I do too.

[Halo]

idlehands said
It's because I know you like for it to make some sort of sense, which I do too.

Well, great minds think alike, after all. ;D

[KnightShade]

Halo said
I think it's hard to pin down any one thing. There's the obvious - like a newfound sense of freedom and independence from the various and numerous pressures I have in my home life just now. I'm also looking forward to the extra challenge. Here in the UK your university course is specialised in one subject, not as much "general education" as there is in places like the US, and therefore the depth of the learning and difficulty of the coursework is escalated - particularly at Imperial, who has somewhat of a reputation for pushing its students hard. I look forward to having my interest and ability stretched to (and probably far beyond) its limits - and I will be surrounded by others who are equally passionate for, dedicated to, and capable in that specific subject (Theoretical/Mathematical Physics). I'm the only one in my year at school going into that particular area, so though I know many people who are very dedicated and passionate for their subject, I know very few who are interested in the same subject to the degree they'd want to talk about it with me. It'll also be nice to be around those who share my interest, is what I'm saying ^^What worries me most is moving away from my current group of friends. It was only really this year that I bloomed like a little social butterfly, and it sucks to lose a cohort of amazing friends I've made as soon as I've met them. I'm not worried about making new friends, but more about losing touch with the old ones who mean a lot to me - almost all of my friends are going to the same university, and I'm not accompanying them, so it would be easy for me to end up being unintentionally squeezed out of the group.

I know people like to forget Hull but we're still part of the UK.

You need to pester your mates to come up there for a night out sometime, make sure it happens because it's very easy to just talk about something like that. Don't forget you'll be home as soon as Christmas too, it's very easy to get bored when you're home from uni so if you take the initiative things might work out.

[Lucian]

What was the inspiration for your username?

[Halo]

KnightShade said
I know people like to forget Hull but we're still part of the UK.You need to pester your mates to come up there for a night out sometime, make sure it happens because it's very easy to just talk about something like that. Don't forget you'll be home as soon as Christmas too, it's very easy to get bored when you're home from uni so if you take the initiative things might work out.

I didn't know you lived in Hull! I thought you were American for whatever reason, my apologies.

I will, of course. And we will all meet up during holidays, we've already agreed to. It will probably be fine, we're all very close - but it's still easy for me to psyche myself out over it. Thanks for the advice man!

Lucian said
What was the inspiration for your username?

Heh, this is embarrassing. My original username on Oldguild was HaloAssault - and yes, it was inspired by the game. The only forum I'd been a regular on prior to coming here was the bungie.net forum, and at the time I was pretty obsessed with the game, as it was my first ever shooter and my first ever 15-rated game - I loved it and love playing it (for nostalgia reasons, partially) to this day. It was how I socialised with my friends after school, and with my online friends across the world. The cringeworthy name just sprung to mind when I was 13, when I joined RPG, and in a moment of short-sightedness I went with it. I've never used it anywhere else, either.
As for "Halo" on Newguild - it became what I was known by on Oldguild, and I'd actually requested a namechange to "Halo" before the Guild went down. When I came here, it made more sense to go with this handle so that I'd still be recognised, but could rid myself of at least a little bit of the awfulness of "HaloAssault". It's a bit simpler and more elegant, and more mature, than the old name - which, hopefully, reflects my own development in the past four and a quarter years.