keepin' it real: transfer credits

While Frasher Kempe ’08 spent the last semester asserting himself as the Tech’s leading style trendsetter, worthy of his own photo-shoot, “Keepin’ it Real” got real on Europe. But now we’re back in CNY and killin’ it. Our adventures in Europe (Seville and Stockholm were our home bases) were ridiculously fun. The Great Eastern began with a small group of us Hamilton bro’s landing in Amsterdam, staying at a place called Amsterdam Cribs, and joining Nelly’s entourage for a night. There began the journey…but back on the Hill, the journey has finally ended after a way-too-complicated process of transferring credits.

Hamilton encourages students to go abroad; they even hype it up on the tours for prospective students saying, “You can go anywhere!” But in reality, the college sends you through a crazy maze of red tape to actually make it happen. They don’t advertise the fact that unless you go away on a Hamilton program, which is brutal, you will only get 0.8 credits at most for your classes—and 0.8 is just annoying. Then, when you get back with all your 0.8 credits there’s an endless amount of more paperwork to fill out and not even the professors know how to fill it out correctly. It’s a wild system they’ve got going on here. And don’t forget about that $1500 you have to pay to save your spot while you’re gone…save my spot? Who’s going to take it and why does it cost $1500? Don’t take this the wrong way…GO ABROAD. It’s unreal and you’ll have the best semester ever. The confusion afterwards is worth it… as long as you just expect it.

Students who go abroad should get more credit than this 0.8 represents. Yeah, this is corny, but when you live in another country for four months you’re learning way more outside the classroom than in it. One of our friends— let’s call him “Thom” to protect his identity— lost his cell phone, credit card, and passport (all on different occasions) while in foreign countries where he barely spoke the language…and survived…kind of. He spent way too much time at some restaurant on Las Ramblas in Barcelona after he lost his passport there on Easter Weekend. Easter Weekend in Spain is absolutely insane…and he made it out alive. You can’t learn this stuff here at the Tech, just ask Sarge.

- garrett reeb ’08 and nico drohojowski ‘08