What are people smoking?
 

What is up with some people's (usually "professional") advice on small talk?

I'm going to give prospective students and parents tours on our campus. Of course it is essential that we are friendly towards them. Our director gave us some "pointers" on how to strike up good conversation. Some of them were: "I like that outfit! Where did you get it? How much did it cost?" "If you could be any animal, what animal would it be?" "I think the weather is very nice today. What do you think?" :eek:

This isn't the first time I've recieved lame advice on how to start small talk. I've been told to ask similar questions when I worked in the restaurant and in my fraternity workshops. I was yelled at all the time when I was a hostess for not asking people "How's the weather?" as they wait for their table. Maybe it is just me but if a stranger asks me those types of questions I would think they were a bonehead. Sorry, I think I will stick to making small talk about sports and current movies.

I think you are right! If some random person asked me what animal I wanted to be and why, I would be all "WTF???"

Crack, darling, they're smoking crack. Anyone who wants you to ask how much someone's outfit cost is either smoking crack or was raised by antisocial wolves in a cave somewhere far, far away from other humans.

For real though, I went through a series of job interviews for a really impressive position with the Department of Justice. My final interview was in a conference room with at least seven people interviewing me, most of whom I had met during earlier interviews. The Director of this particular division was asking most of the questions, and at the end he asked me if I had any questions for him. Now, we've all heard how terrible it is to not have questions to ask, but after so many interviews all my questions had been answered, so I blurted out "If you were an animal, what animal would you be." Everybody in the room cracked up of course, and he answered that he would be one of those big turtles that swims around in the ocean.

I did not get the job. Obviously, they did not appreciate my wacky sense of humor. ;)

I am so using that sometime.

Re: What are people smoking?
 

Keep up the small talk- sends more of the smart ones to Iowa State.

Those are lame questions.

I was a tour guide for 3 years at my school. We were always told to ask relavant things, like where they were from, what their major was, what clubs they were interesed in joining, etc. Some things are just too random to be brought up in that setting.

Re: Re: What are people smoking?
 

Smart people do not go to Iowa STTTaTTTe.

Re: Re: Re: What are people smoking?
 

What about the people who run the Dance Marathon?

Re: Re: Re: Re: What are people smoking?
 

Ones who run it, or ones who pretend to?

Re: Re: Re: Re: What are people smoking?
 

They go to the UNIVERSITY OF IOWA, not Iowa State. U of Iowa in theory has the smarter kids, but every once in a while they let in a freak who nonetheless goes on to be president of a worthwhile student organization and a founding sister greatly involved in a sorority recolonization.

;)

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What are people smoking?
 

that girl sucks/sucked.


and iowa state is quite the bastion of intellect - one of the earth's largest fertilizer thinktanks. go state.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What are people smoking?
 

Haha! :p

I'm sorry about my college confusion. Whenever I read Iowa, I think of the pretend people, dance marathon, and gc and all the drama.

Can you tell that I am bored?

Re: What are people smoking?
 

Not only is that question lame, it's completely inappropriate! How much one's possesions cost are not anyone else's business!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What are people smoking?
 

I'm sorry, but the shit coming out of your mouth really stinks- have some toilet paper.

For the past four years, more State of Iowa National Merit Scholars have selected Iowa State University over all other Iowa institutions of higher education combined.

funny, I dont see that other Iowa university- the one that ranks #1 in the state in cases of rape and pot-possession charges- in the top ten here:

2002-2003
National Achievement Scholars
Top 10 Public Universities
Rank Scholars
1 Florida 51
2 Florida A&M 20
3 Iowa State University 19
4 Georgia Tech 16
5 Michigan 12
6 Alabama 10
7 Ohio State 9
8 Georgia 8
8 University of Virginia 8
10 Florida State 7
10 Illinois 7
10 Louisiana State University 7
Source: National Merit Scholarship Corporation (2002)

Re: What are people smoking?
 

I would smack someone if they asked me that.

Don't do it, Dinosis!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What are people smoking?
 

Because Loras and Wartburg are so presTTTigious that they had a lot of other options. And those are kids from IOWA - there are 49 other great states in the union. I'd rather be a Hawkeye than a Cyclone anyday.

Daaaaaaaamn. He laid the smackdown.

-Rudey

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What are people smoking?
 

So the University of Florida is the best public school in the country, by your assessment? I'm sure Cal will be interested in your findings.

Interestingly, I went to the feeder school that produces around 40% of all Iowa National Merit Scholars (as of 99, when I graduated) - of these I know exactly one that went to ISU, he went because it was free for NMS. That may or may not have impact on that statistic - apparently that's a pretty good incentive, it would appear.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What are people smoking?
 

That's totally the reason that they're going. The state schools give so much money to their mediocre to high-achieving students in order for them to stay in-state, of COURSE they're going to either stick around their home state or go to another state school. I'd totally put Cal, UVa, Michigan, and a few more over UF.

I know National Merit kids who turned down Harvard, Yale, etc. to go to UF because between Bright Futures, their college funds, minority scholarships, and National Merit money--it was too good to pass up. I, on the other hand, opted to get the hell out of Floriduh.

So, that "list" doesn't mean that much in terms of quality.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What are people smoking?
 

Agreed - it's an interesting dynamic . . . although I took the money too, just not from ISU. I stand by my decision, and I don't fault others, but it seems hollow to push these sort of programs as "bottom-up" programs when, in reality, they are purely motivated by statistics. US News and World Reports has murdered the college selection process in so many ways . . .

Joel, Chill. Valkyrie was mostly being facetious (mostly) and referring to something that happened way before your time -- and even mine -- on GC. I love Iowa State and I know we get plenty of great students and a lot to be proud of (hello, inventor of the rice krispie treat is an ISU alumna), but hell, even I know that we're not a top tier University for a lot of things. Besides, I learned way back in elementary school it's just not worth it to argue with Hawkeyes.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What are people smoking?
 

I've got to agree with this.

Where the National Merit Scholars choose to go doesn't mean much. I was a finalist and I chose Minnesota over Texas and Wisconsin, among other schools (and didn't even apply to a number of more prestigious schools that, with my stats, I could have probably gotten into). And when there's a financial incentive to go to a particular school, that pretty much sums up why they're choosing to go.

Furthermore -- National Achievement Scholars are different from National Merit. The National Achievement awards are only offered to African-Americans, I believe (or racial minorities -- at any rate, not the same thing as National Merit).

Not that I'm getting involved in this debate or anything . . . I'm sure both schools have their good points. And Iowa State doesn't have IHE. ;-)

i smokie cigarettes!

jharb's screenname on AIM: ihave really goodhair!

Good to know, good to know.

Re: Re: What are people smoking?
 

Tee hee...

What's scary...I would've said it with a smile like five years ago!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What are people smoking?
 

National Achievement is just National Merit for African-American students. So, it's pretty much the same thing in terms of doing well on PSATs, and getting money for college.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What are people smoking?
 

Not to continue the hijack, but...
It really is an interesting discussion...I placed pretty well in the National Merit program and ended up not even considering some prestigious schools (although I'd argue that Boston U. is pretty darn good). Hell, our National Merit Scholar at my school went to UConn.

Money is an interesting issue in all of this...I'd like to see stats on percentage of how many of those in the National Merit Program go to state schools, and how many go to Ivy League. It would be pretty interesting.

One of my best friends from high school was a National Achievement Scholar - she's at Princeton. I don't think she considered Iowa State.

I'm really old and have forgotten. I was an NMS "commended student" but not an actual Scholar eligible to receive anything. Do you have to do anything above and beyond your PSAT or is it all just based off of that? (Hope this makes sense, it's early)

I think it's above and beyond...the way it was explained to me was that it was based on other things (grades, extracurricular, etc.) They said I got to my level because of those other things in addition to PSAT scores.

I could be wrong though...the guidance counselors at my school weren't the best.

Dammit. Too bad I didn't take the PSATs (or the SATs for that matter). Otherwise I could have been a NMS and helped skew the statistics in favor of ISU. I was all about the extracurriculars in high school. ;) And if Mindy W. wouldn't have been such a lazy beeyotch, I would have held my rightful place as salutitorian.

Not that I'm bitter about that or anything.

This is correct IIRC - you make a preliminary cut w/ your PSAT scores, then the 'final' cut is an application-based process. I was a NMS, but my PSAT score barely made the semifinal cut (again if i recall).

I don't think it was ever properly explained to me...I just got letters letting me know when I moved on in the process, and a letter letting me know when i didn't move on

I wanted to go to Iowa State b/c all my older high school friends had gone there and lots of girls in my high school class were going there. :rolleyes:

Then we went down there for a fraternity's date party one weekend and I ended up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning....

Needless to say my mother tossed my acceptance letter from them in the trash when it came. :o

:( Unfortunate but not surprising given some of my own experiences at date parties.

I did know quite a few people from Omaha while I was there.

yeah, sounds about right - i think my high school guidance counselor would have trouble guiding me to the crapper after burrito day

Like Rob said -- the semi-finalists were based solely on PSAT scores. The finalists had more stuff (SAT scores, grades, recommendation I think -- I know my guidance counselor wrote them something about me). My best friend was a semi-finalist but not a finalist because his PSAT score met the cut-off but his SAT score wasn't high enough. Things like that.

I think that the NM program is -- thank god -- based mostly on stuff your guidance counselors put together for you rather than stuff you had to put together yourself. Which was a relief considering all the other scholarship and college applications that had to get done.