Life Hypothetical: your full ride scholarship to Yale.

**Rain Man** · 08-07-2015, 09:30 AM

Here's the situation:

It's the 18th of July, on a hot and muggy summer night. A carnival is in town, and since your favorite bar at Applebee's is currently closed down for serving drinks to a minor, you decide to go.

Ahh, the lights, the funnel cake smells, the calliope music. You walk around with your significant other, enjoying all it has to offer. (If you don't have a significant other, you may insert Danica McKellar into this role for the purposes of this scenario.)

And then you see it.

The Midway. Barkers call players to games. Baseballs are thrown, hoops are tossed, weights are guessed. Like a moth to a flame, you're drawn to a game where bowling pins are set up all over the back of a booth. The more pins you knock down, the bigger your prize.

You plunk down your ten dollars and get three balls. With your significant other (or Danica McKellar) at your side, you decide to leave it all on the field. You take a mighty windup with the first ball, and miss the booth entirely. A baseball bounces out into a field behind the booth. How embarrassing.

The second ball is better. It stays in the field of play, and it knocks down two pins that are obviously weighted at the bottom. You win a small stuffed squirrel with a frightening countenance and a body full of toxic Chinese fiberglass insulation.

You then throw the third ball. At that precise moment, a 5.3 earthquake strikes. The ferris wheel riders scream, the carnies duck for cover, and you hang on to the counter. By the time the earth stops moving, you're all standing there as the ball hits the ground. Every pin in the entire booth is knocked down.

The ball guy slowly arises from his hiding spot under the counter, looks around in amazement, then looks at you.

"All of the pins are down," he says. "You win the grand prize."

"What's the grand prize?", you ask.

"I don't know. No one's ever won."

After a flurry of calls to Carnie headquarters (located just north of Cincinnati, Ohio), it is discovered that no one has won the grand prize since 1937, when wealthy Yale alumni Clancy Devereaux bought the carnival to support his master's thesis, "The economics and demographics of freak show attendance". Clancy was proud of his school, so the grand prize was set as a four-year full-ride scholarship to Yale.

Stunned carnival executives consult with their attorney, but your case is ironclad. You have won a full ride to Yale University, including room and board, with an estimated value of $253,000 in 2015.

So your decision now is whether to take the scholarship and attend, and if so, select a major. The rules are as follows:

1. You can pursue the degree at any point in your life. You do not have to take it now.

2. The prize is not transferable in any way, and cannot be sold or substituted for cash. You attend Yale or you walk away with the insulation-stuffed squirrel.

3. The prize will allow you to obtain a bachelor's degree only.

4. Everything in your current life applies: your age, your academic skills, your current degree(s) if any, your location, your marital status, etc. You are you.

The accompanying poll contains an abbreviated list of Yale degree programs. (There's actually about 70, so I eliminated the interdisciplinary combo degrees and some other random ones. If you're a Yale professor and I eliminated your program, I apologize.)

**MahiMike** · 08-07-2015, 09:38 AM

Is that how Bush got in?

CleveSteve · 08-07-2015, 09:44 AM

Nice story, thanks.

I'd go economics and use my newly-formed connections to make the paper stack up.

**The Franchise** · 08-07-2015, 09:49 AM

Is History just plain history? Or do I get to pick a specific piece of history and specialize on that?

**Rain Man** · 08-07-2015, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MahiMike

Is that how Bush got in?

Kind of. His dad had a bunch of oil guys go in and rough up the carnies.

I'm really torn on my degree program. I don't really need a bachelor's degree at this point, so I think I'd wait until I was retired and pursue something for fun. I've narrowed it down to architecture, art, art history, chinese, ethnicity/race/migration, history, humanities, literature, psychology, russian, south asian studies, or theater studies.

I'm going to have to give this some thought.

**Rain Man** · 08-07-2015, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Is History just plain history? Or do I get to pick a specific piece of history and specialize on that?

You can go to the Yale web site and read about it. Let me know, because I'm considering it as well.

http://history.yale.edu/academics

**The Franchise** · 08-07-2015, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

You can go to the Yale web site and read about it. Let me know, because I'm considering it as well.

http://history.yale.edu/academics

I'm not even smart enough to figure out their website.

I'm ****ed.

WhawhaWhat · 08-07-2015, 09:53 AM

Economics.

WhawhaWhat · 08-07-2015, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pestilence

I'm not even smart enough to figure out their website.

I'm ****ed.

HIST 127 U.S. Lesbian and Gay History George Chauncey TTh 10.30-11.20

**Rain Man** · 08-07-2015, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Is History just plain history? Or do I get to pick a specific piece of history and specialize on that?

It looks like they've designed a program just for you. Look at the specialist track.

http://history.yale.edu/academics/un...ss-2017-beyond

Kiimo · 08-07-2015, 10:02 AM

Well looks like all the dream majors aren't there and I already have degrees in Advertising and Art History which have yielded only moderate results and I'm not touching anything at Yale involving Math lest people realize my limitations so I went with Political Science. Let's start this road to candidacy as a moderate Republican who despises all things Tea Party, is fiscally conservative but wants gun control, gender and race equality and believes in the overwhelmingly obvious environmental issues. By the time I'm graduating the right will eventually be coming around to their senses.

**The Franchise** · 08-07-2015, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

It looks like they've designed a program just for you. Look at the specialist track.

http://history.yale.edu/academics/un...ss-2017-beyond

Bam.

Now I just need to decide if I want to go the History route or go with Psychology.

This degree would be basically be for fun anyways.

BWillie · 08-07-2015, 10:08 AM

He was into that whole, Yale thing. Well, for one thing, I think he was probably a closet homosexual who did a lot of cocaine. That whole Yale thing.

**Rain Man** · 08-07-2015, 10:18 AM

My debate:

architecture - I've always wanted to be an architect, but at this point I'm not pursuing it as a career, and architecture degrees will likely have a lot of boring courses to go with the fun courses.

art - could be fun, but my lack of talent is a drawback.

art history - I'm just pursuing this degree for fun, so I might enjoy this one.

chinese - it would be a great party trick to speak chinese, but that's not much reward for four years of work

ethnicity/race/migration - it's really the migration part that interests me. At Yale, I'd be a little worried that this would be some sort of radical degree taught by crazy people

history - you can't go wrong with history, but I already feel that I'm well read. If it's for fun, I want to learn.

humanities - the name is boring and non-descriptive, but this seems essentially like a well rounded liberal arts degree. That could be fun. However, I looked at the courses and it seems like a little more Shakespeare and navel-gazing than I would prefer.

literature - I like to read, and this would give me a reason

psychology - I've always been fascinated by psychology, and it could actually help me in my work if I took four years off. But I probably won't take four years off in my career.

russian - I took some russian courses in my first go-around in school and enjoyed them.

south asian studies - I don't know why, but this region fascinates me. I know so little about it.

theater studies - This is a dark horse, but I feel like I would learn a lot, and it's something I could probably use as a hobby in my retirement.

Looking at these, my top three candidates are psychology, south asian studies, and theater studies.

I wasn't expecting this, but I think I would go with psychology. It's just too fun.

Kiimo · 08-07-2015, 10:40 AM

Psychology degrees don't result in jobs but if you're just doing this for fun go hog wild.

View Poll Results: What major will you select for your free Yale degree?
I would not accept the scholarship for reasons described in my post.	0	0%
African American Studies	0	0%
American Studies	0	0%
Anthropology	0	0%
Archaeological Studies	0	0%
Architecture	1	7.14%
Art or History of Art	0	0%
Astronomy	0	0%
Biology	0	0%
Biomedical Engineering	0	0%
Chemistry	0	0%
Chinese	0	0%
Classical Civilization	0	0%
Cognitive Science	0	0%
Computer Science	1	7.14%
East Asian Languages and Literature	0	0%
Economics	4	28.57%
Electrical Engineering	0	0%
English	0	0%
Environmental Studies	3	21.43%
Ethics, Politics, and Economics	0	0%
Ethnicity, Race, and Migration	0	0%
Film Studies	0	0%
French	0	0%
Geology and Geophysics	0	0%
Germanic Language and Literatures	0	0%
Global Affairs	0	0%
Greek (Ancient or Modern)	0	0%
History	1	7.14%
Humanities	0	0%
Japanese	0	0%
Judaic Studies	0	0%
Latin American Studies	0	0%
Linguistics	0	0%
Literature	0	0%
Mathematics	0	0%
Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science	1	7.14%
Modern Middle East Studies	0	0%
Music	0	0%
Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations	0	0%
Philosophy	0	0%
Physics	0	0%
Political Science	2	14.29%
Psychology	1	7.14%
Religious Studies	0	0%
Russian	0	0%
South Asian Studies	0	0%
Spanish	0	0%
Statistics	0	0%
Theater Studies	0	0%
Voters: 14. You may not vote on this poll

08-07-2015, 09:30 AM
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3238491 VARSITY	Hypothetical: your full ride scholarship to Yale. Here's the situation: It's the 18th of July, on a hot and muggy summer night. A carnival is in town, and since your favorite bar at Applebee's is currently closed down for serving drinks to a minor, you decide to go. Ahh, the lights, the funnel cake smells, the calliope music. You walk around with your significant other, enjoying all it has to offer. (If you don't have a significant other, you may insert Danica McKellar into this role for the purposes of this scenario.) And then you see it. The Midway. Barkers call players to games. Baseballs are thrown, hoops are tossed, weights are guessed. Like a moth to a flame, you're drawn to a game where bowling pins are set up all over the back of a booth. The more pins you knock down, the bigger your prize. You plunk down your ten dollars and get three balls. With your significant other (or Danica McKellar) at your side, you decide to leave it all on the field. You take a mighty windup with the first ball, and miss the booth entirely. A baseball bounces out into a field behind the booth. How embarrassing. The second ball is better. It stays in the field of play, and it knocks down two pins that are obviously weighted at the bottom. You win a small stuffed squirrel with a frightening countenance and a body full of toxic Chinese fiberglass insulation. You then throw the third ball. At that precise moment, a 5.3 earthquake strikes. The ferris wheel riders scream, the carnies duck for cover, and you hang on to the counter. By the time the earth stops moving, you're all standing there as the ball hits the ground. Every pin in the entire booth is knocked down. The ball guy slowly arises from his hiding spot under the counter, looks around in amazement, then looks at you. "All of the pins are down," he says. "You win the grand prize." "What's the grand prize?", you ask. "I don't know. No one's ever won." After a flurry of calls to Carnie headquarters (located just north of Cincinnati, Ohio), it is discovered that no one has won the grand prize since 1937, when wealthy Yale alumni Clancy Devereaux bought the carnival to support his master's thesis, "The economics and demographics of freak show attendance". Clancy was proud of his school, so the grand prize was set as a four-year full-ride scholarship to Yale. Stunned carnival executives consult with their attorney, but your case is ironclad. You have won a full ride to Yale University, including room and board, with an estimated value of $253,000 in 2015. So your decision now is whether to take the scholarship and attend, and if so, select a major. The rules are as follows: 1. You can pursue the degree at any point in your life. You do not have to take it now. 2. The prize is not transferable in any way, and cannot be sold or substituted for cash. You attend Yale or you walk away with the insulation-stuffed squirrel. 3. The prize will allow you to obtain a bachelor's degree only. 4. Everything in your current life applies: your age, your academic skills, your current degree(s) if any, your location, your marital status, etc. You are you. The accompanying poll contains an abbreviated list of Yale degree programs. (There's actually about 70, so I eliminated the interdisciplinary combo degrees and some other random ones. If you're a Yale professor and I eliminated your program, I apologize.)
Posts: 141,521

08-07-2015, 09:38 AM	#2
MahiMike He's Mahomie! Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Jax, FL Casino cash: $10023443	Is that how Bush got in? __________________ 99.9%
Posts: 17,387

08-07-2015, 09:44 AM	#3
CleveSteve Veteran Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Pflugerville, TX Casino cash: $10010636	Nice story, thanks. I'd go economics and use my newly-formed connections to make the paper stack up.
Posts: 1,150

08-07-2015, 09:49 AM	#4
The Franchise Most Valuable Villain Join Date: Dec 2006 Casino cash: $3025047	Is History just plain history? Or do I get to pick a specific piece of history and specialize on that?
Posts: 92,196

08-07-2015, 09:53 AM	#8
WhawhaWhat MVP Join Date: Feb 2013 Casino cash: $1501116	Economics.
Posts: 17,280

08-07-2015, 10:02 AM	#11
Kiimo MVP Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Studio City, CA Casino cash: $3988742	Well looks like all the dream majors aren't there and I already have degrees in Advertising and Art History which have yielded only moderate results and I'm not touching anything at Yale involving Math lest people realize my limitations so I went with Political Science. Let's start this road to candidacy as a moderate Republican who despises all things Tea Party, is fiscally conservative but wants gun control, gender and race equality and believes in the overwhelmingly obvious environmental issues. By the time I'm graduating the right will eventually be coming around to their senses.
Posts: 12,647

08-07-2015, 10:08 AM	#13
BWillie Future NBA Finals MVP Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Earth Casino cash: $2351241	He was into that whole, Yale thing. Well, for one thing, I think he was probably a closet homosexual who did a lot of cocaine. That whole Yale thing. __________________ Who wants free money? Use the link below to sign up at Bovada, BetOnline, Black Chip Poker and Ignition. Contact me for private deals, spot bonuses, possible rakeback or any questions! Bovada, Ignition, BetOnline, Black Chip Poker: baldeaglepoker.com Bovada Poker is back! Get up to $500 poker deposit bonus.
Posts: 46,090

08-07-2015, 10:18 AM	#14
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3238491 VARSITY	My debate: architecture - I've always wanted to be an architect, but at this point I'm not pursuing it as a career, and architecture degrees will likely have a lot of boring courses to go with the fun courses. art - could be fun, but my lack of talent is a drawback. art history - I'm just pursuing this degree for fun, so I might enjoy this one. chinese - it would be a great party trick to speak chinese, but that's not much reward for four years of work ethnicity/race/migration - it's really the migration part that interests me. At Yale, I'd be a little worried that this would be some sort of radical degree taught by crazy people history - you can't go wrong with history, but I already feel that I'm well read. If it's for fun, I want to learn. humanities - the name is boring and non-descriptive, but this seems essentially like a well rounded liberal arts degree. That could be fun. However, I looked at the courses and it seems like a little more Shakespeare and navel-gazing than I would prefer. literature - I like to read, and this would give me a reason psychology - I've always been fascinated by psychology, and it could actually help me in my work if I took four years off. But I probably won't take four years off in my career. russian - I took some russian courses in my first go-around in school and enjoyed them. south asian studies - I don't know why, but this region fascinates me. I know so little about it. theater studies - This is a dark horse, but I feel like I would learn a lot, and it's something I could probably use as a hobby in my retirement. Looking at these, my top three candidates are psychology, south asian studies, and theater studies. I wasn't expecting this, but I think I would go with psychology. It's just too fun. __________________ I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit.
Posts: 141,521

08-07-2015, 10:40 AM	#15
Kiimo MVP Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Studio City, CA Casino cash: $3988742	Psychology degrees don't result in jobs but if you're just doing this for fun go hog wild.
Posts: 12,647