Chinese Language Flagship Program - GroupMe Groups (Current Students Only)

Intern Roles

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General

Master Group (All current Flagship Students)

Special Programs & Categories

STEM

Business/Accounting

Language Background & Study Abroad Experience / Goals

Internships

Involvement in Flagship

Tutoring/TA’s

Miscellaneous

Cohort GroupMe Group

First, I have created a GroupMe group for our new freshman class (Cohort 17).

I’d like to add you, but I wanted to confirm your cell number first.

Confirm Your Cell

Here’s what we have on file:

###-###-####

Is this accurate?

Clarification of the Flagship Commitment

Another important note. We discovered in communicating with some accepted freshmen that the nature of the Flagship commitment wasn’t complete clear. Here is additional language that we have added to the Admits page, which will hopefully give you some assurance as to what you’re signing up for:

Committing to Flagship as an incoming freshman does not “lock you in” for 5 years; you must simply complete all required steps each term in order to advance to the next Flagship-designated course. If you determine that the Flagship curriculum is too rigorous for your purposes, you can switch to UM’s non-Flagship Chinese track and still pursue a major or minor (note: study abroad is usually required for the major, regardless of Flagship status).

Prep for Summer

Some students have asked about what they might do this spring in preparation for our summer / fall curriculum. I added another section on the Admits page, called “Prepare for Chinese Flagship Coursework“. Understand that this is optional, particularly if you still have a very busy and stressful senior year to finish. For many students, however, looking this over could make the summer go more smoothly.

Other GroupMe Groups

We also have a number of other cross-cohort GroupMe groups specific to various majors, programs, and other subcategories our students often fall into. It can be extremely helpful to hear from current students who have blazed similar paths to yours.

The full list is given below. Please look them over and make sure we add you to any and every one that could help you.

GroupMe Group List

Special Programs

Honors College – for anyone accepted into the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, any on the waiting list, or anyone considering junior entry. Get advice on

how to approach honors requirements
freshman writing courses
which honors-designated courses are most (and least) recommended
most rewarding ways to fulfill volunteer hours
anything else on your mind

Croft – for anyone accepted into the Croft Institute for International Studies, or on the waiting list, or considering sophomore entry. Get advice on

deciding on your thematic concentration
choosing the most inspiring courses/professors
when and how to fulfill the study abroad requirement
which high school AP credits and dual enrollment courses can replace GER’s and when to take the remaining ones
what non-Croft courses can bolster your resume and how and when to take them
how to prepare for law school, medical school, business school, and other pipeline careers

CME (Manufacturing) – for anyone accepted into CME (as of now, they do not take older students). Get advice on

how and when to complete required courses in coordination with your major courses
how to plan ahead (i.e., take the right courses) for internships and find the best ones for you
how to complete coursework and internship requirements alongside Flagship requirements (note: it’s not required, but some students have chosen to go abroad during sophomore year to maximize their summers)

ROTC – for students who plan to start ROTC as freshmen or who may consider it later. Get advice on

the pros and cons of starting right away
the level of time commitment
the physical fitness requirements (you don’t have to be a high school athlete to qualify / stand out)
how much scholarship money you actually get
what pathways correspond best to your long-term career goals

Intel / Security Studies – Flagship students in the Center for Intelligence and Security Studies or otherwise pursuing coursework, internships, or careers related to intel (you don’t necessarily need to be in the Center for Intelligence & Security Studies (CISS) to be in (and benefit from) this group. Get advice on

whether ISS is right for you (interest-wise and career-wise)
how to prepare for and sign up for your first ISS class
what agencies would interest you most and how to maximize your chances of getting hired
whether or not you’ll need a security clearance and how to maximize your likelihood of getting one
how and when to get an internship, and what sacrifices you might need to make as a Flagship student
whether or not you’ll want to go to graduate school, what the best programs are for your plans, and how to maximize your chances of getting in
NOTE: you need to sign up for the ISS intro course in fall or spring of freshman year. It is through the intro course that you apply for the ISS program.

Lott/PPL (Public Policy Leadership) – students who have been accepted into the Lott Institute, or students who are considering a minor in Public Policy. Get advice on

whether PPL is right for your academic and career interests
whether you can combine PPL with other interests (like Croft)
which courses are particularly useful for your specific interests

Majors / Careers

Business – a catch-all group for students who are majoring in business or taking business courses alongside another major (like Croft). Get advice on

which major(s) correspond most with your plans/interests
what requirements you should plan strategically for (like accounting)
what kinds of business-related internships students have done

Engineering – a catch-all group for all students considering one of the many fields of engineering offered at Ole Miss. Get advice on

how to choose between the various fields
how to strategize your coursework (this is especially important for engineering majors)
what your internship opportunities are

Computer Science – a group for anyone planning to major or minor in CSCI, or anyone who might take programming classes as part of another major (cyber security, research science, economics, art/design). Get advice on

which classes might help me get an edge in my field
which major to pursue: the B.S. (Engineering) or the B.A. (Liberal Arts)
which languages might be useful and/or adequate for your purposes
when and how to get started, and what pre-requisites might be necessary for the classes you really want to take

Accounting – a group for accounting majors, anyone who will have to take at least some accounting courses (e.g., business majors), and anyone who might benefit from learning accounting principles (Crofties?). Get advice on

whether ACCY would be a good major for you (i.e., the difference between being good at math and good with numbers)
how to best prepare in your freshman year for the sophomore intro courses
how to get an overview and/or practice before taking on this very demanding coursework
how to strategize your schedule and take the best professors for each class (for many students, this proves to be the most crucial factor in their success or failure)
whether or not you should try to get permission to take the first class as a freshman (the default is sophomore year). This is probably not advised unless you have a considerable amount of background (something also very much worth looking into, especially if you’re not taking classes with us this summer)

Economics – a group for anyone majoring in ECON, or planning to take it as part of their degree (e.g., Croft students). Get advice on

whether to pursue the B.A. or the new B.S.
which classes are most helpful
when to take each course
how to best plan for careers in the field (or in fields that value economists)
whether or not you should try to get permission to take the intro class as a freshman (the default is sophomore year)

Languages – In addition to Mandarin, a number of our students also study other languages on the side. Get advice on

which languages and professors are particularly good at Ole Miss
when you can and can’t afford to take a second language alongside the Flagship curriculum
how and when you can (and can’t) study abroad
how you can interact more with native speakers on campus or in Oxford via groups, clubs, etc.

Linguistics / TESL – Many students who realize they love studying languages also have an interest in learning about language and its applications for business (translation, or technology innovation, such as the very lucrative field of Artificial Inttelligence). Others are interested in how it is best taught and learned. Others plan to spend extra time abroad and consider teaching English as a way to fund their travels. Get advice on

how to determine if Linguistics or TESL would be a good path for you
what other skills/knowledge sets would make you more employable with this major (like computer programming abilities, statistics, extra foreign languages, or social sciences)
what linguistics actually entails and which of the many sub-fields you may want to try out or read up on in advance
whether or not you should try to get permission to take the intro class as a freshman (the default is sophomore year)

Integrated Marketing (IMC) – If you have writing, graphic, or media-related skills and/or an interest in developing knowledge / skills in advertising or communication in the social media age, you may want to consider this program. Get advice on

whether to do IMC with a Journalism or Business major
whether certain classes might benefit your career
whether certain classes might give you more professional training in your existing media skills/interests
whether “cross-training” in IMC-related coursework might make you a more effective and persuasive member of your field (in today’s world, if an organization or business does not have a strong, visually attractive online presence, they almost don’t exist. By the same token, anyone, regardless of their field, who can use media persuasively will have a major advantage in making a profit, or simply being heard)

Pre-Med – Ole Miss has an excellent resource in the Health Professions Advising Office for anyone even considering medical school. Flagship students also have an even greater resource in the students who have gone before you. Get advice on

whether to apply to medical school before Capstone, during Capstone, or after Capstone

whether to major in a traditional “pre-med major,” like biology, chemistry, biomedical engineering, etc., or whether you can streamline the process by simply taking the required courses
how and when to get other important experiences
how and when Flagship may need to work around your schedule (for unavoidable course conflicts on requisite coursework)
how you might maximize your time abroad in ways that will be favorable to your med school application
whether you can or should consider a medical career that involves volunteer work abroad

Activities / Interests / Skills

Campus Organizations – this includes students in sororities, who would be willing to answer very general questions about how Greek life works, if you’re thinking about rushing (our cohorts typically have 0 – 25% representation in Greek life). They cannot answer any specific questions about any particular houses.

Art/Media/Design/Theatre – a catch-all group for students who have burgeoning skills/talents for the arts and want to know how they can continue to develop them or strategize to apply them in their careers. Get advice on

which courses and professors on campus are particularly helpful for certain skills/media
which majors or minors you might want to pursue (ever heard of digital media studies?)
how you might apply your abilities doing part-time work/internships on campus, in Oxford, or elsewhere via connections in the Ole Miss community

Special Groups

NSLI-Y Alums – anyone who participated in NSLI-Y (or did an academic year abroad before college)

StarTalk Alums – specifically for students who attended our Mississippi StarTalk program while in high school

Logistics / Advice (for future reference)

Study Abroad – get advice from older students who have attended the study abroad program(s) you’re considering. Also get questions answered on

which program(s) are best-suited for your short- and long-term goals
the best strategies for maximizing language gains
common pitfalls that can limit your language gains
how to handle and avoid stressful situations
how to prepare (i.e., what to bring, what to do as soon as you arrive, etc.)

Internships – We send you abroad after freshman and sophomore year so that you have the time (and advanced proficiency levels) to do summer internships as an upperclassman. Get advice on

how to find good internships and connect with our contacts
what established internship opportunities can be useful for you (even if they’re not directly linked to your major)
whether or not you could do a summer internship and then go work for the same entity for spring of Capstone year

TA’s / Tutoring – If we hire you to TA for us, you will undoubtedly have some questions about

the administrative process (i.e., HR paperwork)
best strategies and pitfalls for training students in Chinese

Any other groups you think should exist?

Let me know. As long as we have a critical mass of interested students, we can certainly get one set up.