What Universities(under) should I apply to? (degrees, MBA, public school)

[CornerstoneEagle04]

CMDallas,

The reasons why UC schools are so hard to get into are 1)they are competitive (everyone wants to go to them) and 2) they require satisfactory scores on the SAT II. If you are planning on attending a UC school and don't make it in from high school, you can always try to get in from a junior college. Getting into a UC school from junior college may be easier than getting in from high school, especially if the junior college has a transfer agreement with UCLA (however, I only know of California junior colleges that do this). I'll go more into this in the next paragraph.

Now if you really, really have a desire to attend a UC school then I recommend going to a California junior college that has room and board and a transfer agreement with a UC school. What I mean by 'transfer agreement' is automatic acceptance to the UC school provided you meet certain criteria. I don't know of any California junior colleges that have room and board, but there are probably a few out there. That would be better than living off campus in an apartment, where rent easily goes for $1,000 - $2,000 a month.

My Dad graduated from a UC school, and loved it. Although I had no desire to attend one myself, they are great schools and offer a great education. The California State University (CSU) system is also worth checking out; the education they offer is probably just as good as the UC's and their schools are a lot easier to get into.

Just as a sidenote... don't get burned out over worrying about college; it's still early in the game and you're not even on the radar screen yet when it comes to college admissions. Just devote yourself to being the best student you can be and enjoy your time in high school as much as you can.

I went to an all college-prep Christian high school, and burned myself out so bad by my senior year that I had no choice but to go to a junior college before being accepted to a university. I'm not sure what type of high school you're in or how hard your academics are, but just keep your eyes on the prize and be sure to take time out and relax every now and then.

College is so different from high school, the only thing really in common between the two is the academics (and even then, there are differences). The 'student life' experience is totally different; gone are the days when you can't make notes in your textbooks and have to eat in a designated area for lunch. The classroom experience is quite a bit different, too. You can actually choose your professors and the type of classes you will take. Oh yeah, and some professors offer open-book tests and quizzes, which is something you'll never find in high school.

Think of it this way: high school is like a cheap Honda your parents buy for you - it has everything you need and nothing more; it's just enough to get you from one place to another. College, on the other hand, is like a Jaguar; you can customize it and keep changing it until you're satisfied with how smooth the ride is. Just remember that like a Jaguar, it's more expensive than a Honda; all the amenities and luxuries come with a price.

College really is what you make it. You have so much freedom to choose the path you will take that you will feel like the world has been lifted off of your shoulders. Just hang in there and be the best student you can be, CMDallas - once you are out of high school, it only gets better!

[novanative75]

Originally Posted by CMDallas

it's never too late to start thinking and if i wait until the last minuet to start thinking then that will bite me in the butt.

Oh, I completely think you should start thinking but I do not want you to get discouraged thinking you do not have the GPA to get into here or there because you do not know what your GPA will be.
I think it is great that you are thinking, but look at the schools for what they offer, with a 3.7 now, you have every door open for you!

[CMDallas]

I'm not going to a transfer school, my parents would strongly disapprove of it and I don't like the idea of it either.
My parents are cheering for me to go to UT Austin, which is not a bad choice, and I supposedly get automatic admission if i make the top 10%.
I want to go to a public school cause it'll be cheaper.
I've been looking at USC.
Does anyone know anything about
UC Riverside?
Rice?
NYU?
Univ. Penn.?
USC?

Would rice be fairly easy for me to get into, I would be an instate and they're supposedly prestigious but the attitude around here tells us that UT Austin is very prestigious, more so then other places like Rice and Ann Arbor (which my dad went to so I have a light leg up if i went there)...he tells me UT is more prestigious...he is originally from Michigan.
and OKAY!! LOL i know that the UC system is going to be hard to get into, I would be stupid if I didn't know that, but what can i do, besides something I am not in control of, to help me strengthen my chances?

[missionhome]

Many schools, such as the UC-system, focus mainly on your 10th and 11th grade year. They realize the transition during freshman year is overwhelming so basically if you still get decent grades (A's and B's) like you did freshmen year than they still consider you and focus on the GPA sophomore and junior year. So, say you get straight A's sophomore and junior year, then that 4.0 will be what the UC-system considers as your high school GPA and they sort of throw out freshmen year. Focus on rank in class, because if your high school has it, the UC-system will definitely look at that and they are one university system I know that thinks it is fairly important. The 3 things they look for the most is GPA/ taking the most advanced classes offered, SAT/ACT scores, and high school rank. Everything else like extracurriculars/clubs is basically to differentiate yourself if you get put into the "maybe" pile.

Also be sure you take all the classes to meet the requirements to be admitted. For UC schools you must have taken (direct from their website):
A. 2 years of History/ Social Science- Two years of history/social science, including one year of world history, cultures and geography; and one year of U.S. history or one-half year of U.S. history and one-half year of civics or American government.
B. 4 years of English- Four years of college-preparatory English that include frequent and regular writing, and reading of classic and modern literature. No more than one year of ESL-type courses can be used to meet this requirement.
C. 3 years of Math, 4 is recommended- Three years of college-preparatory mathematics that include the topics covered in elementary and advanced algebra and two- and three-dimensional geometry. Approved integrated math courses may be used to fulfill part or all of this requirement, as may math courses taken in the seventh and eighth grades that your high school accepts as equivalent to its own math courses.
D. 2 years of Science, 3 recommended- Two years of laboratory science providing fundamental knowledge in at least two of these three foundational subjects: biology, chemistry and physics. Advanced laboratory science classes that have biology, chemistry or physics as prerequisites and offer substantial additional material may be used to fulfill this requirement, as may the final two years of an approved three-year integrated science program that provides rigorous coverage of at least two of the three foundational subjects.
E. 2 years of Foreign Language, 3 recommended- Two years of the same language other than English. Courses should emphasize speaking and understanding, and include instruction in grammar, vocabulary, reading, composition and culture. Courses in languages other than English taken in the seventh and eighth grades may be used to fulfill part of this requirement if your high school accepts them as equivalent to its own courses.
F. 1 year of Visual and Performing Arts- A single yearlong approved arts course from a single VPA discipline: dance, drama/theater, music or visual art.
G. 1 year of College Prep Electives- One year (two semesters), in addition to those required in "a-f" above, chosen from the following areas: visual and performing arts (non-introductory level courses), history, social science, English, advanced mathematics, laboratory science and language other than English (a third year in the language used for the "e" requirement or two years of another language).

http://www.universityofcalifornia.ed...ject_reqs.html

So be sure you are taking all the "a-g" courses for a UC school that were mentioned above.

[pennquaker09]

It's good that you have 2.5 years before you have to apply because you're going to have to do a lot of work in that time. First, unless you're getting recruited to play a sport, you cant pretty much forget about any of the University of California schools (UCLA, Berkeley, Davis, etc). You're going to need a perfect transcript and some pretty extracurriculars in order to get into the UCs. Besides, if you're going to go to a public school, it would be of great benefit for you to attend UT Austin. Which leads me to my next point, make sure that you remain in the top 10% because your acceptance to UT Austin is going to depend upon it greatly.

Also, since you're just a 9th grader, I think you may change your mind by the time you get to college. When I was a freshman, I just knew I was going to go to medical school and become a doctor just like my dad. I even started college with the intention of going to to medical school, but in the end, I decided that I wanted to be a teacher.

I have to ask you, what exactly do you aspire to be? Studying business can mean many different things. If you want to be an accountant, it might be better to attend school A and if you want to go into marketing, it might be better to attend school B. Business is a very broad term. I noticed that you said that you're Hispanic. There is a program for minority students that plan on studying business called LEAD (Leadership, Education, and Development LEÂD). This is a very competitive program, but you learn so much and you have the chance to meet a lot of very influential people in the corporate and business worlds. I did the program at Wharton, which is one of the hardest to get into, but if you can get into that program it will definitely help when the time comes for you to apply to college. The other schools that hold LEAD institutes are:

University of Pennsylvania (Wharton - The best business school in the country and the hardest to get into.)
Northwestern University (Kellogg - Another good one. )
Duke University (Fuqua)
Cornell University (Johnson)
Dartmouth College (Tuck)
University of Illinois
University of Georgia (Terry - very underrated)
University of Michigan (Ross)
University of Virginia (Darden)
Stanford University

[CMDallas]

^
I'm still going to apply to the UC Schools, I already know it not going to be easy but one who never tries never wins... I might as well give it a shot even if my chances are slim to (almost )none.
Univ. Penn have been considered on my part but it doesn't light my fire for some reason.
Stanford doesn't have a business program either... how is it they're in the LEAD if they're not in business?

Originally Posted by novanative75

Oh, I completely think you should start thinking but I do not want you to get discouraged thinking you do not have the GPA to get into here or there because you do not know what your GPA will be.
I think it is great that you are thinking, but look at the schools for what they offer, with a 3.7 now, you have every door open for you!

Naw...don't worry I'm not upset as much as determined to bring it up. Crying gets you no where I still have an open mind, but even before I was considering careers I loved learning languages, I like traveling and I think it would be cool to be able to see the world and get paid. I've looked into it and Business might offer that and the Foreign services too. I've looked into what is required for foreign services and saw that you don't have to take a specific course, and so taking business school might help me as well as give me more time to decide.

[charolastra00]

When you say Ann Arbor, do you mean UMich?

In any case, Rice is much more prestigious than UT but, since it's private, it doesn't give any preference to in-state students.

Also, which UCLA and Berkeley are difficult to get into from out of state, it's far from impossible like some people on here are making it out to be. The other UCs besides those two are even reasonable. Certainly Stanford and UPenn are much more difficult to get into. From the UCLA website: "UCLA received almost 9,000 applications from out-of-state and international freshman applicants for the fall 2007 term. Approximately 2,200 of them were admitted." That's not too bad of odds, IMO- heck, it's about the same as my college's general acceptance rate! It's on par or better with other top schools. The percentages work out where it's a tiny amount of OOS actually attend, but that's due to distance (many parents won't let their kids study away from home), cost, and choice to attend other schools- not due to acceptance rates.

SAT2s are VERY easy to get "satisfactory" scores because you choose the subjects. If you're doing AP, you'll do fine- the questions on the AP US history and the SAT2 US history exams were the same sort. SAT2 foreign language exams are ridiculously easy as well- especially for a native speaker.

[sgresident]

As a parent of a college freshman, I think you should focus on keeping your high school grades up. take classes that interest you, do community service, get involved in some form of extra-curricular activity. It sounds like you have a lot of focus, so as long as you keep in the top 10 percent of your class, that will be great. make sure you get a good ACT or SAT score. Colleges look at the whole package, not just your GPA. They want students that CAN DO more than just classwork.
As far as which colleges to apply to..you should try to visit colleges now, while you have a chance. maybe as part of a family vacation. look at the sizes of the colleges. some people are not a good fit for a really large university and may find themselves at a smaller, private college. Those college visits help you see yourself at that place! It sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders, and you do have time to chart your course. check out everything you can about the colleges that interest you. As long as you do well when you are in school(high school and college) that is the main thing. You will be spending four years of your life somewhere, so you want to make sure that you will be happy there, not that it is just a line on your resume.

[CMDallas]

Originally Posted by sgresident

As a parent of a college freshman, I think you should focus on keeping your high school grades up. take classes that interest you, do community service, get involved in some form of extra-curricular activity. It sounds like you have a lot of focus, so as long as you keep in the top 10 percent of your class, that will be great. make sure you get a good ACT or SAT score. Colleges look at the whole package, not just your GPA. They want students that CAN DO more than just classwork.
As far as which colleges to apply to..you should try to visit colleges now, while you have a chance. maybe as part of a family vacation. look at the sizes of the colleges. some people are not a good fit for a really large university and may find themselves at a smaller, private college. Those college visits help you see yourself at that place! It sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders, and you do have time to chart your course. check out everything you can about the colleges that interest you. As long as you do well when you are in school(high school and college) that is the main thing. You will be spending four years of your life somewhere, so you want to make sure that you will be happy there, not that it is just a line on your resume.

Don't worry, I know all too well that Colleges look at more then GPA, I think i really have a shot. Thats why I've been disregarding the people who tell me I can't because If it says I have taken 3 languages courses have a nice SAT score, good GPA, good social life and what not, and make myself as diverse as possible which is really easy considering what my parents have given me.
I mean:
My family owns a ranch, I have experience with the Texas stereotype. I'm not kidding tackling cattle, almost running over rattlesnakes, hunting, and castrating calves...
There is also a beat up house that my parents want to fix so I end up observing and doing quite a bit of Electrical works, Kitchen Ceramics, Plumbing, basically home improvement
My parents are both doctors which isn't exactly below the poverty line...they make me get my hands dirty though, they've butchered an animal for eating purposes, usually pigs we hunt. We've killed pregnant pigs so I've see a pig heart, fetus, liver, and what not.
We hunt with guns so I know how to operate various assault rifles, I usually hunt with an ak47. OF course semi automatic, but I've always wanted to to shoot a fully automatic LOL
I've traveled to Mexico (Many MANY times), China, the Philippines, Canada, and have had a 45 minute lay over in Guam haha, and I'm planing Japan this year.
I've been to the Various places in the US including the Rocky Mountains, Grand Canyon (been down and Up in one day, which you really shouldn't do, my parents made me...I can't say I was trilled it was LONG you shouldn't do unless you're super prepared... we had huge backpacks and stuff), the everglades, Copper Canyon, and so many other places.
I'm not only a minority but a mixed one. I get so many comments how odd my mix is.
if I can speak 4 languages officially + the above with great scores, grades and what not...and just a little luck...I think I have more then a chance.
I did not make any of this stuff up, I promise over my dead body I know some of this makes me sound rich and haughty and maybe even and like a liar...but I swear upon my dead body every ounce of this is true.

Originally Posted by charolastra00

When you say Ann Arbor, do you mean UMich?

In any case, Rice is much more prestigious than UT but, since it's private, it doesn't give any preference to in-state students.

Also, which UCLA and Berkeley are difficult to get into from out of state, it's far from impossible like some people on here are making it out to be. The other UCs besides those two are even reasonable. Certainly Stanford and UPenn are much more difficult to get into. From the UCLA website: "UCLA received almost 9,000 applications from out-of-state and international freshman applicants for the fall 2007 term. Approximately 2,200 of them were admitted." That's not too bad of odds, IMO- heck, it's about the same as my college's general acceptance rate! It's on par or better with other top schools. The percentages work out where it's a tiny amount of OOS actually attend, but that's due to distance (many parents won't let their kids study away from home), cost, and choice to attend other schools- not due to acceptance rates.

SAT2s are VERY easy to get "satisfactory" scores because you choose the subjects. If you're doing AP, you'll do fine- the questions on the AP US history and the SAT2 US history exams were the same sort. SAT2 foreign language exams are ridiculously easy as well- especially for a native speaker.

If you mean that it is not impossible for me to get admitted like people make it out to be...then yes...I know...and I thanks you for being an optimist . I will try my hardest and If all i go to is UT-Austin then I'll just have to live with that. The school doesn't shape me, I shape the school ...
Yes U. Mich, my father went there so I might get a light advantage. He was an Instate, while I am not...I'll probably get a small leg up because my father went there.
Rice still has majority Texans, so I might have a light leg up...but not like I would if i applied to UT. Rice seems more prestigious for undergrads as many think UT is comparable to other schools.
Most people around here think it's better then Rice...around here the number one choice is usually UT, followed by Baylor, then A&M college station...

[sgresident]

cmdallas,
you sound like a very-well rounded young adult all ready! I think that you will be accepted at most any college you apply for. I say..GO FOR IT!!!