College and stuff

[Tomodachi69]

Going to Cali for a few days to check out USC and Chapman and just tour the campuses a bit. Then maybe some Disney/Cali adventure later xp

But anyway, I figure there are some people on the forum who are in college and could give me, and probably others, too, some opinions and advice about colleges and the general college admissions process.

I scored pretty decently on the SAT and ACT (1860 and 30), but my school record, though full of honors and AP classes, was pretty bad last year. Right now, I'm looking at a bunch of colleges and universities in Cali, namely USC, Chapman, Loyola Marymount, and maybe UCSD.

Any thoughts?

[emoloz]

I wish i could help but my college experience is UK only am afraid.

[aznxenocide]

tommmooo!! emmooo!!! ^.^

What are you looking for? Big school, small school? Rural? Urban? What are you planning to study?

[Tomodachi69]

lol emo? xp

Well, since I'm looking in Cali, I guess big school, urban, and I'm planning on majoring in Psychology with a minor in Music, maybe.

[aznxenocide]

oh lol, not you. I was referring to "emoloz". aka, emo. Sorry. XD

Are you in high school in Cali? Cuz you could hella apply to the UC schools. The Claremont schools, the thing with the 5 mini-college thing might be too mall, if you're looking for a big, urban school. UCSD, USC, UC Berkeley, UCLA?

[Tomodachi69]

LOL, nah, I live in Vegas, so my chances of getting into some of the UC colleges might be hurt a little. Berkeley and Irvine, for example, take mostly in-state, but USC, Chapman, and UCLA accept a pretty good number of out-of-state.

[Sola]

Good luck in college! You're going to Anaheim!! :eek: ANAHEIM!!

[Rain]

Good Luck with College. It isn't nearly as bad as some people make is sound.

[emoloz]

LOL Sorry for confusing people.

Take Psychology its ace xD and music i would say yes as well to.

Enjoy xD

[Tomodachi69]

LOL, that's funny, Emo, I actually have been long considering majoring in Psych and minoring in Music XD How did you know? XP

[IvoryOrchid]

I can precisely remember the day my high school took us on a field trip to USC--the campus was so quiet that I almost felt like an intruder walking around the buildings while talking to my group of friends. All in all, though, the campus was lovely. Nice green lawns with pretty brick architecture--very euphoric. However, the campus itself is a complete contrast to the surrounding area, being located in downtown L.A. One sometimes forgets where they are, but--really--they shouldn't. ^^; Also, the campus is BIG, which is why most students you'll see get around campus by bike.

UCLA is somewhat similar to USC (in that it is also green and has pretty brick edifices), only its campus is more hilly than flat. UCLA is also like a college town (with Westwood right next door) so there's always lots of things you can do :) However, parking is A MAJOR PAIN.

Haven't visited neither Loyola, Chapman, nor UCSD, so can't offer much knowledge there, sorry. :(

USC and UCLA in particular are very competitive schools. However, they are--of course--not impossible to get in to. I know friends who got into UCLA not because they had stellar GPA or SAT scores, but because of they excelled in many extracurricular activities--being captains of sports teams, receiving accolades from them, and earning cabinet seats in student organizations. I've also known people to get in for being well-rounded in all of these categories (i.e. SAT, GPA, extra curric., etc.). From my experience, though, it also depends on the incoming class--how competitive the students are in applying to the school.

Also, the cost of attending is definitely a thing to think about. USC, for instance, is pretty darn expensive for undergraduate school and the education they give may not necessarily differ much from other, less-expensive schools. Other factors to consider: semester and quarter systems. USC, for example, works on the semester system while all UC's (excluding Berkeley) function on the quarter system. Quarter systems, being divided into three ten-week quarters per year, generally are more fast paced than the semester systems, which are split into two fifteen-week sessions, since there's really no extra time that can be spared for adjusting oneself into the class. Quarter and semester systems both have their pros and cons (I, for one, like the quarter system since I never have to worry about studying during any of my longer vacation breaks because finals are always over by then ;) ), so it might help to look into them if you feel like it may influence your choice of a school.

Sorry for writing you an the essay, but I hope it was somewhat beneficial! ^^;; If you have any further questions about Cali schools and admissions, you can ask and I'll answer the best I can. Best of luck with college and hope you have fun when you come visit California! :)

[Griffith]

overall I find a college alot more easier then High school, maybe because in High School I was always concerned with the social stuff, and baseball. I got distracted from doing well in school.

In college its a very laxed atmosphere, people are really chill, and you can make alot of new friends easily. ATM I'm going to SF state, but I'm planning on transferring after next year to UCLA or UC Berkeley.

Remember in college its the best days of your life, and try not to hard to stress out too much, because when you stress out you tend to do worse and second guess yourself lol.

[Tomodachi69]

Wow, thanks IvoryOrchid and Griffith for your wonderful insights!

@ IvoryOrchid: Yes, I agree that USC is big and very nice looking. However, it wasn't what I'd call "too quiet" when I visited lol. Around the fine arts buildings and such, yea, there wasn't much activity, but in the more open areas and whatnot, there were a lot of people walking around, hanging out, and there was even a huge barbeque going on. And yes, USC is quite a contrast to the area of LA it's in xP and quite large. I really liked the campus, though, and wouldn't mind attending USC.

According to our student tour guide, the average cost of tuition, fees, books, housing, etc is about 50k, which is pretty high. Hopefully, if I get accepted, I'll be able to receive scholarships and whatnot and participate in some sort of Work Study program (like tour guide) to ease the cost.

@ Griffith: Yea, the social life of HS really distracted me from my tough schedule, which really hurt me since my Junior year sucked balls >> Even though I took a lot of Honors and AP, my grades weren't that hot. So now, I think I might have to lean on my application essay a lot, as well as my SAT and SAT Subject scores, to, I guess, feel more confident about being accepted or considered.

I have a feeling that when I do get to college, everything will be pretty chill. I personally don't have any sort of preconception that college will be OMGHARD or anything, but I still have my senior year to wait and see for myself.

BTW, good luck on transferring to Berkeley or UCLA! I'm wondering, is it as hard to transfer to those schools as it is to apply as a freshman or what?