Am I pretty much done for?

College Search & Selection
1

I am going to be a senior in high school and it is the middle of summer. I haven’t even finished all my volunteer hours and I just got a job at my local movie theater, but I’m not sure that was the best idea because I still need to figure out what colleges I want to apply for; I just wanted to make a little money. Besides that fact, I don’t know what I want to major in, and I don’t really have the best SAT (1230) or ACT (27) scores. I have a academic GPA of 3.83, a total GPA of 3.86 (both unweighted), and a weighted GPA of 4.0. I’ve only taken 2 AP classes and 2 Honors classes, and I got a 2 on both of the AP exams. I think I’m more interested in science, but the grades I have gotten in the science classes don’t really prove that I’m good at it. I don’t want to go straight into the workforce either because I do want to go to college and major in something. I’m thinking about just going to Pasadena Community College (which isn’t bad at all) but I also want to see if I am capable of getting into universities or Cal States. I know that if I do apply to those colleges it will be a waste of money on the application because I will probably be going in as undeclared. I don’t want to waste money on changing a major either but honestly I’m going to end up doing that since I am very indecisive. I just feel stuck in a rut because I feel so behind in everything with nothing to motivate me. Here are more statistics about me if it applies to anything:

Freshman Year:
Honors Biology
Geometry
Health/Intro to Microsoft
Chinese 1
English 1
JV Volleyball
-Joined French Club

Sophomore Year:
Art 1
Algebra 2
Chemistry
Chinese 2
World History (summer school)
English 2
Varsity Volleyball
-I joined club volleyball this year too
-Became Treasurer of French Club
-Took photos for the Sophomore Class Council

Junior Year:
Honors Pre-Calc
AP Environmental Science
AP Biology
Chinese 3/4
Psychology
English 3
US History (summer school)
Varsity Volleyball
-Treasurer of French Club
-Started Vietnamese Student Association at my school (I am Vice President)
-Club Volleyball
-Started volunteering at Pasadena Humane Society
-Got a job during the summer
-Was recommended to be a part of Senior Service (helped out at graduation)

Senior Year (future schedule):
AP Calculus AB (I think I might drop this class because I don’t think I will survive in there)
Computer Graphics
Physics
Bible as Literature (English class)
Digital Photography
Government and Economics (summer school)
Teacher Aide
Volleyball
-Vice President of Vietnamese Student Association

Please help :frowning:

2

Do you have favorite or least favorite classes? For example, many people know that they love history and hate math, or vice versa. Do you know if you want to explore broad academic interests or do something more practical like business, engineering, nursing, or education where your major leads straight to a job?

3

I assume you are a CA resident since you mentioned PCC.

The Cal states admit by major and eligibility index. They really only consider GPA/Test scores/Geographic location and HS course rigor. Other than Cal Poly SLO, your EC’s are not considered.

You need to calculate your CSU/UC GPA using grades from a-g courses taken 10-11th.

https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

Not sure which courses are a-g and will give you extra honors points, then use this link by typing in your HS name?

https://hs-articulation.ucop.edu/agcourselist#/list/search/institution

Cal states and the majority of the UC’s use the capped weighted GPA.

Then calculate your Eligibility index:
(CSU/UC GPA x800)+ (ACT composite x10) or (CSU/UC GPA x800) + (SAT Math+CR).

You will then be ranked based on EI and major and they accept from the top down until all spots are filled.

You will get priority at your local CSU which you can look up on this link. Local applicants usually require a lower EI to get an acceptance unless the program is highly impacted.

http://www.calstate.edu/sas/onestopkiosk/documents/CSULocalAdmission-ServiceAreas.pdf

Going in Undeclared is an acceptable option, just be aware for both Cal States and UC’s, if you decide you want to pursue a competitive major (STEM), changing majors later can be problematic.

For the California UC’s, your EC’s and essays will be considered in your application review.

College suggestions:
PCC could be your safety school.

Cal States:
Based on your posted stats, you look like a competitive applicant for the majority of the CSU’s.

Cal Poly SLO, San Diego State and maybe Long Beach State could go either way, but the rest of the CSU’s look like Matches.

For the UC’s,
I would look at UC Riverside and UC Santa Cruz. UC Santa Cruz admits all applicants into the University first and then you can declare your major later which might be a good option.

There are many private schools depending upon affordability that would welcome you.

A community college is a good option if you are not sure of your major. It gives you time to explore some options at a lower cost and the CA CCC’s are an excellent pathway towards transfer to a Cal State or UC.
If you go the PCC route, familiarize yourself with assist.org which will give you a list of required courses for transfer.

Best of luck.

4

I did enjoy Honors Biology, AP Environmental Science, Algebra 2, and Psychology. I disliked geometry, English, and history very much because I hated writing. I think I want to explore broader academic interests because I don’t think I would be able to bear a job that’s repetitive like teaching or business. @AroundHere

5

Ok. There are a lot of majors related to environmental science - geology, forestry, wildlife management, water management, oceanography, meteorology, etc. Many of these majors will lead to working out in the field in addition to or in place of, routine work in an office. Go online to a few big universities and read course descriptions and major requirements and see if anything excites you.

Bio can be very competitive due to all the premeds, but again there are a lot of possibilities for different tracks and majors.

Psychology could set you up for graduate school if you have an interest in counseling or social work. Related fields that you might not have had a chance to explore in high school include sociology or anthropology, both of which are different takes on how people behave as members of groups as opposed to as individuals. For a more practical major, political science and criminal justice would set you up to use an understanding of human behavior in law, politics, or government. Law school requires a lot of writing, though.

Reading major requirements and course descriptions and “seeing how it sounds” is a decent way to start narrowing down what you might like to study.

6

Ucsc is a good possibility.
Most Cal States are matches, too. Apply to your favorite 3-4.
Sonoma state is relatively residential and a low match to safety for you. They have the Hutchins program, where a small group of students take interdisciplinary classes in the arts and science together.
Look into St Mary’s of California, ULaVerne, Cal Lutheran, perhaps Chapman. Run the NPC. You would probably get merit scholarships there and you’re admitted to the university, not a major, so you can choose after taking a few classes instead of when you apply as a freshman.

7

You are just fine. Please don’t feel like you “are done for.” Its easy to feel inadequate when you read this forum and look around at others. You are working which is very important and have done well throughout your high school career. Its normal not to know what you want to major in. My suggestion is to choose a college or university that is large enough to have many different departments so that you will find something you want to study. Many students even change majors as they go through their college experience. Colleges all have “undecided” or “exploratory” as an option. No worries. Just keep pressing on and working on deciding where you will apply and then get those applications done.

8

You could go to community college for 2 years and transfer to a UC. I’ve heard of people on this website who have done that. I don’t really know anything else about CSUs/UCs, the other comments + advice seem pretty solid.

9

Many kids are unsure of what they want to do in their future. The smart ones start exploring it as soon as possible, when they start college or even before. So at college make the Career Center a regular stop. There is a book that would be great for you to read, “Major in Success” by Combs. It is filled with stories of people that discovered what they enjoyed doing and turned it into careers. The way college is laid out for many majors you take mostly breadth classes your 1st 2 years along with a few intro ones in your major, so even if you switch majors several times (and many students change once or twice!) as long as you do it your 1st 2 years you generally don’t lose any time. Even those intro major classes turn into breadth classes for another major.

My point here is there is nothing wrong with starting at a 4-year even if you don’t have your major decided. Lots of kids do just that, and even of those that are “sure” what they want a number of them are going to change their minds along the way.

There is nothing wrong with a CC but I think it might not be a good fit for you. Without strong direction is easy to end up spending years at a CC, taking classes in one area until you decide another area may be better so you switch to that, rinse and repeat. Plus there are lots of interesting (but not-transferable) classes, again just time passing without progress towards a 4-year degree. The environment at a CC may also not be best for a vacillating student. One report found 81.4 percent of students who enter community colleges for the first time planned to obtain a bachelor’s degree in the future, but just 11.6 percent achieved that goal.

Keep in mind, too, that CC students tend to come from the local area and live at home. So social opportunities are going to be different. It can be harder to make friends at a new school after you xfer from a CC. One of the easiest time to make new acquaintances (some of which will turn into friends) is the early period of frosh year. By junior year the continuing students have had a lot of their friends 2 years. ime is also compressed for CC xfer students. It might take a semester to really feel at home at a college – learning about the clubs, what free-time activities there are, finding good hangouts, getting to know the rep of different classes and profs so you can make better choices when signing up for classes, just generally finding your way around. As a frosh you have 7 semesters after that to go; as a junior xfer you have 3.

10

Another thing to remember is that applying this fall gives you options in April, when you may have calmed down a bit and decide you want to go to college after all. If you let this stress about your future keep you from putting in any applications this fall, your choices will be more limited.

Many kids are stressed or uncertain about college or their majors, they just don’t let it on. Take a look at the schools that @MYOS1634 is suggesting. They tend to write good college suggestion lists.