I am a high school senior in California that is graduating on May 30, 2017. I will graduate with around a 3.35 GPA (unweighted), and 3.75 GPA (weighted). In high school, I enrolled in a demanding 4-year political science program (hurt my GPA quite a bit) that has me to this day, embroiled in politics far more than the average Facebook commenter (more knowledgeable too). I took three AP courses (MacroEcon, Biology, US History) and got 3s on all the tests, and I will be taking the AP US Gov’t and AP Stats tests soon.
I had a few struggles in high school, such as spanish (3 years), lower level math (strange that I got higher grades in harder math classes), and the chaotic nature of the political science program.
I was also extremely afraid of the impact Calc would have on my GPA so I did not take it.
I garnered 100+ hours of community service (plus some political campaign work) and a summer internship at the American Red Cross.
Of the colleges that I applied to, I got into University of Oregon, University of Colorado Boulder, University Nevada Reno, Oregon State University, CSU Sacramento, Chico State, University of Colorado Denver, and I got wait listed at Loyola Marymount University for a late letter of rec and essay. I did not apply to any UCs because I was pretty sure I could not get in.
I am thinking about attending a community college and then trying to transfer to a UC or a top 100 ranked college.
I would really like some advice on what to do, because I don’t think my current 4-year college options are that good or affordable, but I am not sure if I can make it to a top 100 ranked school.
You applied to OOS schools that are very expensive.
Chico and Sacramento are good schools. Why don’t you want to go there?
To go to a top ranked school, you need to be a top-ranked student.
Your GPA and SAT/ACT, at this point, need to be close to perfect. Students who go to demanding schools still manage to pull off strong grades and test scores.
Your best bet, if you don’t want to go to your CSU’s, is to go to a CC and try to transfer to a school that you will want to attend and can afford.
BTW the UC’s will be more expensive than the CSU’s. As a transfer, you won’t get much help in financial aid.
I am thinking about attending a community college and then trying to transfer to a UC or a top 100 ranked college.
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You might spend some time looking at the threads for California students who take this path. Some of them have perfect GPAs and still can’t afford UCs or have been going to CC for 2-3 years and still don’t have the requisite credits or can’t transfer into impacted majors. It can be a tough road even for students who were excellent in high school.
I think you should pick a CSU that you like and work really hard to get a high GPA. Then transfer if that’s what you still want. CSU Sacramento would have great internship opportunities for your interests.
The CC route to a UC or top CSU (Slo/SDSU) is a good option at this point. If money is not an issue maybe Boulder or Oregon would work but they are very expensive. If you go the CC route make sure you perform so that the options you hope for are available. Final option is to see what schools are still accepting applications but it’s late in the game.
Lol I personally love Oregon State University, Corvallis is one of the top ranked college towns! Lived in Corvallis for one summer. Have you visited any of these schools? The CC route is tough, and these schools are good schools that you can get a lot from. Don’t think too much about ranking. Good thing money isn’t an issue, too.
Earlier you said your OOS options were not affordable. If money is not an issue, go to University of Colorado-Boulder. which is ranked #92 in national universities by USNWR.
If you are not academically challenged there, transfer. But you will need a high GPA (>3.5) and good recs to transfer to a higher ranked school. That might not be as easy to achieve at UC-Boulder as it would be at CSU-Sacramento.
If you plan to transfer, make sure you go to a school where you will excel.
@LMMGT02 unclear from your posts above whether money is an issue or not. You also didn’t give your SAT/ACT scores. At the bottom of the top 100 USNWR your UW GPA puts you at about the median of enrolling freshman, so if the only thing that is important is a top 100, any top 100, then you would have had a shot for freshman admissions at the bottom of the top 100 if your SAT/ACT is also in the median range 560 English, 610 Math ~ 26 ACT composite. For transfer admissions, your GPA wherever you attempt to transfer from is going to be very important, and no guarantee it will be wildly different from your HS GPA. The bottom of the top 100 puts you at a school like SUNY Buffalo (where I pulled the stats from). Do you think the national prestige of, or student experience at a school like SUNY Buffalo is widely different from that at some of the schools you were admitted to?
CC route seems the best option if you can get a high GPA there.
Paying OOS tuition to go to CU-Boulder and then maybe transferring doesn’t make much sense.
@LMMGT02 Do you see yourself as a fit at any of the schools you were admitted to? In other words, can you see yourself at one of them for four years (maybe more) where you are happy and learning what you want to? If yes, I would make that you top school.
However, if you still see yourself wanting to study at one of the top UC schools, go for it. Start with community college, build up some credits and fill out those transfer applications.
In the end, I think the key is to focus on where you see yourself being successful. Don’t get to embroiled with the rankings, they are a good place to start but only that. What you learn/do at college and the connections you make there are going to be much more valuable then any ranking
As for tuition, I don’t know your exact situation, but obviously that is a factor you will have to consider through all of this.
You should have applied to a couple of UCs - UCR and UCM are certainly attainable, a compelling essay could have gotten you in at UCSC. Anyhow, you are where you are… you can stew about how you are being robbed of the top 100 education you believe you deserve - or you can do something about it. You are placing way too much value on being in the top 100. It is an abstract list that has little relation to the to the quality of education and employ-ability of students. For example, CPSLO isn’t ranked as a national school - yet few would argue it is one of the best schools in the state… get your head out of abstract lists and start to think objectively.
If you go to a CC, you will need to earn your way into your target school. Transferring into a top UC is as competitive as it is for freshmen. Transferring into a top CSU is often times more competitive than freshman admission.
There are several outstanding schools on your list. Corvallis, Boulder, Eugene and Chico are all nice places to live. You note money isn’t an issue so, pick one of the schools that admitted you and go… if you hate it, change. If you aren’t being academically challenged at these schools, take different classes.
So in your OP you say your choices aren’t affordable, and in post 7 money is not an issue.
What is it that you are looking for besides a higher ranking? You have some pretty good schools on your list where you might find opportunities for just about anything. The main drawback to transferring is that when you arrive at your second school, you’re behind on getting to know professors, joining a research group, establishing a friend group or campus leadership role, and so on compared to someone who’s been on campus since freshman year. Premeds should not transfer because they have less time to work closely with professors to get their recommendations. This applies to an extent to all students planning grad school. Depending on how esoteric your major is, the intro level classes for that may not be available at the community college so you could possibly be a bit behind academically as well.
As long as you will be okay with going to CC and still ending up at a CSU, there is no real drawback. But high school B students don’t magically turn into straight A students in college, so don’t pin your hopes on suddenly becoming an academic superstar unless you have a realistic plan to make that happen.
Since UCB, UCLA and UCSD don’t participate in TAG, the admission is competitive (meaning you the spots are awarded on merit rather than having met a GPA threshold and completed specific classes)
If you use this tool, you can see the GPA of admitted transfers by major for each of the UCs.
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major
Though the admit rate is higher than for freshmen, you will need better than a 3.6 or better in most majors to be a competitive transfer applicant to UCSD - and you still might not get in due to your ECs or personal statement. That is a pretty tall order, especially in STEM disciplines.
Okay, I will be straightforward, or maybe even blunt (or at least blunter than I usually like to be).
“I don’t think my current 4-year college options are that good or affordable, but I am not sure if I can make it to a top 100 ranked school.”
If you can’t make it into a top 100 ranked university out of high school, then I don’t understand why two years at a community college will get you into a top 100 ranked university. Also, going to university as a transfer out of CC seems to lower one’s chances of getting financial aid. Thus I don’t see a large gain in going to CC.
I also am concerned that for most Americans being heavily embroiled in politics mostly means that liberal democrats only listen to liberal democrats, and religious conservative republicans only listen to religious conservative republicans. Thus both groups of people discover that everyone agrees with them on every issue so therefore they must be right on every issue, and none of the above get exposed to the real world (leading to shocking results, for example last November, which were not so much of a surprise to some of us who actually listen to a wide range of people). I think that this just adds to the polarization of the US electorate and US politics. Thus at least to me if someone is going to have a strong interest in political science it would be very valuable to find a way to get exposed to people who are from a very different background than what you are used to. Perhaps liberal democrats should spend time in Utah (two years ago I might have said France, to see how a socialist state really operates) and religious conservatives should spend time in Vermont.
@aunt bea said “Chico and Sacramento are good schools. Why don’t you want to go there?”
I am inclined to agree with this.
However, I am also inclined to agree with @NCalRent that it is a pity that you didn’t apply to UCR and UCM.
An almost crazy thought that might combine your political interests with a chance to see a different view of the US and with the possibility of applying to these schools: Do a gap year volunteering to help out-of-work blue collar workers in a conservative “rust belt” or “coal belt” part of the US, and apply to UCR and UCM and Chico and Sacramento for 2018. I have no idea where you would find the volunteer opportunity (and obviously you don’t have much time to decide to commit to a university if you are starting in 2017).