<p>My first couple years in CCC I followed the trend many on here seem to take and got very poor grades. It wasn't until Spring 2009 I really began working on my GPA and from then until now I've taken my GPA from around a 2.4 to a 3.1</p>
<p>I plan on continuing to raise it, however would like to be at a 4 year university Fall 2010 so on most (all?) my applications they would see my 3.1 GPA. I do have a few extra things going for me...I have been working fulltime at a "good" job (Technical Program Assistant for a computer related company) since day 1 of my college education. I have started up a couple small businesses here and there that I closed down...but non the less gained experience through them. I'm a good writer (IE my essay). I've got a couple good established references. I've designed, built and maintain a couple websites that are well known in my areas of interest. My 3.1 GPA consists of all UC transferable units.</p>
<p>I've lived in the suburbs all my life and would prefer to transfer into a university located in a big city...LA, Boston, New York, San Francisco, etc. I was planning on going to SFSU but have heard a plethora of criticisms about it. What do you guys think I would have a good shot of getting into that would suit my needs?</p>
<p>I have no problem living in an area of lesser quality. The last vacation I took was a hostile in Harlem, New York…I consider myself very tolerant to low standards of living. I would probably prefer a university with auditorium style classrooms as opposed to smaller ones but that isn’t necessarily a deciding factor.</p>
<p>I plan to, for better or for worse, have 74 units completed when I transfer.</p>
<p>The particular areas within business that interest me are Administration/Management, Entrepreneurial and International. There is a good chance I’ll go to Grad School as well for business based on the amount of time the Grad programs requires.</p>
<p>Thanks HitGirl. I’ve dug through the CSU and UC programs that California has to offer. Some are ok, but the ones I was most interested in are probably too far out of reach for me.</p>
<p>That said my fall backs will probably be UCSB and SFSU but I’d rather find something else more prestigious. </p>
<p>I’ve been looking into IU and I really like what I’m reading. The Wharton program at University of Pennsylvania looks like a good fit but again…probably out of reach from where I’m at.</p>
<p>Sorry to burst your bubble but UPenn is an Ivy and applicants have GPAs in the 3.8+ range. IU is an amazing school and has a very large student body. According to US News rankings, it is at # 71 overall best college. It’s in the big ten which gives it that college atmosphere for game days and parties. Best part about IU is that they only require a college transcript from transfer students if you have at least 26 transferable credits. Min. GPA for transfer students for IU should be 2.7 so you should be fine as well. It’s not the big city that you prefer but it is definitely that stereotypical college campus and overall good school. If you want that city college, look into DePaul or Loyola in Chicago.</p>
<p>Gilini - Thanks for all the information. I’'d rather not go to a religiously affiliated University. It’s not that I’m anti-religion (I’m Christian) or anything…I’d just rather not</p>
<p>hmom - Money isn’t an end all, but it would be nice to keep costs down. I COULD go to a high dollar private, but I’d be racking up student loans.</p>
<p>Then by far your best choices are UCs and CSUs. Even good OOS publics would cost considerably more in general.</p>
<p>In business, school matters for getting good jobs. So unless you want to be an accountant, in which case you need a school with an accounting program, almost any UC would be better than a CSU–Cal Poly would be the exception IMO. But no city.</p>
<p>SB would get you better job recruiting than SFSU. If you can get in, choose a SB and study economics. I don’t think with a 3.1, you’ll get more prestigious.</p>
<p>I don’t want to study economics specifically unless I’m forced to (which is why UCSB is a fall back). And like I said, while money matters, it isn’t necessarily the deciding factor.</p>
<p>IU is about $24,000/year before financial aid. I can work with that in order to get the education I’m looking for.</p>
<p>Don’t want to burst your bubble, but I think YOU think you could get into these ‘prestigious’ universities. A 3.1 is way below average for most colleges as a transfer student, let alone the schools you are talking about. </p>
<p>Your background will help, but it cannot make up for a low GPA. Did you sign Tag? If so, the UCs are without a doubt the best Universities you can get into with that GPA. If you didn’t sign Tap, UCSB turns into a slight reach and CSUs are more into your match range.</p>
<p>Trumpet, I’m not sure what “prestigious schools” you think I think I can get into. The minimum GPA for an out of state transfer at IU is 2.5 so I’m well above that. Not to mention the trend of my GPA raising in the most recent semesters. I never said I was looking at getting into UCLA or UPenn…I said they were out of reach for me…if I didn’t think that was the case, I wouldn’t have made a post on here asking what I COULD get into.</p>
<p>The mean average of accepted USCB transfer applicants in 2008 was 3.1 soooo…</p>
<p>The real issue is, what kind of career do you want and where. IU is a fine business program but it’s totally unknown in CA. If you’re hoping to work in CA, you will have a much easier pathway by attending a school in state. If you want to stay in the MW, it’s a good choice.</p>
<p>hmom - Valid point. But actually my career path of choice is entrepreneur so in the grand scheme of things the only people I’d really need to impress with my credentials would possibly be investors. Further, I don’t think I’ll start my career in California. I’ve been looking forward to a change in scenery for quite some time now and will probably start out somewhere on the east coast.</p>
<p>Gillini - I had been considering USC but started to get the feeling it wasn’t for me. I don’t really like it’s reputation for being the “rich” school when compared next to UCLA. I also visited their campus and didn’t like what I was seeing. Lastly, I’m not sure if USC is accepting Spring applicants, but if not spending extra time at the JC will end up becoming an extra year of work. Not to mention I’ve got 74 units in plan as it is. I would prefer not to rack up any more before transfer.</p>
<p>I’m liking the additional perspective and ideas guys. Thanks</p>
<p>Regardless of the # of credit hours you have, the last 60 credits must be completed at your transfer insitution to receive a degree from that school. So if you get into USC with 90+ credits, you would still need to finish 60 at USC to get your degree.</p>
<p>Wisdom, college and B school are key places to meet future investors, both future venture capitalists and angel investors. It’s a small world, and the people who will later go into these positions are concentrated at a handful of colleges. </p>
<p>Maybe where you finish college doesn’t matter as much as doing well, getting a good job for a few years and applying to top MBA programs.</p>