Shiny Object Syndrome
Ask them how many times they switched colleges. I’m willing to bet that number will be 0 or one, as in, one college or two, max.
College hopping doesn’t imply the same thing as job hopping.
Switching positions is par foe the course in the start up system but it isn’t when it comes to college.
Personally, I’d cut the OP some slack. But that’s just me. Not everyone fits neatly into the 'round hole."
One of my gym buddies went to three schools to get his undergraduate degree. I think he went from being a music major to some sort of science degree to an CS/engineering degree. I’ll probably see him today and I can ask him.
Want to do or have to do because many of those startup companies fail or look like they are about to fail fairly quickly?
Ask your different start up guys (not just one, and not about changing positions hopping from college to college). And I’m not talking about switching majors (which sounds like a good idea if OP has dyscalculia!) but switching colleges.
Going from UNT to Northwestern makes sense.
Changing majors after caring for a relative makes sense.
Switching majors because you’re in Engineering but have dyscalculia would make sense.
Leaving Northwestern for Berkeley’s Rhetoric major in order to have more VC options and better advising doesn’t make any sense.
I should clarify, as a public school, that I’m expecting Berkeley to require proactiveness. I’m looking more at the ecosystem around Berkeley that I can tap into.
From Cal’s Rhetoric Department website:
https://rhetoric.berkeley.edu/undergraduate-program/
What’s wrong with a liberal arts education for a tech startup? Does everyone have to have a CS degree and code?
Well, in between by squats, handstand pushups and running today, I’ll ask everyone how many colleges they attended. I know the one young man did attend 3 undergraduate colleges, Cal Poly SLO, ASU (near where his family lives) and Cal.
Thank you for looking into that for me, I wasn’t sure if there was anything anecdotal or from a different source I was missing. Best wishes!
Thank you for looking into that for me, I wasn’t sure if there was anything anecdotal or from a different source I was missing. Just trying to understand how I ‘stack up’ relatively speaking, although I understand the overall odds don’t favor me.
Couldn’t agree more!^
If you haven’t visited Berkeley, you need to do so.
It takes some getting used to.
The community around Berkeley has a different cultural/ political vibe.
Given your history of your disability/accommodations, if you were to get in, you would need prepare yourself for a transition that is rapid, unapologetic, intense, and expensive. You may not make any “connections” because of the intensity and drive for individual/personal goals.
You really need to heed the other advice and consider your current school. Tuition and fees at the UC’s run $67K per year with no funding for non-residents. It’s a public California college, partially funded by taxpayers, so the state is OBLIGATED to state residents first and foremost. That includes admissions.
Silicon Valley will be there after graduation.
You don’t get a special pass if you attend Berkeley; the start-ups ,in Silicon, evolve from everywhere. Also, you had better have some major money. The costs of doing business, as well as just trying to find a place to “live” in the area is prohibitively costly.
I think that most of the people providing advice and suggestions either have a “square peg” child or are one themselves. So their advice and suggestions are geared towards somebody like them or their child.
@anon76164635 You have demonstrated the ability to do amazingly well if you put your mid to it. Being at Berkeley for the next two years will not really make a difference for for your success. You can finish your undergrad at NU in rhetoric, or any other major, and move to somewhere to start your next career.
However, your really need to get your undergrad over with. Jump between careers and jobs after you finished your undergrad.
My wife has dyscalculia (and dyslexia). She also has a PhD in Computer Science from one the top programs in the world, has over 180 peer-reviewed publications, and leads an large institute at a large state flagship. So it doesn’t have to keep you from succeeding in engineering.
Well, there’s a BIG assumption. My kids and I certainly don’t fit that description.
And some people MAY be providing advice and suggestions, like @Gumbymom, as always, but some folks here are being judgemental and insulting. IMO, of course.
For example, “go to Berkeley for grad school,” when the OP never even hinted they were interested in grad school is not GOOD advice to someone who is seeking more of an “entrepreneurial spirit” and start-up culture in his undergraduate institution. That’s the vibe I get.
I can name a few more posts that aren’t helpful, but I’ll leave it at that.
The OP does have a GPA of 3.7 in Computer Engineering/CS at Northwestern with a disability for heavens sake.
Ok, then “many of the people”. Not the point.
Nobody here has questioned the OP’s intellectual capabilities. Nobody is questioning whether the OP CAN succeed if they transfer to Berkeley. What people raised was the distinct possibility that the OP would not find what they want in Berkeley, or decide to change universities once again for another new reason.
Nobody? Really? Not IMO. I see at least one post above where I believe that has happened. I’m not going to call out anyone specifically. But it’s there.
When every post or almost every post “advises” the OP to stay at NU, stick it out, don’t transfer to the BIG PUBLIC university that has less than desirable advising (where are the UC cheerleaders now? ). I don’t think I’m reading between the lines here.
Berkeley is called “intense,” “transition is rapid,” and a few other adjectives. Northwestern isn’t intense? Northwestern is on a quarter system. Cal is on a semester system. A quarter system, at an Ivy+ no less, would seem more intense than a semester system to me. Or at least as much.
^^^The OP wrote this to one post. I’ll bet that they think some of the other posts aren’t so “genuine.” And the OP has “liked” at least one or two of my posts, so I appreciate that.
Look, I’ve tried to make my point and I’ve tried defending my point and according to CC rules, after that, I’m arguing. So, I’ll move on now.
If your kid was wanting to transfer universities and change majors for the third time what would you advise them?
Cal needs no cheerleading in this instance. But the OP does. Each commenter cheerleads as they see best. Hopefully the OP realizes the cost/benefit ratio of seeking advice from an online forum versus a trusted advisor.
I continue to posit that NU has a strong entrepreneurial spirit and more resources for undergrads than Cal and I have worked at both. I don’t think it needs mentioning that they are both great schools to give the advice I gave.
Well, there’s a hypothetical question that doesn’t help the OP.
Life is not always a straight line from Point A to Point B. Not every kid knows exactly what the want to be or do with their life between the ages of 18-24 +/-.
Heck, I’m old, er, and I’m not even sure what I want to do/be in life.
I know several people that have changed careers 2-3-4 times in their life. The OP may just be figuring it out earlier than the folks that I know.
The OP has had “significant family issues” that has shaped his decision. And they have had a disability diagnosed. And this is a “chance me” thread.
Question: “What are my chances of being accepted at Cal as a transfer from NU?”
Answer: “We can’t help you or don’t know the answer, but you should definiitely suck it up and stay at NU. Or attend Cal for grad school, even though that’s not what you want to do.”
Yes, we all know that was my post.
Again, my post.
Yes, I’ve said that based on my visits to the school, along with a myriad of descriptions by former students and neighbors’ children, who don’t have disabilities, and yet have constantly described the intensity of Cal.
If the student has done well at NU, and is receiving support, there is no reason why he can’t continue to do well transitioning into another major. If he/she has the skills to start at a Silicon facility, it wont matter if the undergrad is completed at Northwestern.
Starting over again (at a running pace), at a new school, is not easy. Not saying that he/she can’t do it, but it does wear on a new transfer student who needs support.