<p>Wait, I told him that he should look into community colleges because of their low cost and agreements with 4 year schools (not to mention exclusive scholarships), and somehow that means that I think only top schools are worth it? </p>
<p>Anyway, I retract my statement that the UCs and UT Austin are safeties, since the UCs don’t practice AA and UT is out of state and he’s not in the top 10%. Perhaps non-flagship state schools are safeties? </p>
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<p>I took classes at a small community college, and the quality of the education was quite phenomenal. Obviously, the majority of the professors are not as dedicated as those you’d find at a 4 year school (at least at my school they were not full time). But if you’re taking first year classes it is likely a moot point. </p>
<p>Also, sometimes community colleges can offer strong introductory courses because their professors are less likely to have Ph.Ds. Someone with a BS in mathematics is going to be able to relate to a freshman taking Calculus I better than a professor whose been studying PDEs for the last decade.</p>
<p>Also, remember that some schools that were considered safeties a few years ago may be hit hard by the budget crunch that has affected many states. California CSU schools used to be safeties…now, they have cut back on admission by 10% at some of the more popular schools. </p>
<p>I would urge you to have at least one, if not two “safeties”. Your mom is not paying attention to what is going on out there. Being an URM may not help you, or it may. There is no saying. But having all your eggs in the top 20 basket when you don’t have the highest grades is a recipe for a very sad spring next year. </p>
<p>I know kids with the highest grades who didn’t get into those schools, but fortunately, they had other schools on their list…and had applied for them.</p>
<p>Have you considered applying to some small business schools that give students lots of attention as safeties such as Babson College in Wellesley, MA - great business school, lots of student attention. It could be a great safety. You’re on the right track - apply to the schools your parents want and the ones you want. I agree with one of the writers who recommended you ask them to waive the application fee that way it will only cost you time and not much time given the fact you can send out the common application. Good luck!</p>
<p>I would second Babson if you are definitely planning on business, and if you mom is concerned about being in a backwards state, Massachusetts should alleviate her fears, at least on that front. </p>
<p>I really think Babson could be a great fit for you if you know business is what you want. I’m glad momwhowantsthebest brought it up! Definitely check it out.</p>
<p>I think I’m going to focus on private colleges/universities, maybe a few OOS publics, and a few UCs. Which UCs are the most respected and/or most prestigious? I know UCLA and UC Berkeley have to be the top two… but what others are sort of “up there”?</p>
<p>San Diego, Davis, Irvine, and Santa Barbara with Davis and Irvine having good business programs. These are all very good colleges. San Diego is 7th among public universities(35th overall). UCSD is tied with Lehigh, Georgia Tech, Wisconsin, and Rochester, just below Boston College and NYU, and just above U.Illinois. The other three are tied for 12th among publics(44th) overall/just below Washington and just above Penn State, Texas, and Florida.</p>
<p>After that it is a pretty large step down to Riverside and Santa Cruz, but they’re still good schools(among top 50 public universities)</p>
<p>The UC’s place huge emphasis on GPA, so a 3.4 makes Berkeley and UCLA iffy, but you stand a good chance at the others due to your ACT score/EC’s/etc…</p>
<p>You would almost certainly get into Riverside and Santa Cruz.</p>
<p>For the UC’s:
Reaches: Berkeley, UCLA
Matches(although your GPA is low): San Diego, Davis, Irvine, Santa Barbara
Safeties: Riverside, Santa Cruz, Merced</p>
<p>Does it make sense to walk across a tightrope without a safety net, even if you are an experienced tightrope walker? Of course, part of the excitement for the audience is that sense of danger that the tightrope walker might fall off and be seriously injured.</p>
<p>1) You don’t seem to be a “can’t miss” candidate at top colleges, notwithstanding URM status; and 2) No family needs that kind of excitement that comes from wondering if their applicant will be without a college to attend in the fall because no safety schools were on the college list.</p>
<p>OP, have you asked your mom the following question:
“Do you have at least $212,000 cash sitting in the bank and at the ready to devote to me attending the schools of your choice?”
If she does not, you have a much bigger problem than where she wants you to APPLY, AND you have an argument for safeties. In that case, I might say something along the lines of:
“If I am to absorb any of the debt from my undergraduate studies, I would like to apply to FISCAL safeties and academic safeties that might award me merit in order to reduce my future debt load. It is my life and my responsibility to service my future loans…”</p>
<p>The beauty of a safety is not just the stress reduction. It is the fact that if it is a true safety you may very well be offered merit assistance to attend.
Even if your family has saved well for this occasion, another question worth asking would be:
“If we could chose to spend $53,000 a year versus $44,000 a year to attend equally ranked out-of-state business schools (eg. an Ivy or U of Michigan Ross) which would you choose, Mom?”</p>
<p>Michigan does not count your freshman year, btw. If your school is well-regarded, you might have a shot. Not, however, a safety, especially Ross.</p>
<p>Good luck. Hope the talking points help you out.
Cheers,
K</p>
<p>A safety school is a very low-cost way to insure you at least have somewhere to go.</p>
<p>And anyone who has studied insurance knows that it’s wise to insure against low-probability high-damage outcomes.</p>
<p>Although in this case it isn’t really even low-probability. People can and do get rejected from everything but safeties. Not applying to a safety is a mistake.</p>
<p>It takes so little time/effort in the grand scheme of things to apply to 1-2 safety schools. I would suggest doing so whether she approves or not.</p>
<p>she is continuing to show that she’s out of the loop. My daughter is going to grad school there this fall. She went out for accepted student visit weekend, and no only were they wined and dined by the school, the go a tour of the town and she thought it was great. This is a girl who has lived in SF, LA and college on east coast.</p>
<p>My parents knew enough to let me apply to wherever I wanted to (within limits…can’t spend everything on app fees!) and decide where I was going. However, they made their preference no secret when it came down to Columbia vs Pomona, and I’m glad that my choice aligned with theirs.</p>
<p>Pleaaaase find a way to apply to a safety. You really never know nowadays with admissions because there are so many applicants. I applied to 5 ivies, 3 more reaches, 4 targets and 2 safeties…every target rejected or waitlisted me but I was accepted to 1 ivy and 1 reach. One of my safeties even waitlisted me. It’s really a total crapshoot so make sure you’ll have somewhere to go.</p>
<p>If you’re thinking of applying to UCB or UCLA, be sure to thoroughly read their web sites re your intended major. At UCB you would apply as Undeclared with a pre-business concentration, and then as a junior you’d apply to the Haas school. In 2008-09 Haas admitted about 47% of junior applicants. Those who are not admitted have to choose another major. This is documented here: [Undergraduate</a> Program - Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley](<a href=“http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/applying.html]Undergraduate”>http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/applying.html), and on the UCB admissions web site. I’m sure the UCLA web site contains similar information.</p>
<p>If you check the AA site for acceptances- you will see you need safeties. You probably could get into one of those schools your mother suggests- but you need some place you love as a Just In case measure. I know this is hackneyed advice but I know someone who got upwards of a 2200 on his SATs, maintained a 101 GPA, was valedictorian of his class, recieved 5’s on almost all of his Aps, was a phenomenal writer and an outstanding debater and he still didn’t get into any of the schools he wanted, READ (Tufts and Swarthmore.) He had to go to his safety.</p>