<p>Junior in High School and trying to make final colleges choices to start visiting. I always had high hopes of UCLA or UCB but laziness got to me and thats not going to happen unless I go the transfer route. I was capable of getting the good grades but had a extremely tough freshmen year, big moving situation and all, very tough private school. Then florida was wonderful for me with great grades and then adjusting back to California schools takes some adjustment.</p>
<p>I am interested in Business Administration or maybe industrial engineering. I honestly want an undergrad degree in Business from somewhere that will be considered somewhat prestigious to people at least. But I have heard where I get my MBA will be more important then undergrad. Looking to stay in California preferably. Considering the following right now:
-University of San Diego
-San Diego State University
-Loyola Marymount-Very interested
-Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
-Pepperdine <em>would have to transfer probaby
-University of Southern California</em>would have to transfer probably</p>
<p>Well, if you're saying that you would probably have to transfer into USC and Pepperdine, USD will probably be a reach for you. If you get your grades back up though, you might have a decent shot. Currently, you should definitely be in at San Diego State, and are probably a match LMU and Cal Poly. If you get your grades back up, you should definitely be in at SDSU, Cal Poly, and LMU......and you'll have a shot at Pepperdine and the University of San Diego. USC may be an outside possibility as well. Just try your hardest and you might have a shot at USC, but if not, you may still be able to get into a very good school like USD.</p>
<p>With a 3.5 roughly I'd say LMU, SDSU, and USD are matches. Cal Poly and Pepperdine are slight reaches. USC would be your reach. Do well on the SAT and you'll be in at most of your selections.</p>
<p>LMU is a good school....definitely more respected than most colleges. And with a 3.5, I'm sorry, but USD is probably not a "match" as the above poster just said....definitely a reach at this point, but it could become a match if you improve your grades.</p>
<p>a 3.5 with decent sat's is good enough to get you into usd. you must be thinking about ucsd. that would be a reach or large reach. usd is not that tough to get into. a 3.5 with decent sat's should do the trick. lmu is not a bad school, but highly regarded in the academic world it is not. then again, neither is usd. they are not bad schools by any means, but they are not considered top schools like some of their neiboring schools. then again, they are significantly easier to get into than other more prestigious schools in their areas. if the poster wants to attend a prestigious school, he should get his grades up and shoot for usc or a top uc. pepperdine is a slight reach. cal poly slo is also a slight reach. get your grades up and get a good sat score. if you want to be in la, try to transfer into ucla or usc. if you want to be in san diego, then try to transfer into ucsd. if you want to be in the bay area, then try to transfer into uc berkeley. in my opinion, i dont feel it is worth it spending the money on lmu or usd, when you could transfer into a higher ranked and more prestigious college for less money. and if you do go to a private, make sure it is somewhat worth the money, such as a school like usc, which is well regarded. also, all that money spent on a private could be put towards grad school costs. but if you truly like lmu, then go for it, a 3.5 with decent sat's should get you in there as well.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. Any more opinions? I keep hearing from some people though to that just because you go to prestigious school name that it isn't really a big deal.</p>
<p>Just curious: does anybody know anything about the following CA private colleges: University of Redlands, University of Pasific, Chapman University? Where do they stand among others, mentioned above schools?</p>
<p>"A 3.5 with decent sat's is good enough to get you into usd."</p>
<p>I currently attend law school at USD and my mom works at the school, and I can tell you that the average accepted GPA for undergrads is well above a 3.5. It's close to a 3.8. The acceptance rate dropped down to around 40% this past year as well. Although it may not be a "top" school like other California privates Stanford or USC, it is still a very good school.</p>
<p>Having gone to a UC, I definitely had a great time, but a large "prestigious" public school like Berkeley or UCLA isn't for everyone. I have a lot of friends that went to private schools like Pepperdine, USD, and LMU for undergrad, and pretty much all of them had great experiences.</p>
<p>And to the poster above, those 3 schools are decent schools, and above average stats should get you in.</p>
<p>the average admit student into usd is deffiantly not a 3.8. however, even if it is a 3.7 or 3.6, that is accpeted applicants. it is a back up school for many of the students who apply. the average student attending gpa is likely around a 3.5. furterhmore, im sure the gpa range for accepted students is quite broad. a 3.5 should get you in with decent sat's. I never said USD is a bad school, however it is not a particularly respected school within academia. for law school, it is significantly better and ranked quite well. however for undergrad, it is not even ranked in the top 100 schools in the country. im sure you know this. i just cannot understand why, especially is you are planing on attending and paying for graduate school, why a school like usd is worth 35k a year on just tuition. save that cash for grad school (mba program for the poster). i agree, large uc's are not for everyone. but why not attend a cal state if you are looking for a school not quite so competitive. why pay for usd? sdsu's stats for admits is above a 3.5 gpa as well. and it has an acceptance rate around or below 40%. and remember, acceptance rate is not always an indicator in toughness of admission. in usd's case, it has a lot of lower qualified applicants applying to it, as does sdsu. i just dont feel a school like usd is worth the price for undergrad. however, if the poster is interested, the campus (usd) is truly beautiful, and san diego is an incredible place. i would focus on getting into sdsu, or work hard in junior college and try to transfer into ucsd. but everyone has their own opinion of what is worth the money and what is not. i know countless people that go to usd, and none, with the exception of one, had a gpa of 3.7 or above. the one that did had a 4.1 and had very very low sat's of around 1500.</p>
<p>I appreciate everyones thought and opinions. So you think its more important to look at accepted GPA or enrolled? Its just so confusing trying to decide where to go and what would be best. I just wonder if not going to one of the top 100 universities will really hurt me. If it will then I sticking with junior college and then hopefully UCLA...but I really don't know. My guidance counselor says what a great school LMU is but its not even on the top 100 nor is SDSU. Who has the best list to look at?</p>
<p>USC is definitely in the top 100. Cal Poly and Pepperdine, although ranked in different sections by USNews, are also probably Top 100 universities.</p>
<p>The reasons to shell out the money for private schools like USD are many. Most people just look at the reputation of the school which is based on the amount of research being done in an area and on the admit statistics. However, consider the following:</p>
<p>What will be your living situation? A long bike ride to classes from a dumpy apartment because there is no on-campus parking? A dorm with 3 people packed into a double? Or, a spacious room within a quick walk to your classes.</p>
<p>What kinds of courses will you be taking freshman year? At Chapman, for example, you can begin with some courses from your major. At a UC you will be taking the basic required courses. Also, some schools have a foreign language requirement or a freshman English requirement while others don't.</p>
<p>How well will you know your professors, and does this matter to you? One way to justify the money is to remember that you are paying the salaries of some very talented people to impart their knowledge to you. However, at a big UC you will be learning mostly from books, TA's, and other students, especially the first two years.</p>
<p>What kind of learning environment do you want? At some schools the idea is to rise above your fellow students so as to get the best GPA. At others the goal is for everyone to learn to the best of their ability.</p>
<p>There are many more factors to consider like extracurricular activities, post-graduation bonds with alumni, placement department attention upon graduation, etc.</p>
<p>Even though LMU and SDSU are not "Top 100" so to say, they are still good schools....probably within the Top 150 or so nationally. USD is currently just outside of the Top 100, but I would be very surprised if it isn't in the Top 100 by the time the next rankings come out. There are thousands of schools in the country and honestly.... just because you go to one that's ranked say 150th instead of 50th won't make a huge difference in the long run.</p>
<p>i agree. the ranking of a school honestly means next to nothing unless you are applying to phd programs and the such. and even then, at a slightly lower ranked school, getting an excellent gpa, studying hard and getting good gre, lsat, mcat, gmat scores and good letters of rec will place you into a good grad program. if you are going to go into the working world i highly doubt the difference between the 50th best schools and 100 best school is significant. usd was in the top 100 a few years ago and then just barely fell out of it. rankings change every year so im sure year to year it moves up and down and in and out of the top 100. </p>
<p>"What kinds of courses will you be taking freshman year? At Chapman, for example, you can begin with some courses from your major. At a UC you will be taking the basic required courses."</p>
<p>What? you can take classes for your major in lower division. i did at a uc. yes you have to take required lower division classes, and sure as hell hope their are required courses for lower division at chapman, as im sure there is as it is a certified college, but of course you can also take upper division classes while you are in your freshmen and sophmore years at a uc. yes, it may be more difficult because obviously the difficulty of the classes at a uc are going to be more rigorous than at chapman, and will likely take a lot of your time up studying. but of course you are allowed to take upper division classes when you are a freshmen or sophmore. lots of people do this at uc's to knock out upper division classes that count towards their major. i cant imagine paying for a school like chapman the 35 or so thousand dollars in tuition a year. Maybe for their film school, which is top notch, but thats about it. but if you dont get into any other schools, then i guess you dont have much of a choice. but to each their own. that amount of money for chapman, especially when cal state fullerton and cal state long beach are right around the corner, seems a bit ridiculous. although many of the applicants who gain admission to chapman probably wont get into long beach as freshmen anyhow.</p>
<p>Thank you guys for all your good info and advice again. This whole college thing can just seem so overwhelming. I always thought UCLA or UCB would accept me but now I actually realize how competitive it is and I just wont make it. But there are so many other good colleges out there. I think I am going up to LMU tomorrow to check it out. Do you guys think UCSB is possible school for me to get in? Slight reach maybe?</p>