Hi everyone,
I am a current undergraduate at a CSU school in California. I came from a high school in another state that is known for being poor in academics. I made the mistake of screwing up my grades during my time in high school. I barely made it through my freshman year and didn’t do much to bring my gpa back up until my junior and senior year, but it still wasn’t enough to look impressive. I also scored a composite of 23 on my ACT and 1360 on my SAT which is pretty average. I have numerous extracurricular activities, but not much that demonstrate leadership or academic excellence. When it came to college applications I didn’t really take them seriously and basically half-assed my way through them expecting to get into a good school (I tried applying to various UC schools and a few private ones). When the time came around I only got into a CSU school that I had applied to so I chose to attend there. Not to bash CSU schools or anything, but it is nothing that I expected it to be. It is more of a commuter school and doesn’t really align with what I wanted out of college. I can already tell that the academics are not that great not only though my experbience, but also through talking to upperclassmen and other students. There is an extremely limited availability when it comes to classes and scheduled hours (office hours and administrative hours) are at terribly inconvenient times. Sadly it is also poorly organized in various aspects such as there being multiple financial problems for me that were due to the school’s lack of organization and difficulty in communication. Being a naive high school student at the time I chose this school, I expected it to be more diverse and for more opportunities to be available to students. I have visited friends at other institutions (both private and UC) and I see just how much more is available to them over there. I deeply regret the decisions I have made in high school and was wondering if anyone has advice for me as I am not to knowledgeable as to what the best route for me to take from here would be. Should I stick it out and stay at this college for the next four years? Should I attempt to transfer to a better school? (I am aware that it can be extremely hard, but I am willing to put in the work) Should I drop this year and work towards bringing up my test scores in order to get into a better school? If anyone has any suggestions or wisdom they can offer me please help me out.
What is your GPA now? I would transfer immediately.
Stick with it. You can get a great education at a CSU.
My high school gpa is 3.18 and I haven’t received a gpa for college yet as I am in the middle of my first semester.
I could get a great education at CSU, but I feel that I could get a better education somewhere else. I honestly feel like I would be better off somewhere else, but I am not sure what the best way of going about this situation would be.
Transfer out ASAP. To do this STUDY on your finals knowing that it is your ticket out of there. Education is only part of the experience, and a commuter type college takes away not only the social scene, but the education will not be as good either.
Figure out what schools you’d like to transfer to, look at their websites to see what the deadlines and procedures for transferring are, follow them to the letter, and still be ready to get no for an answer and carry on at the CSU.
I wouldn’t drop this year. That would be a bad idea.
That sounds reasonable. Do you mind giving me some info on how would the transfer process work? How will my finals be my ticket out? And will I have a good chance of being accepted to a UC school or private school? I am aware that it is extremely difficult to transfer to one of those schools but are there any other factors?
You are going to have to report what happens this semester no matter how it turns out. And you will be considered a transfer student, What is your financial situation? Your major?
You can’t transfer to a UC now, they essentially don’t take transfers til Junior year. Some from CA could provide the exact details, though.
What about the state flagship in your home state? You said you were from another state.
If you can afford it you can transfer to a mediocre, yet expensive private school that will overlook a low GPA and will provide a solid education and overall college experience.
I am currently on financial aid and have a few scholarships that are supporting me. I am also on a student loan for this academic year. My major is electrical engineering.
I have read up on some UC schools about their transfer policies and it seems extremely difficult, but I am willing to work hard to prove my eligibility.
The Scholarship and Loan thing completely changes this situation…
Transfers generally get worse (or no) financial aid. Something to research and consider.
Not sure if that applies to CSU to UC transfers, but as @intparent said, that’s not til junior year.
@northernmom61 I am from the state of Hawaii and there are only a few colleges available there which I didn’t want to attend for various reasons. I am also offered in state tuition through the WUE program for certain California schools.
U of Hawaii - Manoa
I work at a company that hires a lot of EEs, have a close friend from college who is a CSU prof, and live in CA myself, although S16 has no interest in applying to CSU/UCs here (he’s looking at small schools - a better fit for him), I do understand the system. I’m helping translate for a couple of friends whose English is iffy but are struggling to follow all of the CSU/UC system processes, so I’m pretty conversant with those processes.
First - breathe. And if you truly want to do EE, study, study, study. I don’t know which CSU you’re in, but a few do have fairly strong EE programs even if our state’s budget issues have made resourcing fairly sketchy. I’d actually suggest you stay where you are right now, knock the socks off your EE studies, and then transfer to one of the UCs as a junior. If you really excel where you are, that will work. (Alternately, you can try to get into SJSU’s EE program, but it can be as hard to get into, frankly.) Join the student arm of IEEE, go to their local activities, and volunteer a little bit, too - they’ve got some good scholarship programs, and that’ll look good on the transfer app.
I guest lecture in classes occasionally at a couple of CSUs. When I’m asked what a student can do best to prepare for a career in my field or at my company, I always give the same answer - show that you can recover from a failure. I can’t count the number of new hires or interns I’ve seen who have honestly never really messed up. It happens to all of us, and when it happens to them for the first time at our company, they’re like deer in the headlights - they panic, and can’t keep going. They need to learn how to work through it and recover, not give up or try to start over. What you’ve written above shows that you’re already evaluating what happened - that’s great! Keep going, though.
The only other suggestion I’d make is since you’re not a CA resident, look at your own home state’s state schools, and see if you can transfer there as a sophomore if that’s a favorable option (good major program, finances, etc.). I wouldn’t drop now. Do all you can to really excel this year, so you have options for your next step. Just keep moving forward.
Maybe a transfer to a different WUE school that has more of a residential feel? We liked Chico when we went on a tour. We are from Hawaii too and realized quickly that WUE schools are the only ones remotely affordable in California.
You say that the other schools your friends go to are better,but you don’t say that you aren’t challenged at your school. Listen, you could not have been admitted to those schools with your gpa. Stanford would also have been more challenging, but it was never in the picture. The UCs are not available to you,and a transfer or as a direct admit. Some WUE schools take transfers, others don’t, so you’d have to research if you could transfer to a school in California, utah, Washington if that’s what you want to do. Don’t look at your friends’ situations, look at your own. Is your school challenging you? Can you transfer and retain you financial aid?
I’d advise you to make it work. All the California schools have issues with overcrowding and hard to get classes. All EE take similar classes. The grass is not always greener at another school. Make it work.
You can go to a California Community College and do the UCLA/Berkeley transfer programs