<p>I'm a junior in California, and I don't know what to do.
I understand that a lot of this is my fault, but still. In my frosh and sophomore years, I got... not so good grades. Not F's, just hovering around the High C to Mid B range. For me, this is bad. Really bad.
I feel a lot of pressure to go to the best college I can. I've sort of been nudged towards UC Berkeley, so that's my main choice right now. I've been doing very well this year, but I'm afraid it's not going to be enough. I only have 1 AP, English. Other than that, in the other classes that matter, I'm below the average. I've been placed in lower level Chemistry, while everyone I know is either in AP or other advanced sciences. I'm taking Algebra 2, while I'm expected to be in AP or Pre-Calc by now.
Its my understanding the the UC system calculates GPA by taking the sophomore and junior grades, removing some ancillary classes, like PE, etc., and then finds the unweighted of that. I got mainly Bs last year. Part of that is laziness, part of it is some personal issues that I had to get sorted out outside of school. Even if I made straight A's this year, I wouldn't break any higher than a 3.6.
It just doesn't seem like its enough. Should I buckle down and hope for the best? Should I bite the bullet, accept that I'm not good enough for a 4 year, and just spend 2 years at CC, and then 2 years at another school?
If it matters, I'm looking towards a Comp Sci degree, but I want to keep my options open. I've talked to my counselors, and to some admissions reps, and all of them say that it's my decision, not theirs.</p>
<p>It is not the end of the world if you do not get into UCB. UCB has over 73,000 applications and only admitted a little over 13,000. There are so many great schools out there and I am sure you will find one that will fit…</p>
<p><a href=“Student Profile - Office of Undergraduate Admissions”>http://admissions.berkeley.edu/studentprofile</a></p>
<p>Just keep doing your best, study hard for the SAT and/or ACT and you will end up where you were meant to end up.</p>
<p>So… give up I guess?
I’m sorry, but I don’t want to accept defeat on this like I have on so many other things. I understand that it’s not the end of the world if I don’t go to UCB. But I’ve always been told by my parents and counselors that employers want the graduates from the top colleges, not someone from the secondary state university.
I’m scared that I won’t get a job if I don’t go to Berkeley. It’s unlikely, but it is possible.</p>
<p>Employers want graduates that can work with minimal training and baby sitting. My husband’s company, Heavy Civil Engineering work, hires many of their engineers from Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly SLO. They find these graduates can be put to work immediately as opposed to many engineering graduates from top schools (2 UC’s won’t mention names) that do not have a clue what to do… There are so many possibilities out there and whom ever is feeding you the “crap” that you are worthless and won’t get a job unless you go to some prestigious university, needs a reality check. California has some of the best schools in the country and they in your backyard. You can be sucessful if you are willing to work hard and make the best out of any situation. Ignore what other people say and do what you want. Not everyone can be a CEO of a fortune 500 company… Don’t worry about a job now, just take 1 step at a time and get into a college that YOU WANT, not your parents, not your counselors, just YOU.</p>
<p>Good Luck. </p>
<p>Sorry, I meant to post what I wrote below as a response. New to the site.</p>
<p>Sorry. What I wrote was confrontational and mean spirited.
I know I have unrealistic expectations of myself. If I’m being honest, I’ve spent so long doing what my parents and teachers expect of me that I don’t know what I want for myself anymore.
I’m trying, thanks.</p>
<p>You’ll need to choose schools that match who you are, then do the best you can. UCB and UCLA are both world-class, and UCSD is top-tier. UCD and UCSB are among the best public universities in the country.
For Comp Sci, excellent recruiting at Cal Poly SLO, SJSU, Santa Clara, and in other fields, pretty good opportunities overall at CPP, UCSC, LMU-LA, Chapman… Not to mention powerhouses like HarveyMudd and Stanford.
In short, there are lots of excellent schools in CA.
Add the other states and you’re not doomed.
Focus on what you like and prepare for the PSAT.</p>
<p>Ha. No way I’m getting into Stanford. No way I could afford Stanford.
I’ve thought about SLO, but I would prefer an urban environment. Out of state, I’d like to visit certain places before I make a list for those. I like the sound of University of Michigan, but that’s if I caved in and decided to do Drama or Writing, and cripple myself financially. All the best Comp Sci schools are all world class, and impossible to get into for someone like me.
Community colleges scare me, and I would be missing out on a lot of things that I’m looking forward to.</p>
<p>Hm, did you notice I didn’t just list Stanford and SLO?
What’s your parents’ budget?
Run the Net Price calculator on a few universities (UC, CSU, OOS) and show them the results. Get a firm number from them, not “we’ll figure it out” (as this always results in disasters come Spring senior year).</p>
<p>Yeah, “we’ll figure it out” is definitely their attitude right now.
We’re not destitute, we’re very fortunate and lucky, but not the kind to plunk down ~$175,000 or so in 4 years. That rules out a lot of privates, and a few OOS schools.
I just wanted to mention my reservations about Stanford and SLO, not to discredit your advice. Stanford’s pretty much off my list with my grades and extracurriculars. SLO is an option for me, but I’m still a bit reserved about it.
I’ll run a few Net Price Calculators, and I’ll see what I can do.</p>
<p>Apply to schools and see. Not all tip top schools but don’t give up. CC is your safety. But I don’t understand why you think you should go to Berkeley. Berkeley is still possible if you transfer from CC.</p>
<p>I feel a lot of pressure to go to Berkeley. From my parents, and especially my peers (I know, petty reasons, but they still effect me. They’re all lined up to go to top of the line colleges, and they’re the type to be smug and arrogant about it.). And my reservation with CC is that I’ll be missing out on a lot of things, especially dorm life. (I guess I was looking forward to being part of a community and making friends, something I was never good at.) Also, I want out of here. I don’t want to be at home.</p>
<p>Can’t you go to Berkeley for graduate school instead?</p>
<p>^come Spring, your classmates will have changed their tunes. Only a small fraction will go to Berkeley. </p>
<p>Apply to a variety of colleges, even if your parents have never heard of them - like Hendrix - and explain what makes it cool and unique - “the Hendrix Oddyssey will pay me if my internship is unpaid, they’ll help fund volunteering abroad, and they guarantee I’ll get to do research if I want to” - Then, when you’re defending your choices, it’ll make sense to them because instead of saying 'I’m going to a school you guys have heard of", you’ll be saying “I’m going to a school you guys as ignoramuses high school students have never heard of, but would have if you’d done a modicum of research into really cool colleges out there.” 
(Note that no matter how prestigious a LAC may be in power circles, the odds of random people knowing about them are very very low. Even in California, people confuse Pomona - one of the “Ivy-like” LACs- with CPP…)</p>
<p>Apply to Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD. Apply to lots of different schools, including smaller schools. Don’t limit yourself to what your parents think they want. Your job is to figure out what you want and who you are, and which colleges will fit you best.</p>