I have been really stressed out over the past couple weeks about my future. I have not done too well throughout high school with my grades. I regret taking many rigorous classes that I do not really have an interest in that I was pressured into taking by family and friends. As of right now, I have a 3.2 weighted cumulative GPA and a 3 unweighted cumulative GPA. I go to a very competitive school and hearing all my friends complaining about their 3.5 and 3.6 weighted cumulative GPA’s makes me feel inferior to most of my peers in my class.
I play football and basketball for my school. I am fully fluent in Japanese and am probably going to take the SAT subject test for Japanese. I am a very outgoing, adventurous guy that loves to explore and visit new places. I have not really figured out my future, but I want to do something with sports or just a business major.
I really need to balance out my GPA with a good SAT or ACT score. My highest SAT Essay is 6/3/6. I have already taken the SAT twice and my highest score is a 1220. With super score, I have a 650 in the Reading/Writing section and a 660 in my math section, making that a 1310. Unfortunately, I live in California and I believe that UC schools do not super score your SAT. I take my first ACT on June 9th.
At this point, I feel like my only option is a local community college. I am really trying to avoid this option because I want to go to a new area and begin learning how to live on my own in a new environment.
I looked at University of Washington and really loved it there, but at this point it is probably out of reach. Any suggestions on what colleges I should look at on the west coast? Thank you.
Some schools that might be matches for you are Southern Oregon University, UNR, and Northern Arizona University. I don’t know stats off the top but I’ve seen them suggested here for people in similar situations.
Also, about community college: there are some that have dorms and whatnot. I know SBCC has them. Not sure of others. That way you can get out, dorm, and reap the benefits of a CCC all at once. That’s a fantastic option. To have.
What are your financial constraints?
Community college will be your cheapest option but absolutely not your only option. There are CSU’s that you can get into, and also lots of WUE (Western Undergraduate Exchange) schools that offer tuition discounts to California students. (U of Hawaii might be one to consider if you want to keep pursuing Asian languages and combine that with an Asia-Pacific focused business program: http://shidler.hawaii.edu/asian-field-study ) There are private colleges and universities you could think about, too, but again the range of options depends on your budget.
A UC now is probably not the right path for you. In addition to the WUE schools listed above, there are quite a few CSUs would love to have you - Chico, Sac, Sonoma, SF, Monterrey, most programs at SJSU, Humboldt, in N Cal, while Fullerton Northridge, San Marcos and many programs at Cal Poly Pomona.
What are you looking for from your college experience?
Check out the University of Utah.
On top of the questions already asked, are you looking to play varsity… D3? Do you play at a level in either sport where you’d get noticed?
Check out Indiana University. IU superstores and does not require SAT essay. It’s a great school.
Maybe this would be an interesting area for you to get involved in:
https://asunow.asu.edu/20171221-global-engagement-asu-baseball-japan-recruiting
ASU has a business school with a sports business program in cooperation with the school of journalism and mass communication: https://wpcarey.asu.edu/undergraduate-degrees/business-sports-media Add the International Business certificate to that and you could be ready for a career in international sport recruiting…
They superscore the SAT, and you should be fine there with your stats.
What is your budget? University of Oregon and Oregon State could be options; so would many privates. If you’re willing to leave the coast, you could consider University of Colorado or Colorado State, University of Utah, University of Montana or Montana State, & University of Arizona or Arizona State.
UCM and UCR may be worth targeting among the UCs. Many CSUs would be within reach. Chico, Humboldt, Sonoma, Monterey Bay, Channel Islands may be more residential among the less selective ones.
@ExcellentE Don’t stress, my son’s stats are very similar to yours. He was accepted into University of Hawaii at Manoa, Washington State, University of Arizona, Arizona State, Sonoma State and UC Merced (just to name a few). It is true that with your stats it is tougher to get into California schools. If you don’t mind going to college out of state you will be fine. Good luck!