<p>I am older student (24) about to start my third semester at community college. Of course I am planning to transfer, and I have lofty goals of being able to attend a top-tier university (Columbia, Georgetown, Stanford, blah blah blah...). Even though I currently have a 4.0, I am concerned that the classes I've taken are not rigorous enough. But what is "rigorous" really?</p>
<p>It seems the stereotype is that for a courseload to be considered rigorous one must be taking several high level (ie not introductory) math and sciences courses per semester. But here's the thing... I am NOT a math or science major. I am majoring in political science/international relations. Is it still an expectation that I should be taking classes like Organic Chemistry and Linear Algebra to prove my deservedness? Or is it acceptable to actually be taking courses that are more applicable to my major?</p>
<p>You do not need high level math and science. You need rigorous work, inside of the classroom and out, in your atlas of interest. and profs who know you well to speak to your talents.</p>
<p>The top schools you want demand more that just top grades and SAT scores. They will want significant research/writings/activities in your area.</p>
<p>Yes you just need to take courses that are applicable to your major. My brother felt the same way you did since he is majoring in business. He only needed to complete financial accounting, business statistics, economics, and calculus in order to transfer. Not easy but nothing rigorous about them either. You need to take some science and math classes regardless of your major but not to the point of having to take classes like linear algebra or organic chemistry I believe. </p>
<p>You are doing well so far. Just keep up your GPA.
By the way organic chemistry is not as hard as you think I just took it last semester</p>
<p>Thank you both for your replies. It’s nice to have some reassurance that I don’t need to waste my time and my sanity taking higher level math and science classes.</p>
<p>Bottlecap, to be honest, any science class seems scary to me at this point considering I haven’t taken one in 8 years Also, may I ask where your brother transferred to?</p>
<p>My brother is applying for fall 2011 admission at Rutgers University New Brunswick as an accounting major with a 3.8 GPA (60+ credits) from Brookdale community college and will have his associate degree by the time he finishes this upcoming spring semester. He applied to New Brunswick business school, Arts of sciences, and Newark’s business school. His #1 pick is NB business school.</p>
<p>I believe you will still have to take at least an introductory science class. But nothing crazy like biochemistry or genetics
I am a chemistry major and I still have to take classes like physics, english, economics, computers, history, etc)
Colleges want students to be well-rounded.</p>
<p>Consider also the cost of attending universities you listed :)</p>
<p>I know that I have to take both a physical and a biological science class, I’ve just been putting it off for as long as possible. I think I will bite the bullet this summer, although I’m not sure what I will take (probably not chem, I’d probably cause an accidental explosion :)).</p>
<p>As far as the cost of those universities go, I am banking on the fact that I am extremely low income and should qualify to have most – if not all – my tuition paid by the university. If I got in and they didn’t waive my tuition… well… I don’t want to think about that! Haha.</p>
<p>My brother also hates science. He even asked me if the class was going to be hard(he ended up with an A-. Even if you don’t like the subject you have to at least TRY to enjoy it a little bit. Think of it as a challenge. You are not always going to take classes that you like. To be honest I hate classes like history and english but I still try to enjoy them.</p>
<p>As far as your financial aid situation, I doubt (I could be wrong) that the colleges will fully pay for your tuition even the fact that you have a low income. You can certainly get loans from the government which interests aren’t as high as private loans but make sure you are bringing home the bacon when you do that :)</p>
<p>Just a little advice based on my experience:
If you are good at problem solving then take chemistry
If you are good at memorizing then take biology</p>
<p>I don’t hate science because I think it’s boring (I find a lot of it fascinating), I just am not as confident in my abilities as I am in other subjects. Like I said, it’s been a while since I’ve taken a science class so to say that I am rusty would be an understatement. Perhaps I just need to have a more positive outlook, though. I think I can, I think I can… :)</p>
<p>I am 100% sure that Stanford pays the tuition of students that cannot afford to attend and I’m fairly certain that Columbia does too (I’m not so sure about Georgetown). As far as I know, a lot of those oh la la schools accommodate their students in that regard. I do need to do more research to make sure which ones do and don’t and that it applies to transfers, as well.</p>
<p>By the way, I am not suggesting that I will get into Stanford, but I think that if I step up my game with extra-curriculars and maintain a 4.0 that I actually may have a shot. My personal story, my “hooks” (URM, 1st generation college), and the fact that I would be coming from a California community college would all help me immensely and hopefully differentiate me from other transfer applicants in an, err, “interesting” way.</p>
<p>I think taking a variety of international relations and political science based classes would be akin to a science or math major taking a variety of science or math courses. Perhaps a language to bolster the ‘international relations’ part? Maybe some kind of political volunteering would be good. Especially if you accomplish something through that. Sometimes you can even earn credits by volunteering during elections and stuff like that.</p>
<p>Some schools do meet need for transfers. And yes those schools that meet full need are often the hardest to get into. You do need to research this very well since the vast majority of schools do not meet need. Some schools that do meet full need do so with loans too. So you need to be sure what you’re getting into before you get your heart set on something.</p>
I just took it last semester</p>