<p>+COLLEGE GPA:
------4.3 | 18 cred first year first sem, 26 cred second sem
+HS GPA:
------3.1 | <1500/2400 | <500 on all 3 subject tests</p>
<p>+HIGH SCHOOL (participated in all of these all four years):
------president of newspaper
------president of radio show
------president of computer club
------president of campus ministry, alter server at baptist church
------student government 4 years
------2547 library service hours (3941 including ms, but that won't matter)</p>
<p>+COLLEGE (lessened all of my ec's compared to hs to focus on schoolwork):
------newspaper editor
------232 service hours environmental work</p>
<p>+MAJOR: geog, 1 of 2 (the other one left to a community college)
------male, thai from landover, maryland
------sailing and flute for 14 years
------submitting two news articles i was in.</p>
<p>+RECS from the dean of geography & the dean of enviro sci</p>
<p>Sorry are you a California student or resident? California only utilizes a 4.0 scale no matter if the school is plus/minus grading or not.
If you plan on attending a California University for Geography or Environmental Studies(or Science) then UCSB is the best undergrad UC for that. UCLA’s Geography department is decent and getting better but their specialty is Atmospheric Science. Berkeley’s Geography department for undergrads is okay but nothing to brag about.
UMD and Wis-Madison also have very good undergrad Geography programs. </p>
<p>Geography is a very broad field so you want to narrow down which direction appeals to you the most early on. You need to complete core prereq’s including Physical, Cultural, World Regional, Intro to Environmental Studies and these days Intro to GIS or Maps and Cartography typically prior to upper division admission.</p>
<p>If that is the case then you want to try and get into UCSB. They offer a BS in Physical Geography and a BA in Geography with GIS emphasis. UCSB has the most comprehensive and highly regarded Geography programs amongst the UC’s for undergraduate study. UCSB is ahead of UCLA and UCB in GIS and Remote Sensing technology and offer the most classes in that area. UCLA and UCB are more traditional Human and Physical Geography research institutions and only relatively recently have increased their GIS class curriculum. UCSB also has the best Masters program in Geography which UCB doesn’t even offer. UCLA on the undergrad level only offers a BA in Geography (or Geography/Environmental Studies) with a GIS&T minor. UCLA’s graduate Geography program is great but I think UCSB’s is better overall but you will have a better idea once you are ready for grad school. For right now you need to complete everything you can on the lower division level and concentrate on that first.
If you want to get into UCSB’s Geography program here is what you do.
Sign up at SMC and tell them you want to take their Environmental Science program. Do not choose Environmental Studies if want to meet the math and science requirements for UCSB. SMC is in the process of a Geography AA with Geospatial Technology Certificate but you would be better to earn an AA/Cert in Environmental SCIENCE with a UCSB BA in Geography w/GIS emphasis(or BS in Physical Geography). At SMC take Geog 5 Physical with Lab with Drake or Selby. Then take Geog 2-Human and Geog 11 -World Regional with Morris. After that take Geog/ES 7 - Intro to Environmental Studies, Geog 3-Weather and Climate, Geog 14 -California Geography and Geog 35 - field studies with Selby again. You will take awesome 1-4 day field trips through Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Santa Monica Mountains, and Bodega Bay. Then take Geog 20 - Intro to GIS with Drake and 23 and 24 if and when they offer it. You will also need to complete Calc I and II, prep or Chem I, prep or Physics I for the Environmental Science requirements. Other recommended supporting science classes you can choose from are Marine Biology, Botany, Physical Geology, Physical Oceanography, and Physical Anthropology.
When you are complete with that transfer to SBCC and take their Economic Geography class and whatever ES or Geology classes you can… After 12 units enroll in SBCC’s Transfer Academy and take Geography of Surfing at UCSB and Geo Statistics if they still offer it. Note: SMC and SBCC are the only two CCC’s that I know of that offer UC transferable Beginning and Advanced Surfing PE classes if want to complete your 2 PE units that way.</p>