<p>Hello, everyone. I'm starting college at Pasadena City College this fall. I'm majoring in Electrical Engineering most likely, so I will be a transfer. When I was younger, I dreamed of going to an Ivy League, however, I have become more practical. I'm worried that I might be selling myself short, though. I'm starting the fall semester off with English 1, Psychology 1, Speech 6 (debate and argumentation), and History 2B. I joined the PCC Honor's Program, and my English and Psychology will be honors. I'm taking it slow the first semester because I'm technically a disabled student and I already failed out of high school for certain reasons. However, they weren't because I wasn't intelligent. I just want to make sure I start off on the right foot. My plans are as follows:</p>
<p>Spring: Calc 1 AND Calc 2 by joining a special program that allows you to get two math classes done in one semester (8 week classes)
Honors Chemistry
CS 2</p>
<p>Summer: Calc 3
Physics 1
CS 3A</p>
<p>Fall: Linear Alg
Physics 2
Honors Speech 1</p>
<p>Spring: Honors Differential Equations
Physics 3
CS 8</p>
<p>So, all together, I will (hopefully) complete the following:</p>
<p>Calc 1, 2, and 3
Linear Algebra
Differential Equations
Physics 1, 2, and 3
Chemistry
English 1 (CSU/UC transfer for English composition)
Psychology 1 (CSU/UC transfer for behavioral science)
Speech 1 (CSU/UC transfer for oral communication)
Speech 6 (CSU/UC transfer for critical thinking
CS 2, 3A, and 8 (This is required for UCLA, at least) </p>
<p>Cal Poly Pomona requires CS 12, but that hasn't been available for a few years. Also, UCLA requires a whole crap load of requirements that are waaaay beyond 70 units, including Physics 4 which hasn't been offered for at least the past 2 years! Therefor, I'm assuming it doesn't matter because they don't offer the class. Anyways, I'm wondering if everyone thinks this is a good schedule. I will most likely be able to get this due to early registration I should be getting (I have a disability that requires it). Are there any suggestions for me at all? The colleges I was thinking about were as follows:</p>
<p>Cal Poly Pomona
UCLA (but I heard some bad things about their EE program, and I worry I might be going overboard with the challenging aspect)
UCI (I was thinking about Computer Science before, and all of these requirements satisfy the lower level classes except I would need Biology instead of Chemistry. I'm still kind of undecided if I will go that route)
Other colleges that I might be able to get into, but I don't know about yet (need suggestions).
I am planning on getting a very high GPA. I have no social life, I'm a non traditional student (23) and I feel very prepared for college now. I will be transferring with honors, but that only guarantees priority admission to the school of sciences at UCLA and Cal Poly (I think), not engineering. It still should look good on my transcript, though.</p>
<p>I thought about dropping the CS classes because technically if I went to Cal Poly I would just have to take their CS class. I can study CS on my own, and I will need to know C++ programming for my physics classes, anyway. </p>
<p>I'm not sure if I can really join that many clubs around campus, and I'm also not sure if I will be able to hold a job while in school. Given that I have a disability, I'm not sure if I should try to because it would probably lower my GPA a lot. I will probably join the Women's Society of Engineers, though.</p>
<p>Should I try to push myself and get admitted to a school besides Cal Poly (Pomona)? I currently live near Long Beach and I feel like I would be saving money if I just commuted. My husband is currently working a menial job while I go to school, and I'm hoping to get an internship in my senior year while he starts to go to college. Some people have told me if I get an offer from a great college I should just go there, especially if I end up getting a 4.0, but I'm not so sure. I know Cal Poly Pomona already has a great engineering program. Is it even worth it to try and be the absolute best in college at the HARDEST university you can get into? I also have medical school on my mind in the future, but I'm still not sure. The debt and stress would turn me off, but it has been a dream since I was little. </p>
<p>Do you think if I had a high GPA with these classes I would have a chance at Cal Poly even? I like to be realistic about my opportunities. I'm pretty good at math and I LOVE to learn. I think I have an advantage because my husband is helping to support me and I can learn complicated material very fast. I just want to start planning everything now so I will know what general eds to take, I suppose. At this point I just want a job I love doing and to challenge myself at WORK, not be worried about being a super student. I guess it's because I'm a bit older. Don't get me wrong, I still want to aim for a possible 4.0 in engineering school, but if I had the choice between MIT (not saying I would get in at ALL) and even a UC, I would take the UC. I'm NOT interested in grad school or research at all. </p>
<p>Thanks for any suggestions.</p>
<p>tl;dr: I'm an older student who is trying to find out what university she wants to transfer to. I live in LA county and will be going to Pasadena City College. My classes for the two years I will go there are laid out above. I need suggestions on if it's even worth it to aim very high (Like Berkeley or even higher) or if it's more worth it to just settle with a solid engineering program like Cal Poly Pomona to save money and get a great education still. My goal is as little debt as possible and a happy career at the end of graduation. I'm not interested in research or grad school unless it's medical school, which I still haven't decided on at all. </p>