<p>CSUs are on the bottom of my list. I can not go there. Do you see the graduates that go to grad school from CSU? Barely any. CSUs are meant for vocational training. UCs on the other hand are research institutions; research is vital in trying to get into a PHD program. But what can I do? Go to some private school that is willing to give aid. Also, I am applying to New Mexico Tech which is a Western Student Exchange institution. The tuition is relatively cheap ~$8K; that is on par with UCs. It also is a tiny school, which is what I am looking for. I can find work; if construction job is the only available thing to pay for college I am down. Win win, get money to pay for education and get a workout.</p>
<p>I really have nothing to lose with New Mexico Tech. It is the top 15 undergrad school to produce doctorates, it is cheap and I have confidence I can get in and afford.</p>
<p>" Institutional scholarships are based solely on your grades (highschool GPA, standardized test scores, and college grades if you are a transfer student). You do not need to demonstrate financial need for an institutional scholarship—only your own academic merit.
In addition to scholarships, we offer financial aid, which includes</p>
<pre><code>Federal grants (e.g., Pell Grant, SEOG Grant)
Federal loans (e.g., Perkins Loan, Stafford Loan, PLUS Loan)
Federal work study
New Mexico grants (State Student Incentive Grant, College Affordability Grant)
New Mexico Scholars Program (based on academic merit and financial need)
New Mexico work-study"
</code></pre>
<p>The only financial aid NM Tech offers are from New Mexico and federal sources. If you stay within California you will have state based aid available to you. </p>
<p>Why “should” colleges take a chance on someone who hasn’t proven himself yet? It’s very easy to make promises and goals, but a lot harder to see them through. If your end goal is to be a professor, then what sacrifices are you going to make to get there? If you excel at a community college, then you may have a decent shot at the top UCs and other great schools. Many “lower tier schools” have more to offer than one would think. There is something to be said about being a big fish in a small pond, because high achievers stand out more at less competitive schools. Even if you started at a community college, nothing is stopping you from making your own opportunities at nearby labs. (Which sounds better to a grad admissions committee: this research experience fell into my lap vs. I was so determined to have a research experience that I called up 20 different labs to find the best lab for me).</p>
<p>In other words, use your current frustration as fuel for “achieving great things,” where ever you end up.</p>
<p>Also, regarding school visits, should I hold off until I get my acceptance letters? Plane tickets and stuff will be expensive and schools are all over the nation. But, I also want to have interviews to impress the admissions officers. I think it would add another perspective. Perhaps I will keep CC an option. The main issue is that I will be far behind because I will be CS and EE or Physics.</p>
<p>Probably not, the Presidential scholarship requires a minimum GPA of 3.25 to qualify.</p>
<p>And most (in fact, almost all) NMT scholarships are awarded to in-state students. FYI.</p>
<p>WUE scholarships at NMT are actually very competitive because of the grad school placement percentages and because Tech has some fairly unique programmatic offerings. </p>
<p>Socorro is a pleasant, if small town about 1.5-2 hours from Albuquerque. Construction is not a major employer—restaurants, ranching, university support services and state/county government are the biggest local employers.</p>
<p>Good to know WOWMom. The OP does have a 3.25 UWGPA in total. The UC GPA is lower. I thought the OP could get the scholarship based on the website, not knowing the major tip factor for in-state.</p>
<p>Tech recalculates GPA to exclude all non-academic courses. Also Tech scholarships mostly work as add-on to the NM Lottery Success Scholarship (free tuition for NM students who graduated with 3.0 GPA) to help pay for books, R&B, transportation costs, etc.</p>
<p>Also Tech scholarships are NOT automatic, but competitive. Know several kids who have gone to Tech whose GPA +ACT exceeded minimum requirements who didn’t get anything other than the Lottery (which is guaranteed by the state).</p>
<p>However, Tech is one of the few schools I know of that will allow an OOS student to gain residency while attending school. (To do so, one must join the NM National Guard and serve at least one full summer.)</p>
<p>Now, I have a question. If I do go the CC then transfer route, am I still eligible for scholarships based on CC grades? Can I transfer after the first year of CC? I can just stock up on classes if I have to. Cause I have been looking at some of the schools, they are REALLY expensive even after all the financial aid. What would you say is a reasonable price for college? $10K?</p>
That’s quite simply false. LOTS of students go from CSUs to grad school. They are not chopped liver “second-rate” schools. In fact, many of them have strong programs in fields that the UCs don’t even teach (journalism for one.)</p>
<p>A direct case in point: My father’s BA in anthropology is from San Fernando Valley State College (ne</p>
<p>I guess I will replace NMT for SDSU. It is cheaper and closer to home, so less expenses for travel. Is SDSU a good school to go for research though?It seems to focus on marine biology and stuff. Also San Jose</p>
<p>I haven’t read all of the posts here, but I know U of Rochester meets 100% need-based aid! You can look up the details and etc., I just thought it was a decent suggestion since you want to go out of state. :)</p>
<p>Is your home in San Diego? SDSU is a tough admit from out of the immediate area. Given your GPA, I think you’re unlikely to get in. Even if you are local it will still be tough. You can look at their stats from last year and see what your chances are. San Jose is only slightly easier.</p>
<p>As to CSU grads going to grad school: yes, it happens. It’s not as common as with the UC system, but there are opportunities for CSU undergrads to do research and to continue their educations. I do know people who’ve taken that path.</p>
<p>Instead of visiting, you should see if the schools offer alumni interviews, make informational presentations, and/or attend college fair(s) near your home. You can visit nearby schools to get a feel for different “types” of schools. </p>
<p>I would strongly suggest earning the highest GPA you can this upcoming year. A) it will put the money where your mouth is-- If you can’t do it in high school, then how will you be able to do it in college when classes (especially in your potential majors) are harder? B) if you go the community college, then transfer route, then you will be displaying a “strong upward trend” for those schools that require high school transcripts. </p>
<p>If you want to go into academia, rushing through college may not give you enough time for the research experience that you need. Instead of overloading yourself with credits, take the time to work, intern, and earn great grades.</p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO is a great school with nice grad school placement and professional schools.
Great location and more affordable than the UCs and in my opinion better than some of the UCs.</p>
<p>If you have a low EFC, then a Pell grant and SEOG would be in your package as well as work study and subsidized loans. Pells are based on your EFC but SEOGs are also based on the number of other students also eligible for SEOGs, school divides it up based on number of eligible students.</p>
<p>I would not worry about paying for a university just because your parents aren’t helping you. I have an EFC of 0, and I had an amazing financial aid package at my states university (U of Minnesota - Twin Cities). Nobody is helping me to pay for college except myself. I had a pretty low GPA exiting high school as well (~2.9) and yet qualified for a lot of aid (a combination of school grants, state grants, work study, and loans.) Don’t underestimate colleges’ power to help you pay for school and you may be surprised when they send you your estimated financial aid package in the spring. Just don’t go around applying to 30k+ institutions =) Also, state institutions are significantly cheaper than private, so make sure to apply to at least one of your state schools. I remember how when I was thinking about which colleges to attend, I only considered the superb ivy league schools, but realized later on that it just wasn’t realistic, and ended up going to my state university. And I couldn’t be happier with that decision.</p>
<p>Now, can I trust college prowl (er)? According to that site, the most expensive expenses are around $15K. So that is $60K I have to pay over the 4 years and about $24K in loans to pay back. That is the most expensive one, but chances are I won’t be going there anyway either because it is a reach or because there are safety schools that are better fit for me. One safety school apparently will cost $10k for me and $6k in loans. Of course all the state schools are around $5-7K. </p>
<p>Also, can I trust the graphs provided by cap (pex)? They must only represent a smaller population than that actually applied.</p>
<p>david, i can understand your reluctance to attend a community college, but it really is your only feasible choice right now considering the fact that your parents won’t pay anything.</p>
<p>one of the posters above said it is impossible to transfer to a UC after a year at CC, but that is actually incorrect. it’s true that you need 60 credits to transfer to UCs, but it’s completely possible to fulfill that requirement within a year. take into account how many AP credits you have (math/science courses are usually 4 credits, everything else is 3 credits), and PLAN ahead. if you are serious about the community college transfer route, start taking classes ASAP. maybe try to dual enroll in a few classes at a CC during this schoolyear. next summer, take classes at a community college to get more credits. it’s not uncommon to knock out 12-15 credits during the summer at a CC (equivalent to a semester worth of credits). </p>
<p>if you choose to follow through with this method, you will be filling out the transfer app during november of your first year at the CC, and you will be getting your decisions in april. keep in mind that UC’s give priority to Cali community college students, and as long as have a high GPA from your community college coursework, it’s almost guaranteed that you will be accepted to Berkeley/UCLA.</p>
<p>you’re interested in engineering? UCLA releases it’s transfer admissions data by major, and the acceptance rates of chemical/mechanical/electrical/computer engineering majors hovers around 30-40%, with the average GPAs of admitted students being ~3.8 (it isn’t difficult to get a high GPA at a community college).
another important piece of information, the UCs dont ask for your highschool GPA/test scores for transfer admissions, so those won’t hurt you. also, there are a lot of CC students who have gone on to top universities in addition to Berkeley/LA, visit the transfer forum and you’ll find a lot of people who have transferred to places like cornell. still, Cal and UCLA are very strong research universities, and you should have no problem going to grad school from there</p>
<p>also, polarscribe: true, there are students from CSU’s who go to grad schools. but how many can you name who went on to top tier schools? students from lower-tier schools like CSUs are inherently at a disadvantage when applying to grad schools, even with perfect grades. it’s uncommon. the majority of students who go to top grad schools are from Ivy League schools, top privates and places like Cal/UCLA/Michigan (top publics). also, professors at CSUs generally aren’t distinguished/well known in their fields- terrible for a student interested in research</p>