<p>i am making this thread in response to this post (which was not directed at me):
[quote]
oh and also, if you are using this as your backup plan, I would suggest that you take some classes at your CC this summer if possible so you get a head start on credits.
<p>If I am going to attend a local 4-year college this fall (I'm a senior), should I consider taking college courses in the summer, or otherwise "additional" courses? If so, how would I go about doing that? My problem is that I do not have faith in what the school I will attend this fall can offer. My impression is that as a freshman I will likely be taking all general ed. courses. If all goes well, I may be able to do some honors courses during my sophomore year, but that is personally not enough. I want course rigor as that is important in transfer admissions.</p>
<p>I have only a couple AP credits; given these, I want to take the most advanced courses possible (although, as I said, I don't think there's much). Should I get the general ed. courses out of the way by taking them during the summer? Is that even possible? Given my situation, what are ways of showing that I can do well in challenging courses if my course registration falls short because of my school's lack of course rigor? Is there a way to take "additional" courses somehow?</p>
<p>Taking summer courses can help you a lot. For example, if you have a specific major which require specific courses that you must finish before you apply, then you’re ahead of the game. Rather then having the courses in progress, you can show the admissions committee, that you have already completed them.</p>
<p>Edit: I assumed you were transferring since you posted on the transfer thread, but I see there is no mention of you transferring. Anyways the majority of the schools will require you to take general education credits. Maybe if you get these out of the way in the summer, then in the fall/spring you could concentrate more on the classes that are required for transfer admission.</p>
<p>^um…this is concerning transfers admissions. i don’t think your discussion pertains to that. credits and majors are not the issue. although your advice may be true, it seems misleading and taken out of context.</p>
<p>Yeah as I said since you posted on the transfer thread, I assumed you were asking a transfer question. I don’t think I could help you on this but I’m sure others can. Sorry for the answer not relevant to your question.</p>
<p>wait…i am asking this in terms of transferring. but is this possible in a 4-year college? it seems like a community college thing. freshmen don’t have priority in course registration at the college i will attend this fall. so if i take classes during the summer, won’t i have trouble registering for higher level courses? why isn’t this a more common topic in this forum if it’s a viable option? i am still unsure about whether this is even possible.</p>
<p>Yeah. I was answering in terms of a community college but I have heard of people taking classes in the summer at their 4 year schools. I don’t know what school you will be attending but I quickly looked up some information. I just picked Boston University as an example. The links are below.</p>
<p>It does seem that BU does offer a lot of courses for the summer. Though, I know every school is different, your school still might offer a wide range of courses. I would contact the admissions and ask specifically about Summer Courses and what are the requirements, availability, etc, etc.</p>
<p>@crazybandit: Are you planning to transfer out of you local 4 year college? And if so, what schools do you want to transfer to?</p>
<p>I posted that advice mainly in regards to community colleges which often have articulation agreements with 4 year colleges that spells out what GE classes and prereqs are needed for transfer to a certain major. So I don’t know if this really applies in your case but it is possible to transfer between 4 year colleges.</p>
<p>dfa4ever, I’m in the same situation as crazybandit. Can you tell us what outside ECs would we need to make us competitive besides internships, studying abroad (traveling), and being a leader in a club related to your major and having honor society positions? Would these things be already enough?</p>
<p>If I remember correctly, you will be attending Baruch this fall, correct? Other schools offer summer courses but they are pretty pricey. I know Pace is also doing this but its a few thousand of dollars. This would be your cheapest option if you want to get ahead.</p>
<p>I think that is what you are looking for. I know you want to go ahead and take the most advance courses possible, but in order to do so you will have to take pre-reqs. I recommend Business 1000, English 2100+2150, and taking the SIMNET exam ASAP so you won’t be blocked from taking higher level courses.</p>
<p>PM me if you want more specific advice and tell me what college credit you are coming in with. I can tell you their equivalencies and offer as much advice as I can. I can also try and figure out what pre-reqs you should take at Baruch that will also be required at other colleges. I’m making my fall '10 schedule now so I’d be more than happy to help if you want.</p>
<p>yes, exactly. i dont know which schools i want to transfer to as i havent done research yet. i plan to do a lot of it before this fall. i want to shoot for lower ivy’s and tier 1s but i know that’d be difficult if i start off at baruch like a normal freshman with a horrible high school resume. i just need something a lot better, and am willing to work for it. baruch is beyond a safety to me.</p>
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<p>i will have ap calc bc and ap u.s. gov’t under my belt…also ap 3d studio art (who knows this exists?) but that is from my impression irrelevant. plus i will probably be getting like a 1 or a 2 on that, lol.</p>
<p>anyway, i will pm you soon. i am still open to advice in this thread.</p>
<p>@Seachai86442: ECs are important but your GPA is even more important The most important factor in terms of ECs is commitment level. I cut down my ECs to basically one activity this past year (karate, 7 yrs now) because I was taking on a heavy course load so that I could transfer with junior standing in one year as opposed to the traditional two years. You should really focus on a few that you would excel at rather than trying to compile a long list of ECs to try to sound impressive. Ultimately, I think admissions really look for factors such as commitment, achievement, and positive personality. In this sense, I would focus more on your essays and cultivating strong relationships with professors for recommendation letters and one or two ECs that you really excel at. And don’t slack off on your classes, plan carefully.</p>
<p>@crazybandit: if you are applying to privates, then reconsider taking the SAT if your score isn’t extremely high, especially if you plan to transfer after just one year at Baruch.</p>
<p>That’s what the UC admissions people say. They consider GPA and rigor of coursework more because it is the better indicator of success in college but they look at ECs to make sure that the person isn’t one dimensional and will be able to find a suitable niche in the school. One leadership position will make you more competitive than others without those positions but it also depends in what organization you hold this position and how long have you been involved in this particular organization.</p>
<p>My SAT score is high, but I lack a high GPA and leadership positions (nada; I have passions but I never translated them into ECs unfortunately). I am planning to transfer after two years, although I may apply after one if I become more successful than I predict I’ll be…</p>
<p>@Seachai: That sounds decent. If the club has a professor as a sponsor, try to take a class with the same professor to get a really nice recommendation letter, if the schools you look at require letters of rec.</p>
<p>@crazybandit: Then use your two years to try to get a perfect GPA. As for ECs: what have you done about your passions? Any achievement awards? How much time do you spend on your favorite activities? You can write all this into the application. Leadership positions rarely make or break you. For me, I never held any leadership positions. I just help teach the little kids’ karate class at my dojo and I also won a creative writing award at my high school.</p>