Thanks all! She does have a bunch of privates on her list, but I didn’t ask about them because they were no-brain era and/or I knew them well.
re USC – that’s really useful info! I’ve been vacillating about it because I grew up in SoCal (in the University of Spoiled Children era), but also because we visited a lab there a few years ago and I had a completely different impression. (Helped both by the fact that the scientist who was showing us around was a Californian my age who talked about the changes and by the stark contrast between the budget cuts the UCs were dealing with at the time and the money USC was pouring into construction of new labs and other buildings.). "Stolen Colleagues"seems right, LOL, I hadn’t heard that before but my comment at the time of the visit was that what was going on there reminded me of UT Austin in the early 1980s.
FWIW, I don’t think she’ll end up in pure bio and she is good at math. We’ll see is she survives the “lab test,” so to speak. I agree that that’s crucial. Not my cuppa tea, but could be hers. And while I see the wisdom of the approach when looking are requirements for college bio majors, I’ve been surprised by how much of her science education in HS will be non-bio e.g. 1.5 years of Physics, 2 years of Chem, 1.5 years of Calc/Calc-based Stats (not counting the Physics which is also Calc-based), a year of lab.
I think it is hard to get in any engineering majors at UCSD as an OOS student, and transfers are competitive and rquire high GPAs in core engineering courses. They even discourage you from taking honors classes, so if you can’t get in on enrollment, you will have to chose a path. … BTW nano=chemE so all engineering at UCSD is impacted.
Google big door vs little door at UCLA, same situation. Easier to get in either UCLA or UCB for Bio than UCSD engineering.
@zz3613 thanks for the info
Thus far, she seems to have no interest in engineering. Her UCSD worry was more about humanities alternatives if she decided she wasn’t cut out for real-life science and/or medical research. Not a concern at Berkeley or Ann Arbor, or any of the privates she’s interested in, but could be more of an issue at UCSD (and is one of the reasons she’s not looking at MIT, Harvey Mudd, CalTech, or Carnegie Mellon.)
excademic,
USC is currently running a $ 6 BILLION fundraising drive that has almost reached its goal- the board of trustees have pitched in over $1 Billion themselves! Money is indeed no problem these days, especially compared to the UC system, and the improvements and future plans for new buildings all around the campus are proof of that.
Times have indeed changed! USC’s goal is to become the "Stanford of Southern Calif "and I think they will eventually accomplish that .
You should look at the plans for the entirely new residential complex in University Village, across from the campus- very impressive!
Your DD and you should make a visit- admission to USC is becoming very competitive, and sending in an application is not enough- even for kids with impressive credentials. They DO want to feel the love from applicants. Interviewing while she is here is a must.
USC also encourages its students to double major or do majors and minors, especially in diverse areas.The Renaissance Scholars program is one of the many programs set up to support those efforts. And the opportunities for students to do paid research is unlimited.
Yeah, she looked at other majors and the course catalogue. Not a school that would be on her shortlist if she wasn’t focussed on Cog Sci. But that’s largely a function of her other interests (not a match) and the fact that we’re OOS (not a bargain).