<p>I live in Southern California and I am confused about everything related to college. I am looking at: Please comment on my top choices and give your reccomendations and insights. </p>
<p>San Francisco State
UC Santa Barbara
UCLA
UC Berkeley
Boston University</p>
<p>I am looking for:
urban
good study abroad program(many students study abroad)
very diverse
broad foreign languages department
non-religious</p>
<p>After I graduate HS i will have taken Spanish, French, and Chinese, but I am not sure what I want to major in yet. I have been looking up careers related to translation/interpretation and I found out they make nothing. I do not want to be poor my entire life. but I want to be happy too. I find German to be interesting, but I feel the same with portuguese...but I would love to major in Japanese/Chinese too... although I have never even studied these languages. Due to my family not stably supporting me due to religious conflicts, I am beginning to realize that I may just have to go into debt and attend a cheap college like SFSU. This is why I am considering the Peace Corps, it helps build my resume and pays off my debt.(Comment please!). </p>
<p>I saw jobs such as :
Foreign trade analyst
Immigration Officer
Import/Export Administrator/Specialist
English Teacher Abroad (This would not be permanent)
*My teacher did this, but not through a program, and he became fluent in the language even though he had never studied it.</p>
<p>Advice for choosing an University/Language/Major/State?????????</p>
<p>I want to chose an Urban city that has many opportunities with internships</p>
<p>Why not study overseas? Plenty of countries have good quality programs teaching in English nowadays. For example Japan has its G30 program, many Korean universities teach in English, and even some Chinese schools are opening up to foreigners.</p>
<p>Studying your whole degree abroad may be cheaper than studying in the US; for example, my own university gives students the first year free, and tuition is approx 1/2 that in a US school. You would be able to study both Japanese plus another subject (say economics or biology). Often good scholarship plans are available too. One piece of advice - if you choose Japan, go for a public rather than private uni.</p>
<p>What are your stats? just wondering if you should aim for schools with lower accepted stats to increase chances of merit scholarships? Linfield in Oregon comes to mind, and Whittier CA. Both known for merit aid and strong in languages/abroad. But not urban per say.</p>
<p>I know my Uni teaches German and I think French, but we don’t have them as English-taught majors. At my uni you’d probably take a degree in something else, like sociology or economics, and take the languages as electives. You can study language as electives in all 4 years. A dedicated student should be able to get the Japanese Proficiency Test level 1 in 4 years, plus graduate with a good degree.</p>
<p>Why not enrol in a Spanish Uni if you want to do a degree in Spanish - there will almost certainly be English language courses. Nothing risky about it, I should think. If anything it will be significantly cheaper than a US education.</p>
<p>I second the Middlebury suggestion. It’s a great school for anything language-related: literature, linguistics, foreign languages. And its study abroad programs are very good. And you can submit three subject tests instead of the SAT, which could work out very well for you if you take three language tests and do well on them.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in French and German, why not consider the American University of Paris (AUP) or Jacobs University Bremen? Both are international universities where the primary language of instruction is English, but the local language is also heavily emphasized. I have friends at both, and they’re studying French/German very intensively.</p>
<p>Not.
It’s in a small rural town. Approximate distances to cities:
Rutland about 30 mi
Albany about 100 mi
Montreal about 130 mi (the closest major, attractive urban destination)
Boston about 200 mi
NYC about 270 mi</p>
<p>If you want similar strengths in a larger, urban school in the East, consider Georgetown University. It offers a Washington, DC location, great internship opportunities, and one of the country’s best programs in International Relations. It is a Catholic (Jesuit) school but fairly secular in atmosphere. If the religious association is a problem, consider American University (also in DC). </p>
<p>These schools are expensive so costs could be a show-stopper. If your parents are able but unwilling to cover the costs, you won’t get aid (unless it’s merit aid from a less selective school). In that case, loans may not be a feasible solution either. If you can share more details about your family’s financial situation, people here may be able to offer advice. Figure out your “Expected Family Contribution” (EFC), then how much of that your parents are actually willing and able to cover, under what circumstances.</p>
<p>I do not think I can get into these universities. Plus, until what month senior year can I take SAT tests? my family situation is confusing. My family is Christian(leaning towards fundamentalist, even though they do not even know their branch of Christianity), but I am not. When my parents found out my brother was not either, it was the day before leaving for college. They wanted to help him find a church he could attend weekly, but then they realized he did not like the idea and they actually threw his suitcase at his head and were yelling at him like maniacs for 7 hours. My parents do not agree with evolution, even though they only were taught(at church) or “know” that we came for apes and would question and evolutions and say “Well, why aren’t we evolving know…haha I got you!” . Plus my family hates gay people. I actually would explain my situation as I feel like a gay child not accepted by their parents even though I am straight, it is more of religious affiliation/issue. This is why SF sounds like the perfect city for me, because there are open minded people everywhere…haha refreshing. My parents , I think, have anger management and bipolar. I remember when I was young, my parents fought so bad that I would hide in the closet and wish I would disappear. I was suicidal since 6 years old! IT is getting harder and I really need a phycologist and college counselor because I am going to be a senior and a 1st generation college student. I wish my parents would get divorced and I wish I was given to different parent long ago when I was 5. I think I am dyslexic(had to use spell check hah), so I asked my mom and she told me she thought so too, but she never tested me. She has no idea how much pain this has caused me. I never liked reading in school,and I felt stupid compared to all my friends. My parents never read to me either when I was young. Neither did they encourage it, only with the Bible. Any Advice? My parents look down on people who get divorced, and my dad still brings up a time when he spanked me and I peed in my pants, and he laghs and he practically infers I am a wuss. IT makes me sick. All my dad does everyday is watch movies over and over, and he never hears anyone, he is in his own little world. Please give advice I feel as though I am going insane.</p>
<p>First thing to realize, this is not your fault.</p>
<p>There are people like you, people who can support you. Probably try to find your local atheist group. You may want to look up the Atheist Experience TV show. They also have a podcast, and it may suprise you to learn how many people have been in the same situation. Many of them have been through the same situation - they come from deeply religious and often abusive families, but they’ve made their way out and are living better lives as a result.<br>
If I were you, I would not rely on my parents for anything. You’ll have to work hard to get scholarships and probably a job through college, but it is possible. I am not saying disavow your parents - I wouldn’t suggest such a thing, but putting yourself in a position where you are not reliant on them puts you in a much better position.</p>
<p>If your parents were not your parents, you wouldn’t socialize with people who treat you this way. Your parents are supposed to be the people who love you the most, love you unconditionally - their behaviour towards you is completely indefensible. It is so sad to see religion twist people’s brains so badly that they turn out this way.</p>
<p>Get a bit of space between you and your folks. Next time you approach them, do it on your terms, with you in control. College is the perfect opportunity to do this, but you’re going to have to find a way to support yourself. I don’t know the US college system well, but it may be hard to do it there. You will find a way however. Good luck.</p>
<p>based on everything, i think i may have a perfect match for you: American University.</p>
<p>If you get your SATs up to about an 1850 or so, it’s right in line for you statistically. I’m not sure about their Language majors, but it’s one of the top International Studies programs in the country which tells me that they value those departments highly. It’s in the heart of Washington, DC, making it very urban and the perfect place to be for international-related careers. It’s Methodist-affiliated, so it could ease your parents worries, but it’s hardly a bible-thumping, fundamentalist campus. Very open and tolerant, and you would meet so many different types of people with different politics/races/nationalities/orientations.</p>
<p>Thank you for the support. I actually am trying to be a CSU presidential scholar so that college is free all 4 years, but we will see how that works out. My parents have stopped going to church for a while, but now they are going to begin attending again, and I am going to be forced to go. Should I just sit down and shut up during service or ask questions in front of of parents. Lol…it would be hilarious if I asked a question during service haha my parents would never take me again…and they would switch churches out of embarrassment from having a “doubting child”. My parents believe doubting is a “sin”. Well, I really loved reading biologyguy’s post, and as for kylebelieves’s post, it seems you are religious and sane and all, but I do not want to risk with what I have gone through and go to a school surrounded by people who are all religious. I have had people recommend theses schools allot though, so I appreciate the fact that you are adding to my college list that people constantly match me to. I appreciate all your advice!! I watched a video that biologyguy recommended and I love it, thanks!</p>
<p>My advice would be to go along to church with your parents, and take notes. Pretty much every religion has good some really crazy content (from Mohammed’s flying horse, to unicorns in the bible, to people living in whales’ stomachs). Keep your cool, and keep your mouth shut until you are in a position to support yourself. You don’t want to be thrown out of the house with no-where to live.</p>
<p>You sound like you have your head on right. Keep going with how you are going, and it will turn out good in the future. Good luck mate.</p>
<p>American is hardly religious in nature. It just has that label. Sure, it’s not a bunch of athiest hippies preaching anti-everything, but it’s surely one of the most diverse campuses in the US. It was simply started by the Methodist church.</p>
<p>Realistically, Cal and any highly selective college won’t be an option. Even if you are admitted to a college like BU and American, you won’t be able to afford them since they don’t meet full financial need. (And the calculation for “need” will include your parents regardless if they want to pay or not.)</p>
<p>Don’t assume Peace Corp to pay off loans. My niece was turned down by them. She has a learning disability that she can not take notes. My S is considering Army to pay off college loans. 3 years pays off $62k in loans.</p>
<p>Dyslexia - GET tested. I would think you can ask the school or have your English teacher on your side. Why? Because state colleges help SO much. My niece had a note taker for her classes - attended CA state University. It helped the note taker - probably financial aid work study payment. She also got a disability bus pass - embarrassed the heck out of her. States want you to succeed in college.</p>
<p>ucsb is not a college in an urban setting. It is about 10 miles north of Santa Barbara proper, and compared to the LA and Bay Area SB itself would not be considered that urban anyway.</p>
<p>Don’t know if this will help, but the website could help other viewers look at colleges. It lists courses in different and unique languages. Most of the languages are rarely taught.</p>