Upcoming senior, need help choosing colleges!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello CC!</p>

<p>I'm applying to college soon but I have some obstacles I must overcome. My goal college is one of the main UC schools specifically UCSD, UCD, UCSB, and UCI. My intended major is electrical engineering. However, reading off chances, UC's seem to expect A LOT and is getting harder each year. </p>

<p>So I am choosing CSU's for back-up but I do not know which ones to choose! Raised by Asian parents, they don't know much about college besides the "prestige" of them. They've always wanted me to go to Berkeley or Standford but unfortunately I have failed them. My main problem is extracurricular activities and overall high school achievements. Going through these forums, a lot of students have sate awards and such and seem to be a high match to reach to these UC's. </p>

<p>So what CSU's do you recommend I apply to for EE? & I'm trying my best to do more college research this summer.</p>

<p>Thank you and best regards to whoever answers! </p>

2

<p>The highest ranked Cal state for any type of Engineering is Cal Poly SLO. Very competitive and many times comparable to the Mid-tier UC’s in rankings. You might also want to consider Cal Poly Pomona, San Jose State and San Diego State. For the Cal States, your GPA and SAT/ACT scores are the most important. EC’s are not heavily considered.</p>

3

<p>What are your stats? What have your parents told you they will offer you each year? You can only borrow $27K over four years. How are you going to pay for any of these colleges?</p>

4

<p>I’m planning on doing AFROTC so hopefully they’ll cover some of my tuition. My current UWGPA is 3.8 and WGPA is 4.4. My SAT I is 2060 and SAT II I’m taking this October Math II and Physics. How’s CSULB? Thanks for the replies! Appreciate the help so far.</p>

5

<p>CSULB is good but with your STATs I would definitely consider SLO.</p>

6

<p>AFROTC eligibility complicates things, OP, as you know, so I’ll just say I think you’re a good possibility at any of the SCHOOLS named. It might help others to know if your GPA is figured according to the UC formula.</p>

7

<p>No I only considered UWGPA as no extra points given to any AP or honors classes and WGPA as +1. I haven’t calculated my UCGPA yet. I will consider SLO thank you. The only reason I am nervous when it comes UC’s are my EC’s which only consist of volunteering, wrestling, and other minor clubs such as NHS. But there is no real way to chance someone without reviewing the whole application therefore I am considering backups as so. Thank you again! Any feedback for an upcoming senior would be great to, like what I should do to better prepare myself for college and application itself.</p>

8

<p>Write the essays now. Then keep rewriting them until you run out of time. A little bit every day, but every day. Have them read and re-read and re-read until you run out of time. Your writing ability is going to determine your grade in a whole lot of h.s. and college courses, in addition to rest of your life. One’s writing is never good enough.</p>

9

<p>Of course. That’s actually one of my summer homework. Thank you for the tip! You’re really helpful. </p>

10

<p>Are you planning on applying for the AFROTC scholarship? What about the Air Force Academy?</p>

11

<p>Yes I am & no. My uncle is currently a 1st LT so he’s going to tell me the details. He finished AFROTC at SDSU and got his degree at UCSD in engineering as well. </p>

12

<p>You have a shot at the UC’s, but you’re wise to look for other colleges. I second the posters above who suggestedd Cal Poly SLO - as “prestigious” as the UCs you cite and a very good match for your stats.
SDSU, CPP, SJSU, CSULB, would be other choices, rounded off with Chico Honors (since it’s more residential).
You can always throw in USC for a reach; also check out during the summer: U of the Pacific, Loyola Marymount, and Santa Clara.
If you can look further than CA, look into Northeastern (apply EA), ASU Barrett, Montana State, Colorado School of Mines, Seattle University, University of Denver, University of Colorado-Boulder = you’d be likely to get merit aid there if it matters.</p>

13

<p>I love my alma mater, MYOS, but Boulder’s not real good with OOS aid. It would cost the OP 51K before travel and merit of around $5-10K. My D was accepted there, and I know what her package was.</p>

14

<p>CPSLO, SJSU, and CPP are probably the most obvious CSUs for electrical engineering. However, they are also among the more competitive ones (particularly CPSLO). You can check SJSU’s admission thresholds by major for recent years here: <a href=“http://info.sjsu.edu/static/admission/impaction.html”>http://info.sjsu.edu/static/admission/impaction.html&lt;/a&gt; (CSU eligibility index is calculated as described at <a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU; using GPA calculated as described at <a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU; ).</p>

<p>Consider UCSC as well if you want a school within driving distance of Silicon Valley computer companies for recruiting purposes.</p>

<p>South Dakota Mines and New Mexico Tech should be safeties if you want a small engineering school, and are relatively low cost even for out-of-state students (unlike Colorado Mines).</p>

15

<p>Do the UC’s even care about extracurriculars? Most state schools don’t. Heck, would they even care that much about your essays?</p>

16

<p>At least some UCs do. <a href=“http://opa.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/UC%20Berkeley%20CDS%202013-14%20(June).pdf”>http://opa.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/UC%20Berkeley%20CDS%202013-14%20(June).pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

17

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<p>The UC’s care about extracurriculars and essays. The CSU’s do not care about extracurriculars and don’t require essays. </p>

18

<p>So would that mean SLO does not care about EC and essays? I mean considering the engineering program is fairly competitive, would having EC’s help? Also, I’m a bit confused of their calculation of SAT scores. Do they only do M+CR /1600 or take the whole 2400?</p>

19

<p>Cal Poly SLO does not require an essay for applying. It does somewhat care about EC, but not as much as UCs. They only care about the M+CR score, therefore out of 1600. </p>

<p>For engineering, the average admission GPA 4.10, Average SAT 1398 out of 1600. </p>

20

<p>CPSLO is an exception to CSUs in that it considers additional criteria:
<a href=“http://www.act.org/epc/ppt/EPC%202013%20F1.2%20Maraviglia%20Amos.pdf”>http://www.act.org/epc/ppt/EPC%202013%20F1.2%20Maraviglia%20Amos.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;