<p>So I'm a sophomore at a community college in CA majoring in econ. I was majoring in business at first coz I thought a bus. admin. degree is essential if you want to do business later on. Now coz I have to write app essays, I started reading n searching a lot about majors (too late I know!), and found out an undergrad degree in ECON would be the best preparation for MBA. (Yep, my goal is a MBA in finance). Since studying econ seems interesting for me so far, I decided to change major.</p>
<p>When it comes to Econ major, Ivy League, UChicago, top econ undergrad schools in East Cost got in my mind which I never thought of as a transfer student. But now it's too late to do anything since deadlines for those schools are very near (around Feb, March) and my stats is BAD. Ok here:
GPA: 3.6_ Honor Program
EC: some positions in Student Government, leader of a club, member of 2 clubs, some minor volunteers/ leadership conferences..
Toefl, SAT.. haven't taken..
(0 chance)..</p>
<p>In California, UCB is my no. 1 choice but I doubt if I can make it becoz of my too low GPA. I think I have a slight chance at Marshall USC. That's it for what I want from CA. Out-state schools, I'm not interested in LAC but national universities. Other than that, none of the rest satisfies the reason of studying in America. Why?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I'm international student and most ppl in Asian countries only know FOREVER BIG names like Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Princeton, UChicago.. the thing is they don't even know Dartmouth, Brown, MIT, UT, Baruch, top LACs (I heard it myself). So if I come from an ok school (not mentioning good ones above), I can hardly get far when I come back to my home country. Sorry, don't mean to offend anyone, but this is reality in Asia.</p></li>
<li><p>Ppl always say it doesn't matter which undergrad school you go to, if you tend to get a MBA, grad school is what that matters. But seriously, isn't your chance lower to get a good job after graduating from an ok undergrad compared to a top one? You have to work for few years before applying for MBA anyway! Ok, 'nothing is impossible', 'chances are everywhere', but let's not count on exceptions! coz that's not too realistic!</p></li>
<li><p>What if something happens, I can't pursue an MBA, my bachelor degree's the highest one? </p></li>
<li><p>You only go to undergrad school once in a life time, why not make it top?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So, my option is to stay another year here to allow myself more time to prepare apps again. I'm still doing apps for admissions in fall2010, but if I can't get into either UCB or USC, I'll stay here for one more year. I've been thinking a lot n came up with some pros n cons:</p>
<p>Pros:
- give myself a try to top notches in econ field (as I mentioned) so I wouldnt regret coz at least I try.
- pull up GPA
- more time to explore my major before facing real university courses.
- more time to improve reading/ writing skills and other skills necessary for business world.
- just got a call from mom and she kinda wants me to stay another year to take care of my sis coming here to study next year. (she's immature xD) >>> one more reason to stay.</p>
<p>Cons:
- time + money consuming
- staying another year while most of my friends get out after 2 years here = very frustrating
- econ major + 3 yrs in a community college = big loser
- family + friends. This is my life after all.. buut still..
- study SATs = pain in the neck</p>
<p>I'm being very narrow-minded here.. I hope for advices from outsiders who have experiences and are open-minded. What would you guys do? Go to an ok school and work the a** off for grad school or TOP 10? I'm almost done with all my classes required for the major.. what would I do if I stay another yr? get internships? join more activities, study SATs all day long? double major? </p>
<p>Please clear up my mind..
Thanks for reading the long post. I really appreciate it.</p>