Colleges

[Run BJM]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheFreshPrince:</div><div class="quote_post">thats what i was thinking about the rate. I cant wait, hopefully i can transfer to a different school after a few years though, jsut for a new experience. Anyone done this, and can give me some advice?</div>
I'm not totally sure what you're talking about but there's a program where I live where if you attend a community college for a year or two you are guaranteed to get into certain UC or State schools (can't remember if it's one or the other or both though I would imagine it's only States). I'd recommend it for those who would otherwise have to go to a very poor college, this way they can shore up whatever requirments they need to get into a good college and they're guaranteed to get into a nice college. Of course if you can get into a good university you should probably just save the time and go for that.

 

[TheFreshPrince]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Run BJM:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm not totally sure what you're talking about but there's a program where I live where if you attend a community college for a year or two you are guaranteed to get into certain UC or State schools (can't remember if it's one or the other or both though I would imagine it's only States). I'd recommend it for those who would otherwise have to go to a very poor college, this way they can shore up whatever requirments they need to get into a good college and they're guaranteed to get into a nice college. Of course if you can get into a good university you should probably just save the time and go for that.</div>

naw, im thinking of transferring (switching colleges) or studying abroad somewhere after a while just for fun. Like Cali, or Europe or something.

 

[Karma]

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I had a mediocre first year. Better than a lot, but not as good as I probably could have. I think it was 3.4 GPA (high 70's? I can't remember). But yea, it's not as much about how you did in high school as it is how you do in university. I cruised through my last year of HS, with an 83 average I think, and I had no problem getting into universities. 85 % is basically a 4.0 (best GPA possible), so, yea, you gotta bust your ass once you get in.

The UofT system works a little different from other, so I've heard. I'll ask a York friend how there's does. Ours is basically you need to specialize your degree in your 2nd year. You can either do a specialist (basically one area of study), 2 majors, or 1 major and 2 minors. I chose 1 major and 2 minors because the more specialized you get, the more mandatory courses you'll probably have. Plus I forgot about signing up for them until the last couple weeks, so my options were a little limited.

Also, the one piece of advice that I can honestly give you for your first year of uni, is to never, ever, ever fall behind on your readings. It's a killer for a humanities student, because it's ridiculously hard to catch up with so many books for each class. And essays come in bunches, so start once you get them. Probably a little premature for you, but those are lessons from a chronic procrastinator.</div>

I'm actually a really bad procrastinator. I bombed in Chem in Grade 11 cause I would always hand in labs late and stuff. However, if I do somehting on time, it's usually an 80%+ work, and come University, I won't be slacking off like I do in High School.

Also, as far as getting into law school, what is your backup option if you CAN'T get into law school? I ponder this now because if I end up taking something like Philosophy or something to get into law school yet don't get accepted, I'm likely stuck going after a lower positioned job in law (something like a paralegal) or I'll have to retake courses to get into writing. If you are not accepted, will the only way you can try again be by getting a bachelor's in something else and improving your mark? When I was doing research, they said that you can either apply after you're done your undergraduate OR after you get a bachelor's in something.

 

[thedude9990]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Voodoo Child:</div><div class="quote_post">Actually, my grades weren't that high. I was in the top 10% of my graduating class, but that was just by a slim margin. Infact, I even have arrests and an expulsion on my record. My standardized test scores were pretty insane though (for the record, I'm going to keep them private so people don't start comparing their situation with my own), and I think that gave me the edge. When you score in a school's 99% range, they have a hard time nitpicking about whatever holes your application has.

I always assumed Notre Dame was the only one that didn't accept me because of their strict moral values and whatnot, but I had a poor disciplinary record, which is a damn shame, because that was my dream school since I was a little kid.



Yeah, and there were even more safety schools I applied to - Ferris State (MI), Florida, Michigan State, Saint Louis, Tennessee, and Texas.

Like I said though, my grandparents put up the application money, otherwise I probably would have cut my list down to two or three schools. Applications are something like $80 these days.



Let me put it this way: I got accepted into a few Ivy League schools, yet I would never even think about wasting my application money trying to get into Stanford; it's that hard to get into. In fact, according to the 2007 edition of U.S. News & World Report's <u>America's Best Colleges</u> (a must-buy for any aspiring college student), they rank Stanford as the fourth hardest college in America to get into, with a 12% acceptance rate. The only schools which are harder to get into are Harvard, Yale, and Princeton (in that order).

Here are some statistics on California colleges which migh help your decision making process -

(# = rank on U.S. News & World Report's '07 Best National Universities list)
(% = percentage of incoming freshmen in the top 10% of their graduating class)
(%acc = percentage of freshmen accepted out of those who applied)
(SAT = average SAT score of incoming freshmen based on a 1600 scale)

#4 (tie) Stanford - 89%, 12%acc, 1360-1550
#4 (tie) Cal-Tech - 94%, 20%acc, 1470-1580
#21 Cal-Berkeley - 99%, 27%acc, 1220-1450 (#1 public school in America)
#26 UCLA - 97%, 27%acc, 1170-1410 (#4 public school in America)
#27 Southern Cal. - 85%, 27%acc, 1270-1440
#38 UC-San Diego - 99%, 44%acc, 1150-1370 (#8 public school in America)
#44 UC-Irvine - 98%, 60%acc, 1110-1300 (#12 public school in America)
#47 (tie) UC-Davis - 95%, 61%acc, 1060-1300 (#13 public school in America)
#47 (tie) UC-Santa Barbara - 96%, 53%acc, 1090-1320 (#13 public school in America)
#54 Pepperdine - 43%, 28%acc, 1120-1330
#76 UC-Santa Cruz - 96%, 75%acc, 1050-1270 (#33 public school in America)
#88 UC-Riverside - 94%, 76%acc, 950-1200 (#39 public school in America)
#98 Pacific - 43%, 53%acc, 1080-1300</div>

can you tell me where you got that info from or tell me the info on rutgers because i would like to see how much i need to or not need to do to make sure i get in

 

[AznxBaller]

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">
That's a pretty good mix of good grades, with honors classes, and doing sports and other extracurriclular stuff. You should be able to get into a very nice college but some of the top big name colleges are absurdly difficult to get into, you still might be able to get in though but your chances are significantly higher if you apply to a top notch college in your state. </div>
Yeah, I'm definitely going to apply for Penn, the only problem is that college, like Stanford, is one of the hardest schools to get into in the nation.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">
I'm in a similar boat to you though, I've got a 3.2 GPA, 3.8 weighted (which is what colleges look at) but I'm only just starting my junior year of high school. I'm in an AP class and 2 other honors classes, in a few clubs, but no sports teams etc. so that doesnt really help me. I did VERY well on the PSAT last year (seems like alot of the really smart people think too much on those tests and screw themselves up with the pressure to be perfect) and I'm in a class with alot of the smartest kids from several schools to help prepare for the SAT so that's a good sign because I've heard some colleges weigh it heavily into choosing their students.</div>
Yep, same here. I'm just starting my junior year of high school this year (starts the 5th) and from what I'm hearing from everyone, this is really the year to push it and work hard on everything. Thus, currently, I'm signed up for three AP classes (I'm screwed), everything else honors (I'm screwed), in a few clubs (I'm screwed), and still doing the norm track and cross country. I'm actually planning on taking the PSAT afterwards, since the SAT training will still be fresh in my head. Right now I'm taking Kaplan, which invariably will mess even more with my school work since its once a week for almost three hours.

Not sure about taking the ACT though, since I'm already taking the PSSA's (Pennsylania state test) and still have a bunch of school work to take care of.

 

[Midnight Green]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AznxBaller:</div><div class="quote_post">
Not sure about taking the ACT though, since I'm already taking the PSSA's (Pennsylania state test) and still have a bunch of school work to take care of.</div>
The PSSA is a pain we are going to be taking it around Feb-March. They have been drilling that test into our heads ever since we came to high school

 

[Chutney]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Junoon:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm actually a really bad procrastinator. I bombed in Chem in Grade 11 cause I would always hand in labs late and stuff. However, if I do somehting on time, it's usually an 80%+ work, and come University, I won't be slacking off like I do in High School.

Also, as far as getting into law school, what is your backup option if you CAN'T get into law school? I ponder this now because if I end up taking something like Philosophy or something to get into law school yet don't get accepted, I'm likely stuck going after a lower positioned job in law (something like a paralegal) or I'll have to retake courses to get into writing. If you are not accepted, will the only way you can try again be by getting a bachelor's in something else and improving your mark? When I was doing research, they said that you can either apply after you're done your undergraduate OR after you get a bachelor's in something.</div>
Yea, I was the exact same way in high school. I would start writing essays the night before and, generally, I could easily get and 85% (if not more), just off of my writing skills. You can still do it in university, but there's so much more to the process now (editing actually means something), that you actually see a significant difference between procrastinating and not.

To tell you the truth, I haven't even thought about a backup plan. Getting into law school is my goal at the moment and I'm confident that I have the ability to get in. It'd be a different case if I wasn't sure if I could. But, for me, it's just a matter of applying myself and buckling down.

 

[AznxBaller]

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">
The PSSA is a pain we are going to be taking it around Feb-March. They have been drilling that test into our heads ever since we came to high school</div>
Yeah haha, with the Pennsylanvia Writing Asessment or whatever (that way they score essays).

 

[Shapecity]

MrJ and the rest of you college hopefuls, I strongly suggest visiting each campus before you apply. Being in the right environment is key for whether or not you're going to have the college experience you want. Visit around the area, talk to people, and maybe check out what the job situation is like.

Choosing the right school also depends on what you want to major in and also how their curriculam is set up.

When I applied to college I was accepted at Berkeley Business School and Cal Poly SLO Business school and University of Arizona. Originally I wanted to go to Berkeley because I spent a lot of time partying out there and a lot of my friends went there. However, I decided not to go because I didn't realize some of the roadblocks the school had in order to graduate. For one, it's hard as hell to get the classes you want and most classes have a few hundred students in a lecture hall. I visited Arizona campus, I couldn't stand the weather or the city.

I decided to go to SLO because the business school was just developed, it had the top ranked computer lab in the nation at the time, it's a quarter system instead of semester. (Quarter system is 10 intense weeks of a course), so you get right into the core of the subject. And the classes were smaller and emphasize a lot of group projects.

Take those things into consideration

 

[Karma]

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">
To tell you the truth, I haven't even thought about a backup plan. Getting into law school is my goal at the moment and I'm confident that I have the ability to get in. It'd be a different case if I wasn't sure if I could. But, for me, it's just a matter of applying myself and buckling down
</div>

Me either. At this point, I have it instilled within me that I'm going to be a lawyer come hell or high water. By the way, what kind of law practice are planning on going to specifically? If I end up taking something like psychology, I'll probably aim for Criminal law, but my general aim right now is to get into civil law, more especially family law. I can't get into corporate law due to my lack of business courses and what not, plus I'm not exactly good with numbers. That leaves out Tort law, which I guess could be my other backup.

 

[Chutney]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Junoon:</div><div class="quote_post">Me either. At this point, I have it instilled within me that I'm going to be a lawyer come hell or high water. By the way, what kind of law practice are planning on going to specifically? If I end up taking something like psychology, I'll probably aim for Criminal law, but my general aim right now is to get into civil law, more especially family law. I can't get into corporate law due to my lack of business courses and what not, plus I'm not exactly good with numbers. That leaves out Tort law, which I guess could be my other backup.</div>
I'm most interested in criminal law, and I could see myself becoming a prosecutor or something like that. I definitely don't want to go into corporate law, even if that's where the money is. I have a cousin in NY that an immigration lawyer, and she said that if I went into a similar field we could open a joint firm. But, I'm not sure I'd find it that interesting and, the way I see it, there's enough brown immigration lawyers in the GTA as it is. Right now, I have a general idea of what I find interesting, but I'm waiting until I get into law school before I seriously think about it.

My real dream though is to become a lawyer like Lionel Hutz and open a firm in a shopping mall called "I Can't Believe It's a Law Firm!"

 

[hustler]

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Junoon:</div><div class="quote_post">Since I'm lost on all the American colleges/Universities, I thought I'd open a topic regarding Canadian schools in this same thread.

To any Canadians on this board, what schools do you go to/are planning to go to?

I'm actually aiming for York or perhaps Ryerson, but it depends what path I want to go. I'm not sure what to take as an undergraduate before applying to law school, and that is my biggest problem. However, York offers things like Psychology, Social & Political Thought, Creative Writing, and Professional Writing as undergraduates, so I might venture into one of those. However, to any one going into law in this thread...would you reccomend taking a law course as an undergraduate? Cause York offers a "Law & Society" course as well with an undergraduate, and it transfers to a bachelors in Law (which you can obtain through Law school). However, I'm not sure because I have been told that I am quite a good writer and writing should definetly be one of my priorities...but I'm really not sure.</div>
I'm in McMaster.