Thinking about College (Vanity)

Me

[AVNevis]

OK, normally I would never post this thread. But things are slow tonight and I am bored so I will.

I would like to see if anyone has suggestions for college. I am a high school freshman with a 3.8 GPA (And that's before you factor in the advanced classes) and who consistantly ranks among the top 10% of California students on standardized tests. I live in Sacramento and would like to stay in California if possible. I would also like to go to a public school unless I could get a scholership. I am looking at a major in political science.

A few that I am thinking about right now are UC Berkely, UCLA, UC Davis, and Sacramento State, but am open to others.

Obviously I still have a few years to think about this, but as I said earlier, I found tonight an opportunity to start exploring.

Comments?

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Stay focused on your goals, and strive for the best credentials you can achieve. The best schools teach you how to think well (critically) -- without indoctrination.

[endthematrix]

Top 10 Most Politically Conservative Colleges:

1. Texas A&M
2. Grove City College
3. Samford University
4. Hampden-Sydney College
5. Brigham Young University (UT)
6. United States Naval Academy
7. University of Dallas
8. United States Air Force Academy
9. United States Merchant Marine Academy
10. University of Mississippi


Top 10 Most Politically Liberal Colleges:

1. Warren Wilson College
2. Bard College
3. Sarah Lawrence College
4. Hampshire College
5. New College of Florida
6. St. John's College (NM)
7. Earlham College
8. Wesleyan University
9. Reed College
10. Vassar College


(MSN Encarta - The Princeton Review)

[AVNevis]

The football team kicks ass, which it *never* did when I went there!

Tell me about it. I've been going to their football games practically since I was born and this season has been a nice departure from the usual 3-9. BTW, what is No.21 Pitt doing in the BCS without NO.5 Cal?

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

Well educated and well principled youth are our best hope.

[Roselani]

Go to College Confidential (online). It is a great website, and includes message boards for aspiring college students. Good luck.

[endthematrix]

"Don't go straight to college from High School."

I disagree. The comparison is apples to oranges. Slackers are apples while AVNevis is an orange, a disciplined student. College will give you an understanding of the real world, and you probably work while there. I assume you'll work plenty of Summers until then, so you won't have to find a job (after HS) that you just leave for college. Get the education, get the job, get the money and follow your dreams.

[Paleo Conservative]

If I take off my glasses now I wouldn't be able to see the computer screen.

Quite a few people in the military get free laser surgery to correct their vision.

[Dan from Michigan]

1. If you haven't taken the ACT or SAT yet, get one of those computer programs which is essentially a practice test. I only took the ACT, but that program helped bigtime. I scored 19 and 20 on the practice tests, but I got a 25 on the test itself that was the number one reason I was able to get in with my rather weak GPA. The practice tests were harder than the real deal. A 3.8 if you keep it, should be able to get you into most places with a good test score. In my state, that would probably be a tossup for U-Michigan or a few engineering schools like Kettering.
2. Pick a school that fits your field and what you are looking for. Talk to teachers and talk to older friends who have gone on to college.
3. If you are looking at a political science field in California, if you go to a school near the state capitol, you may have an easier shot at field experience. I had two advantages at Michigan State(Although I wasn't a political science major till later in my schooling). My hometown was less than an hour away and in the same congressional district. The Capitol in Lansing was a 15 minute drive from campus. I had good contacts which could intertwine with one another.
4. Extra-curricular activites in high school are an advantage to being admitted. In my case it was football and track.
5. In a poltical science degree, unless you go to law school, the most important thing is field experience.

[wardaddy]

man....i sure didn't think about such weighty stuff in the 9th grade.

[AggieCPA]

"Beuhler...Beuhler....Beuhler"

[Paleo Conservative]

I know someone who took his PhD courses at Texas A&M but who teaches at Earlham College.

[LdSentinal]

I don't know, but it's nice to have a 14-15 year old conservative who has not yet been brainwashed by academic liberals.

[mwyounce]

The football team kicks ass, which it *never* did when I went there!

They had a bit of trouble down here in Hattiesburg! I don't know that I'd call it an "ass-kicking!" :-)

AV, one thing I did was take the SAT several times, starting in my freshman year... I found that each time I took it, my scores went up, as I felt more comfortable with the format of the test. Most colleges will take your best score from the verbal and your best score from the math sections, so you can mix-and-match to get the best scores. Good luck!

[Jew4GWB]

I know you said you want to stay in CA, but how about Hillsdale College or St. John's College? They're quite "traditional" . . .

[pcgTheDestroyer]

I [blast liberal weenie teachers] already to my high school teachers, and yes, it is fun.

Be careful with that. It is easy to cultivate an arrogant attitude and lose out on learning just because the teacher is a putz. Question motives and premises, but don't throw out the teaching just because the poor misguided schlep offering it is a confused lib.

Be careful also with the well-intentioned advice to take a year off to work. It's certainly possible to go back to school after working for a while, and it definitely helps some with priorities, but it can be VERY difficult to pull yourself away from what might seem like scads of money to do something as lame as college might seem. $20,000/year goes a long way toward convincing you that college might not be necessary.

If possible, I would say to take a year to travel or study abroad. In terms of keeping you out of college, it's fairly self-defeating unless you have a TON of mom and dad's money to burn through. If you don't, you'll have to "do something" with your life eventually; having experienced other cultures, learned languages, etc. you'll be all the more prepared for college.

Don't test out of classes if you can help it. AP classes in high school are a mixed bag, some of which only really teach you tricks, rather than the truths behind the material. College-level courses are almost always going to be better at conveying the essence of the material than your high school classes would be; testing out of the college courses, while tempting, may not be the best way to go.

Don't be in a hurry. (This relates to testing out of classes.) Be where you are now and enjoy it, even if you do need to plan for the future a bit. You'll have plenty of time to hurry through life once you get out into the "real world"; take your time now to stop and smell the roses.

Study what you enjoy, not what will get you the best job. While some jobs require intense study in your particular field, lots of jobs don't necessarily. While working at IBM, the three chains of command above me had not a computer degree among them; one was even a PhD chemist! Pursue a well-rounded education, lots of language and history classes (for you physics majors), lots of astronomy and biology classes (for you English majors). If you do what you enjoy, you'll (nearly) always be happier than if you just do what pays the bills.

Go to school away from home, but not too far. You don't want your mom dropping in unexpectedly, but you want to be able to do laundry at home on the weekends. Your family can be a great support when school and life gets hard. They can also be a great burden if they're living across the street, or even upstairs from you.

As for particular schools, your education is largely what you make of it. I suspect most of the UC/CSU schools are generally good schools. Pepperdine is a good private school (about 12 alumni and current profs in my family), but IMO pretty dang snobby. The first Lamborghini I ever saw in my life was at Pepperdine... in the student lot. It's always struck me as a rich kids school, not my personal cup of tea. I would consider some of the UC/CSU schools, as well as a couple of smaller, private schools. Having attended schools both large and small, I tend to prefer the small ones, but you might not - visit them and get a feel for what goes on.

Don't be proud: lots of kids have 3.8 GPAs. Lots of kids ace the SAT/PSAT/ACT/whatever tests. Not a lot of kids have a good work ethic, and profs respect few things as much as someone who is willing to work hard. Set yourself apart in things like that, extracurricular activities, and personal meetings with profs if possible. Survey a class or two locally if you can, make friends with the prof, and get them to write you a recommendation if you choose to go away for school.

Get a job. If your field of preference has them, get a research position. Work for nothing, or less, and earn the experience. You won't have much opportunity to do so once you're out of college.

So those are my random thoughts. Hope you can pull some nugget of useful information out of the dreck. ;-)

[durasell]

How about something non-traditional that's 100% free and you're pretty much assured an Ivy League slot? Check out Deep Springs. It's not for everyone.

[razorback-bert]

How about a military junior college first, you will learn leadership, discipline and a real understanding of the military.

I would also recommend a science degree instead of Polly-sci. A science degree gains you a real good BS detector for life.

For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled. Richard Feynman (1918 - 1988)

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Yep, I was correct. Here is the link for Prof. Kenneth Starr's Pepperdine page:

Pepperdine University School of Law - Faculty/Staff - Kenneth W. Starr

[Giant Conservative]

Here is your hyperlink:

Miserable Failure

[FreedomCalls]

Go to school away from home

I can't emphasize this enough. You need to break away from the slackers and hangers-on that were your friends in high school. I've seen too many people who attend a local college and end up hanging out with their useless non-college friends from high school and not paying attention to their studies. You need to be where you decide to stay in the library some night to finish that term paper rather than out drinking and smoking a doob with your old friends who are working stocking groceries overnight at the Bi-Lo. There nothing wrong with hanging out with your new college friends though as at least they too will be focused on the same goals as you.