[jodokast]

Okay, I admit this thread will be more towards my benefit than anybody elses. But what's a guy to do when his high school counselor is an idiot and all his buddies are going the JC (junior college) except for him. Plus, I"m living away from my parents right now - it's cool.

Anyhow, I"m starting my senior year soon (this year) and was wondering where can I find some info on colleges? Besides collegeboard.org.....which I thought was a terrible source.

Right now, my sources are open to California colleges only. (yeah, yea, I know limiting it down.

) Um....so there's UC schools, state schools, than private schools?

Where would I find which schools should I go to depending on where I want to major? i.e. business? engineering? film arts? (hollywood)? or maybe a history teacher? Yea...I"m sorta indecisive on my major decision if you can't tell.

Anyhow, if anybody could chip in on what their personal experiences are? I would really appreciate it.......my sister is majoring in biology or biotechnology @ UCSD right now so scratch out that college btw.

Thanks again guys!

 

[daycart1]

Whoa, something I know something about for a change!

Jodokast, believe it or not, the best source of information is probably the websites of the schools you are interested in.
If you have any specific questions about CA schools go ahead and post them or PM me for my humble opinions.

 

[jodokast]

How do I know whether which school is good at something or not? Like general consenus? like biology at UCSD. I mean......@ most of the school's websites that I've already visited says they're excellent at basically everything. Go figure.

Note: See pm for your humble opinion.

 

[Jeff Guidry]

Look for accreditation. The better schools for your discipline will have accreditation by some nationally recognized organization prominent in the field.

 

[kerelybonto]

jodokast, take a look at the college section of US News's education rankings site and The Princeton Review's site. Or go out and buy a hard copy of The Princeton Review if you really want to get a good look at a lot of schools. Their little write-ups are helpful.

If you're thinking of studying business, I suggest not going to an undergrad business school. There really aren't a lot anyway, but graduate business schools don't really like people from undergrad versions, and getting an MBA is definitely something to think about if that's the field you're looking at. I have lots of friends in the business school at my university, but I really think it's best to studying something, um, real those first four years -- that also opens a lot more career oportunities than just having a degree in business.

Let's see -- engineering. The problem with engineering or any of the pure sciences is that you really have to know you want to do this as soon as you get to college. Often you'll be in a different school than the liberal arts people, with different sets of requirements that don't make transfering in later very easy. I applied to college last year as a biology major, though I decided to ditch that even before I got to school in the fall. All I can say is that you better really like this kind of stuff if that's what you plan on doing. ...

My advice is to find a good liberal arts school (of which there are many in Cali), take a wide-ranging course load until you find something you're content with and go with it. Be sure to visit schools -- you have to live at these places for four years, and you need to be sure you like the kind of people there, you like the campus, you like the area in addition to the academics. Cal Poly and UC-Berkely have pretty different feels, I'd think.

Feel free to PM me if you want any help from someone who's just been through it.

kerelybonto

 

[shivohum]

Get some books.

Most important on career choice:

The Pathfinder, by Nicholas Lore

College Guides:
Fiske Guide to Colleges

The Best 331 Colleges: 20-02 edition


I would recommend going to a local bookstore or library and looking for the above books and then browsing the other books in the same section.

Also, visiting a couple of colleges you're really interested in and talking to some people is a very good idea.

Here's another general link on college admissions that should be of help:

http://www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/rsrcs/pubs/7226.htm

 

[TimSchirmer]

It all depends on what your major is, and what your grades are. I'm going to northridge because I am a business major who didn't have a high enough GPA for UC schools. After I get my bachelor's, I'll get a job, and work on my masters at a more prestigious college.

Seriously though, the best way to judge schools is the most difficult, to actually go to the school, meet the professors.etc.

 

[MacDEF]

Also, last month Kaplan published a fairly interesting guide of over 300 of the country's top colleges and universities. It includes 15 different categories and ranks schools on each. Some of the categories are Highest Academic Standards, Best Academic Facilities, Best Housing, Best Career Services, Best Value, Trendiest Campuses. What I think is cool about this is that you get a feel for the campus and area, as well as the academics. About the only thing it doesn't consider is athletics.

 

[PianoBlack]

aackkk! I've been searching up and down for the name of this guide that does nothing BUT rank colleges by their majors. I last saw this book at my guidance counselor's three years ago, but assuming it's updated frequently, it should still be out there.

This shouldn't really be that hard to find, considering that these stats are what colleges publish in their brochures. Remember an article in the school newspaper during the year about rankings too. The book has a list with the top 50 colleges for each major, so for Electrical Engineering, you have MIT with a score of 9.97 (not really sure about the upper limit but basically MIT's 'score' is up there), then Stanford with 9.94...etc.

Ask your guidance counselor where the school reserves are for these guides and photocopy what you need, since the guides can be pretty heftily priced. [/useless advice]

...still while majors are an excellent way to begin selecting your colleges, it shouldn't be your last deciding factor. The scores are usually too close to matter that much...at that point, visits (!) are key.

 

[MacDEF]

I was going to mention that same guide that PianoBlack brought up, but I can't remember the name, either

The only thing to watch out for with that guide is that it's biased towards graduate school. Most academic departments get their reputations based on the academic output of the faculty and the graduates of their graduate schools. The guide is compiled largely based on opinions of academics in the respected fields. In most larger universities, much of the teaching is done by TAs. So just because a university is ranked #1 in a field of study, that doesn't mean it's the best school for undergraduate study in that field. Just something to think about. That said, it's still very useful

 

[Mic]

First, let me make a plug: GO BEARS!

Next, if you didn't know what I meant by that, I meant Cal(ifornia), aka. UC Berkeley.

IMHO, these guides are pretty much worthless. First thing to consider is how good your grades are and what your options are. Are you in the league for Stanford, high UCs, USC, low UCs, CSUs, or small liberal arts colleges? Do you want to be far or close away from home? How far? How much $ do you got to spend? Can you afford to go private? After that, your choices should be fairly clear in that you would have less than five to choose from. I would then look at the specific departments you're interested in, go VISIT the campus to see if you can stay there for four years, and TALK to the students to see how they like it. The ratings again, are worthless. They don't tell you how much fun you're going to have or how good an undergrad education you're going to get. Also, first impressions of campuses are often deceiving. I personally went to Cal, and like many people, had a culture shock when I first went there. But upon second visit and later having lived there for four years, I love the busy, non-stop excitement, rowdy scene. So, my suggestion is also to make MORE THAN ONE visit to the campuses you're interested in. As always, once you know about what level of college you have a shot at, apply to a few miracles schools and backup schools as well. To some extent, the application process, IMHO is pseudo-random.

 

[acs236]

I can't comment directly on any specific CA schools, though, as I understand it, the California public universities are supposed to be quite good overall. A lot about picking a college is personal, unfortunately there is no fool proof way to find out which one is right for you.

For example, I went to a really small highschool. How small? Well, picture in your mind the smallest highschool you can imagine, and then cut it in half -- that should approximate the size of my highschool. We did have a good college counsellor, however. Since the school was so small, a lot of good, retired people wanted to work there. That being said, you have to take "good" college counsellor with a grain of salt. They don't know you as well as you know yourself. I was told to go to a small liberal arts college, because I wouldn't be able to deal with moving from a very small school to a large one. I ended up going to the University of Michigan.

A large school often allows you to put off choosing a major, because it will be relatively strong, and offer more courses in each particular area. That being said, some people will like the personal attention they may get at a small, liberal arts college.

As true in most things, including headphones, you have to go with your gut (or ear).

Good luck!

Btw, no matter where you end up going, it's a safe bet that your life at college will improve considerably!

 

[Satori]

UCLA, USC, Cal Poly, and Stanford are the ones we recruit the most at for Engineering.

 

[Satori]

Whoops just remembered something, I would strongly suggest you try to go to a non-Californian school. Not that there is anything wrong with them but I know you have grown up here in Cali and should really get out and experience some other places. Maybe something on the east coast.

 

[a1leyez0nm3]

i want to go to Point Loma

. i have been there, and UCSD, USCD is HUGE. they have a cool library, tho... and then there is that one college by LA.. what is it called... right on the water... pretty college, but hard to get into and pretty spendy.. look for the actual college's websites. and Drive around and look for yourself.