College: It may be boring, but to me it's important.

[JoyieGracie]

Hey, I have recently been looking for colleges and found a few I would like to go to. One of the colleges of intrest is Cal State University, Fullerton. This would seem like a prety easy college to get into...if I lived in the area, but I don't, and thereforeeee it is more competative (for out-of-state) admissions. I will be applying in fall 2006 and am wandering if anyone knows anything about this CSU. If you have heard anything about it, good or bad; student competativeness, etc, please let me know. Thank you.

[fantasia2004]

Do you want personal experiences from those who have been there?

 

Or do you want someone from us news and world report info instead?

 

Look at books if you need info on student life or make arrangements through admissions and ask if they can pair you up with a current student of CSU to give you the 411 on life as a student.

 

Most colleges and universities do that.

[fantasia2004]

Do you want personal experiences from those who have been there?

 

Or do you want someone from us news and world report info instead?

 

Look at books if you need info on student life or make arrangements through admissions and ask if they can pair you up with a current student of CSU to give you the 411 on life as a student.

 

Most colleges and universities do that.

[cooldude1234]

do you have lots of money?

do you know what degree you want?

 

college IS important, but depending on the degree you want, you may want to go to community college for the first to years to get your AA, then goto a university for 2 years to complete and get yous batchelors. Its a much cheaper, often overlooked possibility.

 

good luck! you can PM me if you have any other questions!

[peanut15]

I didn't go to CSU Fullerton but I know several people that have and I did go to the nearby UC school, UC Irvine. Traditionally, in my opinion the UC's are more competitive than the CSUs. It is true tht it is much harder to get accepted especially if you live out of state as those that live nearby have a priority. All the CSU's are traditionally commuter schools, meaning that students live nearby. If you think of a traditional college campus atmosphere where the community is shaped around the school, then this is not the case with Cal State Fullerton. There are a lot of students at this school so for a freshman, it is harder to get some of those classes at first but persistence and early planning pays off. For my graduate degree, I did attend Cal State Long Beach (for those of you that know, Olympian Misty May(beach volleyball) attended CSU Long Beach). But anyways,what I did observe from the undergraduates is that they worked hard and took their studies seriously. However the general mood is not as competitive as the tougher University of California campuses. CSU's are also traditionally practical while the UC's approach is more theoretical.

 

Oh, and not that this matter but a handful of Fullerton students are also employed at Disneyland Resort, which is nearby. So it all depends what you are looking for. If you want more info, please feel free to send me a message and I'll give you more practical information about the school.

[Caldus]

Do you have a degree in mind? Maybe it's a little too early to decide on what college to go to. You should try to decide on a degree first if possible. If you don't know yet then try taking those tests that assess your strengths and interests. If you still can't decide after that point then you may want to consider a community college until you do decide.

[cooldude1234]

Caldus is right, its a lot easier to choose a school if you know what you want to do there. Most school specialize in some aspect of education, science, biology, chemestry, computer science, the list goes on and on.

[annie24]

What's your GPA and SAT scores?

 

I did my undergrad at UC Santa Barbara and had the time of my life! It wasn't all beaches and partying. I was a double major and learned a lot and got to work with some very prominent scientists. It was the best experience of my life.

 

Don't worry if you don't get into the CSU or UC of your choice. Hopefully, you have good grades, but if you don't, you can always go to a community college and then transfer in your junior year.

 

go to link removed it may tell you average scores and GPAs of the most recent class. You can also contact the admissions dept and tell them your stats and ask if you are competitive.

 

But no, college for me wasn't boring. It's really what you make of it.

 

Congrats! Good luck! College is a great time of life!

[JoyieGracie]

Do you want personal experiences from those who have been there?

 

Or do you want someone from us news and world report info instead?

 

Look at books if you need info on student life or make arrangements through admissions and ask if they can pair you up with a current student of CSU to give you the 411 on life as a student.

 

Most colleges and universities do that.

 

I want personal experiances perferablly, I've looked up a lot of stuff already, statistically.

[JoyieGracie]

Do you have a degree in mind? Maybe it's a little too early to decide on what college to go to. You should try to decide on a degree first if possible. If you don't know yet then try taking those tests that assess your strengths and interests. If you still can't decide after that point then you may want to consider a community college until you do decide.

 

Yes, cultural sociolgy and linguistic anthropology. And I disagree with it being too early to decide what colleges I have in mind. The early I have an idea, the sooner I can prepare. Which is why I'm asking for your help

 

 

Thank you

[Caldus]

I assumed that you didn't know your degree yet since you never mentioned it in your first post. I was wrong on that, sorry.

 

Why not go there yourself some time? Is that possible? Find out about those programs where you visit for a day or two and actually sit in class for a little while to experience what it's like. They always have some program like that at every college. You'll also get to see the campus and see if the college in general is the kind of place you would like to stay at. I think in many cases it's important to actually visit the place yourself to see for yourself if it's the kind of place for you.

[JoyieGracie]

What's your GPA and SAT scores?

 

 

My current GPA is 3.833 (93 percentile/rank:24) but I haven't taken my SAT yet (Taking it in April) Right now I'm studying for it and attempting to memorize hundreds of vocabulary words. I just hope it pays off.

 

 

Also, as far as community colleges, I would rather not unless it's a last resort as I prefer a somewhat nomatic lifestyle because I thrive on change.

[annie24]

Good grades! To help you with the SATs, you should learn lots of greek and latin roots. That way, you'll know what a word means even if you've never seen it before! But, you seem like a smart girl, so I bet you already knew that

 

When I was applying to colleges, I applied all over the country, but wound up staying in state. I applied to 10 schools total. About 3 "easy schools", "4 average", and 3 "reach schools."

 

It's very important to visit the schools you are seriously thinking about going to. Find a place where you think you'll fit in and where you think you'll be happy. You'll study better if you are happy! Check out the dorms, the surrounding towns, the night life...

 

I go to UW-Madison right now for my grad work. The undergrads here are really really happy. Grad school is different, but Madison has a great atmosphere. Just another thing to think about.

 

While I was in high school, I took some courses at San Francisco SU. Very different - urban campus.

 

If you have any questions about any of the schools I mentioned, let me know.

[cooldude1234]

definitely visit the colleges, you're going to pay good money for your education, so make sure you get the most for your money.

 

CHECK THE LIBRARIES.The college library will be one of the most valuable resources at the school, definitely visit it.

 

Since you allready know what field you want to go into, you probably have allready looked into the college's strengths in your area, you you should be good in that area.

 

Make sure you like the campus itself, like another poster said.

 

It sounds like you have good grades, so even an average SAT score will probably get you in. Just get your application in early!

[fantasia2004]

spend a day at the campus and sit in classes to get a feel of the environment and what is expected of you.

 

or spend a weekend if they have dorms

[JoyieGracie]

Thank you all for your help. I really appreciate it. But what about out-of-state schools? Do most of them have summer tours? I'm thinking about colleges in the following states, including where I live: WI (home), MN, AZ (Sister lives/birthplace), IL, and CA.

 

Also, I don't know if it's a good idea, but I currently work at a leisure corperation I'll call LQX. There are various locations throughout the US and Canada, including two (soon to be three-Las Angeles) in CA. I was thinking it would be easiest to transfer job locations because I wouldn't need any additional training on new policies, etc. and I know I will need a job. What do you think? Is that even important?

[annie24]

Everyone's opinion will be different, but I would suggest getting a job or internship with a company or in a field that you would be interested working in after graduation. True, there are other jobs you could make more money with, but I think it's better to go with the option I said - it will help you in the long run.

 

But, as you go through your education, you may find your career goals shifting, so that's all right. College is about discovering who you are and what your talents are.

 

When I was considering grad school, I also interviewed at Univ of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Univ. of MI - Ann Arbor, and UCLA. I fell IN LOVE with UNC! I have great things to say about them, but I wound up here at UW instead, I wound up liking it even more than UNC... UW's a great school. I hated UCLA. I left halfway through the interview weekend. My brother went to UCLA, he hated it. But, that's just two people. Lots of people have great things to say about UCLA.

 

Sorry to sound elitist, but I think with your stats, you can get in somewhere better than Fullerton. Think about the UCs.

[peanut15]

I agree with one poster...your grades are better for a UC than a CSU. As far as not liking UCLA, I agree as well, it was too big for my taste and I didn't like UC Berkely as well. That's why I went to UC Irvine (do you watch the OC? its next to Newport Beach..if that even matters )

 

Anyway, each campus is different and I do suggest you take tours of each school you are considering and possibly the ones that are nearby as well. I wanted to stay in California so I only looked at California schools. I got into all of them except one but that was way back in 1990 so things have changed a bit since then. My two choices were Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UCI..I got into both. Anyway, you may want to contact each school you are interested in and see what they rank with their program. I majored in Political Science and it was ranked 3rd in the nation for public universities when I graduated and UCI is better known for Biology (Pre-Med) and Engineering and Computer Science. Anyway, call or email the school/dept which your intended major is under. Also each campus conducts tours of the campus whenever anyone calls. I used to hosts possible incoming freshman when I was a freshman and sophomore. In addition, my college offered a summer orientation where you could stay over for the weekend and meet other incoming students.

 

The UCs are extremely competitive in nature with admissions and your GPA is about average for all students (sorry to say that expecially being from out of state). Anyway, I suggest you do extremely well with your SAT and start trying to contact ALL the schools necessary as each of them are different when it comes to acceptance. For example, my high school boyfriend applied to Ivy League schools and it was more personable and he wasn't a number. He had interviews, meetings, lunches, etc. As for me, the UCs treated me as a number where they primarily looked at my grades and SAT scores and based my acceptance on that.

 

Then again, college is what you make out of it and what you put into it. It truly doesn't matter where you go just as long as you get what you want and enjoy it.

[jurupa]

JoyieGracie - I may be able to help you a bit since I basically live next door to Cal State Fullerton. I have done some things at the college, but never attended (I went to a community college due to my grades and other reasons), but I do have a friend who is planing on attending in a year or so and I believe he knows some stuff as well. So if you want to ask me anything just PM me and I will od my best to get back to you (I work swing sift so most of the time I am to tired to go on the computer).