College Search!

Hi guys, i made this forum so we can easily find stuff instead of making threads. feel free to post your info! lets help each other out

ABOUT COLLEGE SEARCH PROJECT READ ME:
LEE IS OPEN TO EXTENSIONS ON THE PROJECT
below is our convo, for those of you want to see it directly from the lee

leeteachus (11:01:31 PM): can u post that if ppl need an ext3nsion on the college search
leeteachus (11:01:34 PM): im open to it
craaziepenguin (11:01:53 PM): extension....extended past tuesday?
leeteachus (11:03:15 PM): sure
leeteachus (11:03:18 PM): i dont mind
craaziepenguin (11:03:46 PM): ohh okay yay i'll do that
leeteachus (11:04:06 PM): k
craaziepenguin (11:04:49 PM): ...is there a certain date you are willing to extend it to? or is it not...set...
leeteachus (11:04:55 PM): not set
leeteachus (11:04:58 PM): well before fianls
leeteachus (11:04:58 PM): lol
craaziepenguin (11:05:01 PM): LOL okay

There's another thread that Chris opened so I think we'll just use that one for now, that cool Spreeet

hey guys! okay so i have interviews from:
UCSB
Pepperdine
USF
LMU
Occidental
SCU
Chapman
Cal Poly Pomona
Cal Poly SLO
UCSB
so if anyone needs an interview from these schools just let me know and i can send it to you

i still need an interview from Point Loma and am having a hard time finding one so if anyone got one pleaseeee share:)

stephanie chang wrote:hey guys! okay so i have interviews from:
UCSB
Pepperdine
USF
LMU
Occidental
SCU
Chapman
Cal Poly Pomona
Cal Poly SLO
UCSB
so if anyone needs an interview from these schools just let me know and i can send it to you

i still need an interview from Point Loma and am having a hard time finding one so if anyone got one pleaseeee share:)

oh and when exactly is it due now? or is it just by finals?

the bullets on the college search packet indicates that we should list the pros/cons of the schools that we're doing.
since no one has posted their list yet, ill just go ahead and be the first.

University of the Pacific(UOP)
-pros: nationally ranked pre-dentistry and pre-pharmacy programs. the pre-pharmacy programs seem to have less academic requirements than the pre-dentistry ones. the programs range from 5 to 6 years.
- cons: middle of no where. supposedly unsafe surroundings too. it also seems to be pretty difficult to change majors at this school.

new york university (NYU)
- pros:good for health professions
- cons: super expensive!!! cold weather, expensive living costs, etc.

USC:
- pros: prettygood social life, great business school, close to home. lots of school-spirit
- cons: really expensive. dangerous surrounding community

boston university(BU):
- pros: geaat school for health professions and its not too difficult to change majors during the school year.
- cons: cold weather! expensive living costs.

UCI:
- pros: close to home AND SOUTH COAST PLAZA. great psychology grad prog. many places to eat! ^^ (yogurtland, lees sandwiches, jack in the box, etc.)
- cons: can't really identify any.

university of washington:
- pros: great for health professions and psychology.
- cons: rains frequently!

university of michigan and university of minnesota: twins cities:
- pros: admissions don't seem to be too difficult. great psychology program.
- cons: the locations do not really seem to be that appealing to me.

and im still reconsidering my last two.
lol so basically these are the pros/cons from the top of my head. hopefully it'll help out some of you guys.

btw, here's the link for the student data packet:
http://www.ausd.net/ahs/Counseling/AHSDocs/2010%20Student%20Data%20Packet.pdf

i

Hey Stephanie
can i have the interviews from occidental and USF?
thanks

Steph, is your cal poly Pomona one really that short? D:

Justin Chi wrote:Steph, is your cal poly Pomona one really that short? D:

That's what i said/lol'd at!!!!

Preston Lee wrote:

Justin Chi wrote:Steph, is your cal poly Pomona one really that short? D:

That's what i said/lol'd at!!!!

haha sorry! i wrote in all the emails that they could answer any or all of the following especially if they were busy with finalsssss lol

Stephanie can i see your interview with Pepperdine?

Godwin Leung wrote:Stephanie can i see your interview with Pepperdine?

Hey steph i would love to help you out!

1. I am declaring a double major in chemistry and business with a minor in spanish. I haven't taken the classes there yet, but I already went to www.ratemyprofessor.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.facebook.com/l/5fcdb;www.ratemyprofessor.com to look at the reviews of pepperdines professors and many have good reviews from students but the ones that have like teaching awards and are well known seem to not teach as well and are kind of cocky.

2. The living conditions are amazing! The dorms are really spacious and there are two closets, one for each person. Each room comes with free high speed internet and a microwavea and refrigerator. These dorms are sooo nice! The campus is gorgeous and its a beach-y kind of atmosphere. The only thing that I don't really like is that the school is predominantly white :/ I wanted a more diverse school.

3. After looking at the schools that accepted me, I realized how expensive college was going to be and then because I want to be a dentist I have to think about the costs for dental school. So ultimately, I chose the school that would give me most money to go there. Luckily Pepperdine is paying for my education there so I don’t have to pay a dime!

4. My GPA unweighted was a 3.68 and weighed 3.96. My SAT scores sucked I got a 1760. I did really well on the math section and therefore I don’t have to take a math placement exam, but my English was so bad it looks as if I’m just starting to learn the language haha.

I hope that this was helpful and if you need anymore help in the future when applying, like you want to see some essays or just any questions, feel free to ask!

Good luck!

- Ashley Ethridge

thank you very much steph

:O Hopefully, this is where we're supposed to post our list..

1. UC Davis
-Pros: closer to home, a lot of nearby recreation centers/stadiums, diversity, variety of food
-Cons: large lecture-type classes, parking, nearby stores, off-campus housing prices
2. USC
Pros: food, weather, academics, extracurricular activities, sports, school spirit
Cons: cafeteria food, math dept, surrounding neighborhood, diverse social class, expensive
3. Illinois State University
Pros: education major, campus life
Cons: school spirit, mandatory living on campus for 2 years, weather, parking, boy-girl ratio
4. Miami University (Oxford,Ohio)
Pros: friends, involved faculty, campus, safety, general neighborhood
Cons: parking tickets, isolation, tuition for out-of-state students, school spirit, competition for scholarships, student apathy, small student center, lack of diversity
5. Syracuse
Pros: location, student body, involved faculty, dorm perks, parties, extracurriculars
Cons: cafeteria food, unpredictable weather, dorm downfalls, not-so-safe outside neighborhood
6. NYU
Pros: city, many places to visit, good food/shopping, large pool of resources
Cons: need some sense of independence, no greek life, faculty is uninvolved, no campus
7. Pepperdine
Pros: studying abroad, location, traffic, beautiful campus, weather, class size
Cons: tuition, food, lot of walking involved (STAIRS), expenses, parking, fire season, cafeteria food
8. Northwestern
Pros: academics, involved faculty, outside opportunities, extracurriculars, diversity, beautiful campus, Dillo Day, on-campus speakers,
Cons: cold weather, Evanston expenses, cafeteria food, TA's, social scene, pressure
9. Rochester U
Pros: small school, academics, diverse student body,variety of student groups, summer weather, greek life, facilities, off-campus housing expenses
Cons: not completely safe neighborhood, competitive, weather, campus food, sports, parking, lax security, tuition
10. University of North Texas
Pros: cheaper, world-renowned music program, decently-sized campus, research school, involved teachers,recreation facilities, extracurricular activities, decent food, diverse
Cons: large school, parking, party school reputation, surrounding neighborhood, commuter school


ROOOOOAR

Sorry it's so long! Haha

Rice
Pros

• Really close to Texas Medical Center (largest medical center in U.S.)
  Texas Medical Center recruits a lot of Rice graduates for a lot of research and health care positions (Baylor Med, MD Anderson, Texas A&M, UT Houston Health Science Center, etc.)
  Small size = smaller class sizes, closer relationship with professors
  Undergrad focus
  Texans are supposed to be nicer than Southern Californians
  Lack of Greek life = parent please (since my mom thinks I’m going to join a sorority and get killed)
  Pretty diverse student population
  Lots of pre-med kids
  5:1 student faculty ratio according to collegeprowler.com (so low!)
  Freshman allowed cars
  Residential college system
  80% of undergrads live on campus (yay no apartment hunting!)
  Good with financial aid
  Athletics aren’t emphasized too much
  Intramural sports are popular
  Amazing off-campus dining options
  All residential computer labs are open 24 hours
  27 computer labs total
  Wireless campus

Cons

• Texas is pretty conservative (though the campus is supposed to be pretty liberal)
  Lack of public transportation
  Randomly assigned to a residential college
  Relatively limited food choices
  Lots of construction going on at the moment
  Traffic due to Houston location
  Humid in the summer and mosquitoes ):
  No snow in the winter ):

Tufts
Pros

• Snowy winters!!
  Boston!
  High 4-year graduation rate
  8:1 student faculty ratio
  Good campus dining
  Not in the city but close enough to go to Boston every now and then
  Police viewed as nice people
  Safe campus
  The T = good/affordable public transportation
  Diverse student population
  Greek life exists but does not dominate the social scene
  Good off-campus dining
  Rain!
  Alumni weekends

Cons

• Expensive
  Lame name
  Campus housing is kind of sucky, but gets better as you become older
  Housing only guaranteed for freshmen and sophomores = apartment hunting ):
  Freshman only can have cars if granted special permission
  “Tufts Syndrome” ):
  Off-campus housing is kind of difficult to find if you put it off

Haverford
Pros

• Small college size
  Undergrad only
  86% 4-year graduation rate
  Athletics doesn’t play a large role in the social scene
  Can eat at Bryn Mawr’s food halls, which are significantly better than Haverford’s
  Good on-campus housing
  99% of undergrads live on campus (yay no apartment hunting!)
  Honor code = lax campus
  2 24-hour computer labs
  Safe campus
  Super low parking fees ($3 for parking in a faculty/staff spot, $5 for incorrectly displayed parking sticker)
  Most events/social life centered around campus, so cars and public transportation are not really needed
  Near Philadelphia = good food
  Lack of Greek life
  Snow! Cold weather!

Cons

• Small school size can cause students to be shut out of classes
  Sucky food halls
  Freshman not allowed cars
  Lack of public transportation
  Only 5 computer labs
  Lack of AC in dorms
  Mixed feelings about Career Development Office

Bowdoin
Pros

• Snow! Cold weather!
  Really good on-campus dining—lots of options and options are good
  86% graduate in 4 years
  Flexible course scheduling/requirements
  Good on-campus housing
  92% of undergrads stay on campus, four years of guaranteed housing (yay no apartment hunting!)
  Wireless campus
  3 24-hour computer labs
  200-acre campus
  Campus is very safe, kind of a bubble
  Almost everything can be accessed on foot/bike
  Easy to get a campus job
  98% retention rate = happy students
  No Greek life
  Skiing in the winter
  Average summer temperature is only 70°

Cons

• Seriously in the middle of nowhere
  No direct flights from LA to Brunswick, ME
  Increasingly strict campus
  Super, super, super low acceptance rate
  Parking favors upperclassmen
  Usually seem to be assigned parking far from your own dorm
  Sucky public transportation
  Expensive tuition (one of the highest in the country)

UCLA
Pros

• Surrounding neighborhood isn’t ghetto/scary
  Less expensive!
  School spirit
  On-campus dining is good
  Not really any moving costs since it’s a drive-able distance
  Abundance of computer labs
  Safe for its location
  Good facilities
  Public transportation is decent ($0.25 for bus!)
  Pretty diverse
  Greek system doesn’t dominate social scene despite its prominence
  Warm, beachy weather
  No need to adjust to a new culture
  Super good off-campus food
  Off-campus housing is decent

Cons

• Really big size = less interaction with professors
  On-campus housing sucks (yuck apartment hunting)
  Zero-tolerance policy
  State education budget sucks
  Tuition keeps rising
  Parking is horrendous
  Sucky grad placement
  Pretty prominent Greek system
  So close to home that you feel like you’re going to college…at home
  Grad placement is bad
  Lack of guidance concerning careers/internships/post-grad
  Lack of snow
  Enormous introductory class sizes
  Biochem is the most popular major

USC
Pros

• Alumni network!
  Warm, beachy weather
  School spirit
  9:1 student faculty ratio
  Good job prospective because USC alumni tend to hire USC grads
  Decent campus dining
  Campus housing is decent
  Lenient campus
  People bike across campus!
  Campus-wide wireless network
  Good facilities
  Large endowment
  Diverse student population
  Good off-campus food

Cons

• Ridiculously expensive
  Lack of snow
  Going to college at home
  4-year graduation rate is low
  Apartment hunting
  Parking is expensive
  Ghetto/scary surrounding area
  Dominance of Greek scene

NYU
Pros

• New York City!
  Public transportation is cheap and plentiful and efficient
  You can go basically anywhere on the subway
  Lots of shopping and food
  Internships are plentiful
  NYC = many helpful connections to potential post-grad hirers
  Athletics do not dominate
  Campus housing is good because most housing is in renovated apartment buildings
  Bagels! Yay bagels!
  Wireless Internet
  Some facilities are good
  Very diverse student body
  Lack of Greek dominance
  The campus IS New York City
  No communal bathrooms
  Snow! Cold weather!

Cons

• NYC is kind of ghetto and scary
  Expensive tuition and living costs
  Sucky financial aid
  Lack of campus
  Huge student body
  Some facilities are bad
  Parking is ridiculously bad/expensive/inefficient/horrible
  Gender imbalance
  Super hot/muggy/humid summers
  Some dorms have no AC

BC
Pros

• 88% graduate in 4 years
  Medium-sized campus—not claustrophobically small but not huge
  Boston! Snow! Cold weather!
  School spirit
  Campus dining is good
  82% of undergrads live on campus (yay no apartment hunting)
  Very safe campus
  “The T” = good public transportation
  No Greek system
  Boston is very college-friendly
  Lots of other Bostonian schools (BU, Harvard, BC, Northeastern, Brandeis, Tufts)
  Really good off-campus dining
  Career center is pretty helpful

Cons

• Religious affiliation
  Student body can be clique-y
  Strict campus because of religious affiliation
  Only 1 computer lab
  Parking is a hassle
  Student body isn’t very diverse
  Alcohol is a prominent part of social life
  Heat waves are common during finals
  Lack of alumni network

Colgate
Pros

• Small student body size
  84% graduate in 4 years
  School spirit
  Large variety of food
  94% live on campus (yay no apartment hunting)
  25 computer labs total
  515-acre campus
  Recently renovated Student Center
  Very safe campus with health resources
  Easy to get parking permits, which are also free (:
  Snow! Cold weather!
  Pretty helpful career guidance services and alumni network

Cons

• Campus not yet completely wireless, though it’s been improving
  Freshman year parking sucks
  Public transportation is bad
  Campus isn’t very diverse
  Huge Greek presence
  In the middle of nowhere
  

Pitzer
Pros

• Small student body size
  5-College Consortium
  Sports are not dominant
  Good on-campus food
  Science community on campus is tight-knit
  Lax campus
  On-campus parking is pretty good
  Tight-knit student body
  Lack of Greek system

Cons

• Residence halls can be distracting or loud (though you can opt for HUSH housing, which has 24-hour quiet hours)
  Campus not fully wireless
  Super small campus
  Off-campus housing is bad and a hassle to find
  No snow
  Lack of alumni network strength

hehe this is pretty late, butttttt...for future reference when you guys might still be looking around. here's my pros and cons.

USC

USC is very very very appealing to me especially when it comes to academics. As I was researching, USC has all the majors that I may want to study, and it’s good for those majors, too!
I’m looking into Public Health, Public Relations, or Business/Management. Those are all strong aspects of USC’s academic program.
It is also a decently sized school. Not too small, but not so dauntingly huge. Perfect for me.
There are AMAZING connections because USC Alumni are super duper passionate about their school, and everyone loves each other if they all graduate from USC.
It’s called “The University of Social Connections”
I also like it because it’s close to home. And it’s in California. BEST WEATHER EVERRR. (well not really these days)
The students there are VERY active, and I can get good internship opportunities and ALSO study abroad!!!  That will be fun.

There’s nothing TERRIBLE about it. Probably financially, USC might be difficult – unless I receive amazing financial aid from the school.

I would love to go to USC. Everytime I learn more about it, the better it seems to become.


OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE

Oxy is a smaller school size, so the teaching quality is probably better than that of larger schools. There are great programs where students can study for a certain number of years at Oxy, then study a certain number of years at a different college. Sort of like a bridge program. Mr. Lee was telling us about it during class once. Very helpful, very good deal. Killing two birds with one stone. Its popular majors are the ones I would like to study: international relations and psychology. Studying those, I could become the Advertising Director I dream of becoming (if I try hard enough and if I get good connections)

Talking about connections, these smaller schools don’t have as many Alumni as the larger schools, and they aren’t as passionate either, so connection-wise, places like USC would be much better for finding a job or an internship or something else related to a future occupation. Mr. Lee also says that the social life pretty much sucks because everyone starts dating each other, and then things become very awkward. Haha just saying. I need a good, fun, exciting environment, I think.

Because of some of the negatives, Oxy isn’t TOO high on my list, but it IS a prestigious school for the subjects I am interested in, so it isn’t a bad choice.


SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY

It seems like a wonderful, amazing school. I am affected a LOT by the environment, and I think I would absolutely love this campus. It’s gorgeous. There’s green and trees everywhere, and the buildings look pretty, too. There’s about 11,000 students which is in my opinion quite decent. It’s on the larger side. There are so many different academic courses to choose from, and I know that it’s similar to USC for me. There are so many academic classes I’m interested in that I’m not afraid about possibly changing my major. I could go in different directions by just taking a different class.  The study abroad program is also amazing. There are so many different countries I could go to study in, and this college is pretty much an eye-opener for me.

The only bad thing is…it’s in Texas. Not Cali. I’m sure Texas’ weather is beautiful, too. But I don’t know if I can live without the California beaches and my FAMILY.

Everything about this place is wonderful to me, but…it’s in Texas. That could make the tuition more expensive, too.


PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY

The most appealing thing to me about Pepperdine is the campus. OH MY GOODNESS. It’s beautiful. It’s right next to the ocean, and I think the beauty of the environment would help me focus and study harder. I’m impressionable in that way. In addition to that, Pepperdine has a great business school, and I could study my way through those academic courses to lead my future to where I want it to go. I’m still unsure between Public Health, Hospital Management, and Advertising, but what I do know is that all of them require communications and business. What doesn’t these days? So Pepperdine is a pretty good fit.

I wouldn’t mind attending Pepperdine. It’s in MALIBU!!!


BOSTON UNIVERSITY

BU has a great academic program. There are so many different kinds of combinations of classes I could take that would lead me to my desired future. And Boston is also a beautiful city. I remember going on the 8th grade East Coast trip and walking down to the bakery on the cobblestone streets. It was a picture I can never forget.

The only thing is, I might have trouble being so far away from my family. I’ll miss them so much, and I don’t think I was really built for extremely cold weather. I can’t even stand 60 degrees…Boston is super cold in the winter time. Even in the fall and spring time. Anyway, I would get lonely, no matter how many new friends I make there. I might sound like a baby, but honestly, I think I’ll be happiest when I can go see my family whenever I want to.

But other than all that, BU is a great school for me.


PITZER COLLEGE

Pitzer is good for Psychology and Media Studies and definitely Business. Taking this road limits me to Advertising, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. The only thing is…what if I decide to change my major? That wouldn’t be too good because Pitzer doesn’t really have anything for me that I really love besides the majors that I’ve already looked into.

But, a good thing is that I can take classes at any of the other Claremont Colleges! That negates the whole previous paragraph above.  Even if Pitzer doesn’t have the majors I like, that’s fine. I can take it at Scripps, Pomona, Harvey Mudd, or McKenna. It’s close to home, and it’s in California.

But another bad thing is that the Claremont Colleges are eensy teensy. Each college has a freshman class size of about 250…that’s pushing it a little too far down for me. I think I’m going to need more variety than that. Haha

But Pitzer is a good college for me.


PROVIDENCE COLLEGE

Providence College is supposedly the school on my top 10 list with the lowest stats. That’s why I chose it as my safety school. I mean…maybe I’m being a little…conceited? I’m not trying to be.

But who cares if the stats aren’t as high as Harvard’s? I think Providence College has great academic choices for me. I can really enjoy myself here, learning everything I want to learn. And Rhode Island’s weather isn’t too bad. Providence College offers all the classes that I’d consider taking, and the campus is also very pretty. I know I would love it there.

But the whole distance thing comes into play again. It’s a little too far from home.
OK. At this point, I’m sort of getting sick of myself saying I’ll miss my family. I’m thinking maybe I should just grow up, and learn how to deal. These East Coast colleges offer me a really good education. And it seems fun, too.

Providence College sounds like it would fit me well.


MCKENNA COLLEGE

McKenna is very similar to Pitzer in the whole eensy-teensy-ness and the joint academic program. I don’t really like the tininess of the class size, but the option of studying at five different colleges is pretty darn awesome.

One thing that’s different between Pitzer and McKenna though, is the popular major. In McKenna, popular majors are business management/marketing and psychology. Well, I guess they’re pretty similar, too. Either way, all the Claremont colleges would be GREAT ways to start anyone off on business, and this is totally off topic for ME, but the Claremonts are really good with all kinds of liberal arts. I’m sure a lot of people know that by now.

Anyway, McKenna isn’t a bad candidate either. It’s just whether they accept me or not.


EMORY UNIVERSITY

I know I would have fun at Emory. The campus is classy, and the buildings give off an air of modern elegance. I love it.  Emory also offers the popular majors Business Management/Marketing and Psychology. In addition to that, Emory offers a huge variety of majors to choose from. I could go in many directions.

But..it’s far from home. And it’s costly. Without financial aid, I probably wouldn’t be able to go. This is a reach school for me, by the way.


BROWN UNIVERSITY

Brown. The name itself sounds prestigious. This is definitely a reach school for me. But heck, it’s worth a try.

Brown’s academics are amazing as many people know, and its popular majors are biology and international relations. Finally, something a little different. With Brown, I could go to the more medical direction, studying for Public Health, Epidemiology, or Hospital Management. Those are all very interesting to me.

BROWN. Is quite cool. The grading is based on pass/fail. No letter grades. You either pass. Or fail. And for us Arcadians, I think it’s easier for us to pass, no?
No wonder Brown’s students are the happiest in America.

But money kicks in, and…it’s pretty expensive. Unless Brown really likes me and gives me lots of financial aid.
And it’s hard to get into. It’s an Ivy League, after all.

i just noticed how nub i still am on this forum. T.T

i did a bunch of schools in dc and ny

American
- great in social sciences, not that great in everything else
- doable test scores
- VERY expensive, but gives better aid than most
- campus in a very nice neighborhood of DC but close to downtown
- great study abroad and internship programs
- less than 10,000 undergrads
- suppose to be most politically active campus

George Washington
- Great in social sciences, better than American in other studies
- they didn't release GPA, im assuming its pretty high
- VERY expensive, but also gives better aid than most
- campus in the middle of downtown dc
- great study abroad and internship programs
- less than 10,000 undergrads

George Mason
- technically located in Virgina but its right outside of DC
- public so its a lot cheaper than AU and GWU
- more students
- fairly new school
- great study abroad and internship programs

NYU
- Expensive with little aid
- right in the middle of Greenwich
- good internship opportunities
- HUGE school but fairly small class sizes

Fordham college
- small liberal arts college
- downtown nyc
- greatest addmission focus on SAT and ACT (for those with bad gpas like me)
- offers good finical aid

Lang College
- low gap
- part of the New School University
- Next to nyu, acess to facilities
- REALLY liberal
- small liberal arts, all classes are small seminar
- very experimental (like no math classes required haha)


-

Just general info. on common app...

There's a preview of the 2010-2011 common app that will be release on August 1st. The changes to the application are (taken right from the site):

•A combined Activities and Work section.
•Online submission of NACAC fee waiver.
•A new Academics section with revised self-reporting testing instructions.

https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/CommonApp2011.pdf

Good luck guys!