24 replies to this topic

[Kyouma]

Its almost halfway through summer, and I really need to start to get a College List finalized so that I know where I want to apply!
So far, i have...nothing..

No college is too good or too bad, please give me recommendations as to which colleges I should consider, and also some information bout said college.
Applying in as an Econ major. Live in Cali.

[Random]

Its almost halfway through summer, and I really need to start to get a College List finalized so that I know where I want to apply!
So far, i have...nothing..

No college is too good or too bad, please give me recommendations as to which colleges I should consider, and also some information bout said college.
Applying in as an Econ major. Live in Cali.

I go to Villanova University, I love it.
The biz school was ranked #7 this year by Bloomberg, #1 Northern uni by US World news. We have great connections with tons of businesses and most kids graduate with at least one job offer.

The school is definitely for a certain type of socialite though. Lots of arrogant old money families, very preppy/fratty school.

In addition to Villanova I looked into Lehigh, Babson, Bentley, Northeastern, NYU and a few others.
Ultimately, I was between Bentley and Villanova after getting back offers from all of them.

Check out the rankings for a good feel for a lot of the schools. Don't go by their # ranking, but by how well there career services are ranked.

[Bone]

Agh, I need to think about that too. I'm planning on majoring in IR/Econ/PoliSci/idunnolol, but I guess I have more than ~~nothing~~.

UM Ann Arbor (instate tuition!)
Tufts (good IR program but hella expensive)
American (DC, good merit/fin aid)
GWU (DC, worse aid than American, better rankings)
BU (I can get a half-ride lol)

Well that's all I have for sure so far...you should probably start trying to figure that out.
If you live in Cali : UC, USC, Stanford...?

[WharfRat]

I'd be happy to assist you, but I think I need more information. Firstly, what state do you live in? (If you want in-state tuition... which unless you're filthy fucking rich or a genius, you do.) How well did you score on your standardized testing? What is your GPA? About what is your class rank atm? Any part of the country you are hoping to stay in?

With such information, I'd be happy to pick a school best suited for you. (Granted, I don't know too many in the northeast, so I will defer to Random on that. )

[polyneux]

Unless you're completely well off, go where the money is and kick ass. If you plan on achieving a graduate or professional degree, the only thing that is really going to matter is your GPA, Extra Curriculars, and Test scores (GRE, MCAT). Don't get caught up with going to the most prestigious school you can, because if you're getting multiple degrees then there's always another chance. Your goal in the American college system is to impress and be well rounded. They care about volunteering, extracurriculars, -and- good grades on all levels. You can be the smartest guy around and still not get in if all you did was study 24/7. Most of your money is going to come from your extracurriculars and organizational memberships as well.

Yes there are things to consider; what are your career goals? Do you plan on going into the military? Do you want to have a job when you graduate?

You can pay out the ass to go to the best undergrad school for BS in Philosophy, but what happens if 3 years in you decide to change your major?

I see you want to be an econ major? Like money? What are the job prospects for you when you graduate? High school teacher? Wall-Street? Why not undergrad/minor accounting and get a minor and/or graduate degree in economics?


The real question is money, apply to as many places as you can and go wherever they offer you the most, because frankly undergrad is the hardest to get through. In this economy it is super hard to find a job while attending undergrad, so take the money now, and work your way through graduate school. Lets face it, you're more likely to get a job with a college degree while working on a higher degree over some hippie with just a Diploma getting their bullshitter arts in Philosophy or somecrap.

For my own personal story, I wanted nothing more than to go to one of the state schools where I'm from, my sister went there, I spent a lot of time there, I loved the campus, everything. Eventually when it came time to apply, a (bitter) rival school offered me more money, it was closer, and had everything I needed. I was bummed to have to go there, but that wore off as soon as I set foot on campus, and now I love it. You're in high school now, your comprehension of one school's worth over another is probably limited to football or other sports scores or just stupid rivalry based on such.

But this is also me from a poor family who had to work for college and squeeze the government and GI Bill for every dime to get the best education I could....


Take the Money
Kick Ass
Get an Assistance to Grad School
Kick Ass
Profit

Edited by polyneux, 20 July 2011 - 09:07 AM.

[Bone]

Agh, I need to think about that too. I'm planning on majoring in IR/Econ/PoliSci/idunnolol, but I guess I have more than ~~nothing~~.

UM Ann Arbor (instate tuition!)
Tufts (good IR program but hella expensive)
American (DC, good merit/fin aid)
GWU (DC, worse aid than American, better rankings)
BU (I can get a half-ride lol)

Well that's all I have for sure so far...you should probably start trying to figure that out.
If you live in Cali : UC, USC, Stanford...?

Forgot to mention, you need to be smart, rich, or absurdly underprivileged for any of these. Hopefully you fit at least one of these categories. I have really good scholarship funding and some of these are still too much.

[talbs]

Forgot to mention, you need to be smart, rich, or absurdly underprivileged for any of these. Hopefully you fit at least one of these categories. I have really good scholarship funding and some of these are still too much.

Yeah no kidding I would love to go to American or GWU

[Bone]

Yeah no kidding I would love to go to American or GWU

My cousin goes to American and I really want to, but he gets some $25k/yr in merit aid.
I don't even know how. :|

[Junsu]

http://grad-schools....nomics-rankings
^ Colleges and the ranking of their econ program

[Applepi]

UW Madison...my best decision ever.

[Krnsaber]

I personally go to Boston College. It is a great school They have decent financial aid.. and depending on your income range, you can get decent financial aid across the board. I remember with a little bit of loans I got around 50k to go to GWU but I wasn't a big fan of the school..

[jcrdude]

Suggestion: Go to community college, but do your research. If you do it right, all your credits will transfer and for half the price.

Worst case scenario, if you decide that you want to change your major in 1 or 2 years, it won't be as expensive as if you were going to a bigger university.

[Map]

Some of the schools that are (imo) generally good that I applied to in the Northeast were:

1. Boston College
2. Boston University
3. Northeastern University
4. New York University
------
Reach Schools:

1. Harvard University
2. MIT

I got rejected from the reach schools (applied with no expectations anyways) and I ended up at Northeastern University. What drew me there was the Co-Op program (& to be honest, they offered me the most financial aid... and it was cheaper), where they strongly encourage all students to take advantage of. They have connections with jobs in every major across the city of Boston, where I myself did two co-op's and got good job experience, got professional help on building my resume and even got experience of how to handle myself in job interviews -- Personally I loved it. The Co-op program is a 5-year program which some people say it's bad, but I thought it was worth it.

Edited by Annabeth, 20 July 2011 - 12:38 PM.

[Random]

Some of the schools that are (imo) generally good that I applied to in the Northeast were:

1. Boston College
2. Boston University
3. Northeastern University
4. New York University
------
Reach Schools:

1. Harvard University
2. MIT

I got rejected from the reach schools (applied with no expectations anyways) and I ended up at Northeastern University. What drew me there was the Co-Op program (& to be honest, they offered me the most financial aid... and it was cheaper), where they strongly encourage all students to take advantage of. They have connections with jobs in every major across the city of Boston, where I myself did two co-op's and got good job experience, got professional help on building my resume and even got experience of how to handle myself in job interviews -- Personally I loved it. The Co-op program is a 5-year program which some people say it's bad, but I thought it was worth it.

I would love to chat and see if you know any of my friends

Edit: Nevermind, you are clearly a bit older than them

[polyneux]

Suggestion: Go to community college, but do your research. If you do it right, all your credits will transfer and for half the price.

Worst case scenario, if you decide that you want to change your major in 1 or 2 years, it won't be as expensive as if you were going to a bigger university.

Like everything on the internet, take it with a grain of salt, we can only offer our own knowledge and experiences. Nothing of course should be done in your life based only on what you read in a forum. Proper research should be done....but I must warn you about the community college course of action.

Every plan has pros and cons and is for certain individuals and not for others, but...

And this is all in my personal opinion;

There are a lot of worst case scenario that I have witnessed first hand
Scenario 1 is the university you go to won't accept your credits as transfer and you waste two years.
Scenario 2 is that they take the credits, but they do not apply at all to your major, so you end up having more credits than you need and having to drop some like you never took the class
Scenario 3 is, especially in the SEC and MEAC, it is harder to get into universities as a transfer student than as a straight up question.

Plus you don't want to miss a full four-year college experience.

[Kyouma]

Hehe, thanks for all the suggestions. To be honest I do really want to go to a East-side College.
I know this is contrary to what I said, but I'm not really considering community college. My transcript is pretty good, there is not much trouble eocnomically

Out of the Eastern colleges, which ones are close to a big city? I would really love it if it was like a 10 minute drive to the city. You can hang out there whenever, there's tons of restaurant food options, and overall, it makes life busier with more things to do.

Stephen Colbert went to Northeastern right?

[jcrdude]

There are a lot of worst case scenario that I have witnessed first hand
Scenario 1 is the university you go to won't accept your credits as transfer and you waste two years.
Scenario 2 is that they take the credits, but they do not apply at all to your major, so you end up having more credits than you need and having to drop some like you never took the class
Scenario 3 is, especially in the SEC and MEAC, it is harder to get into universities as a transfer student than as a straight up question.

Plus you don't want to miss a full four-year college experience.

Even though it's moot because OP doesn't want to go to a community college, I'll take the time to defend this real quick

I'm speaking specifically from my experience in Maryland and specifically in my goal to go to a public Maryland University.

In my case, Scenario 3 was moot. All MD public Universities are required to accept transfers that hold a degree from a MD 2-year institution.

As for scenarios 1 and 2, there are systems in place that allow the students to check which classes transfer as what, allowing the student to make sure that everything they take not only transfers, but transfers into an applicable class for whatever major they are interested in.

So at least in my experience, none of those scenarios are valid if the student takes the time to do the appropriate research.

Also, I am of the opinion that the "full four-year college experience" is a societal construct of the higher education system that acts like a "Rumspringa" for the future working class that is designed to get the "craziness" out of the kids' systems so that they can be good little worker bees down the road. But that's mostly an opinion to me. I suppose the more valid opinion is that that "full four-year college experience" is not worth the extra cost/debt associated with getting it.

[CudderIsBack]

Its almost halfway through summer, and I really need to start to get a College List finalized so that I know where I want to apply!
So far, i have...nothing..

No college is too good or too bad, please give me recommendations as to which colleges I should consider, and also some information bout said college.
Applying in as an Econ major. Live in Cali.

From what I hear, UC Berkley has a pretty good Economics program.
In addition to this, you would have in state tuition (and possibly proximity?).
Anyway, good luck! If you don't get your top pick, keep in mind that you can always put in some hard work and transfer as a sophomore.

[Lallard]

Hehe, thanks for all the suggestions. To be honest I do really want to go to a East-side College.
I know this is contrary to what I said, but I'm not really considering community college. My transcript is pretty good, there is not much trouble eocnomically

Out of the Eastern colleges, which ones are close to a big city? I would really love it if it was like a 10 minute drive to the city. You can hang out there whenever, there's tons of restaurant food options, and overall, it makes life busier with more things to do.

Stephen Colbert went to Northeastern right?

If you're already living in California, do consider the Western colleges, unless some college in the east plans on giving you a full ride. Saving money is always a good thing, and I'm guessing that you probably just want to get away from your parents at this point of your life. As a matter of fact you will miss home the longer you've been in uni. Plus, if you're planning on going to grad school, your undergrad uni wouldn't matter as much as where you'll be doing your Master's or PhD in the long run...

oh yeah, make sure to go tour colleges and unis while you're on vacation. Don't be a fool thinking that just looking at the university website and college confidential will buy your way to applying to whatever university you're interested in.

EDIT: I'm a UC graduate myself so I do have quite the bias

and since your first post did mention getting an Econ major, UCSD and UCB actually has a great econ program, although I'll say UCSD wouldn't be the most college-y town.

Edited by Lallard, 22 July 2011 - 11:14 AM.

[ZKK]

Its almost halfway through summer, and I really need to start to get a College List finalized so that I know where I want to apply!
So far, i have...nothing..

No college is too good or too bad, please give me recommendations as to which colleges I should consider, and also some information bout said college.
Applying in as an Econ major. Live in Cali.

Hehe, thanks for all the suggestions. To be honest I do really want to go to a East-side College.
I know this is contrary to what I said, but I'm not really considering community college. My transcript is pretty good, there is not much trouble eocnomically

Out of the Eastern colleges, which ones are close to a big city? I would really love it if it was like a 10 minute drive to the city. You can hang out there whenever, there's tons of restaurant food options, and overall, it makes life busier with more things to do.

Stephen Colbert went to Northeastern right?

How good is your transcript? It shouldn't be too hard to find some matches, you'll fall in love with a few colleges once you do some more research.
Excluding ivys: I'd recommend Chicago, which has one of the the top econ undergrad programs but isn't as hard to get in as Harvard/Yale etc.
NYU is in the middle of NYC so that would fulfill your desire for a big city.
You should definitely consider at least applying to the UCs if you're a good student located in Cali (to echo what Lallard said)
BTW Colbert went to Northwestern (in IL) (I heard he spoke at the graduation ceremony recently)

Edited by ZKK, 23 July 2011 - 01:37 AM.

[inima]

Study in Another country -q

[Oxygen]

Suggestion: Go to community college, but do your research. If you do it right, all your credits will transfer and for half the price.

Worst case scenario, if you decide that you want to change your major in 1 or 2 years, it won't be as expensive as if you were going to a bigger university.

Complete agreement. I lived in Valencia, CA before I left for the military. Join a good community college and save your money. I changed my major about 4 times throughout my frosh and sophomore year (finally settling on chemistry). My suggestion after that is to go to a state college. UCSB, UCSD, UCB, UCD all those colleges are amazing. DO NOT LISTEN TO 'top derp derp derp colleges for herpdy derp'. Total bullshit. I was part of the public affairs commission for UCSB and did a month long coordination effort in which we paid Forbes magazine to do several tours with multiple journalists to try and sway their opinion of the school. Basically, positions on top lists are paid for by the schools!! If you truly want to know more about the school, join a program like AVID and do tours of the schools. See it for yourself.

Also, funding is so readily available for transfer students (people who go to community college first). Have a mother/brother/father/stepfather/stepmother who was in the military? Cool, take this cash. Wanna write a 400 word essay on the importance of water in agriculture for $2400? The sources are out there. PM me for more info (if you want)

[autrefois]

You're in California?

Lucky man. Go to a UC school. Failing that, go to Community for two years then transfer into a UC school.

Complete agreement. I lived in Valencia, CA before I left for the military. Join a good community college and save your money. I changed my major about 4 times throughout my frosh and sophomore year (finally settling on chemistry). My suggestion after that is to go to a state college. UCSB, UCSD, UCB, UCD all those colleges are amazing. DO NOT LISTEN TO 'top derp derp derp colleges for herpdy derp'. Total bullshit. I was part of the public affairs commission for UCSB and did a month long coordination effort in which we paid Forbes magazine to do several tours with multiple journalists to try and sway their opinion of the school. Basically, positions on top lists are paid for by the schools!! If you truly want to know more about the school, join a program like AVID and do tours of the schools. See it for yourself.

Also, funding is so readily available for transfer students (people who go to community college first). Have a mother/brother/father/stepfather/stepmother who was in the military? Cool, take this cash. Wanna write a 400 word essay on the importance of water in agriculture for $2400? The sources are out there. PM me for more info (if you want)

This man knows. Fuck those snobby private schools. I'd much rather go to UCSD than Tufts or stuff like that.

UC schools have very good engineering programs, are cheaper (though we are financially wrecked somewhat), and are in general very good schools.

My recommendations are UCLA, UCSB, UCSD, and UCB as the best UC schools. UCSB has incredible life, UCB has incredible academics, UCLA has a great mix of the previous two (though I am a little biased, being a student), and UCSD is kind of depressing but has excellent academics.

[ZKK]

Yeah but if he's doing something like Econ, I'd assume a degree from a herpyderp school would make it easier for him to get a good banking job or whatever

[Oxygen]

Yeah but if he's doing something like Econ, I'd assume a degree from a herpyderp school would make it easier for him to get a good banking job or whatever

Herpyderp schools aren't worth it. The amount you pay for a school=/= quality of education. UC schools, state schools in general, often have amazing networking resources due to their diversity in funding. Herpyderp School of Management has a much more limited income base and therefore has a much more limited networking capability.

Also, not that it's a factor in this topic, the type of people you meet at a state school => much more diversity in your life. You would be surprised at how useful this can become.