UPSB v4

Off-topic / how fucked am i?

  1. boshi
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 04:44:15

    sophomore year ending 1st semester. Pretty much all B's except bullshit classes (band, chinese, etc.) I suck shit at taking tests or something, cuz i study along with my friends, they seem to be happy getting their damn asian A's, and i get fucking C's on tests, giving me B's in every damn class. Seeing as sophomore and junior years are basically the important years for college and shit, do i have any chance at getting into decent colleges?

  2. hoiboy
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 04:45:15

    toga right? zero unless you're some international musician superstar or score perfect on your sat's relax though. deanza is a beast college.

  3. boshi
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 04:46:36

    holy shit. are u serious hoi?

  4. hoiboy
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 04:50:28

    yeah our schools are nearly identical the problem is the massive grade inflation. everyone's getting 4.0's and stuff, so you get >1 B and you're dead

  5. boshi
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 04:51:51

    FACK. like...not even santa cruz or something?

  6. hoiboy
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 04:52:18

    i meant at this rate of b's getting a 3.0 GPA isn't exactly all that great. You can still pull it up by getting a's next semester and taking 5ap/honors and getting a 5.0 next year

  7. AwonW
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 04:52:20

    What kind of colleges are we talking about here? Generally colleges like it when you improve, so if you pull it together next semester and next year you're probably not completely screwed.

  8. boshi
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 04:56:14

    omg thank god. scared me shitless there. whats like...average gpa requirement for decent schools?

  9. davidguy
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 04:56:22

    community service and that kind of stuff would be a pretty good idea too but it seems like colleges are too focused on look for over-achievers who have +4.0 and also have extracurricular activities along with community service =_=

  10. hoiboy
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 04:56:22

    the low level UC's will probably accept you to get into the better UC's and CSU's, you're going to have to write one hell of a personal statement

  11. Nachoaddict
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 05:14:34

    The avg gpa for Berkeley and Stanford (Seniors from MY school last year who went there) was over 4.0. It was like 4.3 or something. But I mean those are amazing schools. So basically what Hoiboy is saying is right. What I would do if I were you would be to focus on extra curricular activities like Community Service or sports or stuff other than academics. If they see you have a bunch of activities but a high 3 gpa, they're more likely to accept you than if you go for that 4.0 but don't do anything outside of school. Just work hard and sacrifice some time to do other things that you can put on college apps. They also like leadership so try getting involved in school clubs (like positions like vice president etc.) or Student Body or maybe something else. Oh and try taking some easy AP's like psychology. At least at my school I heard that it's pretty easy. Also if you're going to take AP's, don't screw your schedule tying to pack in as many as you can if you're going to do what I just said in the above block of text. Go for about half of them I would say.

  12. AwonW
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 05:17:19

    Nachoaddict wrote: If they see you have a bunch of activities but a high 3 gpa, they're more likely to accept you than if you go for that 4.0 but don't do anything outside of school. Just work hard and sacrifice some time to do other things that you can put on college apps. They also like leadership so try getting involved in school clubs (like positions like vice president etc.) or Student Body or maybe something else.
    This is mostly true, but it's much better to have a smaller amount of extracurriculars that you're focused on than spreading yourself thin and joining like a dozen clubs and other extracurriculars.

  13. boshi
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 05:23:03

    So what would you recommend for extra curricular? I'm currently in concert+marching band =/ Can't really think of much else except for other sports which are extremely competitive.

  14. AwonW
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 05:24:20

    boshi wrote: So what would you recommend for extra curricular? I'm currently in concert+marching band =/ Can't really think of much else except for other sports which are extremely competitive.
    Join some clubs or something. Go join your school's Key Club, that's what I'm doing.

  15. JC
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 05:27:25

    Yes, join Key Club and bullshit about how much community service you did and how much you care for your community and blahblahblah.

  16. davidguy
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 05:30:34

    yeah my key club goes to an event almost every weekend, but i only have 4 hours of community service because a lot of the events start really early, usually 5am or so, so im like screw it, it's not worth it lol

  17. hoiboy
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 05:30:41

    what jc said

  18. boshi
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 05:36:21

    i fucking hate community service and see it as a waste of time. do colleges really love this shit that much?

  19. AwonW
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 05:38:28

    boshi wrote: i fucking hate community service and see it as a waste of time. do colleges really love this shit that much?
    Yes. It's more important that you're doing it for altruistic reasons though. That's what you want colleges to believe, I mean.

  20. boshi
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 05:40:06

    god damn i hate lying about liking shit -_-. okay IF i start doing better in school next semester and next year+that community service shit, what are my chances?

  21. +Guitrum+
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 05:44:13

    :fuc:

  22. JC
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 05:48:01

    Name some "good" schools that you're trying to get into.

  23. boshi
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 06:05:13

    umm, typical asian schools? i really dont want anything worse than like...UC san diego, or santa cruz

  24. A.Sate
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 06:09:51

    Typical asian college is UCLA or UCI. Are you taking any honors or AP classes? I recommend you take a few of those next year. Key club or any other community service would look good, you only need to go to half the meetings and one or two events to look active. Hell, don't even go to the events, but thats just my school.

  25. shoeman6
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 06:10:13

    I'm in the same boat, just work hard your junior year and they'll see you trending upwards :] which is good (Ihope). I'm not trying to get into any top tier schools, maybe Purdue or IU don't have much in terms of extracurriculars, (although I can always fluff up stuff) and looking back i'll probably have more than I realize... ACT score low 30's... yeh or ne :'[

  26. boshi
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 06:14:16

    A.Sate wrote: Typical asian college is UCLA or UCI. Are you taking any honors or AP classes? I recommend you take a few of those next year. Key club or any other community service would look good, you only need to go to half the meetings and one or two events to look active. Hell, don't even go to the events, but thats just my school.
    chem H but borderline B >_> ya im gunna try taking ap physics next year, maybe ap chem senior year. and i guess i could be more active in interact, as annoying as the people are.

  27. shoeman6
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 06:18:48

    Boshi, at least here, Ap Physics is better as a senior class.. I'm taking ap chem right now and ap physics next year, using this year in chem to also help build basic bio knowledge as well which will aid in ap bio, and taking calc along with physics next year to aid in that. this year i am also taking an engineering class and more +physics for more background... idk try to create your own curriculum and logical order where each class can support another. I know for me it helps... as you can make connections within classes and use similair maths and logic.

  28. JC
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 06:25:20

    Take AP Physics senior year. You may think you can just work harder to get better grades, but it just doesn't work out that way sometimes. Leave the crappier grades for senior year.... that is, unless you are friggin amazing at physics...

  29. VendettaBF
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 06:26:54

    what do people do after college?

  30. Pen Ninja
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 06:34:28

    i got just above 50% in most my classes i enjoy my job, its not the end of the world

  31. Twine
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 06:38:44

    HAHAHAH LMAO. In new zealand you can do shit all work and get a decent job :)

  32. Clyde
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 08:11:45

    got the same problem too..didnt take my 1st ~3rd year HS year seriously...cuz i know i wont be using them in my life anyway..then i learned that in this school that i want, the average grade i should have for each year is 85...i dont even know if i could still get into any other good colleges...

  33. iMatt
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 15:53:57

    Stop worrying about getting into a good school, instead figure out how to fucking afford it. Let me give you a quick reality check. I'm in a debatable middle-lower class family. Just did the estimates for stanford, we get less than $40k a year accumulatively. Stanford Tuition: $42,000 a year. UCLA: $20,000 a year 4-Year Bachelors. $168,000 in debt if you go to stanford. Have fun with that shit. This is what I call financial suicide. Most people do not know this. A good school will not do you shit in the real world other than look good on paper. You can have a graduate's degree in quantum mechanics/physics, but if you don't have any work experience they will browse right past your application. Main Point: Stop worrying about what colleges you can get into, but what colleges you can afford. What good is a college you can't afford to go to?

  34. Zombo
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 16:05:00

    is it necessary in the US to go to college to get a good job? in quebec you can go to a CEGEP and get a professional degree and have a $50k/yr job.

  35. strat1227
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 16:10:34

    you can get into a lower-level state school with that, and if you do well there you could even still go to grad school and if you don't go to grad school you can still get an engineering degree or something from that state school and eventualy make 100k + if you try hard and care enough it's never too late, even if you flunk college you can still end up starting over and making a good career edit: @iMatt : i wholly disagree with your point that you don't get anything more from a "good" school vs a not good school. the atmosphere is entirely different and the opportunities are WAAAY different. you can't get research opportunities, a job network after graduating, and shit like that at lower level schools, you just get a degree

  36. Scott Shaputis
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 16:22:55

    go to community college for 2 years, save yourself a load of money, and your grades there pretty much cancel out whatever bad shit you did in highschool, transfer to where you wanna go. /thread

  37. SJ
    Date: Fri, Jan 14 2011 20:43:22

    JC;53896]Yes, join Key Club and bullshit about how much community service you did and how much you care for your community and blahblahblah.[/QUOTE] ahhahaa win [QUOTE=Pen Ninja;53918]i got just above 50% in most my classes i enjoy my job, its not the end of the world[/QUOTE] if you dont mind, whats ur job? [QUOTE=Scott Shaputis wrote: go to community college for 2 years, save yourself a load of money, and your grades there pretty much cancel out whatever bad shit you did in highschool, transfer to where you wanna go. /thread
    this works. you should resort to this option if you dont have a choice though. going to one college for 4 yrs better than transferring imo and ya..listen to what everyone said. focus on joining one or two clubs max and excel in them. get a leadership position if possible. join a sports team if possible. get the best gpa possible. then write a frickin good essay. keep it fresh and real. dont be banal and since when was ucsc on par with ucsd?

  38. Calvin
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 00:59:21

    Wow, school looks complicated in the US. Like Zombo said, in Quebec you can go to Cegep and get a pretty decent job. You only need to work really hard if you want to be doctor or something.

  39. Colin
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 01:11:07

    well imatt, you have to realize asian parents dont think like that. asian parents like to fucking BRAG about their kids. "Oh yeah! My kid goes to UCLA. He studies all night..he doesnt even drink! When he comes to visit me he doesnt even say hi! He just studies! He's such a good boy :)" Doesnt matter if theyre a pothead, theyll say that. They LOVE to brag, its mostly for the parent's sake. CC's to asian parents are more of a disgrace than going to a U or not going to school at all. As for myself, I fucked up BIG. My gpa was 1.83/2.9 last year. I had to retake 3 of my classes because I wanted to get into a UC (i dont think so, with my grades) because they were C or lower My counseler told me to make some improvements this year. quarter grades were 3.3. Like Awon said, they like to see change and progress.

  40. Zombo
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 01:17:47

    i dunno, obviously if you're in the hole the only way to go is up... but universities certainly prefer someone who was not in the hole to begin with. its not like they'd prefer someone who intentionally sucked in the first year to show great progress later... if you sucking right now, obviously you have no choice but to improve...

  41. Awesome
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 01:18:10

    look, some people have real problems in this world, getting Bs aren't even close to a real problem. Man the fuck up and stop worrying about stupid shit. @strat it might be different in the states, but here the smaller schools its easier to get research positions as undergrad, and you can get better recommendations cuz you know your profs better, or should at least.

  42. blahblahting
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 01:42:55

    To my knowledge, more and more businesses are seeming to become aware of the excessive pressure/emphasis put into school/grades/colleges. My boy scout scoutmaster has a fairly high position in his business, and he has mentioned that when he conducts job interviews, he does not pay any attention to where they attended college. His story is not the only one I have heard about this kind of reaction to the overemphasis of going to a good college. Just hope for companies to continue to gain understanding of the current situation in the American education system =P

  43. hoiboy
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 02:09:03

    Relax Boshi. De Anza College is a really nice community college. You can transfer to half the UC's from there.

  44. SJ
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 02:41:25

    blahblahting wrote: he does not pay any attention to where they attended college. His story is not the only one I have heard about this kind of reaction to the overemphasis of going to a good college. Just hope for companies to continue to gain understanding of the current situation in the American education system =P
    lol ok thats just misleading. for some job positions, i guess that applies. but for most, where you went to college is one of the most important factors. sometimes, they just throw an application in the trash when job applicant screening because of that. however, dont let this discourage you; there are certainly other key factors like experience, character, etc also, id like to know what you guys consider a "decent job" seems like its being used very loosely

  45. boshi
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 06:23:26

    hoiboy wrote: Relax Boshi. De Anza College is a really nice community college. You can transfer to half the UC's from there.
    My brother went to de anza. My friend's brother went to de anza. Both said it was fucking terrible. i don't wanna go to de anza >_>

  46. boshi
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 06:24:26

    iMatt wrote: Stop worrying about getting into a good school, instead figure out how to fucking afford it. Let me give you a quick reality check. I'm in a debatable middle-lower class family. Just did the estimates for stanford, we get less than $40k a year accumulatively. Stanford Tuition: $42,000 a year. UCLA: $20,000 a year 4-Year Bachelors. $168,000 in debt if you go to stanford. Have fun with that shit. This is what I call financial suicide. Most people do not know this. A good school will not do you shit in the real world other than look good on paper. You can have a graduate's degree in quantum mechanics/physics, but if you don't have any work experience they will browse right past your application. Main Point: Stop worrying about what colleges you can get into, but what colleges you can afford. What good is a college you can't afford to go to?
    I don't mean to sound like a cocky/rich bitch, but i already have 100-200K in the bank for college funds.

  47. Awesome
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 06:27:37

    boshi wrote: I don't mean to sound like a cocky/rich bitch, but i already have 100-200K in the bank for college funds.
    college is a lot of work, if you're going into it for money reasons you're wasting your time. If money was the only thing that mattered you have so many more alternatives then school.

  48. Vassenato
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 06:28:54

    calm the fuck down. like for real. You're stressing way to much over simple things dude. Just chill mang. Errr things going to be okay.

  49. Mage In Black
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 06:42:53

    If you have a good reason for fucking up, colleges would understand. But yeah, they do prefer that you didn't fuck up in the first place. I have a friend who works at my UC as an assistant for some department (I forget which). It's shitty work, getting coffee and running errands and such, but she also gets to shred the rejected apps. I should ask her what type of people they reject. I know it's getting harder and harder to get into college now, so best of wishes. And UCSC isn't even in the top 100 schools. UCI ranks like top 50 and UCLA's higher. Unless you're referring to USC, I hear that's a good school.

  50. Mike
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 07:20:42

    Can someone explain to me why it's so important for some people to go directly to a University straight out of High School? I really do not understand.

  51. SJ
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 07:56:15

    Mike wrote: Can someone explain to me why it's so important for some people to go directly to a University straight out of High School? I really do not understand.
    im sure google can answer your question in a thousand ways but college prepares you for the real world in general. opens a lot of doors for you (opportunities). networking. polishing your skills. more education = (usually) more income. having fun. the whole experience. you get what i mean. if we all could make money and live a happy life, who would go to college and waste 4 yrs of his/her precious time? (possibly longer)

  52. Mage In Black
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 08:47:47

    A college degree while isn't required almost seems necessary to get a good job nowadays. Getting one doesn't guarantee a job of course. It's still all up to you.

  53. JC
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 12:04:35

    SJ wrote: im sure google can answer your question in a thousand ways but college prepares you for the real world in general. opens a lot of doors for you (opportunities). networking. polishing your skills. more education = (usually) more income. having fun. the whole experience. you get what i mean. if we all could make money and live a happy life, who would go to college and waste 4 yrs of his/her precious time? (possibly longer)
    @SJ I don't think he's asking why it's important to go to college, but why does it seem like it's so important to go to college straight after high school.. like, why not take a year or two off, save some money, and then go to college or something

  54. Prince
    Date: Sat, Jan 15 2011 12:19:46

    Thats what people do here in England, take a gap year before 'college'. Not sure if you do it in U.S

  55. SJ
    Date: Sun, Jan 16 2011 01:31:22

    @JC hmm ic. well id go straight off to college unless i have something i have to do beforehand the thing about taking time off is...youre gonna feel out of place because youre gonna be older than others so its harder to fit in and such. but to each his own of course

  56. Awesome
    Date: Sun, Jan 16 2011 01:50:43

    SJ wrote: @JC hmm ic. well id go straight off to college unless i have something i have to do beforehand the thing about taking time off is...youre gonna feel out of place because youre gonna be older than others so its harder to fit in and such. but to each his own of course
    if you have problems fitting in with people one or two years older then you, you have issues lol age is hardly a factor in college, could see the concern if you were in your thirties or something, but even then not really.

  57. SJ
    Date: Sun, Jan 16 2011 02:03:36

    Awesome wrote: if you have problems fitting in with people one or two years older then you, you have issues lol age is hardly a factor in college, could see the concern if you were in your thirties or something, but even then not really.
    lol youre right. but what i meant was people of the same age tend to progress at the same time like taking certain classes when older people are taking uppder div classes. and a lot of the things are separated into age groups (within clubs, dorms, or what not). but this is obviously not the case for stuff like frats/soros so if you go into college as a first year when youre actually older than they are, i guess it wouldnt really matter for most parts (lol i contradict myself too much)

  58. nateiskewl
    Date: Sun, Jan 16 2011 04:07:01

    Mage In Black wrote: A college degree while isn't required almost seems necessary to get a good job nowadays. Getting one doesn't guarantee a job of course. It's still all up to you.
    Nope, it's the exact opposite. The jobs requiring a college degree are very few, and the jobs that don't require them are very low-paying. That's why you hear stories about people with graduate degrees working as janitors.

  59. XYZaki
    Date: Sun, Jan 16 2011 04:15:40

    Mage In Black wrote: UCI ranks like top 50 and UCLA's higher.
    They may be top 50, but their dorms smell like old toothpaste.

  60. Mike
    Date: Sun, Jan 16 2011 05:21:48

    JC wrote: @SJ I don't think he's asking why it's important to go to college, but why does it seem like it's so important to go to college straight after high school.. like, why not take a year or two off, save some money, and then go to college or something
    More like, why directly into a 4 year. But yeah, so many people, to me, waste their time trying to get into a good university. I don't understand why.

  61. SJ
    Date: Sun, Jan 16 2011 05:32:47

    XYZaki;54453]They may be top 50, but their dorms smell like old toothpaste.[/QUOTE] loooooool thats probably only your sis's dorm room! and i dont even know what old toothpaste smells like LOL [QUOTE=Mike wrote: More like, why directly into a 4 year. But yeah, so many people, to me, waste their time trying to get into a good university. I don't understand why.
    because generally, a good university means good education which can lead to a good paying job which means more financial security and more often than not, companies look for the "college name" (sad but true) but that doesnt mean mediocre unis are bad. wherever you go, if you excel, you will succeed. and if you can get a decent paying job straight out of HS, then good for you. but i prefer to have college experience lol

  62. Colin
    Date: Sun, Jan 16 2011 05:36:09

    Vassenato wrote: calm the fuck down. like for real. You're stressing way to much over simple things dude. Just chill mang. Errr things going to be okay.
    Who are you, Ke$ha? :trollface:

  63. Mike
    Date: Sun, Jan 16 2011 07:09:01

    SJ wrote: loooooool thats probably only your sis's dorm room! and i dont even know what old toothpaste smells like LOL because generally, a good university means good education which can lead to a good paying job which means more financial security and more often than not, companies look for the "college name" (sad but true) but that doesnt mean mediocre unis are bad. wherever you go, if you excel, you will succeed. and if you can get a decent paying job straight out of HS, then good for you. but i prefer to have college experience lol
    But it costs so damn much. I would never resort to loans, I would only take money if it's free. Maybe it's because I'm poor, but I see it as financial suicide. I would much rather take my time to earn my money, and go to school.

  64. Prince
    Date: Sun, Jan 16 2011 20:06:21

    Wait holy shit, Ive just read what iMatt said... $40k a year? Is that forreals?

  65. davidguy
    Date: Mon, Jan 17 2011 11:17:28

    what college you go to in a sense really does matter because if one person went to a high ranking college and another person went to a low ranking college but they both get the same grades and stuff like that, who are the people offering the jobs gonna prefer?

  66. Mage In Black
    Date: Tue, Jan 18 2011 23:28:14

    @Prince Eh, mostly grad schools are that expensive. And of course, private schools, and some tip top colleges (ivy leagues, stanford, etc).

  67. davidguy
    Date: Tue, Jan 18 2011 23:34:05

    yeah i'm just saying if everything else was exactly the same except for the college, then obviously the college you go to matters

  68. A.Sate
    Date: Wed, Jan 19 2011 06:45:07

    The better colleges give you a slight edge on if you get the job or not. Pay is pretty much the same. Forthe people in CA, Im thinking about going to cal-state, any recommendations for socal?

  69. SJ
    Date: Wed, Jan 19 2011 09:38:53

    A.Sate wrote: The better colleges give you a slight edge on if you get the job or not. Pay is pretty much the same. Forthe people in CA, Im thinking about going to cal-state, any recommendations for socal?
    depends what you wanna do... generally UCs are better than cal states but they are exceptions. theres also cal tech, stanford, clairemont mckenna, etc..

  70. calimartinio
    Date: Wed, Jan 19 2011 10:40:14

    It's not about the college you get accepted to. It's the college you graduate from. Go to some shit college, transfer after 2 years, graduate. It's all about graduate school anyways.

  71. Mike
    Date: Thu, Jan 20 2011 00:05:49

    Mage In Black wrote: @Prince Eh, mostly grad schools are that expensive. And of course, private schools, and some tip top colleges (ivy leagues, stanford, etc).
    Some people aren't eligible for anything funded by the government, like FAFSA, grants and loans. Even some scholarships are hard to come by, which makes funding for college nearly impossible.

  72. maunierox
    Date: Tue, Jan 25 2011 07:45:02

    not to randomly bring this back up or anything, but i go to UCI and judging on some of the people i met here i'd say you're pretty safe. I got 2 C's in high school and i still got in. it ruined my chances at a better UC but the fact is i still got in. its fairly simple to get into UCSC especially with your grades. I didn't do much community service and I didn't have a lot of extracurriculars and i still got into a few UC's and some other good schools. some people who i know got into UCLA and UCB had worse grades than me. but the ones who got into MIT, Brown, Johns Hopkins and Cal Tech really had the whole package. it just depends on where you set your sights. don't worry too much. just take a few AP's to make the college people happy and you're set. milk anything you have done on the apps. like since you're in band and whatnot just milk that a lot. do one awesome community service thing and explain it in great detail and make sure it sounds good. it's not quite how much you do but how good you make it sound. who are they to check? :)

  73. Nachoaddict
    Date: Wed, Jan 26 2011 06:42:25

    Whoa who is else is going to UCI? I live 5 minutes away :O

  74. Mats
    Date: Wed, Jan 26 2011 09:47:00

    Why so concerned with going to a 'decent' school? You can learn just the same anywhere, it's mostly down to your own studying.