DunninLA

moi26 --

pm me your email, and I will forward it to my neighbor the Berkeley Junior I mentioned who started 2nd sememster after traveling in Australia.

He can give you the inside scoop on starting 2nd semester. apparently over 500 kids to exactly that, so there would be a large group coming in with you.

JustaGuy

I’m going to be contrary. This seems to be the old dilemma: your heart is telling you one thing, your brain another. You know were you *want* to go to school, and where you *should* go to school. Of course Berkeley is the logical, sensible choice for all the reasons mentioned … but. As an adult, I can assure you that you’ll face this dilemma again and again. And far too often circumstances will force you to choose the logical, sensible option. In many cases that will be the best choice, but sometimes not being logical and sensible can open opportunities you never dreamed of. Maybe this is one of those cases. Sit down with your parents, and have a serious discussion. Can they really afford Wesleyan, or would it in fact be a real sacrifice. If it is affordable, do what your heart is telling you. If you do go to Berkeley, take some of the money you will save, and do something wild. Travel, or pick a country you would really like to get to know, find a less expensive mid-size city, and spend a month living there using the town as a base. Heck, after recently spending a week in New York City for the first time in my life, I’d even recommend spending a month in NYC. In my opinion it’s the most exciting city in the world. Above all, don’t find yourself 40 years from now thinking what could have been.

moi26

Wow, everyone has such perceptive and though-provoking comments, thank you!!

I spent all of my free periods today trying to figure out what credits I'll get at Berkeley. The bureaucracy and difficulty was astounding, and I'm worried that the next four years will be more of this. In the end, someone told me that I wouldn't get any credits for the French Baccalaureate! I'm not positive that this is true, but if it is, taking the first semester off may not be possible. I would have to go to community college, which is not very appealing when I know that I could be at Wesleyan... (Thanks for all of the ideas for travel during my free time, BedHead and JustaGuy. I definitely would love to travel and I have lots of ideas, but it looks like it's not going to be possible.)

JustaGuy, I think you may be right about me wanting to go to Wes but thinking that I *should* go to Berkeley. However, it's not totally clear-cut as there are aspects of Berkeley that I love, and some of Wes that I dislike. But it IS clear to me that Berkeley is the logical, sensible answer.

I'm going to discuss all of this with my parents this weekend, and to try to get a better idea of where exactly we stand financially. I'm also going to try to find a definitive answer on the credits, and to talk to a student from my high school that now goes to Berkeley (they'll hopefully be able to tell me about credits, and the experience of moving from a small high school to Cal, etc).

liek0806

By any chance couldn't you do fall at wesleyan and then decide if you would want to stay or leave for the spring?

BedHead

^^^^

Kudos to liek0806 for a creative idea. However, my strong recommendation would be to commit fully to one or the other. If you keep thinking maybe you'll go somewhere else, you'll close yourself off from really experiencing what you could at one place.

moi26

That would be ideal, liek, but I have to tell Berkeley of my decision in a week or so, and they don't allow you to say "yes" and then enroll at another 4 year college for the fall. Good thought, though!

Columbia_Student

I read one guy turned in SIRs to 2 schools. He is still deciding. Not sure what will going to happen.

If money is not a problem I would vote for Weleslyan.

moi26

haha BedHead, you beat me to it! And you do raise a good point about committing to a school. I think that one of the reasons I want to go to Wes is because I'm already enrolled, I've already met a great room mate, and generally convinced myself that that's where I'm going to school. (I didn't want to hope too much because I wasn't sure about getting into Berkeley.)

moi26

yeah, my friend sent in 4 SIR before finally deciding on NYU! Very bad idea, especially that 2 were UCs, so she could easily have gotten her admissions revoked! That would never work for my situation, though, because I would actually have to attend Wes, and Berkeley would find out about that (credits transferring, etc)

liek0806

Moi, why not try calling Berkeley, and seeing if you could do what I suggested. Maybe they'll allow you to.

moi26

Thats a good idea. It never hurts to ask! I'll discuss this with my college counselor and parents, see what they say...

mamamax

Hey, How did you score a free trip to Wes? They must really want you to attend. My student is from the East Bay and is finishing his first year at Wesleyan. Its been a great fit for him in every way- so I'd vote for Wesleyan. Everyone locally states Berkeley is best for grad students.
I do know lots of kids who loved Cal as undergrads, but it is a totally different experience.

moi26

Yeah, I guess they just really want me to attend, so they offered to pay for the plane tickets! I'm glad your son likes Wesleyan, and thanks for your advice!

katliamom

moi -- have you tried approaching Wesleyan with a request to give you some financial aid/grants etc? They wanted you badly enough to fly you out, they may be persuaded to kick in some money -- especially since they know you can now choose between them, and Berkeley at a fraction of the cost. Give it a shot -- the most they can do is say 'no.'

moi26

That's a really great point, katliamom! I'll try sending an e-mail or giving them a call. As you said, the worst they can say is no!