Community College vs 4 Year

Infusion
Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:07:35 +0000

Your stats aren’t really that bad. I’d focus on your upcoming senior year if you plan on applying to other schools before worrying about your dillema. Seriously don’t count yourself out just yet. You can take SATs all the way up to November. I think the UCs even accept tests taken in December but you’ll have to check up on that. So you can still work on trying to improve your scores.

Also all the UC schools use a formula like system for admission (except for UCLA and Cal which use a more holistic system). So if you study their formulas, you can plan strategically into hopefully getting into a UC that’s satisfying enough for you.

[Prospective Students: UC San Diego Comprehensive Review Admission Process: Freshman Selection, Fall 2008](http://www.ucsd.edu/portal/site/ucsd/menuitem.135225ab0c7ce3c0c0020010d34b01ca/?vgnextoid=f9d9a78f2c741110a78f2c741110cdca5105RCRD)
That’s UCSD’s comprehensive review and it’s basically a point system. You take your UC gpa multiply it by a 1000 for a max of 4500 points. Then take your combined SAT and (2) SAT subject scores and multiply that by 0.8 for a max of 3200 points. And then you add an assortment of points from other characteristics so that you can have a total of 11000 points I believe. Based on your final score they determine whether you get in or not with an approximate cut off score which I think is about 7500ish (changes every year). The essays really don’t help you unless they highlight stuff that might get you points from step IV. Just study that and the other systems for the other UC schools (they have different systems) and you can plan strategically to hopefully get into a school that’s satisfying enough for you.

Search the UCSD (and the other UC) forums for topics on comprehensive review. People talk about what they think the cut off scores were and stuff.

Also if you do still end up going to CC route I wouldn’t worry about what others think. There’s really no shame on doing it and if your friends look down upon you just for that, then they’re ******bags. And don’t mind your parents either. I’m not saying to slack off but you can’t always live your life tied down by the expectations of others.