2/15 Update:
NMF confirmed
Harvard alumni interview
FSU admission with NMF scholarship package
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Congrats.
Is FSU in the lead? I know it’s highly ranked for criminology.
Great scholarship, nonetheless.
Congrats - who remains?
Thanks. All his other schools will be releasing decisions in March. Please see my post last month for the full list.
Wow - great list - congrats on FSU - a great win - and good luck with the rest.
Update for second half of February:
Princeton alumni interview
UCSB Regent Scholarship
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Update for first half of March:
Vandy: C.V. Scholarship application rejected
UCI: Regents (criminology, so two schools for criminology)
UCD: Regents
UCSD: accepted
UCLA: accepted
UChicago: waitlisted
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Crim is not recommended for law school. (Anything in traditional liberal arts is excellent.)
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This issue has been discussed quite a bit upthread, and it has been acknowledged that programs differ. A lot of criminology and especially “criminal justice” programs are primarily feeders for careers in law enforcement and corrections. I think the major at Irvine has a broader scope, though; and in keeping with the usual trend of UC’s being more theoretical/scholarly than corresponding programs at the CSU’s, there seems to be an emphasis on theory and research. Also, looking at the four year plan for the major, there is a lot of elective time, even before AP credit is taken into account; so there would be plenty of opportunity to round out this major with one or more minors or even a second major. https://cls.soceco.uci.edu/sites/cls.soceco.uci.edu/files/users/marycu/4_year_sample_degree_map_crm_law.pdf I definitely don’t think OP should pursue a criminology focus on the premise that it would confer an advantage for law school, because it won’t. But if it’s a topic of great interest, I don’t think pursuing it at a school like UCI need necessarily be a disadvantage, either. OP should look into departmental outcomes (law school placement in particular) and consider how to best use his elective time to build a well-rounded liberal arts foundation. Conversely, even though the criminology department doesn’t offer a formal minor, he could likely take electives of interest from this department even if majoring in something else, which could be a good compromise. (Another thing to investigate is the ease of accessing these classes, for non-majors.)
Speaking of accessing desired classes, does the Irvine offer also include the Campuswide Honors Collegium? Regents used to confer priority registration, but that apparently ended with this year’s entering class. At large public U’s with a lot of competition for resources, like the UC’s, registration priority can make a huge difference.
At any rate, if he wants a school with a criminology major, I would suspect that UCI’s version would be better for pre-law than FSU’s, which seems very law-enforcement focused.
I’m sure he won’t be deciding anything until after all of the private reach-school decisions come in, but it’s great that he has strong UC offers already in the mix - congrats!
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For the major, it becomes clearer that it’s going to be economics, or something within the liberal arts/sociology areas. Law school is still a good possibility post undergraduate.
He is admitted to the honor programs at UCI, UCD, and UCSB. So far the public school offers are as good as they can be. We are grateful for all of the good news.
He has not had as much good luck with the private schools. The scarce and big merit aids prove to be elusive (we only pursued Vandy and USC, and USC Presidential still depends on an acceptance). His top choice just waitlisted him. We are crossing our fingers, at the same time the family is in delight for the UCLA acceptance. It’s the top choice for now.
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I’m sure the UChicago waitlist is a disappointment, but these are really excellent results. Congrats!
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Note that UCLA sociology offers some courses on criminology / sociology of crime and related topics: 147A, 147B, 149 (see Browse Sociology ).
If the student likes math, consider the math economics major if going to UCLA. Also, at some of the other UCs, there may be more-math and less-math options for intermediate economics and/or econometrics courses.
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Update 3/28
USC: accepted (Spring admit), after EA deferred
Vanderbilt: waitlisted
UC Berkeley: accepted
Harvard: rejected
Princeton: rejected
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Congrats on UCB and USC!!!
Will he consider the USC spring start, or does he like his other options better?
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Congratulations!
Does your son have a better inkling of what he wants to study? He’s Econ at Berkeley. He’s in Dornslife at USC, but I didn’t see mention of major.
I would have him look at doing a USC semester abroad instead of backpacking. He’ll have lots of opportunities to explore Europe, will meet other USC students, and will knock out a couple of GEs in the process.
Have you had the chance to visit either campus? USC’s admitted student day is April 7. Berkeley’s is April 13.
Thank you.
He will consider USC spring start, but UCLA is almost equally fine for him.
He was concerned about Berkeley’s progressive cultural leaning. He is moderately leaning towards conservative. I don’t think it should matter. Berkeley is very strong on economics, but also is known for bad dorm food (confirmed) and housing. I heard the city has tons of good food though. We are planning a trip next week to visit Berkeley.
The remote likelihood of tomorrow’s Stanford decision or UChicago taking him off the wait list may also disrupt the plan.
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Thank you! He got criminology at UCI and FSU, and economics at all other schools.
We have visited USC and UCLA, but not Berkeley. We are going to see it next week. He probably will revisit USC and UCLA (we live in SoCal) and is aware of the dates you mentioned.
I don’t believe that he is ready to do indie travel before learning living independently at a fixed adobe. Taking care everything on the go is another level, and it took me many years to master. So if he chooses USC, I will probably enroll him into a study abroad program as you suggested.
Political leanings likely vary by department. Economics often is not particularly left leaning on economics issues, for example. But sociology and criminology with a research and policy orientation can delve into more lefty-sounding stuff. Criminal justice oriented departments may attract a more right leaning group.
Just to clarify which schools you are comparing. Is the following correct? Did I miss any?
UCI: Regents (criminology, so two schools for criminology)
UCD: Regents
UCSD: accepted
UCLA: accepted
USC: accepted (Spring admit)
UC Berkeley: accepted
Different majors, but my immediate family has attended all of those schools except for one. Let me know if you have questions about culture, community, etc.
All results summary, 3/29 update
UT Dallas, economics, rolling, accepted December 2023, NMF scholarship, honors college
FSU, criminology, accepted, NMF scholarship, honors
UCSB, economics, accepted, Regents, honors
UCI, criminology, accepted, Regents, honors
UC Davis, economics, accepted, Regents, honors
UCSD, economics, accepted
UCLA, business economics, accepted
UCB, economics, accepted
USC, economics, EA deferred, then accepted, spring admit, NMF Presidential Scholarship to be confirmed
UChicago, economics, waitlisted
Vanderbilt, economics, waitlisted
Harvard, economics, rejected
Princeton, economics, rejected
Stanford, economics, rejected
We have not heard from UCSD, UCLA, and UCB on their Regents Scholarship and/or honor programs.
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Is the student thinking criminology? If so, even with all the great names, FSU with the NMF from a cost POV would be hard to beat and I know UCI is also well known for it.
But your list is full of - well - fantastic acceptances all around!!
Congrats to your student.
Any that he’s eliminated or has a soft spot for?