What should I start doing now?

cowman809
Wed, 26 May 2010 04:37:07 +0000

(I know I made another thread earlier, but I sucked at starting it).

I did pretty average in HS in terms of academics, 3.6UW (3.97W) and 1940 SAT. I didn’t do any extracurriculars till Junior year, but I was very involved and had great demands (founded a student union). I didn’t get into any colleges I want to go to (UCLA, USC, Standford) and the only 3 I did get accepted to were just joke applications (NYU, UCSB, LMU). The first and last gave me dismal aid (we are very low income too). I am now settling on UCSB, even though it was the last place I wanted to end up and has absolutely no pluses in my intended major(s), political science and philosophy.

However, I know I can transfer, and will do anything I can to do so. I’m not sure how challenging it is at SB to get a high GPA, but I am determined to score as high as possible and actually study for the first time in my life for finals and do my homework. I’m pretty confident my GPA will be above 3.75. I also plan to join a couple of clubs I found out about their student’s day. I will join: College Democrats, Fencing Intramural, Debate, Student Government.

These are the schools I want to transfer to:

Ivy: Yale, Harvard, Columbia (I may apply for all, but I could care less about the others)
UCLA, USC, Stanford

From what I’ve seen here, these schools have pretty low transfer rates (besides the CC -> UCLA/USC). What can I do to maximize my chances at these schools? I’ve researched a lot on my own and know the general picture, but I would like so direct opinions, if you may. It may sound slightly pretentious, but I want to be somebody in my life, I’m not really content with a good paying job with a house. As unfortunate as it is, the Ivy League is where many leaders come from and network from (past 4 presidents are Ivy alums). I never did well or planned ahead for this kind of goal in high school because I didn’t have the resources, I didn’t have support from anybody, and I had to deal with real life (live in a bad area of LA) more than school life.

Thank you for the help

Edit: I may also consider law school, but its not a sure thing. I know UG doesn’t matter for law, but I may choose a different path, too early to tell.