College

[Bakiryu]

Dear litnetters, (hi!)

I'm 15 (soon to be 16) years old and a sophomore in an American high school. Since next year I will be a junior, I should already be getting serious about college and such. There's just a teeni, tiny little problem: I'm a Cuban immigrant. Since I'm new to this country and such, I really have no idea what I should be doing or what to look for in a college.
Since most of you guys are well, a bit older than me and have been or are in college, I thought I'd ask for help. I have no idea what i want to be or where I want to go. (I'm also dirt poor, not allowed to move away from my parents and need to bring income to my family, [I don't want to study something that won't help me help my family.[


Could you tell me what I should be doing at this junction in my life? And share your stories of college too. Any information or suggestions in this topic would be welcome. You can even reminiscence about ye old college days...:lol:


Thank you!

♥Ryu-chan

[Tournesol]

I can't advise you on specifics, cause I don't live in the USA, I attended the University of the West Indies.

However, I can tell you this:

For college, do something you LIKE - that way you'll approach your studies with a willing and open mind, and it won't be so hard.

Whatever you do, be fair to yourself, and have fun!

[Virgil]

Baki, I think the first thing is to start practicing the SAT tests. Lord it's been so long since I was in your shoes. It's probably changed. I would seek out a guidence counselor and a teacher you're fond of and discuss it with them.

[dramasnot6]

a) Think about what type of college you would be interested in. What area would you like to study in?(Science,Arts,etc.) Would you prefer a small liberal arts college or a large university? Do you want to study where you live now or in a different state?
b) Talk to an official at your school. Most American high schools have some sort of adviser or counselor for these things. In Junior year and Senior year they should give you support,too,informing you on how to apply to universities,etc.
c) Prepare for your SAT's. Study,study,study! :)
d) Research into various different universities and colleges. Look into their various programs in areas you like. Consider visiting some schools that appeal to you.
Hope that helps.

[djy78usa]

If you're not sure what you want to study, you might want to look into community college for the first year or two. You can save a lot of money, knock out an associates in general studies, then transfer to a state or private university if you want to continue on to a bachelors degree. Should you choose that route, you'll have to do some research to make sure that you would be able to transfer all your credits (you should be able to at a state university). Definitely meet with your school's guidance counselor though. He/She should be able to give you a lot a good information.

[byquist]

I teach lots of Cubans in Community College and they are a happy lot. Some won the lottery, and some visited home over Christmas by way of Venezuela or Canada. They all like it here, are smart, and full of energy.

The general advice is to study what you find exciting.

[Niamh]

you should look into Scholarships also Baki. Esp if you folks might not be able to afford to sent you to college.
I didnt go to college in the USA either (which is obvious!). I went to Dundalk Institute of Technology. I also only had to pay £10 in fees instead of £100 fee because i was a grant student. Also the Government pays for the majority of college fees. (except Private colleges)

[Bakiryu]

Thanks guys!

I've been looking into it and i think i want to study Journalism. Do any of you know what are the college requirements? the hiring rate? if i should do it?

I've been looking in UNC at Chapel Hill, please help! (again, sorry!)

[papayahed]

Application requirements:

http://www.admissions.unc.edu/applying/freshman.htm#require


APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

First-year applicants are required to submit the following:

A completed application.

Counselor statement and transcript.

Teacher recommendation.

Residency application, if you are a North Carolina resident.

Test scores - SAT Reasoning Test and/or the ACT (including the new writing section, which is offered with both exams). If you've taken any AP, IB, or SAT Subject Tests, please provides these scores as well. Please note that certain exam scores are used to place enrolling students in the appropriate math, English, and foreign language courses. For detailed information, visit our Placement Exams page.

Essays - we require one long and one short essay.

A non-refundable $70 application fee.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR

Admission to Carolina is highly competitive. For the Fall 2007 class:

20,064 applied
6,993 admitted
3,895 enrolled
Our admissions process is competitive, but we strive to make it fair and humane. We
don’t use formulas or cutoffs or thresholds; no one is automatically admitted or denied because of a single number. Instead, we read each application thoroughly, one by one.

What do we look for? It's hard to generalize. We understand that students travel many different roads to get to Carolina, and we celebrate the variety of interests, backgrounds, and aspirations that they bring with them. We know that not every talented student needs to be talented in exactly the same way.

At the same time, it’s fair to say that we seek excellence.We focus first on academic
excellence, using a variety of information—courses, grades, test scores, recommendations, essays—to help us assess performance and potential. We pay particular attention to the rigor of each candidate’s course of study.

Successful candidates typically take at least one course in each of the five core academic disciplines—English, math, social science, lab science, and foreign language—in each of their four years in high school. Many take the
most difficult academic programs available at their schools.

Beyond academics, we seek excellence in other areas: in the arts; in athletics; in
leadership, service, citizenship, and character. This list isn’t exhaustive or prescriptive; our candidates do things we’ve hardly imagined, and we’re more than happy to be surprised.

When we read your application, we’ll be interested in what you've done and what you
care about—those things that make you the unique person you are.

Refer to Facts and Figures and our Applying FAQs for additional information.


http://content.monstertrak.monster.com/resources/archive/careerfields/journalismdegree/

[Petrarch's Love]

Hi Baki. First of all, plan to apply to a broad selection of schools. Make up a list of dream schools (for journalism, UNC Chapel Hill, Northwestern, Berkley, Columbia, and Ohio University spring to mind as top schools) as well as schools that you're certain you can get into (and pay for) with no problem as back ups. Go to the websites of the schools you're interested in. Any university website will have the admissions requirements listed under a section labeled something like "prospective students." Your high school guidance councilor will be able to advise you best in terms of what classes you need to be taking now, and what sort of grades and test scores you need to give you a chance at the top choice schools. If you are setting your sights on some of the top schools, you'll also want to look into scholarship opportunities in a serious way, and again, your high school should have some resources available for finding scholarships. As someone else mentioned above, a couple of years at community college can also be a good idea if money is tight, especially if you aren't too sure about what you want to do. Good luck with the college research, and let us know how it progresses.

[Sarasvati21]

Hey Bakiryu, as far as getting into a college goes, I'd really focus on my grades and standardized tests (SATs, ACTs). You might consider taking the practice SAT sometime soon to get an idea of what the SAT will be like when you take it, which you will, presumably soon.
Extracurriculars are also good (music, art, sports, etc.) for getting in, but I think you're probably set there with your art and everything. Colleges also like voluntary community service, such as visiting nursing homes and things such as that.
As far as deciding where to go, I guess that all depends on where you live and what places are nearby, since you need to go somewhere near home. What to major in all depends on your interests...
Apply for lots of scholarships, even if you're not sure that you'll get them, it can't hurt to try.
Well, that's all my college advice. Hope it helps.
~Sarasvati

[amanda_isabel]

dear Baki,

journalism sounds great, and at least there are a lot of job opportunities after college.

i can totally relate to your problem since i;ve been having the same one over on this side of the world for aout a year; been triyng to decide since the summer before my senior year, you know, before having to file those applications.

my parents want me to take a professional course, and of course i have to agree since their intentions are right. i'm going to start taking b.a. language and literature soon, though i don;t know if i'd shift courses since i;m not sure if they;d credit that as a pre-law (yeah, law is the professional course), but if i decide to stick to, well, there;s a lot of opportunity in the communication market--just like for journalism.

hope you find what you're looking for (and not wind up a wreck like me, lol)

amanda

[Nightshade]

Also the Government pays for the majority of college fees. (except Private colleges)

Oh you lucky thing!

Baki, I do the juggle uni/live at home/ work thing- ill probably have to get a second job next year as I'll be living away from home and have rent to pay and loans to keep controlled. So what I mean yto say is it is definetly 100% do-able yo just need to want it enough.
this is sort of adapted way that I did it.

Dont high schools in the states have counciller things who give you advise? They would be the first people to hunt down and stalk till they give you answers. The second thing to do is look around you decide on a maximum distance you are willing to commute daily ( and baring in mind 9 oclock starts - sometimes I have to be up at 4 am to get to uni in time!)
then look atthe colleges and see what they offer that intrests you, find out what they want from you then work to meet those requirments.
Im not sure how it works in the staes but in theuk because of the current maddness with chaning uni rates it is MUCH MUCH cheaper to take course part time ( on my course for example peopl on the new system pay upwprds of £3600 a year, while part timers pay £200 a unit which works out as £600 a year over 5 years ... thats less than one years fees for the fulltimers ( luckily carful planning allowed me to get in just before this mad new system began and Im on a fixed lower rate thank god)
The problem with working parttime is how good are you at self motivation?You really need to be able to make yourself do alot of work on your own in order to keep up with people who are emersed in the 'stuyd enviroment' 5 days of the week.

Find out if there is a period of resdincy required to attend as a home student, and if you have lived in the states long enough to be conted as one belive me foriegn student fees are MURDER.
BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET ... double and triple shifts at work during holidays or whenever you can and stick your part of the money somewhere to help pay towards the misc. costs.

But as to what you are looking for... choose a subject that intrests you thats very importnat because you need to be intrested to keep going, I know that here in the uk unless you are going for a professional job they dont care what degree you have as long as youve got one.

who was it that said "find what you like to do and get someone to pay yu for it-- that is the secret of success" or words to that effect.
:D