How did you choose your college?

On September 11 2008 12:54 Superiorwolf wrote:
i highly suggest you retake the SAT, although you're probably doing applications right now...
my brother got into UC Berkeley with a 4.1 gpa which is below average, but he had 1560/1600 on SAT (or was it 1580?). My friend's sister had a 4.6 GPA but only a 2000 on SAT and didnt make Berkeley. she had about same extracurriculars as my brother too

On September 11 2008 12:54 Superiorwolf wrote:
i highly suggest you retake the SAT, although you're probably doing applications right now...
my brother got into UC Berkeley with a 4.1 gpa which is below average, but he had 1560/1600 on SAT (or was it 1580?). My friend's sister had a 4.6 GPA but only a 2000 on SAT and didnt make Berkeley. she had about same extracurriculars as my brother too

On September 11 2008 12:56 XCetron wrote:


What, is there something wrong with the scales here?

On September 11 2008 12:58 Caller wrote:
i know my school has a relatively low focus on test scores. they look more at grades than test scores-they emphasize how low they place em.
of course i go to uchicago, which is not known for being a school that promotes partying and instead focuses on geeky pursuits.

On September 11 2008 12:56 kpcrew wrote:
wtf is this weighted shit
my school worked on a 4.0 system

1940 is kinda low, i would retake it if i were you

2200 is about the average for a top school

On September 11 2008 13:10 LiLu wrote:
I visited them all and went with the one that I felt most comfortable at. I know that sounds like very general advice but it's true too.

It was between UGA, Gatech, Emory, and Uni Southern Cal for me.

Felt best at Emory and that's where I am now =D

On September 11 2008 13:12 DukE_ss wrote:


Isn't Emory an all girls school? Maybe I'm just thinking of spelling.

On September 11 2008 13:01 kpcrew wrote:
tucker max says that uchicago is NOT the place to go
apparently the girls are hideous, unlike girls at places like vanderbilt and duke where people are just as smart, but better looking

On September 11 2008 14:01 EtherealDeath wrote:
5.something GPA
2370 SAT

UNC Chapel Hill

Free Tuition wootwoot (thank you lovely NC School of Science and Math)
and cheap as hell in state too, pretty good school as well.

On September 11 2008 14:07 Roffles wrote:


Fucking UNC Chapel Hill is ridiculously easy to get into in state, but HELL out of state. You need to be like 1337 to get into Chapel Hill from outta state.

Anyways, financial aid blows if your parents make over 100k unless you go to like the Ivies, who have really generous financial aid. Anyways, I chose Northwestern over my instate Georgia schools because I seriously felt like I needed to get outta this hell hole. Plus, Emory and Tech aren't suited for me. Not interested in Med or Engineering.

On September 11 2008 14:05 Kami wrote:
I chose my school based on national rankings. I'm going to be a college freshman this fall at UCSD. My SAT score is the same as yours, 1940. UCSD is ranked around #10 in engineering. UC Berkeley is better though.

On September 11 2008 12:48 Jonoman92 wrote:
The title says it all pretty much. I'm a senior and I'm confident I could get into all but the very most selective school. Although for an expensive private school I would probably need financial aid to be able to go. I have a 4.5GPA(weighted) and a 32 on the ACT. (I got a 1940 on the SAT but meh that's not that good but i don't wanna retake it.)

How did you guys choose what college to go to? I don't want to go to the local state college, Kansas University, because I feel like I need a different experience and I want to be further than 45 minutes away.

On September 11 2008 14:03 Superiorwolf wrote:
you cant get over a 5.0???
and to get a 5.0 you need straight A's in all weighted classes.

On September 11 2008 23:44 carotte wrote:
ACTs are held in slightly lower regards when compared with SAT scores. For example scoring in the top 99% of SATs is better than scoring in the top 99% of ACTs. If you have a chance to retake the SATs and do better before the admissions process begins I would definitely do that.

On September 12 2008 01:29 micronesia wrote:

Wow Standford and Harvard have become much less demanding of late.
+ Show Spoiler +

On September 12 2008 01:41 Caller wrote:


i thought it was 99.5% was average unless ur asian which is 99.9%

too bad i'm asian otherwise i mightve applied lol

On September 11 2008 14:07 Roffles wrote:


Fucking UNC Chapel Hill is ridiculously easy to get into in state, but HELL out of state. You need to be like 1337 to get into Chapel Hill from outta state.

Anyways, financial aid blows if your parents make over 100k unless you go to like the Ivies, who have really generous financial aid. Anyways, I chose Northwestern over my instate Georgia schools because I seriously felt like I needed to get outta this hell hole. Plus, Emory and Tech aren't suited for me. Not interested in Med or Engineering.

On September 11 2008 14:40 Luddite wrote:

Woah Where are you from? You sound a lot like where I was. I had really good test scores and didn't want to go to KU (my hometown), but I ended up going there anyway because, in spite of my scores, all the hard-to-get-in-to universities rejected me. But it worked out OK because KU turned out to really awesome for me. And university is really different from high school even if you're not far away, and it's nice to be able to visit enough.

Anyway don't feel like you have to go to some top ranked school or you're a failure. You can get a good education at a big state university like KU and have an awesome time as well. Actually one of my friends who did his bachelor's there was accepted at every single one of the elite grad schools he applied to, with fellowships and everything.

On September 11 2008 23:44 carotte wrote:
I go to Stanford and my brother goes to Harvard, so we've been through the process for the elite schools. Everything that follows is in the assumption that you would consider one of the top tier schools:

ACTs are held in slightly lower regards when compared with SAT scores. For example scoring in the top 99% of SATs is better than scoring in the top 99% of ACTs. If you have a chance to retake the SATs and do better before the admissions process begins I would definitely do that.

I think the most important thing when looking for a school is in terms of opportunities available for undergraduates. Opportunities as in how good is their alumni network for career opportunities, travel opportunities, research, and much more.

So consider geographical location: is it in an urban area (Columbia, Harvard) or if you like more spread out outdoorsy type colleges (Duke, Northwestern, Princeton, Cornell) or something in between (Stanford). Consider where you want to work after you graduate, NYC, SF, abroad? China? India? Europe? Lots of school's have different connections with different areas of the world. For example the Harvard has really great ties with Europe while Stanford has terrific ones with Asia.

If possible I would highly recommend actually going to the campus, perhaps a short Thanksgiving trip to a few campuses you're considering?

Finally, if you don't retake the SATs I would recommend looking at the tier II schools: Rice, Emory, Vanderbilt, etc..

Best of luck with your application process. If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.

On September 11 2008 13:46 clazziquai wrote:
Hmm because Rutgers is a state school. And I live in New Jersey

Engineering program isnt that bad either.

On September 18 2008 05:56 Ideas wrote:
I currently go to Georgia Tech. It's a pretty badass school. I'm not in an engineering degree so I'm not exactly sure how great that is, but like 80% of the students are engineering degrees and apparently the engineering programs here are awesome.

Also we have a StarCraft club starting up soon

On September 11 2008 13:35 Titusmaster6 wrote:
UC Davis was the only school that accepted me so in a way, it chose me. But I love it.

On September 18 2008 07:06 SiegeTanksandBlueGoo wrote:
College essays blow. :D

We should start a thread on tl.net after college decisions are out so we can find other people at the schools we got into with the same interests!

On September 20 2008 09:13 inertinept wrote:
eh jono your lucky your at such an easy school :/ wish mine was like that. Going to be tough for be to get anywhere good since my school is hard as shit. To give you a scale, i got a 2280 on the SAT but have a 3.0 GPA, yes its pretty gay.

With those grades you can pretty much go anywhere although the SAT is a little low. just pick the college based on a couple things:

Location, Money, Specialty fields, Overall atmosphere, and of course the scholarships you receive will play a big role.

On September 19 2008 23:07 KlaCkoN wrote:
Would someone mind explaining the concept of these "extracurriculars" that american unis seem to find so important? Why would a university care at all for anything that isn't acedemic potential? :S
I am probably beeing very European but I just can't comprehend this.
Sorry for beeing of topic.
On topic I would say that your pick should depend on what you want your college experience to be focused on.

On September 20 2008 15:17 OneOther wrote:


Think of it this way. Stanford has 10 applicants with 4.0GPA/2350+SAT. You have room for two. Who do you choose? You choose a student who shows passion and ability in things other than academics. ECs/essays/recs are what set you apart from thousands of other students with similar academic stats.


To give you an idea,

Applicant A:
4.0 GPA, 2400 SAT
no significant ECs

Applicant B:
3.8 GPA, 2250 SAT
student government
varsity sports

they would rather pick person B.

On September 20 2008 19:57 KlaCkoN wrote:


Yeah but why?
As a university why should they be interessted in anything but the quality of the work the student is expected to produce? Maybe they need selection methods of their own. (The skills required to score perfect grades are not exactly the same as those needed to produce good research)
But to resort to their ... sport skills? What has _that_ got to do with anything?

On September 18 2008 10:51 MYM.Testie wrote:
I didn't choose my college
it chose me

On September 21 2008 04:53 OneOther wrote:


What do you mean why? Do you think colleges want kids who don't know anything but studying? Plus, what are you gonna do if students' scores are basically the same?

like I said, universities want students who do more than just studying. They want athlete scholars, musicians, artists, and the variety on their campus, not a big nerd fest. They look for more than just grades and scores in students.

t's also a selection method since EVERYONE who apply to elite colleges have excellent academic stats. Sport was one example of countless extracurricular activities the applicants may be dedicated to.

On September 21 2008 05:16 KlaCkoN wrote:


I will probably never understand this *sighs*
If the most intelligent students are "nerds" then why don't the colleges want a "nerd fest"?
Shouldn't the goal of the university be to produce as many nobel prices as possible, period?

When I applied to oxford (A fairly prestigious uni in Europe) they didn't seem to care at all for what I did in my spare time (Not that I did anything noteworthy =P) They did however lock me in a room for an hour where they bombarded me with questions regarding the subject I was applying for, expecting me to reason my way out of them. I was accepted.
To me that seems like a more relevant way to go about it, but as said I am probably just beeing very european.
Is it perhaps because the overall status of the school is increased if the students going there are beautiful and active as well as smart? Or is it because they believe that an active student is likely to produce better results in the long run?

On September 20 2008 08:41 Wala.Revolution wrote:
I'm glad there was such a topic in TL... I really need to start researching this now (I'm a junior now).

I have some major questions about colleges.

First, how do grading scales work? Do colleges have a universal system? California had 10 point grading scale whereas Virginia Beach has 6-8-8 grading scale (so 94 is the lowest A). Does it mean I am fucked because I had two 92 and a 84 in Freshman year which makes my GPA for that year at 3.5.

Also, how do you find out which schools are strong in what departments? Is there a site that covers all or most of it or do I have to research it myself?

As for some information I collected, remember that grades and standardized testing isn't all. EC activities and essays (especially essys. I knew a person who used to be in an admission comittee, and from all the applicants that are similar in other respects, it determines admission by the essay.)

For those of you who are still junior or below, remember many colleges requre SAT Subject tests. These include your core sciences and math 1/2, foreign language etc. DO NOT expect to get a perfect because you got an A in bio or chem. The SAT subject tests are much harder than the basic science courses, and I recomment you get the prep books and start solving.

SAT I, to improve in the writing section, learn some simple grammar. The essay accounts for roughly 200 points or so while the other 600 comes from 45 questions on grammar. You can easily improve this score by mass practice and KNOWING why you missed.

Oh yeah I forgot that letters of recommendations help a lot, especially if you have ones from appropriate people (i.e. a MD/PhD researcher for going into bio).