So You Want to Go to College?
College Grads literally own the world - Don't miss your chance!
We've said that getting into the right college or university is a process - so what does that process look like? Let' see. Most colleges and universities have specialties - for example Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has a wide selection of courses, but they tend to center around architecture and agriculture. Where as the University of Southern California has no agriculture courses, but does have a very strong schools in Film, Gerontology, Law, and Medicine. There are other distinctions that you should be aware:
- Generally, graduates from a 4 year college receive a Bachelors or Masters degrees where as universities generally offer Bachelors, Masters, and doctorial degrees (Ph.D.).
- Colleges and universities are made up of schools that are specialized. for example, at CSU, Long Beach there is a School of Business Administration, a School of Engineering, and a School of Mathematics.
- When you apply to a college or university you can apply as undeclared or to a specific school within the institution.
- Most states have both types of schools. The "State" Schools are schools that typically started out as colleges and have evolved into universities. Returning to CSU, Long Beach, originally it was called Long Beach State College. Then as the educational programs offered expanded and deepened, it was renamed California State University, Long Beach. The Universities were originally designed to bestow Doctorate degrees and to support the rigors and research required to acquire them. In California, these institutions are organized into the 23 campuses of the Long Beach based CSU system (CSU, Long Beach, SDSU, etc.) and the 10 campuses of the UC system (UCLA, UC, Davis, etc.) based in Oakland.
- Colleges and universities are also broken down into tiers - with the top tier schools being the larger research
In addition to these public colleges and universities, there are hundreds of private schools - some have big names like the University of Southern California (USC) or Notre Dame, and others you may never have heard of or even know where they are located.
The bottom line? There thousands of choices out there (more than 10,000 colleges and universities are located in the United States alone) many of which you may not yet be aware - and that is what you want, many, many options and choices so that you can make the best decisions for your future.
The Process of Getting In
So what is the process?
- Take the right High School courses and do well in them
- Do your homework on your college/university options
- Research your financial options
- Ask questions & find resources to get the answers to help you "get in"
- Do well on your entrance exams
- Submit your applications as early as possible
- Visit your top selections
- Choose your school
Take the Right Courses & Do Well in Them
Start early in your high school career by taking the courses that will qualify you to get into the schools that you are most interested in - remember the many choices? By planning your high school curriculum early, you can keep more options on the table for a longer time - this is a good thing.
St. Anthony College Prep High School has a very well designed curriculum to help prepare you for the college or university of your choice. You do need to get involved with the planning to ensure the courses that are required to get you where you want to go are covered. Talk with your teachers about your courses and your plans.
So you have your high school courses mapped out, now what?