I'm not sure which University to attend, help?

[gizmo J]

I was born and raised in California and I'm 20 years old.

My plan is a little complicated but basically I want to obtain both an Engineering degree and a Political Science degree from a prestigious school such as MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, Columbia.

Edit: Ok I'm starting to understand how unlikely it is to got to schools such as MIT or Harvard so I think I'll try a school with a higher acceptance rate.

I found this website called U.S.NewsEducation.com that ranks Universities, recently I have been looking at the top ranked schools that have an acceptance rate above 20% and I found that these 4 schools were on top and in the same rank for Engineering:

Georgia Institute of Technology
Purdue University—​West Lafayette
University of Illinois—​Urbana-​Champaign
University of Michigan—​Ann Arbor

And this school is on top for Political Science:

University of Michigan—​Ann Arbor

I'm starting to be skeptical on whether or not I should take Political Science, I am now thinking of taking either Business, Law, or History instead. These were the highest ranking schools in each subject with an acceptance rate of above 20%.

Business-University of Chicago (Booth)
Law-University of Michigan—​Ann Arbor
History-University of Michigan—​Ann Arbor


As of now I only have my G.E.D and a Culinary Arts certificate so obviously I won't be able to afford a prestigious school but I was thinking that first I should obtain a Bachelors at a low cost university so I can get a well paying job then try to get Masters degrees later on at top universities.

I think I need a job that allows me to work in my dorm(so I don't have to commute to work which leaves me more time for studying) and a job that I can work at night(so I can study throughout the day), it seems that these are the only jobs that fit my needs:

Computer Programmer
Computer Support Specialist
Customer Service Representative

I think if I get a Computer Science degree I can obtain one of these jobs.

I was researching all the low cost universities in the California Public University System and calculated the Tuition, Fees, Room and Board in each one of the schools and came up with this chart, most Universities make it mandatory to buy the board with your housing but some don't which is why some of them are so cheap.

$11892 Bakersfield
$12213 Monterey bay
$12236 Dominguez hills
$12749 San Bernardino
$13182 Humboldt
$14331 Stanislaus
$14743 San Luis Obispo
$14764 Sonoma
$15039 San Marcos
$16174 Chico
$16902 Fresno
$17200 Fullerton
$17479 Northridge
$18292 Maritime Academy
$18332 long beach
$18629 san Diego
$18810 East Bay
$18852 Channel Islands
$19178 Los Angeles
$19232 San Francisco
$19724 Pomana
$20085 San Jose
$22913 Sacramento

I was going to try to get into Bakersfield University because it was the cheapest one but I recently discovered that prestigious schools often do not except people who went to universities that is not very well known so I am not sure which one I should go to.

Does anyone have any advice?

 

[Grappleboxing]

Hm, don't know about California specifically, but may I offer a suggestion?

Find a community college that has an agreement with a college on your list. Saves money if you take CC classes, transfer to one of the universities on your list, and end up with a degree from the university.

 

[Damien Karras]

1- Why Poli Sci?
2- It is nice to aim high, but you can have a good career without having gone to MIT or Harvard. Also, MIT and Harvard might not be the best universities for your area of specialization
3- While everyone usually starts thinking about grad school the minute they start their undergrad, their minds usually shift towards being really sick and tired of school and loathing the idea of another two year degree.
4- Pursue grad studies mostly if you have an academic interest in a discipline or subject.

 

[dabausplaya]

Some highly ranked schools are actually cheaper than worse schools. The tuition alone doesn't help us solve your problem. Post the rankings or take a look at them yourself.

 

[Cajun]

Hm, don't know about California specifically, but may I offer a suggestion?

Find a community college that has an agreement with a college on your list. Saves money if you take CC classes, transfer to one of the universities on your list, and end up with a degree from the university.

Sounds good in this case

 

[BJ@LW&WW]

lemme get you some cliffnotes
- only has GED
- wants graduate degree from MIT or harvard





bro. youre dreaming. even people with perfect academic records dont get into MIT.

also, when you write your admissions essays, perhaps know the difference between except and accept.\



the real question you need to ask yourself is why you want and why you think youre capable of earning a "engineering degree and a Political Science degree from prestigious schools such as MIT or Harvard" because im fairly certain your answer to that will be garbage.

 

[Which Doctor]

lemme get you some cliffnotes
- only has GED
- wants graduate degree from MIT or harvard





bro. youre dreaming. even people with perfect academic records dont get into MIT.

also, when you write your admissions essays, perhaps know the difference between except and accept.\



the real question you need to ask yourself is why you want and why you think youre capable of earning a "engineering degree and a Political Science degree from prestigious schools such as MIT or Harvard" because im fairly certain your answer to that will be garbage.

It's not nearly as hard as you are making it sound to get into either school, but we both know TS has to be trolling right now.

 

[Krav McGraw]

lol @ getting into Harvard with a GED. I wonder if that has ever been done???

 

[Jodorowsky]

Devry or ITT Tech bruh.

 

[gizmo J]

Some highly ranked schools are actually cheaper than worse schools. The tuition alone doesn't help us solve your problem. Post the rankings or take a look at them yourself.

The list shown is a calculation of Tuition, Fees, Room and Board.

And It seems like San Luis Obispo is the highest ranking out of all the ones I listed.

 

[BJ@LW&WW]

i had a 3.9 highschool gpa, 2200 sat, three 5's on AP exams and i didnt get into mit. or stanford. or berkeley



i dont think hes trollin. to look up those tuition numbers for a troll job is quite some work

 

[Magooglie]

I agree with taking the CC route for 2 years if you live in California.

 

[gizmo J]

lemme get you some cliffnotes
- only has GED
- wants graduate degree from MIT or harvard





bro. youre dreaming. even people with perfect academic records dont get into MIT.

also, when you write your admissions essays, perhaps know the difference between except and accept.\



the real question you need to ask yourself is why you want and why you think youre capable of earning a "engineering degree and a Political Science degree from prestigious schools such as MIT or Harvard" because im fairly certain your answer to that will be garbage.

lol @ getting into Harvard with a GED. I wonder if that has ever been done???

i had a 3.9 highschool gpa, 2200 sat, three 5's on AP exams and i didnt get into mit. or stanford. or berkeley



i dont think hes trollin. to look up those tuition numbers for a troll job is quite some work

Did any of you guys actually read my post?

I said I wanted to get a bachelors at a low cost University FIRST then try getting into a prestigious school later, I didn't say I was going directly to Harvard with a G.E.D!

 

[Swoliosis]

Devry or ITT Tech bruh.

Love them commercials during Maury. Don't forget Everest College

"hay ladeez git uhp"

 

[misterchipmunk]

Go to community college. I saved so much money(and have higher GPAs) than my friends.

Which area do you live specifically? There are some great CC's in California. Join TAG programs and other groups that would almost guarantee you to a top school for transfer.

 

[greygoose]

If you get into Stanford (sounds unlikely), tuition and I think R&B are free if your family makes less than 120k or so. Found that in some article i read maybe on CNNMoney about a month ago.

 

[mushishi]

Hm, don't know about California specifically, but may I offer a suggestion?

Find a community college that has an agreement with a college on your list. Saves money if you take CC classes, transfer to one of the universities on your list, and end up with a degree from the university.

^^

Community college, work security at night, transfer to 4 year school close to home if you want to save more money, or take out student loans if you want to go to school further away from home. I would recommend staying in a dorm/apartment as it'll make studying and socializing easier.

If you want to get into CS, maybe consider a school in the Bay Area so you can possibly get an internship in Silicon Valley.

Best of luck.

 

[2gps125]

Rupert Murdoch's (ex)wife went to Cal State Northridge, where she finished second in her major, and then went to Yale for grad school. So it can be done. I know a guy that did CSUN and Stanford for law.

Non-professional grad school is easier to get into. Those programs are huge cash cows for the schools.

 

[lakersfan45]

I went to Channel Islands for my undergrad and I f'ng loved that school

 

[lts5025]

I was born and raised in California and I'm 20 years old.

My plan is a little complicated but basically I want to obtain both an Engineering degree and a Political Science degree from a prestigious school such as MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, Colombia.

As of now I only have my G.E.D and a Culinary Arts certificate so obviously I won't be able to afford a prestigious school but I was thinking that first I should obtain a Bachelors at a low cost university so I can get a well paying job then try to get Masters degrees later on at top universities.

I think I need a job that allows me to work in my dorm(so I don't have to commute to work which leaves me more time for studying) and a job that I can work at night(so I can study throughout the day), it seems that these are the only jobs that fit my needs:

Computer Programmer
Computer Support Specialist
Customer Service Representative

I think if I get a Computer Science degree I can obtain one of these jobs.

I was researching all the low cost universities in the California Public University System and calculated the Tuition, Fees, Room and Board in each one of the schools and came up with this chart, most Universities make it mandatory to buy the board with your housing but some don't which is why some of them are so cheap.

$11892 Bakersfield
$12213 Monterey bay
$12236 Dominguez hills
$12749 San Bernardino
$13182 Humboldt
$14331 Stanislaus
$14743 San Luis Obispo
$14764 Sonoma
$15039 San Marcos
$16174 Chico
$16902 Fresno
$17200 Fullerton
$17479 Northridge
$18292 Maritime Academy
$18332 long beach
$18629 san Diego
$18810 East Bay
$18852 Channel Islands
$19178 Los Angeles
$19232 San Francisco
$19724 Pomana
$20085 San Jose
$22913 Sacramento

I was going to try to get into Bakersfield University because it was the cheapest one but I recently discovered that prestigious schools often do not except people who went to universities that is not very well known so I am not sure which one I should go to.

Does anyone have any advice?

Jesus Christ. You want to major in CompSci so you can get a job that lets you work in the dorm at night?

CompSci is no cakewalk. And if you don't have a passion for it, you will hate it.

And then you want to ditch all that and go into engineering and poli sci?

You're totally overthinking this.

If you're really serious about this, take a few math and English courses at a community college. Once you have all the pre-reqs for engineering, take one engineering class. Just one, with some history or music appreciation sprinkled in. If that engineering class doesn't kick your ass, take a couple more.

Talk to your community college's financial aid department. They can help you figure out how to pay for classes and books.