Survival Guide: The College Experience Santa Fe High School Jeremey Hunter College and Career Pathways Advisor Tri-Cities ROP

How to Choose a College Do I want to go to a 2 year or 4 year college or a public/private school? Consider the Environment of the school: school size, extra- curricular activities, sports, clubs, religious, commuter or residential school, etc. How much will it cost to attend? Am I eligible for scholarships?

How to Choose a College Services and Programs. Choose a college that offers you the services you need and the programs you are interested in (Majors + Programs). Environment of the geographical area: climate, things to do, work opportunities, is family there, etc. Consider your Major and Costs. If you are unsure what you want to study, community college may be a better option for you. Meeting College Requirements. Are you on the right track? –A-G, SAT/ACT, Personal Statement

Step 1: Thinking About Your Major Research a few possible fields of study that you may want to pursue in college. Majors/minors It is perfectly fine—and sometimes advisable – to apply as “Undeclared”. 50% of college students change their major 1-3 times!  Tips for choosing possible majors: Here are a few questions you should ask yourselves… What are my favorite classes? What are my favorite hobbies/extracurricular activities? What do career/personality assessment tests usually suggest for me? (collegeboard.com; princetonreview.com) What do I love doing? Where do I see myself for the rest of my life? What do I see myself doing for the rest of my life?

How to Choose a Major What are my favorite subjects in school? Take courses in areas that appeal to you, and then think about which subject truly motivates you. What do I like doing when I’m not in class? Explore ROP courses. MyMajors.com Whodouwant2be.com MyBigFuture.com College Board

Impacted Majors An impacted major is a major for which more students apply for than the school can accommodate. It is a classic example of when Demand exceeds Supply. When this occurs, the major becomes impacted and therefore is susceptible to higher standards of admission.

Impacted Majors Cal State Long Beach: Most programs and majors are impacted. Cal State LA: Biology, Business Administration, accounting, management, and marketing, child development, criminal justice, nursing Cal State Dominguez Hills: No impacted majors/programs.

Desirable Majors to Study Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Aerospace Engineers Electrical Engineering Biologists Computer Programmers Graphic Designers Accountants

Step 2: Find a school that fits Institution type Public Private Vocational/specialized 4-year 2-year Degrees offered A.A., B.A., B.S., M.A., M.S., Ph.D., Certificates, etc. Majors and minors offered Do the majors offered match your interests? Academic focus of campus Theoretical vs. practical Popular majors (and percentage of students in each major) Geographic location: Distance from home In-state vs. out-of-state Campus/enrollment size: Large vs. small classes

•Four prominent systems in California: College Options •Four prominent systems in California: • California State University (CSU/Cal State's)-23 • University of California (UC’s)-10 • CA Private Colleges & Universities-76 • Community Colleges-112

Community College Over 100 community colleges throughout California Most community colleges offer open enrollment, meaning there are no GPA or testing requirement. Most community colleges are two year institutions and offer Associate's Degrees.

Community College Rio Hondo College Citrus College East Los Angeles College Cypress College North Orange County Community College Glendale Community College Mount San Antonio College Fullerton College Pasadena City College Los Angeles City College

California State Universities Four year, public university system based in California. With 23 campuses and nearly 479,000 students enrolled, it is one of the largest public university systems in America. Quality teaching and instruction with a strong focus on practical, career based instruction. Requires a minimum 2.0 GPA to apply, along with satisfactory performance on SAT/ACT examinations. Students with a 3.0 or higher are not required to to submit an SAT/ACT score. Average tuition is $5,472 with roughly 80% of students receiving some sort of financial aid.

California State Universities Chico East Bay Monterey Bay San Luis Obispo San Francisco Bakersfield Fresno Humboldt Sacramento Stanislaus Channel Island Dominguez Hills San Bernardino Long Beach Los Angeles Northridge Pomona Fullerton San Diego San Marcos Maritime Academy San Jose

University of California (UC) Four-year, California-based, public university system with 10 campuses that serve over 250,000 students. Strong academic focus on research and theory-based learning. In addition to meeting the 3.0 minimum G.P.A. requirements, ALL undergraduate applicants are required to take the SAT/ACT examinations. Average tuition for California residents is roughly $13,900 per year. This price does not include additional expenses such as books, room and board, or transportation.

University of California (UC) Berkeley Davis Irvine Los Angeles Merced Riverside San Diego San Francisco Santa Barbara Santa Cruz

Private Universities Private universities are four-year institutions that are funded and operated independently, without government control. Unlike public schools, private universities have somewhat free-reign to set their own admission policies which are often based additional factors beyond just academics. As a result, private universities tend to much more selective in their admission process. Though it varies from institution to institution, tuitions at private universities, generally, tend to be higher than those at public universities. Due to their relative selectiveness, private colleges and universities are often smaller and more intimate than public institutions.

Private Universities Azusa Pacific University Pitzer College Biola University Santa Clara University University of the Pacific University of San Francisco Pepperdine University Occidental College Pomona College California Institute of Technology Loyola Marymount University Stanford University Chapman University Harvey Mudd College Claremont McKenna College University of San Diego Whittier College California Baptist University University of La Verne Point Loma Nazarene University California Institute of the Arts University of Redlands Hope International University University of Southern California