What classes do you take the first year?

Well, you actually get to pick your own classes, so it’s going to vary a lot. But in some ways, General Ed is a lot like high school +. You usually have to take English, history, math, science, and electives. But within those boundaries there is a lot of wiggle room. Your science class could be astronomy, geology, or physical anthropology. Your elective could be modern dance, pottery, or psychology of death and dying. And if you want to procrastinate on math and take it as a sophomore instead, you have that flexibility.

Do the professors help you like the teachers do in high school? 

Yes and no. Some professors won’t even know your name. But if you sign up for office hours, you can go meet them, talk to them, and they’ll generally try to help. Some of them you’ll get to know much better. I am friends now with several professors I had in college, and they knew me well and went out of their way to help me out. But they can also be prickly: for example, I try not to get annoyed when I get asked for the 600th time what my email address is (even though it’s on the board!). A professor might — especially when they give you a syllabus and you ask something that is answered right in the syllabus. And they mostly don’t want to hear fake excuses about why you couldn’t turn in your assignment on time, or give you extended deadlines for assigned work.

In general, professors are nice people who really want you to learn and be successful. But they also have a baseline expectation that you will help yourself — that you will pay attention to deadlines, look things up that are easy to look up, and ask questions if you don’t understand.

How many units should you take? 

That depends on a lot. At the CSUs, 12 units and up is full time. 18 units is the MOST anyone should consider, in my opinion. If you work more hours at your job, scale back on number of units.

One mistake I think some people make, though, is taking too few units! If you take weightlifting and English in the Fall and Math and modern dance in the Spring, it is going to take you about a decade to finish school. It can feel really overwhelming to think about it taking that long, so then people drop out! Stay focused on your goals and take the classes that will get you there.

Why do some people earn a Bachelors degree in 4 years and others in 5-6?

Two reasons. First, look at the answer before this one. If you have IB credits, take summer and winter intersession classes, and take a lot of units every semester, you could EASILY get done with college in three years. If you take 9 units every semester, it’s going to take longer.

However, there are also other factors. For example, an impacted major may make it difficult to get the classes you want. Here’s a nightmare scenario: you want to take Math 250 (I made that up), which is a prerequisite* for Math 251, which is only offered in the Spring. In the Fall, you can’t get Math 250 (the classes are too full), so you have to wait until Spring, which means you can’t take Math 251 until Spring of the NEXT year. That kind of thing happens sometimes, and if you have the bad luck to have it happen a few times, that can easily extend your expected graduation by a year or more.

*A prerequisite is a class you HAVE to pass before you can take another class.

Do college placement tests transfer to all the colleges I’ve applied to? 

No. Most colleges have their own placement tests.

What is the ELM/EPT exemption score from the CAASPP? DO we have to take the placement test?

I don’t know what the numerical score is, but it will say on your results whether you got a “Standard Exceeded” or “Standard Met.” Both qualify (although the “Standard Met” result means you have to get at least a C in your senior year English class). If you got “Standard Exceeded” or “Standard Met,” you do not have to take the placement test at CSU schools.

Which college will accept me? 

Time to do some research! First, go on Infinite Campus and calculate your weighted GPA. Then get your SAT or ACT scores handy. Now go look up the name of some colleges and “Freshman profile.”

UCLA shows that they admit about 17% of the people who apply. About the lowest GPA they admit is 3.63, and about the highest is 4.29. SAT scores range from 1550 to 2020. Only 8% of admitted freshmen had less than a 3.7 GPA.

Look at your own numbers again: If you have a 3.5 GPA and a 1400 SAT score, I probably wouldn’t bother applying to UCLA. If you have a 4.1 and a 1600, it may well be worth it to apply.

CSU Chico, for contrast, admits people with an average GPA of 3.44 and an SAT score of 1037. So you’d be very likely to get in there.

The worst-case scenario is that none of your top choices lets you in. Go enroll at a community college and do a transfer agreement. You can basically guarantee admission to a huge number of schools in that manner. And to be honest, your degree will say “UC Davis” (or wherever): no one will ever know that you didn’t spend all four years there unless you tell them.

See! Even the worst case scenario isn’t that bad!

How the heck am I gonna survive? 

Bless your heart. Please see yesterday’s post about dealing with stress. But you’re going to survive the same way you always have! Certainly this isn’t the first challenge you’ve faced. Do your best, know your limits, and lean on support when you need it. You’ve got this!

Are we still able to sign up for the placement test? 

Unfortunately, I’m not sure which one you’re asking about. Try Googling “[School name] placement test registration.” You can also ask your counselor or Miss Ross. My feeling is that you can probably still take placement tests for several months. I know mine were in August before the semester started.

What is the ELM/EPT test? 

The short answer is that it’s the test you take in math and English to help you know what class to take when you get to a CSU. If you score below a certain level, they will require you to take an “Early Start” class over summer before school starts. They call it a “development” class to help you develop the skills you need for the college-level class. They don’t really advertise it, but you CAN do “directed self-placement” in English, which means you can skip the “development” class and take college-level English even if you didn’t pass the test. This is not true in math (and it’s not true at the Los Rios community colleges).
More information is here, particularly on pages 13-14.

What scholarships are SF State willing to offer me?

Specific to them, you should be able to log into your “my campus portal” (or whatever it’s called there) and see what financial aid is on offer.
However, a lot of scholarships come from places other than the school. Have you been to see Miss Ross in the College and Career center? They usually have lists of scholarships you can apply for.
This is also a great resource.  (Please don’t go to ANY web site that says to send them money for a list of scholarships, or asks money to apply.) You may have heard that there are scholarships for people who are left-handed. There are. There are also scholarships for building the best pillow fort, from the “Clowns of America,” and for taking trivia quizzes. Some are more money than others, and some require more of you than others (many ask for a short essay). Some are very competitive and some are fairly easy to get. But if you need scholarship money, you need to go apply for ALL the ones you are eligible for. I had a student a few years ago who got about TEN scholarships — but she had HUSTLED to apply for them. You have to do this work, too — no one is going to call you up and offer you money.

The Florin Road Foundation gives scholarships, which are less competitive because they’re restricted to local kids.

My teachers’ union also gives out scholarships. They usually announce it in April.

Easy classes or hard classes first? When do we get to make our schedule? 

That’s up to you. Personally, I always strive for balance. One class that’s going to be REALLY hard for me, and a few that are moderate or easy. Or two really hard ones and two easy ones.

You will select your freshman classes in June or July, but after that, usually about two weeks before the next semester starts.

Do we have to turn in an actual transcript? 

I’m not 100% sure, because some colleges may accept them electronically, but for others, you may in fact need to get an official one signed by our registrar.

What do you have to do when you’re admitted? Do you have to go there and do paperwork?

Usually there will be a deadline by which you have to tell the university that you plan to attend. As for whether you have to go there, I think a lot of it is done online now. So for example, if you were going to UCLA, you might arrange for a dorm, schedule classes, and take placement tests online, and only go down there physically at the beginning of September to move in.

Is it possible to balance part-time jobs with your classes? 

Sure, and I think most people do (or at least I rarely meet the lucky ducks who don’t have to!). But as I always say, strive for balance. If you’re working 30 hours, don’t take 18 units. I feel like 10-20 work hours is manageable, but more than that might be difficult to handle.
I’m going to make another pitch for work study here: If you work at Macy’s, then every semester you’re going to have to talk to your manager, ask if it’s okay to switch from Mondays and Wednesdays to Tuesdays and Thursdays (or whatever), and hope they don’t get too annoyed with you for asking. At an on-campus job, they’re 100% used to it and prepared for it, because everyone that works there is dealing with the same thing. I think that offers you more flexibility. It also means you don’t have to worry about getting across town from school to your job, because they’re both in the same location!

(The second part of this question was about how the student might get an apartment instead of living in the dorm. I’d recommend against it: again, there’s the transportation issue. Plus, it often costs more. And finally, I found it very lonely!)

How do I register for my classes in college?

I can only speak for CSUS, but I used to get informed of what time my registration opened, and then I’d have a list of the classes I wanted, and I’d go online and sign up for the ones I wanted. I always preferred to have a back-up class or two ready in case I didn’t get my first choice (the classes fill up FAST, so I never wanted to have to wait around while I found another class that fit my schedule and my needs).

If you got accepted to a college, does that mean you got accepted for EOP as well (if you applied for it)? 

No. You should get a separate notification from EOP.

Phew, that was a lot! As always, feel free to ask me more questions as they come up.
Hope that’s helpful.

Ms. Synhorst