College- Going to Madison!

[FVBrewerFan]

"In any event, with your academic stats you should be able to get into some nice schools."

 

Not necessarily these days. Competition for the "best" schools has never been more fierce. A 27 SAT won't get you near Northwestern for example. I'm going through this with my son as we speak, and it's eye opening. In fact, there's a kid who's graduating with a 4.00 and 33 (I think) SAT that was turned down by all the Ivy League schools, Northwestern, Michigan, and Purdue. He "settled" for Wisconsin. But that goes back to what I said earlier, you have to have communication skills and this kid has zero. (Plus he's a white male, but that's a topic for another day.)

[nodakfan17]

T BONE-

 

I'm glad that you are taking the time to think all of your options through. If you start your college search now and put some effort (and miles) into it over the summer, you should be in good shape come fall. Let me preface my comments by saying that while I am very satisfied with my college education and the results that it has produced, there are many ways to go about obtaining a quality education. Here is what has worked for me:

 

- Be sure to look at all of your options in the UW System (assuming you are a Wisconsin resident). The tuition is very reasonable and so is the quality of education.

 

- Focus extremely hard on your coursework during your first two semesters (and beyond, of course). While many first year students try to build their resume by working or joining student organizations (often times at the expense of their coursework), I think that you will find that high quality opportunities will come your way if you make grades a priority.

 

- Give baseball a try, especially if it is a passion of yours. While I stopped playing sports after high school, I have tutored several D1 athletes. Even though their GPAs were average, their experience and knowledge of their sport helped them land jobs in the sports world after graduation.

 

- Finally, in response to a previous post, I believe that it is OKAY to pursue a Masters (or professional) degree immediately after college. I was fortunate enough to receive a tuition waiver and graduate assistantship to pursue a MS right after I completed my first degree. There is even an internship built into my Masters program. In a year, I will be able to graduate with work experience in my field and zero debt.

 

Best of luck to you!

[jazzytrav]

In fact, there's a kid who's graduating with a 4.00 and 33 (I think) SAT that was turned down by all the Ivy League schools, Northwestern, Michigan, and Purdue.

 

I believe you're talking about ACT (not SAT, as a 33 would be pretty sad). A 33 ACT should get the student in to a lot of schools, as the highest possible score is 36, but it goes beyond that. Many schools aren't satisfied with a student that has a 4.0 GPA on a fluff high school schedule, which is why extracurriculars are so important. If you get a 4.0 with sports or other activities while taking tough classes, it shows them that you are indeed up to the challenge.

 

I'm not sure if it's still this way, but we used to have weighted classes in high school, which inflated a lot of grades. Some people would graduate with a GPA over 4.0, which is partially what made GPA irrelevant to many universities and colleges.

 

Also, it's not always about school prestige. There are many, many professors that are happy with the school they're at and have a ton of respect within their academic discipline. If you can latch on to one, that will be a name you can carry with you wherever you go. I'm not at all implying that it should be an artificial relationship just to have the name, but that if you find a professor like that, learn everything you possibly can from them.

[T B0NE 10]

First, you need to brush up on your writing skills. Regardless of what college you attend or career path you choose, success will be difficult in any field without strong writing and communcation skills. I realize this is just a message board, but GPA aside you're message screams 11 year old- not a Junior with solid grades. That's not meant to be an insult, just trying to help. Admissions offices would certainly have a huge problem if your cover letter was written in a similar style.

Remember this is a message board http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

And Ive taken the ACT , not the SAT

I got a score of 27 on the ACT, which is supposed to be pretty good (most of my friends got a 17-20)

I am in all the AP and CP classes I can take at my school

And Ive already taken the AP US History Exam (get results back in July) (Im confident that I did well on it)

Schools I guess I'm considering from information I've recieved from letters/pamplets/college fair things

UW-Madison

UW-Oshkosh

UW-La Crosse

UW-Stevens Point

Marquette ($?)

Minnesota

 

As for the baseball thing, I absolutely love the sport. I play in many leauges. I feel I'm capable of playing college baseball, but that really isn't for me to decide, more of the coaches decision. I can hit any pitcher hard, but Im the first to admit I'm not a gold glover right now but still solid in the field with a good arm. Pitching Im decent but I dont think Im college material for the mound. I can throw around 75-80 mph but my curve is inconsistent. I already play in an amateur league with men along with American legion ball.

[DHonks]

Also, I'd consider taking the SAT's and retaking the ACTs. I seem to recall a 27 being rather mediocre and most people improve their scores when they retake them.

[T B0NE 10]

I believe 20 is supposed to be average. And yes, I am retaking the ACT in June, and may even again in September.

I heard that taking the SAT isn't really necessary unless you are thinking of going to college out of the Midwest.

[theavrock]

If you want to max out in life at $15.00/hour and 10 days of vacation a year, this is the attitude to have....

 

I never got a degree, and I doubt it has ever cost me anything. Some places, like Menards, won't hire management without a degree, so I never applied there.

 

What a condescending comment. You don't need a college degree to make money and have vacation days. My dad didn't go to college and is now a Regional manager at a high level national corporation, making great money. Sure he had to work a lot harder to get where he is, but college isn't for everyone. Some of the world's richest and most brilliant people didn't finish college. You should really be more careful to not make such ridiculous comments when giving someone advice.

Anyways, back to the original poster's question. You aren't behind at all. If you do your research and groundwork for the schools this summer and send out applications in fall you will be fine. As far as what you should do with your life in my experience the only thing you can do is try a bunch of different things. That requires you to be proactive and search out many different opportunities. I changed my career course and majors many different times. Just because you think you want to do one thing and then change your mind, that doesn't make you wrong or mean you made a bad decision. Just worry about trying to find something that you enjoy doing and could see yourself doing for the rest of your life. The money and everything else will follow you.

 

The only way you can do that is over time. You will probably change your mind multiple times and thats ok. Very few people know exactly what they want to do with their lives when they are 18. You will change as a person and with that what you want to do with your life will change. Just try a bunch of different things and make the best decision you can at the time you are making it.

[TooLiveBrew]

Just worry about trying to find something that you enjoy doing and could see yourself doing for the rest of your life. The money and everything else will follow you.

 

This is excellent advice, and I've received the same advice from a few people that certainly don't have any worries about money.

 

 

Very few people know exactly what they want to do with their lives when they are 18. You will change as a person and with that what you want to do with your life will change. Just try a bunch of different things and make the best decision you can at the time you are making it.

 

More great advice. When I went to college, I was going to graduate with a poli-sci major & go to law school immediately after. After two semesters of poli-sci courses & realizing that they bored me to tears, I decided I didn't know what the heck I wanted to do after all. I recently graduated with a degree in English... I still have no idea what I'm going to do 'when I grow up', but I know my English degree (strong writing & analytical skills/training) is going to help me a lot more than that poli-sci degree would have.

 

Follow your passion. That's the most important thing.

[giffted1]

Couple of Things:

 

- I'd suggest looking into two year colleges. You might miss out on the full college experience for two years, but you can save a load of money. I was able to get a full tuition scholarship for two years with a 3.9 High School GPA and a 26 ACT score, so a scholarship would definitely be a possibility for you as well.

 

- Take an advanced composition class in High School and take it seriously.

 

Major in the hardest program you can handle.

 

The road to mediocrity is already full.

This is excellent advice. Everyone and their mother is a Business major. The Engineering majors are few in number, but they normally have no problem getting jobs after graduation.

[Brewbadger]

I just completed my sophomore year at UW-Madison, and I will have to say, I disagree with the comment about "everyone and their mother being a business major". The Business School here at Madison is EXTREMELY competitive and you basically need a 3.6 GPA+ just to even be considered (and trust me, classes here are difficult enough that a 3.6 is fairly hard to obtain). I'm planning on majoring in accounting, and most likely engaging in the five year Accounting program we offer here (3 years of undergrad work, a semester or a year of interning at likely a "Big Four" Accounting firm ie. PriceWaterHouse Cooper and then a year of grad school and you get a Masters in Accountancy...not a bad gig)...having an Accounting and/or a business degree in general from Madison is pretty prestigious imo (and many others') and you'll likely land a well-paying job almost immediately after college (but as was said before, experience is crucial so an internship or two during your school tenure will work wonders for landing a good job quickly). But in some circumstances, I guess it is true that "everyone and their mother is a business major" but it's also true that going to a "better" school than say a UW-Whitewater, Oshkosh etc. (no disrespect meant to those who attended those schools) will help you out in the long-run. GPA is important to an extent, but having experience and a degree from a reputable university helps immensely. I have no regrets about saying that if I went to a school like a UWM, Whitewater, Oskhkosh etc. my GPA would be higher than it is now, but having that diploma with Madison on it is more worthy, at least to me. But I digress. As for high school education/sports, it sounds like you're challenging yourself already. I did good in high school as well...3.8 or so GPA, 29 on my ACT's, took six or seven AP classes, took all the AP tests and generally did really well (which also is huge...it gave me 21 credits even before I started college), played volleyball, basketball, golf, and baseball (sports all year is really time-consuming, I will admit to that), and joined a few clubs, and having a good resume will get you into a lot of schools, but a 3.7 GPA with AP classes and sports coupled with a 27 ACT will get you into anywhere around here. As for sports, you're probably better at the baseball gig than I was (I was a pitcher/3B who could throw 80 MPH with a good change and poor excuse for a curveball and could only hit singles) but if you do want to play baseball, I would say follow your dreams. I miss baseball so much, it's ridiculous. Not much time or money for playing some serious ball anymore(Madison has a few club teams and the Mallards in town, but it costs too much money and time to play for either of those) but I sure do miss it. As for the comment about proper grammar/writing, I'm a big fan of grammar, spelling, writing etc. but my "enter" key is broken on this laptop so I apologize to all of those who read this http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[TooLiveBrew]

As for the comment about proper grammar/writing, I'm a big fan of grammar, spelling, writing etc. but my "enter" key is broken on this laptop so I apologize to all of those who read this http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif That's awesome -- the first thing I thought when I saw (not read... saw) your post was, 'Whoa, pargraphs!' Well played.

[DHonks]

also, realize that roughly 50% of all available loans/grants/scholarships out there go unused because people don't know how to get ahold of the money. Don't look at private schools as being ridiculously expensive, because often their alums give back heavily to help students afford the schools.

[jwill535]

Be careful with weighted classes, like someone alluded to before, if you have a 4.0 with weighted classes, the admissions will knock down your GPA to take away the weighting. This happened to my GF at the time when she graduated. She had a 3.6 with weighted classes. The UW only would credit her with a 3.3. Luckily she had a 27 on her ACT and got in. Me with my 3.3 and 29 ACT didnt. Sucks being a male from Madison, but that is a whole other issue.

[Jopal78]

What a condescending comment. You don't need a college degree to make money and have vacation days. My dad didn't go to college and is now a Regional manager at a high level national corporation, making great money. Sure he had to work a lot harder to get where he is, but college isn't for everyone. Some of the world's richest and most brilliant people didn't finish college. You should really be more careful to not make such ridiculous comments when giving someone advice.

It is not condescending at all, the fact of the matter is that your Dad is the exception not the rule. Its not 1985 anymore where you can walk into anice job with no academic credentials but a high school diploma. The point is if you want to be able to compete with others for good jobs you have to make sure your education is the absolute best it can be. If you cannot get into the elite private schools, go to Madison, if you cannot get into Madison than go to the next largest state University you can...so on and so forth.

 

Some people do succeed without higher education, but most who bypass college end up punching a time clock every Monday through Friday for forty plus years.

[jwill535]

What a condescending comment. You don't need a college degree to make money and have vacation days. My dad didn't go to college and is now a Regional manager at a high level national corporation, making great money. Sure he had to work a lot harder to get where he is, but college isn't for everyone. Some of the world's richest and most brilliant people didn't finish college. You should really be more careful to not make such ridiculous comments when giving someone advice.

It is not condescending at all, the fact of the matter is that your Dad is the exception not the rule. Its not 1985 anymore where you can walk into anice job with no academic credentials but a high school diploma. The point is if you want to be able to compete with others for good jobs you have to make sure your education is the absolute best it can be. If you cannot get into the elite private schools, go to Madison, if you cannot get into Madison than go to the next largest state University you can...so on and so forth.

 

Some people do succeed without higher education, but most who bypass college end up punching a time clock every Monday through Friday for forty plus years.

All of our journeymen sheet metal guys make more then most on this board averaging about 48,000 to 55,000 a year and the steam fitters make more then that and I can guarantee that all of them didnt go to college. Now you are going to say, yeah but they work hard, yes that is true, but most will retire at 55 and make a really good pension. I was making more then I do now as a foremen and did little to no work.

 

[theavrock]

What a condescending comment. You don't need a college degree to make money and have vacation days. My dad didn't go to college and is now a Regional manager at a high level national corporation, making great money. Sure he had to work a lot harder to get where he is, but college isn't for everyone. Some of the world's richest and most brilliant people didn't finish college. You should really be more careful to not make such ridiculous comments when giving someone advice.

It is not condescending at all, the fact of the matter is that your Dad is the exception not the rule. Its not 1985 anymore where you can walk into anice job with no academic credentials but a high school diploma. The point is if you want to be able to compete with others for good jobs you have to make sure your education is the absolute best it can be. If you cannot get into the elite private schools, go to Madison, if you cannot get into Madison than go to the next largest state University you can...so on and so forth.

 

Some people do succeed without higher education, but most who bypass college end up punching a time clock every Monday through Friday for forty plus years.

 

That is completely false. College is not needed in every profession and the thing that determines whether or not you will be successful is aptitude and whether or not one wants to work hard at whatever they do, not that one jumped through hoops for four years and have a piece of paper stating that fact. You should really try and adjust your thinking and realize there are a lot of options out there other than going to college that won't lead you to a dead end job punching a time clock.

[Jopal78]

I freely admit that if someone wants to work in construction you more than likely do not need college. However, while 48K-55K may seem like a lot of money, in reality it is not. The people who are really making the dough are the ones who own the general or sub contractor. Further, if you took a survey of those individuals who own a contractor business the heads of those businesses have, at the very least, taken some business courses.

 

It is a certainty that if you want to work in a white collar industry college is a necessity, you may be the most driven hardworking individual on earth but if you don't have "a piece of paper" from a reputable college you won't get in the door at the vast majority of places.

[tristarscoop]

While I do agree in principal with the idea of going to a 2-year program in order to save money, it may not be the right road if you're looking to go into a sports field. Neither will some of the 4-year Wisconsin schools. You need to be able to make contacts, get internships and get involved with local sports teams at any professional level. You can't do that in place like Eau Claire, Platteville, Stevens Point and Oshkosh.

 

I feel like you're limiting your school search to the UW area because of money and possibly laziness. Get the hell out of Dodge! This is your chance to go ANYWHERE! I went to a private school 1200 miles from home. I had a 3.7 or so in school and a 31 on the ACT and got a $10,000/year scholarship (and this was 9 years ago when I was a freshman). I absolutely have student loans to pay off, but I never paid a dime of tuition in 4 years. Don't be afraid of costly schools. Do your research. Apply for everything.

[FVBrewerFan]

What a condescending comment. You don't need a college degree to make money and have vacation days. My dad didn't go to college and is now a Regional manager at a high level national corporation, making great money. Sure he had to work a lot harder to get where he is, but college isn't for everyone. Some of the world's richest and most brilliant people didn't finish college. You should really be more careful to not make such ridiculous comments when giving someone advice.

It is not condescending at all, the fact of the matter is that your Dad is the exception not the rule. Its not 1985 anymore where you can walk into anice job with no academic credentials but a high school diploma. The point is if you want to be able to compete with others for good jobs you have to make sure your education is the absolute best it can be. If you cannot get into the elite private schools, go to Madison, if you cannot get into Madison than go to the next largest state University you can...so on and so forth.

 

Some people do succeed without higher education, but most who bypass college end up punching a time clock every Monday through Friday for forty plus years.

All of our journeymen sheet metal guys make more then most on this board averaging about 48,000 to 55,000 a year and the steam fitters make more then that and I can guarantee that all of them didnt go to college. Now you are going to say, yeah but they work hard, yes that is true, but most will retire at 55 and make a really good pension. I was making more then I do now as a foremen and did little to no work.

 

 

A good pension? For now, yes. What are the chances anyone entering the work force TODAY will have a good pension 30 years from now? I would guess somewhere between 0-5%. $48-55K a year is all relative. Some here would think that's a great working wage, others couldn't live on that. Sure, you can drive druck, work a trade, there are a lot of occupations where you can make $50,000 without a degree.

 

To me it's not a value judgement. Some people can make $50,000 and live a fine life. Others need $100,000 (or well over $100,000) to live the way they want. As they say, whatever floats your boat.

[SoCalBrewfan]

Some majors are better suited than others to the two-year college route. I would not recommend it for anyone even considering a science or engineering major, as I've seen it end up backfiring on many students, costing them in terms of both money and, more importantly, time to degree...I can elaborate if you wish. It should be noted that my experience may not apply to Wisconsin, though I suspect there are some general trends.

 

I also think that people focus way too much on jobs when they consider college and potential majors, and that you're far better off pursuing things that are of intellectual interest, even venturing into things that you wouldn't normally be exposed to. Look at college as a means of broadening your horizons, learning new things, meeting people you might not otherwise have met. Try classes that challenge your preconceptions, seek out other students or professors who believe differently than you do. You're only young once, and you'll have a long time to worry about jobs and paying bills.

[OldHoss]

If you really want to go into the CIA or the NSA, contact them and see what types of jobs are available and what requirements the respective agencies have. I know someone who went to the NSA to do encryption stuff. She knew she wanted to do that from early on in her college career. She is a mathematical genius, though.

 

If you really know what you want to do, go to your guidence counsler and find out what schools have the best programs in that field and do everything you can to get into one of those schools.

 

If you don't know, find a program with a good liberal arts program. You'll learn how to write and you'll learn critical and analytical thinking and not just how to parrot back answers. From there, the world is your oyster, so to speak.

 

Take the SAT. Why limit yourself? Some schools, have geographic quotas -- they'll want a certain number of people from the midwest, for example. UVA has a program like this. You'd have a near impossible time getting into UVA as an east coaster, but as a midwesterner, you'd have a shot. But again, only if you score well on the SAT.

 

I'd only consider a two year program if you know how the credits there are going to transfer to your intended school. UW-Waukesha to UW-Madison might transfer ok, but UW-Waukesha to the University of Chicago might be a whole different story.

 

Once you get into a school, don't screw it up. I can tell you from experience, my two years of hard partying (and the bad grades that went with it) at UW-Madison have come back to haunt me a number of times despite how well I did after that.

 

Best of luck!

[T B0NE 10]

I don't know how money will play into anything yet. Id say my family is average to above average in terms of money. Neither of my parents attended college but are making decent money. They really don't know what to do when picking a college. I've been working summer jobs the past summers and I figure to be getting a job while in college to help. I'm sure my parents will help with a chunk of the cost. I also think I should be getting a decent number of scholarships for a bunch of stuff.

 

What about other things that have crept into my mind

 

Military (I appreciate the great country I live in and sometimes I feel I could regret not joining in the future. But I don't know if I want to make the tremendous sacrifices they do. Kinda a reason I want to work in the government is to kinda "serve my country". If I would every happen to join the military I would do something like the Air Force Academy but I think the chances of myself doing this is pretty slim.

 

Prestigious Schools

What really is the difference between a UW-Oshkosh and UW-Madison? Will it effect job interviews in future? Will it effect my quality of education. What about schools such as Marquette? Or lets go out of state with schools like Northwestern or Notre Dame?

 

Also I have this Badger Boys State thing coming up in mid-June. I heard theres supposed to be college reps there to talk to from UW and surrounding states.

 

I never heard of this weighted GPA thing...

 

Right now I believe with my 3.7 Im in the 10-15/150 range for ranking

To be even considered for the top 10% at my school you have to be in certain classes.

If I was one year younger in the 2010 class I would be 3rd or 4th (that class is really dumb)

 

Another question when you apply to colleges do you apply to a whole bunch, then decide which one out of the ones that accepted you. I know this is a stupid question but I really don't know. And the school counselor we have inst the most helpful.

[TooLiveBrew]

Badger Boys State is an awesome experience -- enjoy yourself! Is it still at Ripon? You will never think of the phrase 'milkmaids' without chuckling afterwards. Utilize any and all resources while there, even the ones that you're not certain will be of use to you... you never know. Talk to as many of the UW-system reps as you realistically can; they can probably answer most of the questions you have about the differences in the system schools.

[T B0NE 10]

Yeah its still in Ripon

[DHonks]

Be careful with weighted classes, like someone alluded to before, if you have a 4.0 with weighted classes, the admissions will knock down your GPA to take away the weighting. This happened to my GF at the time when she graduated. She had a 3.6 with weighted classes. The UW only would credit her with a 3.3. Luckily she had a 27 on her ACT and got in. Me with my 3.3 and 29 ACT didnt. Sucks being a male from Madison, but that is a whole other issue.

 

 

JWill, that's pretty good for her. I had a 3.2 from what is usually considered a top 5 high school in the state (and the high school doesn't weight classes), 29 ACT, 1350 SAT and I did not get into Madison. Luckily I never wanted to go there, but I did feel for those that failed to get into their dream schools. When contacting them, I was told that with those numbers I should have gotten in or been wait-listed, until they heard my zip code. Apparently Madison already had too many white males from Elm Grove. Of course, the other explanation is that I applied in 1998/99, and that was the year of the major software problem that Madison had. It resulted in a massive shift for people from my high school from Madison to Marquette, bucking the trends of previous years