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"Upward Bound was not only an invaluable education experience but a great way to spend my summers. The program improved my academic performance in high school as well as preparing me for college."
--Daniel Wright, '97 MTJHS
Cal Maritime graduate
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Deciding where to go to college is one of the hardest decisions high school students make. Your advisor can help you find the right one based on what you want from your education. To get started, check out the "College Search Links" and share what you have found with your advisor.
Many students want to stay in California. There are about four different types of colleges in California with varying requirements for admission. They are:
The California State University (CSU) is the country's largest four-year university system with 23 campuses located throughout the state of California. CSU campuses are known for their focus on undergraduate teaching and for providing opportunities to use skills that are learned in the classroom. CSU awards Baccalaureate and Masters degrees as well as professional certificates. Some CSU campuses offer doctorate level degrees in education.
CSU’s typically admit the top 30% of California high school students but some campuses and some majors are impacted and therefore selectively admit incoming freshmen. Admission requirements for a first-time freshman include graduation from high school, completion of the "a-g" series of college preparatory classes with a grade of C or better, and earning a qualifying on the ACT or SAT Reasoning Test. Earning a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) in college prep classes will automatically make you eligible for admission to a CSU. For those with a GPA of 2.0 to 2.99, an eligibility index table is used to determine whether you have met minimum eligibility requirements. This table shows the lowest score you can earn on the SAT or ACT based on your college prep GPA.
The University of California (UC) system includes ten campuses that award Baccalaureate, Masters, and Doctorate degrees, as well as professional degrees such as law and medicine.
Admission is very selective and is based on an eligibility index combining GPA and SAT or ACT test scores. UC campuses also require students to take the SAT Subject Tests. Like the CSU, UC requires applicants to complete the “a-g” college preparatory sequence of classes. In addition, applicants should strive to take honors and advanced placement classes and as many “a-g” classes as possible while in high school.
UC campuses admit the top 12.5% of California high school students who meet the minimum eligibility requirements. Renowned as some of the top research and academic institutions in the world, UC campuses are a great place to learn from the Ph.D.’s who are experts in their fields.
You can apply to one or all of the UC campuses using the same application for admission. Their application is more comprehensive than the CSU, requiring responses to three questions, a.k.a. the “Personal Statement.”
Private colleges and universities offer a wide range of degrees and certificates up to the doctoral level as well as professional degrees such as law and medicine.
These schools are diverse in character, academic emphasis, and origins. Some schools have a religious affiliation; others are secular. Private schools may be profit or non-profit institutions.
Typically, private schools give weight to personal characteristics and activities in addition to considering GPA and test scores. While many private schools are considerably more expensive than comparable state institutions, they also tend to offer more generous financial aid packages. Many students have found the actual out-of-pocket cost to attend a private college to be less than the cost of the state schools to which they were accepted.
For information about private colleges in California go to CaliforniaColleges.edu . College Board’s College MatchMaker is another great place to find private colleges, including those in other states.
California Community Colleges award occupational certificates and Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees. They also provide transfer programs to UC, CSU, and other colleges and universities. One major advantage of community colleges is the cost. At a cost of $20 per unit, they offer the least expensive access to higher education both academic and occupational. They typically provide counseling and guidance programs to help students select from their academic and vocational offerings, and their admission policy is to accept anyone who will be able to benefit from instruction. Community colleges in other states may have different guidelines.
Vocational/proprietary schools primarily offer certificates or Associate of Arts degrees. They are designed for students who are interested in a particular career or trade. Admission requirements vary by institution. It is important to note that many of these schools are operated for a profit, and that the tuition can be quite high. A prospective student should also be aware that coursework taken at a vocational or proprietary school might not be transferable to an accredited college or university.