Need a few bits of advice.

[ahndoruuu]

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So I am now a high school senior in California, starting to apply for colleges.

I'm what you might call the archetypal "lazy but highly gifted" student.
My grades in high school are, admittedly, horrible.

I have a 3.1 cumulative GPA, but in 10-12 GPA (which is what all the colleges seem to be concerned with) I have a 2.67. Which I believe eliminates me from the UC consideration. However I am currently retaking 3 courses that I got D's in before that are part of that 2.67, so I believe it will go up after the year's end.

My SAT I's are decent I guess, took it once and got 1960, taking the Molecular Biology and Literature SAT II's this December.

So given my dubious-at-best chances for admission into UC (especially San Diego and Irvine, where I always wanted to apply) I've decided it's probably not worth the 60 dollars per campus application fee.

So that was basically background information, what I really want advice on is should I just go to a CSU, or should I do the community college thing and transfer to a more "reputable" school, such as a UC or its equivalent? I tend not to buy in on the whole elitist theory of education, but mind you my ultimate goal is a top-tier medical school, for job opportunities' sake at the very least.

 

[El Nino]

Haha, ahndoruuu you're similar to me as, I have a low GPA etc, but consider "gifted". I know because of my gpa (same as yours), I probably will not be considered for any of the UCs, however, I'm not interested in any of them except Davis.

You should definitely apply to a couple of the CSUs. Deadline Nov 30th!

If you really, really want to go to UC irvine or diego, then I recommend going to a CC then transfer. However, since you have the option of attending a four year college out of high school then you should take that opportunity.

Also, I have meet medical students and doctors who have attended CSUs and got into "top-tier" medical schools. It's just a matter of networking etc.

 

[OddNath]

Also, I have meet medical students and doctors who have attended CSUs and got into "top-tier" medical schools. It's just a matter of networking etc.

People from all sorts of no-name undergrads get into good med schools. What matters is 1) GPA and 2) MCAT. And some experiences/shadowing/research/letters/ability to write.

Also keep in mind that if you're applying to med schools all around the country, people outside of Cali won't be as familiar with the exact rank of all the Cali schools. For example, I have no idea of how UC Davis compares to UC Irvine and I help with admissions in Texas.

Basically, as long as you have a great GPA and rock the MCAT, no one can argue with your credentials.

 

[ahndoruuu]

hm so I gather it'd probably be best to just attend the 4 year straight away.

I thought that might have been the case but didn't want to make a bad undergraduate choice. But I guess the school doesn't matter so much as what you do at the school then.

I applied to San Diego State and CSU San Bernardino so far, will probably apply to Cal Poly as well but doubt I'll get accepted.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

In your case, this is what i would do, since your SATs are good enough for UCB or UCLA in my opinon, take some SAT II's and get over 700. Since your GPA is low, your sure to get rejected from them initially, HOWEVER, what you want to do is go to another school for like one semester, rock all your classes, get a 3.7++, and after a semester or 2, transfer to a better school

 

[ButImLETired]

Instead of focusing on where you want to go to med school and what name school will take you there, I'd focus on figuring out why you got yourself into this mess in the first place. Is it lack of motivation? Do you get distracted very easily? Being gifted is all good, but getting good grades in college is way more about discipline than anything else, and this is particularly true of med school. And remember, if you're having trouble focusing now, you'll have 100x more trouble in college, where you'll have way more distractions and no supervision. No one to tell you to go to class even though you're hung over. No one to tell you to study harder than your peers because you chose the toughest career. No one to convince you to try for the A and miss homecoming even though your whole school is there.

 

[ahndoruuu]

Yeah I realize what you're saying. Makes sense.
And to answer your question, it's all those things and more I guess.
Had a depressing series of events occur, my house is a hectic and exceedingly unpleasant environment, the list goes on. Though by mentioning those things I'm not attempting to say that I am without blame. Despite the circumstances, if you want something bad enough and try hard enough to get it, you usually will. I just offer that as an explanation.

I don't really consider it a "mess" though. The options are still there in abundance. If it were the end of the road, I would indeed consider it a mess.

But I am well aware of the newfound freedom you mention. Trust me, even now nobody tells me those things. That was kinda part of the problem. But as naive as it might sound, I do believe I will be much more focused and determined in such an independent environment. I could explain why but I'll spare you all the essay.

 

[Shinobiz11]

Get focused on school. I am the same person as you, but I had to do it also. It really helps when you know what you are studying and learning.

 

[ahndoruuu]

Oh I know. I am focused on school, very much so. Though my total GPA is very low, my GPA right now in senior year alone is 4.3.

So I basically decided to just apply to CSU, I applied to San Diego State, CSU San Bernardino, CSU Fullerton, and CSU Long Beach.

So out of those, whichever I get accepted to I will be attending. Depending on how the school is I might try to transfer out to a UC after a while, but I'm pretty confident that any of them would be a very good school.

Btw, Shinobiz, how is Biochem? That is also my intended major.

 

[Shinobiz11]

Oh I know. I am focused on school, very much so. Though my total GPA is very low, my GPA right now in senior year alone is 4.3.

So I basically decided to just apply to CSU, I applied to San Diego State, CSU San Bernardino, CSU Fullerton, and CSU Long Beach.

So out of those, whichever I get accepted to I will be attending. Depending on how the school is I might try to transfer out to a UC after a while, but I'm pretty confident that any of them would be a very good school.

Btw, Shinobiz, how is Biochem? That is also my intended major.

uhh havent started yet, I'm a senior too. Sounds extremely interesting from what I have read and such.

 

[docss26]

just out of curiosity, what makes you think this? i hear literally everyone refer to themselves as 'smart but lazy'. more often than not, they just think they're smart, and the lazy part is an excuse for not being able to back it up.

I had a friend like this. He was going to high school for math classes early in the morning while in 7th grade. He scored a 34 on the ACT with no studying. Unfortunately he had no goals or desire to pursue anything of interest. He now works for his dad's painting company and is an alcoholic. He is still a very good friend of mine and we have great conversation, but brains arent anything without drive.

 

[ahndoruuu]

just out of curiosity, what makes you think this? i hear literally everyone refer to themselves as 'smart but lazy'. more often than not, they just think they're smart, and the lazy part is an excuse for not being able to back it up.

It's not really me that thinks I'm smart, it's everyone else in my life. Sometimes they have to convince me of it; when I compare myself to other so-called "geniuses" I think I come up quite short. Either that or the people I know just don't know what a genius is. However I don't think referring to myself as unintelligent on a forum such as this would get me very far, so I allowed myself that small indulgence.

eh, a few things which come to mind though, are:
The fact I've supposedly had a "college reading and writing level" since 4th grade.
The 170 IQ.
The fact that I can remember almost everything after hearing or seeing it once. which explains my high traditional test scores. As you can see my SAT's are pretty decent and I'm also a National AP Scholar with Honor (passed 4 AP exams with all 5's, one of which I did not take the class for.)

(Though don't get me wrong, I don't think test scores or grades mean a thing in determining intelligence. To me nothing is funnier than a person claiming intelligence based on standardized tests, so I'll cease here.)

The fact that I often spend time tutoring my school's valedictorian in calculus and physics; despite her 4.8 GPA, she really knows nothing. She merely blindly works through each assignment for the sake of it, without absorbing the knowledge or knowing how to apply it.

Also the fact that I can fluently speak 3 languages and play several instruments. Don't ask me why but those are also used to measure intelligence, I guess.

You know after answering your question I find myself unable to define intelligence. Or even give an example which would universally prove it. It's really a subjective matter, the more I think about it.

And when I refer to myself as "lazy" I mean I have a very low tolerance for...useless things. To be honest, most high school assignments have fallen under that category for me too, which explains my abysmal grades. But you know what? Though I realize the value of hard work I also know that working smart is always a hell of a lot better than working hard. I also use the term "lazy" much for the same reason I previously used the term "gifted", both are what I hear from teachers, family, and friends, though I'm not sure I'm either of those things at this stage.

 

[gnomeski]

u seem like an awesome kid..

 

[ahndoruuu]

Yeah it was administered by Mensa actually.

And I don't really feel like continuing to debate with you on matters of my intelligence. Probably because I just got home from a really long day.

Although I will repeat that I don't use either of those terms myself usually, its just what I've been told all my life so I took the convenience of regurgitating it here rather than trying to describe myself in some sort of original way seeing as I just had one simple question (Although I may extend my stay on these forums since they seem to be a useful resource). Besides I generally dislike attempts at overclassification, they tend to create headaches where previously there was contentedness.

I'm curious though, what would you define intelligence as?
Clearly it can not be defined as success on any test or in any schooling, no matter the level; classes are designed to teach, not to confound their students. Tests are exactly what you said: a method of seeing how well you have studied or know the material presented in classes that you are expected to know from having a modicum of participation in proportion to the requirements for said class. Being gifted or intelligent is only a comparison to others; more precisely, your intelligence results from others' lack of it. Therefore no sort of schooling can be indicative of being gifted. Pray tell then, what is?

 

[MilkmanAl]

I wouldn't put a whole lot of stock in those "intelligence" tests. They mostly test a bunch of math tricks and pattern recognition. You can feel special for doing well on them if you want, but anyone who did Mathcounts could rock them in middle school.

 

[ahndoruuu]

As I said before, "(Though don't get me wrong, I don't think test scores or grades mean a thing in determining intelligence. To me nothing is funnier than a person claiming intelligence based on standardized tests, so I'll cease here.)"

Most people, however, especially in various academic institutions, do rely on tests like these so their results do have a bit of use.

 

[ahndoruuu]

Let's just say I have a very, very hard time believing someone that got a 170 on a real IQ test only pulled a 1960 on their SAT.

Well I'd say I'm pretty glad I don't have to actually prove that to you, then :]

 

[ahndoruuu]

ahaha I'd say we have enough unwarranted ad hominem for a single thread here, but thanks, I'll keep that in mind, sir.

 

[Cogito ergo es]

To expand upon that, using this definition alone can be somewhat incomplete as you could theoretically have someone who simply has an above average memorization ability do well in a short amount of time for courses that require rote memorization, like biology. That's why I think tests like the SAT (or perhaps the MCAT) are the best (albeit not perfect) indicators - they generally only rely to a small extent on things like previous knowledge/work ethic and more with how well your mind can work to understand and process 'on the spot' with information it is given.

Interesting definition, to which I would like to add that it is not only how well the mind works with and processes info. on the spot, it is also about creating "out-of-the-box" links between the bits of information you are working with, thus making a bridge towards the "intelligence & creative ideas" cliché. In the end, it's all about associating things together.

Sadly enough, our society seems to value far too much "stuffing" students with facts for them to regurgitate the lot later on and far too little developing our ability to think creatively.

 

[avatarftw]

.

 

[JJMrK]

Oh I know. I am focused on school, very much so. Though my total GPA is very low, my GPA right now in senior year alone is 4.3.

So I basically decided to just apply to CSU, I applied to San Diego State, CSU San Bernardino, CSU Fullerton, and CSU Long Beach.

So out of those, whichever I get accepted to I will be attending. Depending on how the school is I might try to transfer out to a UC after a while, but I'm pretty confident that any of them would be a very good school.

Btw, Shinobiz, how is Biochem? That is also my intended major.

Just FYI, the CSUs are getting a bit pickier about where their applicants are coming from due to budget problems. A lot of them are reserving a ton of seats for local students. The good news is that the bigger CSUs (LB, SD, SJ, Fresno, SLO, SF) have a pretty good track record of getting people into medical school (provided you have the requisite GPA and MCAT score, of course). Tuition is also a bargain.

Having said that, it doesn't hurt to have options. Why not throw in some applications to UCSB, UCSC, UCI, etc? $60 isn't much in the grand scheme of things.