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University in California?

Eric Lewis

Eric Lewis

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Feb 4, 2007
2,380
1
CANADA? eh?
Hi, I just finished grade 11 and Now im going to grade 12. I really want to go somewhere warm and way different then my home Canada.

I was thinking California? Maybe San Fransico or LA or ?

Anyone reccomend a school for becoming a teacher?

Thanks
 
If you want warm, there is always Phoenix.

Should be about 118°F when school starts.

Probably feel at home with all the snow birds that'll arrive from Canada in the winter months.
 
What do you want to teach? I think you need at least a BS or BA to become a teacher right? I'd aim high (i.e. a UC school, Stanford) and then focus on getting a bachelor's degree in the field you'd like to teach in. Otherwise the CSU system or Cal Poly schools are good.
 
MacsomJRR said:
What do you want to teach? I think you need at least a BS or BA to become a teacher right? I'd aim high (i.e. a UC school, Stanford) and then focus on getting a bachelor's degree in the field you'd like to teach in. Otherwise the CSU system or Cal Poly schools are good.
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You are correct, you need a bachelors degree to teach in california. And you usually can't get your credential at the same time, it's a separate year afterwards.

So the best thing you can do is go to the best school you can go to for the subject you want to study.

Keep in mind out of state tuition is very, very expensive, even for state schools.

If you are deciding to come to california, you pretty much need to decide among three general areas: L.A., San Diego, or the Bay area (of course there are others not in these three main areas, but these are the big three). I'm a bay area person and Cal alum (and incidentally trying to get my teaching credential at the moment). Lots of great schools in and around here. SF state is great and a good way to experience san francisco living, Cal of course is great, stanford (boo). But if you are looking for somewhere warm year round, san francisco may not be the one. It actually gets fairly cold here a lot of the year.

best thing you can do is visit and see what kind of areas you really like.
 
I have visited once to california

to LA, Palm Springs

How far is it from LA - to San Fransico? i could just go to LA and visit once in a while..

Im not sure what degree I want...i just want to escape Canada and go somewhere different

money is not an issue....my parents said you only get one opportunity
 
There are a lot of great schools in the state. If you want great weather all year around, then Socal is where you want to be. But many people prefer the Bay Area culture - like someone mentioned, you're just going to have to visit many different areas and find the right fit for you.

It's a big state, and one size doesn't fit all. UC Santa Cruz couldn't be more different than say, UCLA or Cal. All are great schools, but different strokes for different folks. Come out for a week or two and travel around the state. Visit a bunch of schools and talk to everyone.

:)
 
I don't think anyone mentioned my school, the University of Southern California. If you have the grades, USC is a fabulous school. I really couldn't be happier. If you have any questions, let me know, and I'll answer them tomorrow morning.
 
dmr727 said:
It's a big state, and one size doesn't fit all. UC Santa Cruz couldn't be more different than say, UCLA or Cal. All are great schools, but different strokes for different folks.
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Actually, I think UCSC and Cal (or UCB) are actually getting more and more similar. As competition ramps up, even UCSC is getting harder to get into and gaining a more competitive atmosphere.

dmr727 said:
Badandy said:
I don't think anyone mentioned my school, the University of Spoiled Children.
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And I'm pretty sure I speak for everyone when I say that there's a good reason why! ;) ;)
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Fixed that for ya. ;)
 
cycocelica said:
about 6 hours
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Note that that's the optimistic figure. In actuality it's more like 7-8 hours.

By train, your only choice is Amtrak, which is a 8-10 hour commute.

By plane, it's about 1 1/2 hours.

One day in the distant future, there'll be a light rail train built between San Francisco and Los Angeles, which will cause pandas to breed and homeless to flee San Francisco (yea...).

But alas, your best choice is by plane. The cost is about the same as Amtrak (yes, seriously), and a fraction of time. Sucks, huh.
 
ravenvii said:
Note that that's the optimistic figure. In actuality it's more like 7-8 hours.
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I disagree. It generally takes me 5.5 hours when I've been able to avoid rush hours. And that's only speeding a little bit. It's under 400 miles from downtown to downtown, with about 250 miles of it being on the empty and open section of I-5 with a speed limit of 70 mph and traffic moving at 75+ mph.

But it also took me 13 hours on Thanksgiving weekend one year, when it took me 5+ hours just to make the 60-mile trip from SF out to I-5.
 
I am currently going to Cal Poly (California Polytechnic State University) in San Luis Obispo, CA. It is pretty much smack dab in between S.F. and L.A., about 3 hrs either way. I suggest you go here because it is freaking sweet, the beach is 10 minutes away, there is no traffic, and Cal Poly is one of the top public universities in California.
 
There are plenty of great schools in California. Just do some research and take a family trip out here to take a look at them. When I was applying I chose these colleges:

UC San Diego
UC Davis
UC Santa Cruz
Cal State Long Beach (The cal state in my city)
Humboldt
University of San Francisco

All the UCs are great but they are HUGE. I think like 30,000 or something undergrads? But they have the facilities to match. Cal States are also great, I think if I hadn't lived in Long Beach for the past 18 years of my life, I would have loved to go there. I just outgrew it I think. Humboldt is another cal state in northern California. It's in the middle of nowhere but I hear the scenery is stunning. I deemed it wasn't for me.

I will be attending University of San Francisco in the fall. Kind of expensive as it is private but I think it will be worth it. It's smack in the middle of San Francisco, kind of by Haight Ashbury.



I can't stress how important it is to actually visit the schools you're applying to though, that helped me out tremendously in making my decision.
 
Unless you're looking to teach university, attending any UC (University of California) is a bit overkill. Rather, you should look into a CSU (California State University). The tuition will be cheaper, and most CSUs specialize in teaching degrees.

Either way you'll be spending a premium for out-of-state tuition, unfortunately.
 
make sure you find the right "fit" for you. Visit the schools, talk to the students and professors, and make sure you fit in. Everyone wants to hop on that "big ole' jet airliner" and "go to california with an achin', in my heart"

sorry,

anyway, take it from someone who grew up in northern wisconsin and is now at a prestigious school in nyc, you have to figure out what is going to work out best for you and your goals. You are very young, so I applaude you for thinking about teaching (it can be a tough field, but very rewarding) what would you want to teach? that is a question you should ask yourself... do you have any specific talents that could help guide you towards a field? technology? math? art?
 
Chances are, you'll end up staying in Canada. Hate to burst your bubble but doesn't it seem a bit impractical to go to a much more expensive school in a different country so that you can teach there? Chances are you can get your teaching degree (which is really pretty much the same thing anywhere in the world; my mother had a Chinese teaching degree and ended up teaching math at a private school in Ontario a few years ago) in Canada, then move anywhere you want in the world and be able to teach. In Shanghai I had plenty of Canadian and American teachers alike. All were adequately qualified, none more or less so than the next, and they were all making a pretty penny with good benefits.

So really, ask yourself, is it worth spending all that money and going to all that trouble just to be there for 4 years and get a degree you could realistically get anywhere? In reality, all undergraduate degrees are pretty much the same in North America. Sure you should go to Harvard, if you get a scholarship, that's if. But if not, there's really no point. Brand names are brand names. Location is location. Quality and price is what matters. And quality of education at the undergraduate level is largely the same everywhere. Spend your money and your parents' money wisely. Unless your family is obscenely wealthy and you really can afford to go to any school you want in the world, you should really give this some thought. "Different" isn't necessarily worth an extra 50 to 100 thousand dollars. Why not just move elsewhere in Canada? Where do you currently live?
 
I went to John Muir College and majored in Mathematics, which I thought was great. My oldest stepbrother when to Revelle College (as did his son) and my mother when to Thurgood Marshall College (which was known as Third College back then).

So if you really want to, you can hand tailor your education to exactly your needs and personality... and all that was just looking at a single school in the UC system. California on the whole offers very rich and diverse learning opportunities.

cleanup said:
Chances are, you'll end up staying in Canada...
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This may be correct. I when to school almost exactly 1 mile away from where I was born.

muir-scripps.jpg

But I got the feeling that was a little unusual at UCSD.

When I was there the standard ice breaker conversation went something like this...
Student: "So, where are you from?"
Me: "That building over there."
Student: "No, I mean where are you from originally?"
Me: "That building over there."​
So it sure seemed like everyone else was from some where else, where as from almost every place on campus I could see the building I was born in. :eek:
 
Holy crap. So I checked this thread and started reading the new posts, which began with cleanup's. I kid you not, an ant started crawling up my LCD display just as I began reading, and the timing was absolutely perfect - for a split second I wondered how he scripted that .gif to affect other areas of my screen.

I think I need to lay off the booze for awhile...
 
California State University, Sacramento FTW! Holla!

I'll be an incoming Freshman in the fall... Wasn't my first choice, but oh well. Cal Poly is a good school, unfortunately I didn't get in but they don't have my major so I guess it's a good thing. I'll probably transfer out in 2 years to attend a UC. Pretty much all of the UC's are great schools.
 
EricNau said:
Unless you're looking to teach university, attending any UC (University of California) is a bit overkill. Rather, you should look into a CSU (California State University). The tuition will be cheaper, and most CSUs specialize in teaching degrees.

Either way you'll be spending a premium for out-of-state tuition, unfortunately.
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No such thing as "overkill." Getting the best education you can afford is always a good thing. And he's in high school right now; how does he know what he's going to want to do in four years or eight years or 20 years? He might as well go to the best place possible, meet the brightest, most interesting students possible, and learn as much as he can as he figures out what it is he wants to do with his life.
 
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