// Updates - March 2012//

I’ve heard back from 7 schools so far. Here’s the situation:

Admitted
San Francisco State University - Urban Studies & Planning
Sacramento State University - Sociology
California State University, East Bay - Sociology
Depaul University - Public Policy
Drexel University - Environmental Studies
Temple University - Geography & Urban Studies

Denied
San Jose State University - Sociology

So far, the odds are in my favor. I’m still waiting to hear back from my top choices/schools I applied to for s***s and giggles: University of Illinois-Chicago, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Southern California. Literally, I am waiting for financial aid from my current school so I can afford the application fee to apply to University of Pennsylvania LPS program. 

**update: I forgot that I applied to CUNY: Hunter. The CUNY Portal website gives no information. I have no idea if there they received everything or anything at all. Basically, it just says hello and my name. But the log-in screen says to 

Denied at SJSU:
I didn’t take the let down as hard as I thought I might. Moving to San Jose has never seemed like an enjoyable option for me. I like bigger cities. And commuting long distances sounds like a recipe for disaster on attending class. The denial came through an email notification to check messages at mysjsu.edu that told me that basically the whole school is impacted and they have to choose carefully. My only regret is not applying as a major other than Sociology. I think my chances would have been better as a Geography major or Environmental Studies. Oh well. 

Decision?
I’m not even close to making up my mind. I know the decision will weigh heavily on financial aid. Still waiting to hear back on federal financial aid from any of the schools. If offers aren’t where I need them to be then most likely I will be attending SFSU. Which is fine with me. My EFC on the FAFSA was so small and SFSU comes in somewhere at $7,000 per year for in-state tuition and fees. I’m perfectly fine with coming out with very little debt for an undergraduate degree, especially if I can keep my job while in school. I could save the debt for the graduate degree. 

But, I haven’t heard back from all of the schools. 

The admission decision period for SFSU is April 1st through May 1st. UCBerkeley decision date is April 27th. That’s less than four days to decide if going, that’s IF (big IF) I do get in. But yeah…if I got into UCB, I’d go there. I’m worried that if I wait until the 27th, I don’t get in, and all of the financial aid is sucked dry by that point. The CSU college system needs help. (The CA governor even dissed the CSU-system president in an interview a couple of days ago.) Then, I’m worried about what it will be like once I’m attending classes and tuition will definitely increase. 

There is so much to think about.

// Updates - Feb 2012//

I’ve just finished the fourth week of this 15 unit semester and I’m in the middle of waiting to hear back from schools. My list of schools has changed yet again and I still plan to put in one last application in the next couple of weeks. Some applications have been trial-and-error while others have had a smooth process.

• The one school in the South I chose to apply to has been nixed. The short of it involves completely filling out the application, paying the fee, accidently signing up for the wrong major (Interdisciplinary Studies instead of Urban Studies), finding out a week later that I actually didn’t pay the fee. I called, left messages, and sent several emails about changing the major on the application and still no response. But, I’ve been contacted eight times by phone, mail, and email on the fact that the application fee didn’t really go through. That didn’t sit well with me. Off the list it goes.
• Another application mistake happened with Temple. How the heck do you sign up for the wrong major twice? Well, I did it again. Also, the application status says they’re waiting on transcripts from the first high school I went to, not the high school I graduated from. I’ll have to get that changed. I’ve been wondering what the 215 area code number that has been calling me was about. It’s the Temple Undergrad office… Did they read my essay and made the connection with the major? Call me back! Leave a message.
• I’m waiting for decisions from San Jose State University, Sacramento State University, University of California-Berkeley, Temple University, University of Illinois at Chicago, CUNY: Hunter College, University of Southern California.
• University of Pennsylvania’s LPS program looks interesting. It’s the last hold out of my applications.
• I’ve been accepted to four schools so far - San Francisco State University, California State University-East Bay, DePaul University, and Drexel University. Nothing has been more motivating to push myself a little more this semester than getting an acceptance.

My biggest piece of advice so far has to be: Check everything on your applications. If you see something that doesn’t look right, inquire about it. I did with both Drexel and DePaul. Think of it this way- if you let something pass on your application that you don’t care to correct, then you probably really didn’t want to go to that school anyway.

• Drexel had the name of my community college school district as the name of my school. I told them about this and it was corrected online within two days. Three weeks later, I check back and get a congratulations message and a scholarship. 
• With DePaul, I was confused about the final transcript request. I just asked if that meant decisions weren’t going to made until those were sent in. Not much info is on their application status. A few hours later, I got an email back with another congratulations on being accepted.

This is great! I’m excited about both programs. Environmental Studies at Drexel and Public Policy at DePaul. I’m also in at the Urban Studies and Planning program at SFSU. And I foresee an issue I will have to face head-on: which major/school combo do I go with? Which do I think will lead me into graduate school and a career in urban planning? As I wait for decisions from other schools, the cost factor will be at the forefront.