Hi! I'm french, 17, and I would like to study in California. How am I supposed do to?

Question

What university I have to choose? How do I have to register? How to get a scholarship? How much money do I need?

Answer 1

You have four choices.

The most expensive choice is the Private University. California has many great private universities including Stanford, USC, and Pepperdine. Other good choices include the University of Redlands, the Jesuit Schools: The University of San Diego, Loyola-Marymont (Los Angeles), The University of Santa Clara, and The University of San Diego. Expect to pay $30,000 or more for Tuition, Room & Board.

Less expensive, but just as prestigious are the Universities of California. There are now 10 branches with the most famous being Berkeley and UCLA. The University of California at Riverside is probably the least competitive of the campuses. Expect to pay around $20,000 for tuition, room, and board.

Less expensive still are the California State Universities. These are public colleges that offer bachelor's and master's degrees, but not doctorates so they are less "prestigious" but they still give you a good education. There are 23 campuses across the state, so virtually whereever you want to study, you'll find one. I caution you against San Diego State though because they're notoriously bad about scheduling enough classes. Many students end up going to a Junior College (see below) just to get enough units to be full time. Chico State is considered a "Party" School, Everyone at Humboldt smokes pot all the time (or so the rumor goes). My favorite So. Cal. Cal States are the ones at Northridge and Fullerton. Some of the Cal States are more commuter than residential, so find out what percentage of students live in university-affilliated housing and also what the median age of students is -- the higher it is, the fewer "traditional" (ie. 18-23 y.o. students there will be.) Expect Cal States to set you back about $17,500 a year. These are much easier to get into than the Univeristy of California campuses.

The easiest college to get into is the Junior or Community College -- there's open admission. These are two year college with most of the courses transferring to a 4-year university. None that I know of have housing. There are more than 150 JCs throughout the state. I don't know how good your English is, but they have ESL as a part of the regular curriculum. Tuition is about $6000, and housing varies wildly based on where you live (A 2 bedroom in San Fransisco can run $2500/mo. or more while one in Barstow will run $450/mo. -- You can split the rent with a fellow student.)

As far as what you need to know about getting in. You'll need to take the TOEFL for all colleges. If you want to go to a four year college, you will also need the SAT. You will need to have your high school transcripts translated and sent to the colleges you're applying to.

As you figure out what colleges appeal to you, you should contact them directly. Almost all have International Students offices.

By the way, International students who have the ability to succeed are generally considered a "catch" by a University for two reasons. First, it makes their campus more diverse. Second, and more importantly, overseas students usually pay full tuition with no scholarships -- it's good for the pocketbook.

Answer 2

Go to education.yahoo.com and search for Universities and colleges in California that offer programs in those areas of study that ur interested in...then once you have located those educational institutions, visit their web-sites and look for International Students page or link, there you might find contact info for International Student Counselor or Advisor, send them email regarding ur interest in their school (Colleges & Universities are usually referred to as school in US), providing them ur educational background, and ask them for all the details...as to how to enroll as a foreign student there.

Also ask them for any scholarships their school offers to international students, but to tell you the truth, the scholarships for foreign students are few and too many candidates are in line, so that option is less likely to bear fruit (although u never know and its always better to ask and try, whats the worse thats gonna happen is you won't get any scholarship, but hey, u never know lady luck might smile on you :-)).

Also, as you've mentioned about u coming from a non-English speakimg country, you might have to sit for English proficiency exam and even in case you get addmiited to one of the schools and the English profficency is not up to the mark, u might have to enroll for English proficiency classes at school even before u start ur program, so its always better to demonstrate good English -- speak, read, write -- skills in the exam.

If you know people around you who have studied in America, contact them or American students enrolled in universities and colleges in France, talk to them and get their feedback. You can also contact American embassy or consulate in France for more info.

Hope this helps and good luck in ur endeavor.

Answer 3

There's plenty of schools here, but I'm not sure which school is best for you. Do some research, visit websites. It depends what do you want to study, so browse around and ask questions. Goodluck

Answer 4

it depence do u whant to go to a public univisity or priviate and what part of california for expample in souther california theres ucla which it a priave usc priavete, cala public, calf,pulblic,calpy pulblic, norther califonia theres sant ford but it all depence on what u wanna study. they can help w/ facial aid at www.fassa.com or at www.fastwed.com good luck

Answer 5

i don't know about californiia. if new york city, let me know, i can help you.

Answer 6

www.ucla.edu
www.pepperdine.edu
www.calstate.edu