I made the decision to go to college right after high school, because this is like a dream come true. Ever since I was little, I remember always telling my mom how bad I wanted to go to college and here I am close to that dream, my goal. I am just a step or two away from making all this come true. I was taught since little, that I who have so many opportunities, should take advantage of everything that is being offered to me. In my family that I know of, I do not know any that have graduated from college or even high school, but I do know currently that I have cousins who are high school graduates and in college. I have seen how they have progressed a lot and that stimulated me to want to attend college even more. The main person that has always pushed me forward, has been Enrique, a very close friend of my mom. Until this point, he always reminds me of my goals.
He never fails on reminding that he does not want me struggling in the future, my mom and him want the best for me, he tells me to see his life and my moms and ask myself if that is the life I want to be living. As well, he always mentions that I who have a younger brother, eleven years apart, I am the example he will be following as he grows older. I want to be a role model for him so that can lead him off to a great future as well. I come from a really small family. I look at how they are living right now, they are economically struggling a lot and I would noy want that for me at all. In this case I look at my moms background and as she tells me her story, she came to the United States for a better life, but instead she dropped everything and did not take advantage of the opportunities they offered her. I am a very calm person, I have always been an independent worker, I work better alone, because I seem to concentrate more. Aside from that, I am a God follower, few know, but I as a person I am a Christian. From college, I hope to get a lot from my college experience. I want a “reality’ experience not a “expectative” one. When I was younger I had the mentality to want to study anything that had to deal with kids. Then, as I grew a little older I began to feel attracted to kids with disabilities, for example kids with Down syndrome, I have the most biggest warm heart when it comes to them. So, I decided to study Child Growth and Development, which includes Psychologist and Social Worker. To this point, I am still looking forward to that, and that is the career I want to take, because I feel by heart to make this choice.
To get in, the first thing that is recommended is to check out the acceptance rate and see how competitive is the school and see how serious they are with their requirements. According to collegesimply.com to get into Cal State Fullerton, a GPA of 3.53 is the average to get in. If the student has a low GPA, but have taken AP courses the GPA compensate. If they see that you have taken college classes this can boost up your GPA. When it comes to the SAT, in prepscholar.com it says the average score you can have to be eligible to get in is a 1110 on the scale of 1600. Cal State Fullerton requires only Reading and Math. For the ACT scores, as well as in prepscholar.com the average is a 22. The website international.fullerton.edu, there are various deadlines for Cal State Fullerton. One of them is the Admission Application, and that was due on November 11th, 2017. There was another deadline for March the 1st of 2018 for the Official Test Scores of ACT, SAT and TOEFL to be received by CSUF.
The Final Official High School Transcript deadline was July 16, 2018. When it comes to the Letters of Recommendations, you will have to choose from within two to four letters of recommendations, but also it will all depend on which institution you will be assisting. You will have to only choose people who will have strong criteria for you, great recommendations about you. I want to get the Bachelor of Science in Child and Adolescent Development. There are specific requirements to major on this. In order to major, a minimum of 51 units have to successful completion. It also consists of a 9 unit core completed by all majors and 42 units. There are for options you can choose from which are, Early Childhood Development, Elementary School Settings, Adolescent /Youth Development and Family and Community Contexts. As the classes you take, they will be going on the transcripts saying that you have successful completion on it. In order to apply for the major, a C or better is required. Overall, what seems interesting to me is that they Cal State Fullerton is really competitive and can be hard and easy at the same time to get in. Cal State Fullerton asks for little details, but those little details can be hard to get or earn while taking them, such as the SAT scores, they only ask for the Math and English portion, but they ask for a certain score to get in. Lastly, they ask for the GPA, and what I find interesting is that they are competitive, but the GPA does not seem as hard to get. There are various type of finances.
According to collegefactual.com, the Tuitions and Fees being out of state comes out being a total of $17,720. For tuition it is $16,632 and for the fees it is $1,088. For the in state it does not change much but is still less than being out of state. The fees for being in state comes out the same as if being out state which is $1,088 and for the tuition is changes, it is way less and it is $5,472. The total becomes way more less and in total it is $6,560. In the finances, it follows up including the room and board and other costs. The expenses includes the room and board, housing, meals, other living expenses, books and supplies. All these are included if you live off campus and comes out being a total of $20,094. Living off campus is a little different, it includes the majority, except housing and meals and it comes out being a total of $18,704. The rate for Cal State Fullerton is a 41.9%. There are three specific numbers that should be considered if applying to Cal State Fullerton. I mentioned them above, which were SAT scores, GPA and the acceptance rate. As I mentioned the acceptance rate is a 41.9%, which is a competitive rate.
The major descriptions are simple in Cal State Fullerton. It is all due to a completion of the choice of the topic you choose and the unit that has been chosen. In this case the major I have chosen has to do with various things, it’s a type of field work with various options to choose from and as I researched my major, in fullerton.edu I found similar major related to it, that were close enough and it is the Department of Child and Adolescent Studies. In the Bachelors of Science and Adolescent Studies it is designed to provide the students with empirically derived knowledge about three topics which are; biophysical, socio-emotional, and cognitive developmental milestones from the conception to the adolescence cultural differences, their individuals, and the common variations in development.
For instance, in this major, the ones taking this class, it helps them to develop critical thinking, writing, and oral presentation skills further on for preparation to be professional workers with families and children. Cal State Fullerton’s curriculum provides the undergraduates interest and preparation for the early education and care, special education and many others that also include the social working and psychology. As I researched, there were two options, the major requirements and the minor requirements. The major asked for more that what the minor did. The major seems to take longer, because it offers more options of courses and are more effective to complete the major with more knowledge in my opinion. As though, the minor offers courses but less units, at the same time seem effective as the major because it all depends on what the students is looking forward to complete or is interested in wanting. If applies there are special eligibility requirements needed. It’s not specifically only for this major but in general. A “C” or better is required, as I mentioned above, as it is called also “A-G” which means there are specific subject requirements that have to be competed in High School. For the major I chose there are various classes that seem so exciting to take. Out of the four classes, I found three of them interesting and exciting.
The first one I found super exciting was the Family and Community Contexts (FCC). This is the main one I found super interesting, because this is exactly what I want to do further on in my career. This class has to do with counseling and social work, something I’m looking forward to do in the future. This class is designed for students who are looking forward or have planned on wanting to work with their families in the community based on preparing or setting for graduate studies in the humanity or child development, as well as working with children and adolescents. The second one I found exciting as well was the Early Childhood Development (ECD). The reason I found this class interesting was because it has to due with working with kids as well as with their families. I mainly found this really interesting is because as I mentioned before, all these classes have to do with children, and in this class it is offering the coursework of emphasizing various types of syndrome such as their early development and learning the early childhood environments rich in language, literacy, and other foundational skills dealing with them. Last but not least, I chose the Adolescent/Youth Development (AYD). This class is the understanding of the stages that the adolescents go through in their stages. This class includes the understanding of their physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development throughout their age period of adolescence. This was designed to help the adolescents in the community to pursue their graduate studies on development. Out of all four I found these three more exciting and super interesting for my career of interest. These three are the top classes that are most related to my major and that I know I will be happy with.
There are various duties for the Child and Adolescent Development. It all depends on which class you chose to go for, and some examples can be like the ones I mentioned before this, of the three classes I found more interesting and exciting. For example, let’s say I chose any of those three, all of them don’t have the same duties, they each have their own specific way of working with and each class is about and for. As well as various techniques and functions, if needed, which makes them another different duty for each one. This major requires a lot of education. It requires a lot of education for you to educate the others, especially when it comes to children and adolescents, because you need to know what type of education they have or need in order to proceed with what they need. There are different types of salaries that these type d careers offer. The average earned for working with the Child and Adolescent Development Department is around $10,936. That is only the average on what the salary comes out being. You can compense from the range as well and that is within $1,653 – $45,554. The lowest salary paid is only or about $65K, and the highest salary paid is about or only $134K. If I were to be considering a career in the Child and Adolescent Development, I would be considering a job for child care worker, a preschool teacher or any type of teaching dealing with children and /or adolescent development. There are many options you can choose from, because nowadays there are a lot of children and adolescents that need and are in need of attention, help or simply need more education.
I have learned a lot about this school. This school provides a lot, all type of majors, and specifically the one I want to do. I now know how competitive this University is, this was a big surprise, because as though as the school may not seem as competitive it really is in most ways. I’ve learned how this school actually seems to put a lot of effort into the students, because of the requirements asked do get in Cal State Fullerton. I expected less in the career I have chosen to do, but as I did my research in this school, I realized it is more that what was expected, but also at the same time I learned to never expect less of the reality. As much as the career is, as long as the career goes, or as many units you need to complete it is all worth it, because there are many requirements that need completion, but as long as you strike for it, it will seem less of what you expected. What really stood out to me the most was that, as I was doing my research, I found everything really interesting to research.
Everytime I wanted to look for a specific topic on one thing, a whole lot of information would come up and I had to pick out of all the main one I found more fascinating. Even though this school is competitive, I am still planning on applying there, because as I was researching my major and everything I found everything I am looking forward to. Also, I still think of applying, because who knows, maybe I can get in for shooting my shot. I have heard a lot about how important it is to research a school before applying. I have heard professors say that researching a school is super beneficial when deciding to apply for sure, because you need to know if the school provides all classes for your major and if they also provide you with similar classes and not just any other classes that do not even relate to their major. Commiting to a career is a big deal, because you need to accept and understand that the career you commit to, that career will follow you forever. You need to understand that the career that you have committed to is something you love and enjoy doing, and that you won’t get tired of or regret of committing to. My next steps are to first of all finish off my senior in decently manner. I am going to prepare myself extra more to strike my goal. I have a lot of things I want to accomplish, I am just steps away from accomplishing my lifetime dream of going to College and beginning my lifetime career. As I am adulting, I am thinking wiser and I know I will strike to where I want to. Overall, there are other steps I am looking forward to take and one of them is to graduate out of High School with a clean record. I am pretty confident about that.
Secondly, there are college classes being offered while being in high school, I chose to take them even though it was late notice, I decided to take them to get ahead of my college credits. I heard it is a good thing to take them, so that when being in college I will be ahead and won’t struggle as much or worry that I need extra credits or if I am behind. Third step, I want to prepare myself for what I’m going to get myself into. Get some practice and experience around my community dealing with the career that I will be committing to. Fourth step, is to actually begin taking my classes and do to the units required for my major. Stay commited from beginning to end with all the classes I choose to take. Last step, I want to push myself to passing those classes and work my way up to become what I want to be, and be able to finish my career with highest certification. I want to make it to my bachelor’s and begin my career. After I get certified with my bachelor’s, that is where I am going to officially start professionally and strike to where I have always wanted. Be that professional I want to be, be the person that I will have no need to depend on others but myself, because I worked too hard to get where I want. All I have to do now is to focus and dedicate my full attention to my future and dedicate it all to myself, because only I know what I am working for and what I have worked for to accomplish my goals. At the end of the day I always tell myself after every obstacle that all this will be worth at the end and I will be able to look back and say to myself “I did that.”
Work Cited
- “2018-2019 University Catalog.” California State University Fullerton – Acalog ACMS™, catalog.fullerton.edu/, 10 Aug. 2018
- Cal State Fullerton SAT Scores and GPA, www.prepscholar.com/sat/s/colleges/Cal-State-Fullerton-SAT-scores-GPA 15 Aug. 2018
- “Academics.” Cal State Fullerton, www.fullerton.edu/academics/, 12 Aug. 2018
- CollegeSimply. “Cal State Fullerton Admission Requirements.” California State University Fullerton – Admission Requirements, SAT and ACT Scores, GPA and Chance of Acceptance, www.collegesimply.com/colleges/california/california-state-university-fullerton/admission/ 4 Oct. 2018
- “Requesting Letters of Recommendation.” Cal State Fullerton, www.fullerton.edu/career/students/graduate-professional-school/requesting-letters-of-recommendation.php.
- “International Admissions.” Deadlines – International Admissions | CSUF, international.fullerton.edu/admissions/deadlines/ 25 Aug. 2018
- “Student Curator Shares Secret Lives of Clay.” Cal State Fullerton, www.fullerton.edu/, 24 Aug. 2018
- “The World’s Favorite Online Thesaurus!” Thesaurus.com, www.thesaurus.com/, 28 Aug. 2018
- “Welcome to CHHD Home Page!” Welcome to CHHD Home Page!, hhd.fullerton.edu/, 1 Oct. 2018
