ODU or UCLA
It's me again, I'm also wondering about what college to go to. I'm currently a 10th grader in highschool in Norfolk, VA. My two choices are Old Dominion University, or UCLA. Which one should I pick.
Unless there is a significant factor that makes UCLA not worth it like cost, I would absolutely go there. I don't even know what ODU is, vs. UCLA being the top public school in the US and far better opportunities, connections to be made, and student life. However, you're still in 10th grade, so you currently shouldn't be doing anything more than making a balanced college list of anywhere from 6 to 20 colleges. You have no guarantee of getting into UCLA, especially since the acceptance rate is very low, in the low teens.
If I were to go to UCLA, I would just have to make sure I have a high enough GPA, and that I meet all the requirements, if I were to go to ODU, which is in the state where I live in, it would be easier to travel there, but I wanted a college that's prestigious to represent me.
I understand but there's really no "requirements" or auto-admit that guarantee your admission into any college except in some rare cases. For UT Austin, which is a Texas state school, I think the top 6% of in-state applicants get auto-admitted. Admissions currently are getting tougher and tougher each year because everyone is getting more competitive, and more people are aiming for the top 50, especially the top 20, schools in the country. Valedictorians with "perfect" applications, awards, extracurriculars, and essays get rejected or waitlisted all the time and we can never say why for sure, it could be that your admissions officer was having a bad day. It's just never a guarantee so aim high, but don't bank on getting in anywhere that's not a safety school. I think the travel would be worth it for UCLA, but if you hate the idea of flying back and forth multiple times a year and I guess driving for moving in/out, it might not be the best choice for you.
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