Joanne Said:

Architecture Preparation: CAD or art?

We Answered:

Take the Advanced Drawing and Painting class. For any art-based major or career, my counselors and the director of the art program at my college consistently and constantly tell me that the MOST important thing ANY type of artist should know is how to draw very well. Make sure you have an amazing drawing basis and portfolio by the time you start applying to college. It's true that the more advanced and sophisticated classes involve CAD, and colleges have the necessary tools for a student to appropriately study CAD, so don't worry about that until you get into college. For now, stick to traditional drawing and make sure you're really good at it.

It's common knowledge. The stronger your base, the better you'll be when you branch into the specifics of your trade, which will be architecture. I'm an animation major and had little to no experience with CAD, but lots of hours of drawing still lives and figures, and got into the animation program at the college I'm currently attending. Study drawing, and then you'll get to the fancy stuff later.

Good luck!

Vernon Said:

Which companies do sponsors?

We Answered:

Look through some engineering magazines or science magazines for ideas. You will have to call them and ask.

Also look up local engineering companies that might be interested in sponsoring you

Chester Said:

Standardized test scores - just out of curiosity?

We Answered:

Keep in mind that the SATs are just one part of a college application. Grades, recommendation letters and extra-curricular activities are more important that test scores. So it's hard to say for sure where you might be accepted or declined without knowing about the rest of your application.

Judging by your scores you are competitive at most universities. The Ivy league schools are a bit of stretch. But if the rest of your application is solid, you should be able to have your choice of schools.

http://www.satscores.us/
http://everything2.com/title/Median+SAT+…
http://collegeapps.about.com/od/sat/f/go…
http://collegeapps.about.com/od/sat/a/sa…
http://www.eduers.com/sat/score.htm

Milton Said:

Afraid that high school hasn't prepared me for college. What should I expect?

We Answered:

I felt the same way in high school. You've got the first thing is you recognize that college will most likely be different. (I say most likely because I've taken a few courses at a local community college and a mediocre state school that required less effort than some of my AP classes. My actual well-ranked university was much more challenging.)

Don't worry about being behind in material, but know that you will need to develop study skills, habits and work ethic with difficult material. If you haven't had to try before this might be a bit of a shock.

Once you know where you are going to college, find out what services they have before you need them. Can you get tutoring, are there study skills sessions, can you get help on academic writing etc. When you are stressed and not understanding your homework you don't want to be in a panic trying to figure out where to get help from.

If you feel like you are having trouble get help early, go to office hours and extra help sessions. Especially freshmen year professors and some TAs will go out of their way to help you if you ask nicely and show up to class on time and regularly.

The other big thing that I found helpful was making friends in classes. Ask how they study, study in groups, and offer to proofread other people's papers if they will look over yours. Learn from other people, you're bound to know someone who has had to work for good grades. Try different things, if one technique doesn't work for you just switch.

Jeremy Said:

Graduate School Admission Prep Camp (or similar)?

We Answered:

There are plenty of prep courses at colleges in the summer. They just don't call it camp because it is for grownups. Kaplan and Princeton Review also offer grad prep, and there are several online courses.

Here's an example of a program in New York that offers a choice of home stays with families or student residences. They do have GRE prep, but I also think they concentrate on students whose second language is English. However, maybe you can contact this site and ask them for suggestions for your particular needs. You may also need to beef up your internet search skills if you are going for graduate work.

http://www.learn4good.com/great_schools/…

Colleen Said:

so according to this random college-preparation book i picked up at barnes and nobles the other day...?

We Answered:

The bigger problem with journalism is not the pay, but the great difficulty in finding any job at all in the field. More journalists are laid off daily than are hired. The culprit is the internet and its blogs.

Pre-law studies is not a major. The "legal studies" majors offered at some colleges are not good preparation for law school as they are not rigorous enough in critical reading, thinking and writing. The same may be said of the undergraduate journalism majors at many universities. Actually, the academic trend in journalism is for it to be taught only in graduate school where it is considered to be a field to be analyzed, not a program in how to gather and report news.

The best majors for preparation for law school include history, English, classics, political science and economics. Although any academic major is accepted, the more rigorous ones are more likely to lead to admission, the students' grades and LSAT scores being equal.

Byron Said:

Preparation for an Ivy League college?

We Answered:

That's really good stuff, but getting into the Ivy League is tough. SAT scores, class rank, essays, and difficulty of schedule always count for something, too. Still, all the Ivies are different. Princeton rejects four out of five valedictorians, so, it's tough. My friend was rejected from Harvard, but he's going to Cornell. It all depends on which school you want to go to and what you want to major in, too. Don't forget about the other great schools that aren't necessarily ivies- Duke, Chicago, Hopkins, MIT, etc. which may have better programs in certain fields.

Pick the best school for you, not necessarily just the "best school."