College Research

Javier Robles
Pd 7

My time in high school has been amazing and the fact that next year I will graduate
completely baffles me. It feels weird knowing that this fall my classmates and I will be applying
to colleges and by the spring knowing where our future lies. The first major step I did was
creating the list of ten colleges, that process helped me figure out possible colleges I would be

interested in attending and some of the six most important criteria they have to meet. After
coming up with the chart it has been difficult reducing my list to only four colleges for this
assignment since there are so many great schools out there. After a lot of reflecting I managed to
shorten the list and my top four schools became the University of Maryland College park,
University of California Santa Barbara, University of Connecticut, and Towson. The list is in no
particular order.
The first thing that came up and one of my main criteria I took into account while making
this list of four colleges was the tuition of the school. I wanted to keep the price range below
thirty thousand dollars but found it hard since some schools prices skyrocket since I would be
applying as a out of state student. The second thing I took into account while picking a school
was its location. I prefer a school in the east coast but would not mind having to go to school in
California but since I would like to remain relatively close to my family I would like to remain in
the east coast. What I also consider about location was the campus surroundings. I do not want to
attend a school in a rural part of the country and would like to remain in a suburban environment
or even move into the city. Thirdly I consider the amount of students that currently attend the
school. I am looking for a school that has below twenty thousand students since I do not want to
have extremely large class sizes. In regard to the amount of students that are currently enrolled at
one of my top choices I am more flexible and able to become accustomed to larger class sizes. I
also considered diversity in my top four schools I picked but it is not a leading factor in my top
college choices. While looking into the schools I began to notice their diversity level and since
some of their diversity level is very low they might take me because I am hispanic rather than
another student with similar grades to myself increasing my chances of attending the college I
truly want to attend. The final but most important thing for me that the college I attend to next

year must have are the majors I am interested in. I am looking into business administration or
international business, that to me is the most important criteria my top colleges must have.
As of right now the college I am most interested in attending is the University of
Maryland College Park. This school has become my first choice because it is a in-state school;
UMCP being a in-state school will allow my family and I to save lots of money which is
important. The annual cost for a student like me that is applying as a resident of maryland would
be $24,594 this price includes board, supplies, and tuition. Just as well I could opt to remain at
home with my parents saving myself $6,680 because I would not be living on campus. The price
with either option I decide to go with would still be well under of the range I had established of
$30,000 making UMCP a great option. Furthermore UMCP is ranked 20th in the nation as one of
best public school in the country by US.news further enticing me to apply there("University of
Maryland-College Park" ). Just as well the school since it is in-state will allow me to remain
relatively close to my family which is one of my criteria. It will facilitate my commute and allow
me to visit them more frequently which is important to me. The school itself is located in a large
town according to naviance but is relatively close to both Baltimore and DC. This to me is
important because it will allow me to remain close to the city like I am accustomed to and
making it easier to find things to do. As of 2014 UMCP had 27,056 students enrolled being well
over my 20,000 student comfort zone. This to me is one of the only negatives I found about the
school. It means that the class will be larger than what I want and low less interactions with the
teachers. I believe the amount of students might overwhelm me in the first couple months but
will eventually become accustomed as I grow into the school. As I was looking throughout the
UMCP official website I noticed that they have specific programs in the school to promote
diversity and a dedicated website stating their desire to bring all type of people; being hispanic I

believe it would significantly increase my chances of being accepted hence why UMCP is my
top choice. Most importantly though UMCP has a business program which I is one of my main
criteria. The school dedicated to business at UMCP is the Smith School. Many notable alumni
have attended the school such as Kevin Plank the CEO of under armor and Bob Basham the cofounder of outback steakhouse, seeing successful people come out of the business program adds
more value of the school to me. Just as well the program is ranked 39th in the country according
to bloomberg ("University of Maryland Smith School of Business."). This is just the tip of the
iceberg because over the summer I intend to look further into UMCP and as I learn more about
the school it might drop out of my top four or solidify itself further as number one.
My runner-up is the University of Connecticut. The university itself seems to be pretty
good since it is ranked 58th in the country by the U.S. news above UMCP who is 63rd("National
Universities Rankings."). But there are many reasons why UMCP surpassed it on my list, the
first being tuition. For the school year of 2014-2015 the tuition of the school was $30,038 for
out-of-state students. The price exceeds my limit by $38 that of course doesn't seem bad until
you add on board, student fees, and meals. When you add those three thing in the price comes up
to $45,015 an increase of $15,000. Money like that is hard to come across by and since my
family and I don't have much wiggle room regarding price it reduces my chances of attending
UCONN. All is not bad though there are many scholarships I can apply for which might help me
significantly drop the price of tuition and just as well UCONN has many financial aid programs.
Another reason why UCONN is my second option is because of the distance I will be from
home. It will prevent me from seeing my family frequently only giving me the opportunity to see
them over long holidays limiting the time I spend with them. This in the long run might help me;
it will allow me to branch out and become more independent causing me to have to rely less on

my family. One more bad thing about UCONN is that just as well as UMCP the class sizes will
be pretty large. As of 2014 the school had 31,119 students enrolled making it just a few thousand
students bigger than UMCP. While I have been looking at my top choices I have noticed that
finding schools with than 20k students is pretty hard hence why I have kept both UCONN and
UMCP as my top choices. The UCONN campus is located in a small town which is not exactly
my favorite environment but if things go to plan I will be visiting the campus over the summer
and I might change my mind about. A positive thing about its location is the two hour drive to
New York city where there are endless things to do. Just like UMCP, UCONN has a fairly low
diversity percentage only having 6% hispanic population which I believe will ultimately benefit
me ("University of Connecticut"). Furthermore they also embrace diversity in their campus
stating on their website the University of Connecticut embraces diversity and cultivates
leadership, integrity, and engaged citizenship among our students, faculty and staff. This
collegial and vibrant environment promotes and nurtures perspectives that are enabled through
differences in culture, experience and values("Diversity at Uconn."). This to me shows their
positive stance of diversity making it a school I will feel more comfortable in making me able to
progress as a person. UCONN has one of the majors I am interested in business administration
but not international business which as of right now does not matter as much. With my upcoming
visit to UCONN over the summer my perspective regarding the college might change and it
might become my top choice.
My third choice is the University of California Santa Barbara. According to the U.S news
it is ranked 40th in the country above both of my top two choices("National Universities
Rankings"). Out of all my top four choices it is the furthest from home and only by plane I will
be able to visit my family. I put it in my top four because I have always wanted to experience

what it is like to live on the west coast. The west coast lifestyle has always bewildered me and I
would make a sacrifice of being close to home to experience it. That of course would be bad plan
since I might not like atmosphere and regret my decision. The annual tuition for Santa Barbara is
$36,624 without room and board. This as well is over my 30k limit but the school offers many
ways of obtaining financial aid. Something I found weird was that the school seems to focus on
wanting more California applicants since some types of aids are exclusive to california residents
and appears to be harder for out-of-state students to even get in. Looking through their
application I noticed the following statement we prioritize admission for California
residents("Academic Requirements" ). The statement is one of the reason it is my third choice
since I can not put all my hope into this one school. Santa Barbara currently has 23,051 students
enrolled making it the closest to my 20K comfort. Based on U.S News 49.3% of classes at the
school have below 20 students ("University of California-Santa Barbara"U.S. News & World
Report - Education). This to me is a big positive since even in high school I have had 30+
students in one class. It will allow me to better establish a bond with teachers creating a better
learning experience for me. The campus is situated in a small city which is a positive since I have
grown up in a small city. Also the campus is just an hour drive from LA giving me an
opportunity to visit and explore the city on my free time and as a bonus los padres national forest
is near by so I can also enjoy the outdoor activities. Well diversity at Santa Barbara is pretty high
compared to my top two choices having a 23% hispanic population ("University of California,
Santa Barbara" Family Connection). The high hispanic population at the school is not necessarily
good for me and since the school already appears to favor in-state students my chances of getting
in are fairly low. When they notice I am hispanic they might consider picking someone else of a
different race in order to balance out the diversity in the school. I might be incorrect in my

assumption but that is one of the reasons Santa Barbara is my third choice. Santa Barbara offers
business administration as a major but not international business. This to me did not impact the
ranking of the college on my list because the others colleges do not offer international business
as well. The business program at the school does not really stand out and seems to be pretty
average or even poor since the school seems to be focused more on engineering hence being one
of the reasons why it is my third choice.
My fourth and final college I am interested in is Towson University. Towson is ranked
15th on the list of top public schools in the northern region of the country but doesn't have much
impact nationwide like my other three choices ("Top Public Schools Regional Universities
(North)"). The college is located here in Maryland which will meet one of my criteria of
remaining in the east coast allowing me to remain close to my family and will allow me to visit
them frequently like UMCP. The campus is also close to the city of Baltimore being a positive to
me. Towson also has 18,779 students being the only one in my top four below my criteria
meaning that the classes will be pretty small which is something I am looking for. Just as well
like my other top choices Towson offers business administration which one of the major I am
interested in but not international business like the other of my choices. The school also has a
fairly low level of diversity, only 5% of the student population being hispanic meaning my
chances of getting in might be pretty high("Towson University."). I fell my chances of getting
into Towson based are pretty high hence why it is in my top four.
This project has helped me reflected on what is and what is not important to me while
taking a college under consideration. Of course this list of my top four might change as I look
into more schools over the summer but it has helped me set a foundation of schools that or not
only good but provide the things I need. As of now though UMCP and UCONN are my primary

choices. I feel they will provide me with the tools necessary for a better future. When I visit these
two colleges over summer, I will not necessarily experience what it is truly like attending there,
since most of the students will be gone but the campus environment will be one of the leading
factor in my decision. Hopefully at the time my intuition is correct and will make the right
decision when the time comes.

Appendix one
University of Maryland College Park:
Not able to apply to UMCP through the Common Application, you are able to apply
through the official UMD website. Deadline for regular registration is January 20, but
special consideration is taken to those who submit their application by november 1. They
require applicants to write an essay and also to respond to a few short answer questions.
Official high school is required also and it must be mailed directly by the school.The SAT
and the ACT are both required. A letter of recommendation is required from your
counselor and a teacher.
https://app.applyyourself.com/AYApplicantLogin/fl_ApplicantLogin.asp?id=umd
University of Connecticut:

Students are able to apply online through the common application website (preferred for
freshman) or The UCONN application. The deadline for applications is January 15 and
December 1 is the deadline for scholarships. They also require an official high school
transcript. UCONN also requires submitting either ACT or SAT scores. They require
applicants to write an essay as part of their application. The two letter of recommendation
are optional but are recommended.
https://www.nationalappcenter.com/applications/University_of_Connecticut/apply.html
University of California Santa Barbara
Able to apply online through the official University of California website. Students are
able to submit their application November 1 through 30, no date found for scholarships.
The school requires submitting scores from either the ACT or SAT. Santa Barbara does
not require recommendation letters but some majors may require them for supplemental
application. Santa Barbara does not require to send official transcripts and applicants self
report grades on application. If admitted they require official transcript by July 1st.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/apply-online/
Towson University:
Able to apply online through official Towson website, not through the Common
Application.Towson application deadline is January 15, and deadline for scholarship
application is Dec 1st. A positive about their application process is the ability to submit
application electronically. They require taking either the ACT or SAT for admission.
Letters of recommendation are optional but a college essay is required. They also want
your official high school transcript.
http://www.towson.edu/main/admissions/apply/freshman/index.asp

Appendix two
Interviews
Interviewee: William Quiroz
Current High School Senior
What college are you attending in the fall?
I am attending UMBC.
Why did you choose this college over other options?
I picked UMBC because most of the family has attended MC and I wanted to experience
something different.
How many colleges did you apply to?
I applied to five colleges.
What do you plan to major in?
I plan is to major in biology.
Why did you choose that major?
I chose this major because I intend to go to dental school after I graduate.

 Was the college you are attending in the fall you first choice?
No, UMD was my first choice
What do you consider was the hardest thing about applying to college?
The hardest thing for me was having to write the essays since they took up a lot of time.
Did college visit change your perspective of schools?
I was only able to visit the local colleges so my perspective regarding schools didnt
change.
Did location play a role in your decision?
Yes it did, I wanted to remain in Maryland in order to save money.
What would you recommend to a future applicant like myself?
The most important thing that I can advise you about is procrastinating, just dont do it
the deadlines come up quick and you might miss out on the college you want to attend.

Interviewee: Alejandro Quiroz

college graduate
What college did you attend?
Bowie State
What did you major in?
Majored in business administration
Why did you decide to attend this college?
I attended Bowie because after coming back from my duties in the army most of the
tuition of the school would be covered.
Why did you choose that major?
My goal since I was young was to establish my own business and it has put me on the
right path.
Did location play a role in the college you attend?
Yes it did since I was on active duty back them and had to remain relatively close to my
post.
Was the college your first choice?
Yes it was.
Was money and issue when you attend college?
It wasnt really a problem since the army was helping me pay my way through college.
What were some of the benefits of attending the college you attended?

Its location and size.

Was campus life difficult to get used to?
For me it wasnt but everyone is different. I truly enjoyed the experience.
Would you recommend the college you attended to others?
I enjoyed my time there and meet some of my best friends there so I would recommend
Bowie state to others.

Bibliography:

"Academic Requirements." Admissions. UC Santa Barbara, n.d. Web. 7 June 2015.

<http://admissions.sa.ucsb.edu/applying/freshman/out-of-state>.
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