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I would like to become a translator/interpreter and have always wanted to go to to school in California. Which UC has the best program geared toward Foreign Language? I also would prefer a more liberal school.

P.S., I know it is harder and more expensive for out-of-staters to get into a UC, but if i lived in Cali for six months(I think) to become a resident, would this still be a problem?

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Friday, February 20, 2004 - 12:35 pm: Edit

First, the UC requirements for qualifying as a resident are a lot more restrictive than just living in Calif. for six months. You must have lived in Calif. for more than a year, plus be able to prove that you have been financially independent from your parents for two years (that means they can not have claimed you on their income taxes as a dependent during that time) in order to claim state residency. Here's the UC site that explains the requirements:
http://www.ucop.edu/pathways/impinfo/res.html

Next, as you know, you will be paying out of state fees which next year will probably move close to $26,000 a year plus about another $8,000-$9,000 for room and board. In other words, you will be paying close to private school costs (and indeed perhaps more than some private schools
if you figure in the possibility of merit scholarships and financial aid).

If you're still interested in the UC's, the two best schools in the system for foreign languages are UCLA and UC-Berkeley. Frankly, if you have the stats required as an out-of-state resident to get into either of those two schools, you should really consider applying to schools like Middlebury, Georgetown, Harvard, Emory, UPenn, Yale, Smith, NYU, etc. which have outstanding foreign language programs instead of focusing too heavily on just the UC's. If you want to go to school in California, I'd also suggest Pomona or Stanford as good choices for foreign language study. Slightly less competitive schools that have good foreign language programs in Calif. include Pepperdine, University of San Diego, Santa Clara University, and the University of Redlands. Also, Scripps college if you are female.
UC Santa Barbara might be another option to think about.

I don't mean to discourage you, but do consider other options to the UC's. Good luck!

By Slayer (Slayer) on Friday, February 20, 2004 - 07:30 pm: Edit

Carolyn, thank you for posting that. You're really knowledgable about all this. I appreciate you sharing

By Bunmushroom (Bunmushroom) on Friday, February 20, 2004 - 10:40 pm: Edit

i wouldnt call "Calif. include Pepperdine, University of San Diego, Santa Clara University, and the University of Redlands. Also, Scripps college" slightly less competitive than Stanford and Pomona. Stanford might be, along with Harvard, the hardest school in the nation to get into. Pomona is also much harder to get into than those schools. Those schools are not very selective.

By Haruko (Haruko) on Saturday, February 21, 2004 - 04:27 am: Edit

Where are you planning to go with your foreign language?

By Anonomousn (Anonomousn) on Saturday, February 21, 2004 - 12:11 pm: Edit

I would eventually like to start my own business, but for now i would not mind translating for a company, or possibly doing some international business.