Advice for out of state colleges?

State Forums
1

Hi there,

I know about all the UCs but I was wondering if you guys had any advice on some schools that I could apply to out-of-state (I live in cali). Here are my stats:

  • 3.8 unweighted GPA
  • 4.2 weighted GPA
  • 1540/1600 SAT

Here is the list of colleges I have so far:

U of Washington Seattle Campus
U of Wisconsin-Madison
Purdue
UT Austin
U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Cornell (Reach)

I also did the SAT subject tests and I’m positive I did well on the Physics and Math 2 tests.

I would really appreciate if you guys could think of some schools I might be accepted into out of state.

Thanks!

2

Which major? Even with great stats some state schools (e.g. UT) are a reach for hot majors for OOS becuase of limited spots. Do you have $50-$60K a yr for OOS schools?

3

you realize you posted this question in a forum focused on CA colleges, right?

4

What’s your parents’ budget?
If you don’t know, run the NPC on the first three and ask if they can pay the net cost out of pocket (from income and savings).
The universities you listed don’t have financial aid for OOS students.
If you want to go OOS look into WUE which allows you to avoid the OOS premium.

5

WUE offers no bargains and no schools worth leaving cali for with OPs stats.

6

^ I disagree that this is a sufficient reason not to consider WUE for a student who wants to go OOS: for engineering and CS there are some possibilities that are more predictable than UCs, and if OP is focused on leaving CA WUE offers cheaper possibilities than the Universities listed, although they are definitely less good than UWash or UWisconsin.

If op can afford about 45-50k a year out of pocket, except for UT which is unpredictable and Cornell which is “reach for everyone”, all others are matches (with low match/match/high match depending on major).

7

Have you considered University of Oregon or University of Alabama ? I’m sure both of those schools would give you merit $ with your stats.

8

Where do you want to be? Big, Small? Urban vs. rural? You do well in Math and Physics but is that what you want to study? More info needed here to be helpful. In the end even for OOS, pick a safety, match and reach. Multiple, if you want choices.

9

Is your intended major an engineering major?

Cornell is always a reach. UT Austin is always a reach for non-automatic-admit applicants, including all non-Texas applicants, and is even more selective for those applying to engineering majors or CS.

Washington and UIUC should be considered reaches for engineering majors or CS, even though they may be much less selective overall.

Wisconsin and Purdue have “weed out” policies where enrolled engineering or pre-engineering students must attain high GPAs to enter or stay in their majors. However, Wisconsin CS is apparently not an oversubscribed major, unlike its engineering majors.

Of course, if you cannot afford them at out-of-state list price or with need-based financial aid (unlikely except for Cornell; see the net price calculator at each school), then they would be even more difficult since you need to earn merit scholarships (not available at Cornell), not just admission.