<p>OP:</p>
<p>Don’t forget the Claremont Colleges – Harvey Mudd does Comp Sci. </p>
<p>And, I hear a couple of their other schools are as highly rated as Smith. :D</p>
<p>You can watch webcasts of some of the compsci courses at Berkeley and see if you like them. Most of the school work is done outside the classroom, however.</p>
<p>[UC</a> Berkeley Webcasts | Video and Podcasts: Computer Science 61A](<a href=“Webcast and Legacy Course Capture | Research, Teaching, and Learning”>Webcast and Legacy Course Capture | Research, Teaching, and Learning)</p>
<p>[UC</a> Berkeley Webcasts | Video and Podcasts: Computer Science 61B](<a href=“Webcast and Legacy Course Capture | Research, Teaching, and Learning”>Webcast and Legacy Course Capture | Research, Teaching, and Learning)</p>
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I’ve seen forced triples at some private LAC’s as well – though perhaps with the financial crisis the small privates won’t be seeing the same over-enrollment issues that they were running into a few years ago.</p>
<p>Blue, HMC was on his list, but given the GPA, we had to take it off. Difficult decision.</p>
<p>Its funny about the “grass being greener…” My kid’s first choice school is in the middle of the country. No ocean. She lives a mile from the beach in CA. Close to the redwoods. Laid back and liberal. Not far from the wonderful city of San Francisco and even closer to Carmel-Monterey. Moderate, mediterranean climate much of the year. And, yet she wants to experience the MIDWEST. I actually don’t blame her! I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve always been curious to see how other folks live outside CA (MY bubble) 
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<p>I know she would still choose IU-B over Berkeley or UCLA if she were to be admitted…IF it were in the very same financial ballpark as those two. And, with the generous scholarship, it’s pretty close. But, there would be NO way I would pay $50,000…even $40,000 for an OOS public school. </p>
<p>quote:</p>
<p>Welcome to California kluge!
You can check out but you can never leave</p>
<p>Yup, definitely grass is greener scenario! ^^</p>
<p>BTW, son is not applying to the UC’s. It was his decision. </p>
<p>So now, search is on to add a safety. Originally had SMU and U of Miami on the list, need to re-think. He does want good weather, good mix of students and small/medium size undergrad body. I know of the party school image both these schools have but…</p>
<p>The triple dorms at UCLA are forced due to the renovation of the dorms, ie: Rieber Hall this year (which typically hold about 1200 freshman) and Dykstra (700 kids) next. This has been going on since 2005, 2 new sets of dorms have been built since then and construction of new dorms is in progress now. The price of room and board have not increased for us very much since 2004 and the food is really good at UCLA! So far, the budget cuts does not seem to affected the dorms much except for triples during freshman year. Since UCLA guarantees housing for 3 years, they need more room. Many upperclassman are choosing to stay on campus since the surrounding Westwood area is very expensive. D has freshman through 3rd year on her floor right now but she really like that. I agree with most everything USCD_UCLA Dad has said. 2 kids at UCLA right now, no problems getting classes. There are tons of classes available, kids just don’t want to take 8 am classes, classes on Fridays and a class or two at 5 or 6 in the evening! D at state school has no problems getting classes either but she seems like she is hardly ever in school due to the furlough days. She doesn’t seem to mid too much:) Even with the tuition increases, the UC’s in state are still a good value IMO. Kids wouldn’t trade UCLA for any school in the country. They have no regrets.</p>
<p>I completely agree with the majority of the opinions here.</p>
<p>UCB and UCLA are terrific institutions and will remain so for a while even if the current woes continue to worsen. For how long at this rate is anybody’s guess: I hope the current trajectory is reversed soon for the sake of the entire USA higher education - Can’t imagine the ruin of such emblematic public institutions deteriorating without pulling down the rest!</p>
<p>However, as an OOS, no way the money is worth it!!! You may as well shoot for the private school of comparable/better academic standing without any of the problems well described in above posts.</p>
<p>S1 was accepted by UCB as an OOS. It was his last resort, just in case application. He got into a top private school where he is a freshman now. This school just announced a massive faculty hiring expansion program to be instituted from 2010 on. Built a brand new dorm. Students who want it can get all four years of campus housing. Single rooms are available at no extra charge. Each dorm has married faculty living with the students on premise with an open door policy for students to drop in and spend time with him/her for any subject matters for discussion, debate, and guidance. Not every student uses the opportunity. Some do (including S) - quite often. Class size is capped to be under 20 kids - all taught by professors who spend the time to critique freshman mid term paper line by line on an one-on-one basis. All this at a more or less same price as UCB. No brainer…</p>
<p>UCB and UCLA are still good bargains for instate students. For an OOS student, a terrible bargain. If your stats are competitive for UCB and UCLA as an OOS, you can go to a private school with comparable academic standing with much better services and support.</p>
<p>When S applied to UCB as a last resort, he did not know anything about college admission scene (did no research then), and simply picked it for a strength in the department he was interested in. Even so, we thought that OOS tuition on par with that of any private school was probably not worth it. If I had known what I know now, we would have recommended that S not even bother with application - waste of the application money. Instead, we would have recommended that he pick another private school for a safety measure. </p>
<p>I do hope, as I mentioned above, the current trend will be reversed. It is painful to see such outstanding institutions with global reputation heading in the direction they are…</p>
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<p>Absolutely, but the difference is lottery-like: most matriculating Frosh win a double (or even a single), but some lose and end up in a forced triple, with assurances that the college will do everything it can to unforce the triple if they have space later. At UCLA, ALL Frosh are put into forced triples. Guaranteed. All year.</p>
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<p>Doesn’t matter what the reason is, this UC campus has clearly made forced triples a long-term impact for matriculating Frosh.</p>
<p>^^ But the triples double the chances of them getting a roommate they’ll become good friends with. ;)</p>
<p>The fact is the UC campuses provide dorms only to a limited number of students. The large part of students live in neighborhoods surrounding the campuses, or farther. Nothing is new about this. The financial crisis does not have anything to do with this. I probably prefer to have 4 students in 1 room so that other students have more chance to live on campus.</p>
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<p>Well since the OP is OOS, I would guess that would be an important “fact” for him/her, no?</p>
<p>It’s an important fact but it’s not as critical as campus housing in rainy and snowy weather in the east coast. Everyone knows living off campus in CA can save some money. On campus housing in CA is necessary for freshmen coming from far away and not ready to explore alternative housing. But after the first year many students move to off campus housing.</p>
<p>Another factor parents should consider is regardless whether students live on campus or off campus, they usually have a car or at least a bike. Not many students can afford to have a car in Boston. California land is huge and there are not many subways and buses.</p>
<p>“But to rule out the UC’s, especially for Californians, based on the budget cuts seems an over-reaction”</p>
<p>I completely agree, the UCs are still a great deal for instate as mentioned in my previous post.</p>
<p>Coolweather, I never really thought about the weather as a factor in on-campus housing, but then in Boston there is such excellent public transportation that a car is unnecessary for most students, as there is lots of housing around the campus that is near the t-stops. However in most cases, as my daughter discovered last year, the off-campus housing is much more expensive than on-campus.</p>
<p>Having lived in California for 30 years, and having graduated from a Cal State school when the tuition was $72 per semester, it pains me to see so many students being squeezed out of the California schools for either financial or academic reasons. The college experience, as in living on campus, college activities, etc, is nearly unattainable for any student below a 3.2 gpa, a very disappointing turn of events for all of the average students out there who can’t afford to look outside of California for college. </p>
<p>I guess I am just frustrated overall with the California higher education system - though I reiterate, I do agree with the fee increases. Sounds kind of contradictory, I know.</p>
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<p>Perhaps, but no student in Boston NEEDS a car. :rolleyes;</p>
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<p>Are you suggesting that a car is a necessity for students? If so, just another nail in the lack-of-value coffin.</p>
<p>We visited a college in the LA area where the admissions person giving the overview surprised by saying that they encouraged students to have a car.</p>
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<p>Perhaps I did not make this sentence clear “California land is huge and there are not many subways and buses.” like Boston.</p>
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<p>Yes, if students want to go around, want to go to work. That’s Californian lifestyle. Nothing secret about it.</p>
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<p>It seems like the issue is more that they’re aiming for 4 years guaranteed housing. Maybe they’ll reach that stage and be able to eliminate triples by the middle of the next decade.</p>
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<p>That wasn’t true two years ago, and I’m not sure it’s true now. At the very least there’s an opportunity to trade housing at the start of each quarter.</p>
<p>idad, there is no need for a car to get to/from campus. My daughter did bring a car her freshman year. It was comforting for her to know that she could come home anytime that she feels she needs to. She does not have a car her sophomore year, she prefers to ride a bike now. But to take advantage of internships in the LA area for her junior year, she thinks she needs a car.</p>
<p>Cars and (Southern) California go hand-in-hand. The day each of my kids got their drivers licenses were two of the best days for me…no more driving them all over the place! The lack of public transportation in Southern Cal is a serious problem. Had my D stayed in Southern Cal for college, she would have taken a car with her to school.</p>