Applications coming soon

I wanted to share my thought process for the colleges I plan on applying to in the next few months

GPA 3.83 W. 3.77 UW
SAT 1280/1600 , 1240/1600 ( taking again in Oct)
ACT 26
CA Resident ( Northern CA)
Mechanical Engineering
Will apply to UC Merced, UC Riverside
CSU Sac, Chico, San Jose, SD, Long Beach
Two reach schools are SLO and UCDavis
I honestly have no preference at this point.
Thoughts?

Wanted to add: my EI is 4300 and my MCA is 4800

I think your list is very realistic. You have a good range of Safety, Match and Reach schools. Good Luck.

I have completed my UC application and answered my 4 essay questions.
So I am ready to go. Just waiting to hit send.
Is there any advantage to applying to the CSUs and UCs on day 1 of application opening?

No advantage but always better to be earlier than later.

You seem to have a good handle on things.

Campus tours will help narrow things down.