<p>Holy cow, I just checked the oos tuition for UCs and its over $50K. This was one of the possibilities I was holding onto as I thought it was low 40s. S likes the warm weather and has no desire to go to our state flagship. Unfortunately we have a large EFC because we both have jobs and they don't consider the fact that he is #5. I know they are very hard to get into and great schools, but with all the issues they are having with funding, large class sizes, and kids not able to graduate, do oos people really think they are a good value or is the weather enough to entice people to pay $50K?</p>
<p>If you look at U-Michigan as a model where they have a third of their students who are OOS ( and total cost north of $50K) - then the answer is clearly there will be a demand for OOS slots at the two flagships Berkeley and UCLA. Michigan is roughly equiv. to these two schools and does not have the weather to boot. So the answer is that to those folks who can afford it - UCLA and Berkeley will be deemed to be worthwhile. Also keep in mind, that despite the current state of economy by and large companies flock to Berkeley and UCLA for recruiting kids. In your specific case, I would say that you have to look at it very hard because of the financial considerations. What are the other schools your S is looking at ?</p>
<p>Every family I know where a kid is going to a UC as an OOS student is paying full freight. with the exception of one kid who has some decent external scholarship bucks – Even there they are paying a chunk each year. </p>
<p>D was interested in several of the UC campuses, but after a quick look at the financial side it was clear that it wasn’t going to happen. I completely understand why they need to direct their financial aid to in-state students, but it does make it pretty impossible for middle class oos families.</p>
<p>My D applied and got in to Berkeley and was awarded aid that made it about 30K OOS - still not affordable for us but I was impressed that it was a possibility to get aid when we thought that wasn’t going to happen. So not every OOS student is paying full freight but it is likely much higher than they would be paying for other options.</p>
<p>The amount of wealth in this country is amazing. When you look at the statistics on millionaires and the number of people making big bucks (let’s say over $200,000), you wonder where they all are. They are out there.</p>
<p>Is that just for tuition, or does that also include room, board, etc? It is certainly something to think about. FYI, room & board costs a little more at Cal than it does at UCLA.</p>
<p>To me, it doesn’t seem worth it at all.</p>
<p>If you have the stats to get into UCLA and UCB out of state, you should have the stats to go someplace else that is experiencing less financial difficulties, will give you a more personalized education, and will also be more generous with aid.</p>
<p>I turned down UCLA and UCB 3 yrs ago for that reason…even then OOS costs were near 50K a year or over 50K a year. Thanks, but no thanks.</p>
<p>However, I had a few friends who got significant scholarships that made them more enticing than other private school options.</p>
<p>And of course there are those for which money is no obstacle…and who perhaps value the huge size and big city locations of the two schools enough to tip the balance in their favor. Or who perhaps were just not as smart in the application process as they could have been, and those are the options they are left with…not shabby options at all…if you have the money.</p>
<p>S is looking at the Socal privates, and they are all $50K plus; hopefully he can get some merit $. But… he is one of those lower GPA/high SAT kids (score in 99%) so I’m not sure. He goes to a very competitive private school, but he’s only got an 86 where top score is 94. I was thinking that the UCs were an option, but not at that price.</p>
<p>^Yes…</p>
<p>Unfortunately most of the top-ranked state schools are similarly priced. </p>
<p>It doesn’t leave many options for the middle-upper middle class family with a lot of children or other expenses (such as medical, etc.). In that case, you usually have to go down a few spots in publics or down a lot of spots in privates (to hope for the big merit money).</p>
<p>I got a significant scholarship from USC…definitely made it much more affordable than the UCs. If there’s any socal school that would be worth it to attend it’d probably be that one. It’s quite well respected yet at the same time, they will throw loads of money at you. I think they also offer significant money for National Merit Finalists, if your S was one.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind, that with budget cuts and large classes, there is a possibility that your child would have to take 5 years to finish UCLA or Cal Berkeley making the total cost $250,000 or more (if tuition goes up). I don’t think these schools are worth the money.</p>
<p>^^^ldinct; historically, UC GPA is a pretty important selection criteria at UC’s.</p>
<p>My older son looked at Berkeley three years ago. Even then I thought the cost/benefit ratio was out of whack. Impacted majors, no housing for sophomores, huge classes…</p>
<p>We would have ponied up the money (reluctantly) for UC-Berkeley, but fortunately S2 chose to go to Tulane University instead, which provided a nice merit scholarship.</p>
<p>Idinct:</p>
<p>USC is big on test scores. NMSF earns an automatic tuition discount, regardless of gpa.</p>
<p>I concur with ucmp: with the exception of a few really specialized programs, the UCs are not worth it at OOS prices.</p>
<p>yeah on the gpa I know it’s low for UCs but just squeeked by the minimum for OOS. Yeah on USC other S was offered a NMSF 75% tuition; didn’t take it however and opted for Ivy (still paying for that btw- but almost done). This S is not NMSF; he prepped himself up to scores much better than PSAT. We went to visit USC last week and I think that would probably be a better investment if he were to get in. I’m not even sure with his gpa what’s a reach or not. No naviance, or whatever that is to rely on. GC historically have the kids shoot pretty low, so everyone is happy in the end. It’s going to be an interesting application process for this one. Can’t wait :)</p>
<p>^^since 'SC just loves HIGH test scores, at worst your S could be a Spring admit. Good luck.</p>
<p>I don’t have actual statistics to back this up, but I’ll bet that a significant percentage of “out of state” students at the UC’s paying full freight are internationals. UC Berkeley, in particular, has an <em>international</em> reputation that rivals the Ivies – and international students, unfortunately, are far less likely to be receiving good information about California budgetary issues – so their perspective on the value of the education may be very different. Also, for them, there is an added value of simply being able to attend any US institution – and UC’s are very international-friendly places to go to college. That is, it might be far more attractive for an international student to attend a large college with a very diverse student body in an urban area than a smaller, suburban or rural, and less diverse private college. Travel to/from Berkeley or UCLA is pretty easy, and no fears of social isolation.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My daughter is at UCLA and from her perspective UCLA tends to go the other direction, you need to take your classes and get out in 4 years. If you start falling behind on required progress they put you on probation, and will kick you out. They are trying to keep kids from hanging around and taking lots of non-required but interesting classes, freeing up spaces there for kids that require those classes to graduate. I don’t know that Cal is going that same direction.</p>
<p>
Just a minor point - the oos tuition isn’t $50K - it’s closer to $33K. It’s the total cost of attendance which includes dorms, meals, etc. that’s around $50-52K for OOS.</p>
<p>
This hasn’t been the case for my D and I haven’t heard of it happening for many others. Depending on the major/minor taken along with AP credits and whether thw student is willing to take a full load (and sometimes some early classes rather than the most popular times), it’s quite possible to graduate in 3 years if one wants to. Maybe this’ll change at some point but it doesn’t seem to have happened yet.</p>