<p>Hi- I am a RD kind of student. I have EA and RD friends. Most of us are science-oriented.
From Biology to Neuroscience; Chemistry, BioChemistry, Organic, Inorganic, pre-med and no med. </p>
<p>Some of us still have a shot at Stanford, at least we can apply and see what happens. For those who aren't feeling lucky about Stanford and those who have already given it a go and not been accepted (not a deferral in the crowd)- the shivers are goin' round.</p>
<p>Would any of the Claremonts be good? Harvey Mudd? Claremont-McKenna? Pomona College? Geez, others?</p>
<p>How about USC?</p>
<p>Are there hidden California gems out there?<br>
We are looking for the in state options, better acceptance rates, solid academic departments.</p>
<p>All of the above are on the table- but would appreciate some experienced insights. The rejected EA folks are a bit nervous and they are making me nervous, would anyone be willing to weigh in?</p>
<p>science-oriented.
From Biology to Neuroscience; Chemistry, BioChemistry, Organic, Inorganic, pre-med and no med.
you have great choices in Calif -but they are not easy to get into-
Pomona- for general liberal arts, though its acceptance rate is low, but not as low as Stanford. , Harvey Mudd for the serious science majors[ and with both colleges you can cross register at other colleges in the Claremont college consortium]</p>
<p>USC has outstanding science depts, and for those interested in medicine- research can be done at the USC med school.
MY son and 2 of his very smart friends graduated from USC with high honors in May- all three are now at top science Phd programs - CalTech[ geophysics], MIT[electrical engineering] and Oxford University in England[ neuroscience].</p>
<p>OK – you asked for some of the best privates, but you want to know about some hidden gems too. Here is a good one mentioned by sunbite, Santa Clara University – [Santa</a> Clara University - Welcome](<a href=“http://www.scu.edu/]Santa”>http://www.scu.edu/)</p>
<p>I’ve heard nothing but great things about SCU. Also, look at Loyola Marymount too.</p>
<p>Also, you may want to save your folks a bundle of money and take a look at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. It is a public school, but my kid chose it over all the public and privates that he applied for. He graduated HS in the top 5 out of almost 600 students and had admission offers from many of the top universities in CA. Many of his classmates at Cal Poly were the same – that school has some brilliant kids.</p>