Hey I’m going to be a junior in highschool and I was wondering what sort of chance would I would have getting into these colleges. I currently have a 4.2 gpa average (unweighted be around 3.8), but I am not in all AP courses. I currently have a 24 on the ACT and of course will try to do better. I have not taken the SAT yet but I do plan to do that. I have over 400 community service hours right now (mostly from volunteering at a camp for kids with problems like muscular distrophy and bleeding disorders. I have also recently been recognized by my state of Arkansas for my success in highschool tennis (don’t know how I’m not that great) and am 99% sure I will not want to play for college. While these are just some of the stuff I have done, I still have many disadvantages. I am from Arkansas and want to go to CA schools where the out of state acceptance rate is relatively low and have had a couple of seizures (heard colleges do not like that sort of stuff). Anyways, I would really appreciate a feedback on how much of a chance I have to get into these colleges right now (I know UCLA is really pushing it but whatever) and thank you for reading this!
How much can you pay.
California schools don’t give much financial aid to OOS students.
The UCs will cost $55k per year, $220k for 4 years
The cal states are $36k per year, $144k for 4 years if you can get in.
California schools rarely give in state residency to OOS Students, especially if you’re coming to California for educational purposes, so those costs are for all 4 years plus an 8% increase over the coming years.
Probably the full amount considering my parents do save money a lot (still may not be enough) but couldn’t you just pay off the money once you finished college? And I would prefer residency since it would allow me to get to know other students but I have family in LA and Santa Barbara.
You need to get your ACT score up to be competitive.
Here are the average Stats for all the UC campuses so compare and see how you stack up.
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/uc-freshman-application-data.pdf
Your health may be an issue not only for the school but for your family. Do they want you that far away? Will they be able to afford the costs?
As far as my family is concerned, they want to retire out there in California, and since we visit my family there every year in the SoCal area, it gives even better reasons to visit a great place. My family most likely can afford it considering since I fortunately live in an upper middle class family. They are also willing to pay the money since I am a lot more adventurous than my other sibling, who will most likely stay instate.
Well you need to ask them about finances. The universities adhere to strict housing residency requirements.
Our housing costs are very expensive compared to Arkansas. Houses in the Santa Barbara are expensive. LA and long beach are very expensive.
Your SAT is not competitive for our schools, regardless of extraneous medical conditions so this may be a moot point.
Your GPA is great but, your test scores are light. Long Beach may take you as is but, UCLA and UCSB are going to want to see a 30 or so for an OOS applicant.
One additional consideration, you have to meet the UC and CSU required course list. (referred to as ‘a-g’ classes). Many applicants are tripped up by the Performing Arts or foreign language requirement.
http://www.ucop.edu/agguide/a-g-requirements/
Picking up on your beach school theme - take a look at SDSU as well as privates like LMU and USD.
Good luck
Beware of CSULB acceptance rates. They are misleading. CSULB has an agreement with the local Long Beach school district which allows all students with minimal requirements to be automatically admitted to CSULB. In one report from 2013 I read that the actual admission rates were 80% Long Beach students and approx 20% non long beach students. This is a much lower admission rate which has probably actually gotten worse recently. CSULB is one of the most popular schools in the state.
You may want to consider other CSUs with small student bodies or without local agreements. Use the academic indexes at the CSUs to get an idea of how qualified you are. They go pretty much off of GPA/Test scores with different schools using different indexes depending on popularity. With that 24 ACT you will need to cast a wider net.
You have mentioned only public schools. You might also try So Cal private schools that are off the beaten path like Whittier, LaVern, or Redlands. Also check out Chapman if you like the area. Oxy might be a reach for you but if you can get your test scores up it might be worth thinking about. Not sure what their out of state admissions are but they will probably have a high number of CA students.
For other local publics there is CSU Fullerton and CSU Dominguez Hills as well Check out your scores using their index requirements to see if you qualify. A lot will depend on how impacted your major is. CSUs aim for educating the locals, like i said. Some of the off beat CSUs might be easier to get into. Chanel Islands or Humboldt - They are not in the local area like CSULB and UCLA but they are in the state.
Check for other CSUs here. http://www.calstate.edu/search_find/campus.shtml
Good luck