<p>I'm not a straight A student. I don't have the best grades, but I want a change of scenery. I live in WA, and I would love to go to a school in California. From what I've been hearing California schools have terrible fin aid. The ones that have good aid aren't as prestigious, and might not help me with a grad program? This isn't my opinion, I just heard it around. I would like a medium sized college/university, but close enough to the city so I can have some fun, see concerts, etc. What colleges are good in California, that are also "prestigious" enough to get me into a good graduate program?</p>
<p>All I've heard of is.</p>
<p>Stanford (cant' get into...)
UCLA (too big, no money)
USC (big, money but not safe)
Cal Poly (I don't know to much about this place, more info please?)
Pepperdine (party school, not my opinion, one of a friend)</p>
<p>USC is a school with good fin aid, and even better merit scholarships. If you are a national merit finalist they give you a huge scholarship. I am guessing you’re not since you said Stanford is totally out of your reach. USC is still good with normal financial aid so definitely look into that. Who cares if it is not safe, just take extra extra precautions when you’re there. Sounds like SC has a lot of the qualities you’re looking for.</p>
<p>OP, what is your Expected Family Contribution? How much can your family afford to pay per year? And what are your stats, meaning your GPA and SAT/ACT score? Without some basic information, no one can really offer you any suggestions.</p>
<p>Your best option may be [Western</a> Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) | Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education](<a href=“http://www.wiche.edu/wue]Western”>Save On College Tuition | Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)) . You can pay slightly more than in-state rates for some CA schools since you’re a resident of WA. However, California public schools offer little to no aid to out of state students, so it would still place these schools out of budget. </p>
<p>Strong grades and recommendations are more important for grad school than going to a prestigious undergrad university.</p>
<p>UCs and CSUs have decent financial aid for California residents, but won’t cover the non-resident additional tuition for non-residents (see the net price calculators). CSUs (including the Cal Polys) are relatively inexpensive at list price, however (about $30,000 to $35,000 all-in for non-residents).</p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO has a good reputation, but is oriented toward pre-professional subjects (e.g. engineering, architecture, business, agriculture) as opposed to liberal arts subjects.</p>
<p>Your in-state public universities in Washington and WUE discounted tuition schools should be under consideration. Depending on your stats, you may find public and private schools in other states offering good merit scholarships, or which have low enough list prices.</p>
<p>Thanks you guys. I have a 3.5 GPA, work/take care of siblings for EC’S, Nigerian-American (doesn’t matter in California though…), Biochemistry major, Dual Enrollment.</p>
<p>My parents are divorced, but I live w/ my mom. My EFC is about $10k per year.</p>
<p>grabbit, you forgot the Claremont Colleges in your list. You should check those out OP, they are extremely understanding of financial situations, and very prestigious. Probably the best place you can go to get into grad school after Berkeley, Stanford, and Caltech in California. The problem is, they aren’t that much easier to get into than Stanford either. But definitely check them out and give them a look. Amazing schools.</p>
<p>OP, sorry to say that $10k a year is not going to be enough to pay for California public schools. WUE tuition alone will be $9k a year for Cal State. You’d also need to pay for room and board, books, and other living expenses. </p>
<p>There are private schools that’ve been mentioned which would meet full need. Problem is that these are the most competitive schools for admissions. Other private schools may accept you, but may not offer enough aid. Try taking a look at the average stats (GPA and SAT/ACT scores) for various private schools in the state–perhaps University of Redlands and University of Pacific would be in range. </p>
<p>The best plan might be to attend school in Washington, and plan on moving to California after graduation.</p>