SDSU is getting to be a tough admit but very possible and their Honors college, Weber’s is a great option.
Most of the CA WUE schools are Cal states with Cal Poly Pomona being a very good school but not near a beach. UC Merced is the only UC which is very rural so not a good option.
Thank you for the very clear answer on UCs and CSUs! I have received somewhat vague answers elsewhere. This is very helpful information. Recalculating…
So very helpful with lots of new schools to consider! Family is an Uncle affiliated with U Miami and cousins who went to UF and FSU respectively. She likes CA vibe generally, but is starting to feel like she may like FL colleges vibe (and cost!)
Thanks!
Study abroad first year at FSU and you get in-state tuition.
DMP is a competitive admit so have a plan B. That said they have a pretty solid Communications school.
I have been curious about this one and will take a closer look, thanks!
When you say $60K, are you referring to tuition alone? Next year, USC’s tuition will be $66,640 with an estimated cost of attendance over $90K.
As was mentioned above, look at LMU and Chapman. Does religion matter? If she really wants San Diego, look at USD.
Thanks. I was thinking $60 K tuition only, but my numbers appear out of date. Film is kind of unique, so certain selective schools with a higher price tag may be worth it in ROI, if she passed the extreme long shot in admissions. We are still early in the aid process, so need to reweigh what is possible versus desirable.
We have heard some negative things about Chapman in the past, but it has been recommended several times recently so we will revisit that one. She has received lots of interest from USD, so we will be touring there. LMU is also on our list of visits. Are any of these known for good aid packages? I think I may have received some poor advice re: CA schools before.
I promise you that as this journey progresses, you will hear negative things about EVERY college on the list.
You really need to put all of this aside and do your own research and exploration. My own kids would NEVER have chosen a college if we’d have listened to the negative nellies out there.
No college is perfect. But your D needs a place she can grow and become the adult that she’s meant to be- at a price your family can afford. And if that means going to a college that her best friend “hates” or that her English teacher says is full of losers, or that your sister-in-law says “oh, wasn’t that the place where the cops raided the fraternity last month?”… then it is what it is.
No place is perfect but you only need to find a list of colleges which will work for your D- not for someone else’s kid. I remember a hilarious family gathering where one young cousin announced where he was going-- and the family busy body loudly said “They have terrible financial aid”.
Well- according to the young cousins parents, the actual aid offer was $5 off what the Net Price Calculator on the college’s website said it was going to be. And since they ran the numbers, determined they could afford it, what gives someone else the right to say “terrible financial aid” (and it wasn’t-- it was phenomenal).
So buckle your seatbelt and stop listening!
Looking at a school’s Common Data Set, section H, is your best bet to see what kind of financial aid they’re giving out (amounts and to number of students…though you’ll have to do the math to find the percentage). If you do an internet search for “College Name” and “Common Data Set” it should pull up.
For a faster bet, this aggregator has a number the merit aid info for a number of popular colleges. It was last updated in November of 2022, so after the most recent set of Common Data sets came out.
Need-based grants from the colleges was last updated in fall of 2021, so not as recent:
Occidental seems like it would be a great fit. Offers merit aid. Great for interdisciplinary studies. Close to the ocean and generally beautiful weather (although was poring rain when we visited). I think it’s an underrated school. Lots of films/etc. filmed here and Obama went there before he transferred to Columbia. They have a Media Arts & Culture major.
If she’s open to women’s colleges, Scripps as part of the Claremont consortium, is a wonderful school that’s small but part of the consortium so seems much larger. They have an interdisciplinary Media Studies | Scripps College in Claremont California program. They offer merit aid. Great school spirit amongst the consortium. And the weather is HOT most of the time and a quick train ride or longer drive to the beach.
Also, although most are in very cold locations, many of the historically women’s colleges seem to offer a lot of merit aid to lure highly desirable candidates and all seem to have holistic admissions process. I’m thinking Bryn Mawr College (PA - my kid goes here), Mount Holyoke (MA), and Smith (MA). (No merit aid offered at Wellesley or Barnard.) Not sure about the film studies at these schools (see links below), but worth checking out if she’s willing to apply to women’s colleges. All are part of a consortium, so make them seem like larger schools than they are, and at least I know BMC has great school spirit based upon traditions, not really sports. And being a grad of a historically women’s college (and women’s colleges in general) offer a fantastic networking benefits.
Bryn Mawr film studies minor - https://www.brynmawr.edu/inside/academic-information/departments-programs/film-studies
Mount Holyoke - Film, Media, Theater | Mount Holyoke College Catalog
Smith - Film & Media Studies | Smith College
Good luck!
Thank you! We will look at Occidental.
I have been trying to get a handle on the Claremont McKenna schools. A math teacher advised me that she should also apply to Harvey Mudd even though they are more highly selective and her GPA is lower because they receive fewer female apps w/high math scores. Her math subscores are 97+ percentile and apparently women with Calc 3 are somewhat rare. Also some tech and robotics experience to sprinkle in. These all look like reach schools to me, but I will take a look at your women’s colleges list as well. Thanks!
FYI - Mudd is for engineers/math/cs/physics/etc majors. It’s not for someone who is primarily interested in film or other liberal arts studies.
Although, the poster titled their inquiry “…seeking non-elite options”.
Well, I guess I don’t see Scripps, BMC, Mt Holyoke or Smith as “elite.” They all have acceptance rates at around 30%. And Oxy is at nearly 40%. For a A- stats female who is seeking high rigor, holistic review, school spirit, I think these three women’s colleges and Oxy all have that but because the acceptance rates are higher, that they might be good options for OP’s kid to at least check out to see if they might be a good fit. Nothing to lose there.
It’s not beachy at all and definitely not near a body of water, but University of New Mexico is worth considering because they have a pretty darn good film program and Netflix has a HUGE studio across the street from campus. AND Netflix regularly hires UNM film students as interns.
Your kid would likely qualify for their honors college and they have WUE scholarships, too. Also “WUE+”, which would make it actually cheaper than tuition+room+board at either ASU or U of A.
If beachy is desired, another option would be UNC-Wilmington. The “Your College Bound Kid” podcast recently did a spotlight on them. Campus is a mile or 2 from the beach. ~17,000 students.
CSUMB is a non-impacted campus with no impacted majors. It should be a safety for applicants meeting baseline CSU admission standards (2.50 recalculated GPA for California residents, 3.00 recalculated GPA for non-California residents; see Freshman: Admission Requirements | CSU ).
SDSU is impacted with all majors impacted (competitive admission for space available). Unfortunately, it does not give information about historical admission thresholds for prior years like some CSU campuses.
Note that CSUs with impacted majors may have college GPA requirements to change into impacted majors.
CPP publishes part of its admission index calculation and historical thresholds by major at Freshman Student Profile . The main part is the recalculated GPA * 1000 + 450, although various bonus points are not specified.
Thank you! This is an encouraging perspective. We knew many kids in 2023 who only got into safety schools even with higher unweighted GPAs than D24, so it is easy to feel like we need to lower expectations. I do think many of those same kids may have over-reached with test optional policies in place. Yours are exactly the kinds of school recommendations we do not hear as much about, so thank you again!
So CU Boulder is a safety. ASU is a safety. Great for journalism. U of A might be better for film.
U of Miami is a reach.
If she’s 97% psat, I’d take the sat again. Or both.
If you want inexpensive and solid for these fields - an Alabama or for film maybe a UNCW. Smaller would be DU (denver) and you’d get merit.
In these majors, prestige is of little importance.
There’s lots of far less than $60k schools out there that would work vs having to go to a Syracuse at full pop etc. Indiana would be another solid but large school. But there’s a lot that could work here. I’d check WUE.
Good luck.