<p>Following up on my previous post I just ran a custom table on uc statfinder for “eligibility in the local context,” “unweighted gpa” and total sat scores. The results show that kids who were eligible in the local context (top 4 percent of high school class in ca high school), with a 4.0 unweighted gpa and a total sat of 2100 and above (32 and above for act), 93 percent of applicants got into Uc Berkeley and UCLA and virtually 100 percent got into the other uc’s. The data is from 2009 so it’s a couple of years out of date but things have not changed that dramatically.</p>
<p>Nottelling, thanks so much for your post. I think he can really write about his band and make it a valuable ec if he tells all that he puts into it. It is time consuming and it does give him a chance to be really creative outside of school. Like alwaysleah, it’s nice to hear such positive feedback and I really appreciate you running the stat finder tables. I’ve seen those too and done some custom tables to see what the “odds” are. It gives us some hope when all we are hearing is horror stories about kids not getting in anywhere. Everytime I run those chance sites and the stat finders, it says he will get in and says match or 100% but I DO think things have changed dramatically since those stats were published in 2009. </p>
<p>I take it all with a grain of salt because I read the economy has forced the UCs to take on more internationals and out of state kids paying the full fare. There was an article about California’s “broken promise” to the kids of California that said Cal admitted only around 64% of California students and UCLA was even less for this class starting in 2012. Then I also saw this comment about diversity :“The shocking decrease in the number of white California freshman admits at Berkeley (8.1% decrease since 2011; 11.5% decrease since 2010) and UCLA (27.3% decrease since 2011) should be a grave concern to the University.”
Class of 2012: Whites, 28.6%; Asians, 45.1%; Chicano/Latino, 17.8% ; African American, 3.5%<br>
<a href=“http://www.ucop.edu/news/factsheets/2012/fall_2012_admissions_table3.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ucop.edu/news/factsheets/2012/fall_2012_admissions_table3.pdf</a></p>
<p>We are not holding our breath for either of these schools. Oh, son will apply but the odds are against him, don’t you think? I understand what the broken promise is now and why so many people are angry about the UCs. He can probably do the math better than I, but 28.6% of 65% doesn’t seem like very good odds!</p>
<p>I think the advice I have gotten on here is invaluable and I’m so glad I posted to really get a grasp on how things can be. We know now that he has to throw out a lot of nets hoping for the “best catch” and not count on any specific school. Just like in life I guess…hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.</p>
<p>Thanks again to all of you for posting your advice and opinions. I really appreciate it!</p>
<p>Your son should be in great shape! In an earliervpost op says CSU’s will cost more than a UC; how could that be? </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Oh, and while I don’t think anyone should consider Cal and UCLA a safety, your son should be fine! I don’t think the math being used is quite right.</p>
<p>Shrinkrap, thanks for your comments. I’m not sure of the math either for acceptances. Some of the newer data shows lower California resident acceptances? Who knows how it all turns out at the end but I feel better viewing as a lottery=lol!</p>
<p>About your question CSU costing more than the UC, here is the data we got from the individual calculators:</p>
<p>CSU-we ran calpoly on the CSU mentor and it says
COA=23,487
minus Cal Grant of 5,472 and
final cost would be 18,015</p>
<p>Then we ran UCLA-
COA=31,646
Est grant award-14,009
so final cost= 17,637</p>
<p>Cal was even less expensive
COA-32,634
Est grant award 17,673
so final cost = 14,961</p>
<p>All of the ucs have different “grant awards” that are just based on our income, nothing merit since the uc calculator doesn’t ask for grades or anything. Why they are different, I have no idea since we are just starting out on this venture. Are they even accurate? Who knows? Why is UCSB more at 17937? UCSD gives a “range” of 15526-15926? I would think it would be fairly straightforward to figure this stuff out and have the same UC calculators across the board but each one is different for each school. Some of the schools put student loans and student work in the top part so they look like a grant or award and at first glance, it looks better until you pull all the loans out. I wouldn’t consider a loan an award! </p>
<p>Granted the numbers are really close but after losing his 529, every penny will count! Plus it does seem silly to pay more for a CSU than a UC, doesn’t it?</p>
<p>Cal Poly, 23,487 in state!??? That would have to be 20k in housing or something. That can’t be right! Try another school, just to see. I am going to look it up.</p>
<p>Edit;</p>
<p>Holy cow! </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ess.calpoly.edu/_finaid/coa1213.html[/url]”>http://www.ess.calpoly.edu/_finaid/coa1213.html</a></p>
<p>Sonoma State is similar.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.sonoma.edu/finaid/cost_of_attendance/1213_costs.shtml[/url]”>http://www.sonoma.edu/finaid/cost_of_attendance/1213_costs.shtml</a></p>
<p>Sheesh! Four years ago, that’s what it cost to go to a UC (without aid)! I didn’t realize the price was so close!
the grant aid makes a big difference.</p>
<p>Yes, the grant makes all the difference. It is surprising! Just for kicks, we ran Vanderbilt since that was one of the first mailings son received and now we know why so many of California’s “best and brightest” are going out of state. Here was the cost breakdown:
COA=60942 minus grants of 52653 leaves a cost of 6089! Much cheaper to go out of state at some of these schools even if you count in travel costs but son wants to stay in CA so he is limited. Ironically, Stanford’s cost for us would be close to Vandy, the cheapest in California by far!</p>
<p>We ran these figures Feb 22nd and now I see the costs have gone up even more! Cal Poly on 2/22 was 23,487 now it’s 24,858-wow. What will it be next year when he actually goes to school.</p>
<p>A lot of these figures depend on where you live while you go to school. My guess is they average apartment costs when determining the cost of attendance, and along those lines, SLO and Westwood are not going to be cheap. Wherever you end up, your best bet is to look for a cheap apartment that is close to campus, hold your nose, and sign a lease for it.</p>
<p>A big reason I picked Auburn for grad school: $345/month rent – one block from campus.</p>