<p>Your son is UC eligible. I don’t think that the UC system has turned away an eligible student at any time since the opening of the Merced campus, which might actually be a good place of a prospective history major. </p>
<p>You can review UC eligibility standards here; the minimum GPA is 3.0:
[Freshman</a> Admission Requirements for Fall 2012](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman2012/]Freshman”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/paths_to_adm/freshman2012/)</p>
<p>For a California resident, “eligible” does not mean “maybe” – it means “for sure”, but no guarantee of a particular campus. He may need to be a little flexible with his definition of “urban”. </p>
<p>Now it may be that your son would prefer choices available at CSU’s to a UC campus – but my point is simply that, based on the information you posted, you are mistaken to characterize the UC’s as a “stretch”. The word “safety” is more appropriate, assuming that the 3.3 GPA is calculated among A-G courses and that he has completed all required courses for UC admission.</p>