<p>My son is determined to go to school in CA. He's most interested in UC Santa Cruz and UC Santa Barbara, also interested in Cal Poly and San Diego State. He's a junior and his unweighted GPA will be in the vicinity of a 3.5 by fall when he applies. He's taking honors and AP classes. Taking the PSATs this month, SATs and ACTs in the spring. He took ACT when he was 13 scoring 16-18 (16 math, 18 verbal if my aging memory serves me well) and the prediction was he would be north of a 25 by his junior year at that time and he tends to test well on standardized tests so I'm assuming his final ACTs and SATs will be in line but not spectacular breath gasping scores. He participates in 2 sports, works 2 days a week, is on the school newspaper...basically a balanced earnest, hardworking kid...his two favorite past-times are skiing and surfing - yeah in Michigan, don't laugh. He's told me if he can't get in he's going to a city college for 2 years and transferring. Does he even have a chance as an OSS? If he goes to a city will a transfer be seamless or a better option if he gets rejected at his choices? Is there anything I can do or should I point out different schools? His favorite place in CA is San Clemente but I think UC Irvine is out of reach for him. The kid is nothing if not determined, though I think times have changed and from reading this board I fear it doesn't matter anymore. Thoughts or advice?</p>
<p>momofthreeboys:</p>
<p>UCI/UCSB: Reach (out of state)
UCSC: Match (out of state)</p>
<p>I don't know if UCs can accept ACT scores from three/four years ago...</p>
<p>He should apply to the schools he is interested in and see what happens.</p>
<p>Thanks Flopsy, he's taking the ACTs for the first time as a high school student in a couple weeks. He took them in junior high as part of a special program. It was a good experience for a 13 year old to spend a Saturday morning with a bunch of 17 year olds taking that test. I was proud of him and proud that he scored higher than 50% of the 17 year olds taking the test. I was in the middle of the original baby boom, but I don't ever remember colleges being so competitive. I remember applying to 4 schools and being accepted at 4. I never thought my kids would even have to worry about stuff like this.</p>
<p>your post caught my eye because my son from NY is now in CalPoly largely due to his love of surfing and snowboarding. Surfing is only 15 minutes away, snowboarding will be a weekend trip, but he has already joined the central pacific ski club.</p>
<p>You need to figure out your sons Cal GPA (go to csumentor) to see where he fits in. At CalPoly he will have to declare a major and will compete for admission against other applicants in his major. </p>
<p>My son loves CalPoly so far and he has been surfing every weekend. He loves being the NY kid.</p>
<p>Twisted, you're making me feel alot better. I will try to calculate his GPA based on the California standards. The next couple months will tell alot as he completes PSATs and ACTs then SATs in the spring. I'm guessing he won't have trouble hitting the "stats", just unsure how the OSS kids are evaluated or if they are held to an unbelievably high standard. Glad to hear your son is enjoying Cal Poly and his free time. I truly believe balance is everything in life and has a huge impact on success or failure in college as in the real world.</p>
<p>CA resident here ! Irvine might not be out of reach - if he's filling out the application for UCSC, he might as well check the Irvine box as well (although I realize the app fees increase). I think it might be easier to get into Irvine than Santa Barbara, or even CalPoly, for an oos student, depending on his record and interests.
I can't blame him for seeking out our wonderful public universities. I think they will remain strong, although I believe those of us in-state are going to continue to see large fee increases. Our governor has not been a friend to education - but then his days may be numbered.</p>