My daughter decided not to apply to UCs...any other ideas for schools?

Parents Forum
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<p>After visiting the three UCs my daughter was interested in applying to, she still wasn't all that enthusiastic. I can tell that she's been procrastinating filling out the application and getting the personal statement/essays done. Well, last night she informed us that she wasn't going to apply to any of them now. The 32% fee hike didn't help matters. My husband, a UCLA MBA grad. alum told her he thought she would like it there. But she doesn't want to be in Los Angeles. UC Berkeley didn't interest her and even though she loves the town of Davis, she wasn't thrilled with the campus. So, here's where she's applying or has applied as of now. (Below). Can any of you come up with a few more to replace the UCs? They can be OOS if there's a chance to still get a merit scholarship. Or if they're in the same price category that the UCs will be with the fee hike.</p>

<p>Call Poly SLO-applied
University of the Pacific--applied EA--will need a decent scholarship
Indiana University-Bloomington--applied early for Automatic Scholarship consideration
USC--will apply (even though it's in the heart of Los Angeles;-) Will need merit aid.
Wake Forest--might apply---merit aid
CSU Chico--as a safety because we insisted at least one easy CSU
Stanford--okay, it's a reach. My husband is an alum and she'll apply...just because. :)</p>

<p>Can you think of any other schools that might be a good match for her? I'll post her stats below. I thought of University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa because of their UA Scholarship. Not sure if that's a good fit or not, though. She likes medium-to-larger schools, but will go with one if it's at least in the 3-4,000 undergrad-range. No LACs. Major: Kinesiology/Exercise science/Therapuetic Recreation if they offer it. Otherwise, probably Psych. or Human Development. Wants to go on to grad. school for Occupational Therapy.</p>

<p>GPA-- 4.15 W 3.97 UW</p>

<p>ACT--30 Will take again in December for schools who will accept that test date.</p>

<p>Straight A student with the exception of one B in APUSH fall semester of 11th grade.</p>

<p>AP US History, AP Bio, AP English, AP Gov't./ AP Econ
Honors Pre-Calculus & Triginometry at community college
Honors American Literature
Statistics at community college (Couldn't get AP Stats at h.s.--schedule conflict)</p>

<p>AP scores: APUSH-4 and BIO-3</p>

<p>Took two SAT subject tests. US History-700 English/Literature--scores not back yet</p>

<p>President of Nat'l Honors Society. 3 year member--a lot of community service
3 year member of Key Club--active in community service
Very active in Chorus, Concert Choir and Jazz Singers all throughout h.s. This has been her "passion", hence causing some scheduling conflicts with other classes.</p>

<p>11-20 hours a week of community service. Spent part of summer 2008 in Guatemala volunteering for the indigenous Mayans at Lake Atitlan. Volunteered at local Alzheimers facility summer of 2009. Besides babysitting, she sometimes helps with data entry and set-up/tear down at various 10k races and gets paid nicely.</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

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<p>Have her apply to Alabama - today! It takes all of 5 minutes. With her stats she’ll get lots of merit and be invited into the honors program for even more. But the scholarship deadline is Dec 1.</p>

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<p>Highly unlikely to earn merit money at 'SC or Wake. USC loves high test scores, and a 30 is just too low, particularly in test-happy California. Wake has limited merit money and awards it to kids that they really want, which includes high test scores, URM’s and the like.</p>

<p>UoP will probably cough up their $10k scholarship. The 'Zonas give out tuition discounts to OOS who apply “early”, but early is waning. </p>

<p>With only one B, may I assume that your D is ELC? If so, Davis, SB and the other, lower UCs are essentially guaranteed, even a crappy essay, even if worst essays ever. Thus, she’d be remiss to skip the UC deadline, IMO. Better to turn them down on May 1 than today.</p>

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<p>Osdad is right about applying to Bama - my kids go there and we’re Calif natives. Super EZ app. Beautiful school - strong academics. Your child will get lots of merit if she applies by Dec 1 (at least $60k in merit) PM me if you have any questions.</p>

<p>I think that your D will like SLO…my niece is there and loves it. :)</p>

<p>what about USD? </p>

<p>What does she want in a school outside of the classroom? Clubs, rah rah sports, greeks, nice rec centers, nice dorms, cool off-campus hangouts?? I know that may seem silly, but kids do consider these things.</p>

<p>I agree that she won’t get merit from USC with her stats (sorry). USC gives merit to some ACTs around 33+ and to NMFs. (I have nieces and nephews who’ve tried. the only one to get any merit from USC was a NMF.)</p>

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<p>I think your daughter should definitely try at UMich-Ann Arbor; her stats are right in their middle-50 and it seems like a solid match for her major</p>

<p>Also look at these schools:

  • UTexas Austin
  • Arizona Honors Program
  • San Diego
  • Tulane
  • UFlorida
  • UGeorgia
  • Pittsburgh Honors</p>

<p>If she has no problem with distance, these are some schools right up her alley</p>

<p>Hope this helps!!</p>

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<p>Has she considered UCSD or UCSB? The environments are different than UCLA and UCB and they’re both in very nice areas. If she thinks UCLA is too ‘LA’ then I don’t see why she’d consider USC since UCLA is actually in a very nice area and USC isn’t.</p>

<p>Since she was originally somewhat interested in a few UCs but wasn’t as excited once she visited the campuses be careful about OOS campuses - especially if she hasn’t visited. In addition to the possibility of her not liking those campuses either she’d have the possible issue of homesickness and possibly feeling isolated in a far away place (of course she might not get these feelings). I suggest visiting the OOS campuses she’s highly interested in before committing to them (which could be after the app and after the acceptance with any merit decisions).</p>

<p>If she’s planning on living on-campus, the increased cost as a result of the 32% tuition hike is really closer to 10% of the tuition+housing cost since the cost of housing exceeds the cost of tuition. It boils down to maybe an extra $2500/year assuming your income is high enough that the tuition increase would actually apply (I assume it is given your statements).</p>

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<p>No offense meant to above poster, but your daughter should only apply to University of Michigan if you are prepared to pay an OOS tuition that rivals that of the priciest private schools. While her stats indeed put her in the ballpark for admission, they do not put her in the running for any of their scant merit aid.
Of course, I don’t know if you qualify for need-based and if you do, whether UMich offers good need-based aid. But you mentioned merit aid above.</p>

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<p>Western Washington, University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado State are all a part of WUE I believe and with her stats she may qualify to pay tuition that is half way between IS and OOS</p>

<p>U of Oregon and Oregon State are not part of WUE for CA residents but also worth looking into. </p>

<p>Check out the WUE website for more help</p>

<p>[WICHE</a> - Student Exchange Programs](<a href=“http://wue.wiche.edu/]WICHE”>http://wue.wiche.edu/)</p>

<p>also my daughter had no interest in applying to a UC either but I insisted on making UCSC a mommy school: I just felt that my D in the fall of 08 might not have the same ideas about college choice as my D in May 09 would and I wanted her to have a UC option. She didn’t end up taking it but it was a choice.</p>

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<p>I don’t think Boulder is part of WUE. Boulder is expensive for Ca residents, but I know quite a large number who attend. If she is interested in Colorado she might look what majors University of Denver offers. She would probably qualify for merit aid there.
I know Ca kids at Western Washington. The families have found it very affordable less than a UC. Lots of outdoor activities.
At UCSB the exercise minor is on the chopping block.
She might get more than 10,000 from UOP. My son got 10 and his stats were much lower than the OP.
Also did she consider Sonoma State?</p>

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<p>yep just checked Boulder is not a WUE school. My mistake :)</p>

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<p>*I think your daughter should definitely try at UMich-Ann Arbor; *</p>

<p>Since the OOS COA cost of UMich is about $50k and the OP says that they can’t afford USC, UMich would not possibly work. The D’s stats would not get merit aid from UMich.</p>

<p>The problem with OOS like Florida and Georgia is that they will have to pay the full OOS COA (about $40k per year) - no merit there to make it more “in-line” with a UC or Cal Poly.</p>

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<p>“last night she informed us that she wasn’t going to apply to any of them.” </p>

<p>I agree with her! 4 years ago when visiting UC’s I was underwhelmed by having to wait in lines and stand in crowds on admitted student day. And then going all the way to UCSD to listen to the dean of the school welcome parents, yet the phd chemistry dean could not public speak…it was really bad. From Cal, UCLA, and UCSD I felt more like I was visiting the DMV…of course same people run them, the government:)</p>

<p>As she knows a higher test score would really help! The rest of her stats look great!</p>

<p>Stanford (write good essays!)
USC (reach)
Cal Poly (match or safety)
have her reconsider Davis (the only UC that has its act together)</p>

<p>but, for a singer, send the kid to NYU - Tisch. I can’t think of a better place than New York City for someone who loves to sing, from musical theater to jazz clubs there’s so much opportunity in and outside of NYU.</p>

<p>"Chorus, Concert Choir and Jazz Singers all throughout h.s. This has been her “passion”</p>

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<p>p.s. if money is that big of a problem than Cal poly is probably the way to go. Even Davis is going to be 25k a year.</p>

<p>but if she’s really passionate about singing and she’s good send her to NYC! or Chicago or LA, but not SLO…there’s zero signing/art scene in SLO</p>

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<p>pacheight - You may prefer not to like the UC campuses but please don’t show the bashing attitude
toward them. They are not like what you think.</p>

<p>For the OP - The kid has not visited other colleges yet, she may have the same feeling about them like she has towards the UCs.</p>

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<p>Perhaps look into Tulane University, particularly if Jazz is part of her passion. Their merit awards are outstanding and with your D’s stats highly probable. Another school she may like where a merit award is likely is the University of Denver.</p>

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<p>cool: I like the UC campuses, I think that Cal is probably the nicest campus in the country, more beautiful than Princeton or Stanford. But unfortunately the UC system and specifically Cal have been poorly managed. And over-crowded classes are a reality at the UC’s. And rising tuitions that now equal the lower priced private schools is a reality. And the fact that the top % of all California public high school kids are guaranteed a slot at the flagship UC’s is a reality yet the “top kids” IQ and abilities vary dramatically from community to community is a fact. </p>

<p>you call it “bashing” I call it the truth. And ironically for you thousands of protesting Cal students yesterday in Sproul Plaza call it the truth as well. The UC system is broken.</p>

<p>California government schools, such as Cal or UCLA, have historically done an admirable job but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve harsh criticism, after all I’m paying the bill for them, along with 30 million other Californian tax payers.</p>

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<p>pacheight - What did the California government schools do wrong in this financial crisis?
By the way, I have been paying CA tax for 25 years like you. I am paying the bill for the UCs too.</p>

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<p>U Mich, U Indiana, USC, but no UC’s - sorry, but it doesn’t make sense. All of the state schools you are referring to are likely to cost at least as much as a UC and to be of lessor or no better quality in terms of educational opportunities.
Take a look at UCSB - a much better school than Cal Poly, with a strong music department for her singing interests.
The UC’s have been hit with unfortunate cuts by the state legislature, which is being shortsighted - and taxpayers should foot the bill rather than complain about deteriorating quality. All of us Californians who attended UC’s for a handful of change should be stepping up to the challenge this economic crisis poses. But if you think it is much better in Michigan or Indiana…or elsewhere in California: Stanford also has a hiring freeze and is cutting staff; USC eliminated several academic departments, including German. This is a nation-wide problem for colleges and universities, who ALL have suffered major financial blows.</p>

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<p>Yes, I never understand when kids don’t want their own state flagships (particularly when they are good ones) but want OOS public. This was the case with my kids, too. All large publics share the same pros and cons, and I certainly don’t understand paying a premium for the same experience.</p>

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<p>I’m just now reading through all your replies. Thanks so much for getting back to me! I’ll continue to check out what you’ve written and make some comments.</p>

<p>I do want to clarify, however, SINGING and MUSIC are not what she will be focusing on in college. She doesn’t plan to major in music, nor does the school have to have an actual music program. Her musical interests will be more about singing in A Cappella groups on campus. Or attending concerts and productions. Singing is a HOBBY for her; an extra-curricular activity which she thoroughly enjoys, but doesn’t have any career aspirations. Yes, she has a very nice voice and has taken a leadership role in her Choir at school. (Alto section leader.) She absolutely loves being a part of the Jazz Singers group, as well. But, that’s it when it comes to music.</p>

<p>She wants to major in something like Kinesiology or Therapeutic Recreation as a lead-in to a grad school Occupational Therapy program. However, it’s not mandatory that she needs to major in anything related to OT. In fact, they prefer a well rounded undergrad education. Of course, there will be pre-reqs. she’ll need to take before applying to an OT program. Some of those are incorporated within the above majors I mentioned. But, again, they can be taken separately if she were to major in something different.</p>

<p>Anyway…I’m going to read each of the posts and see what I can gain from them! So far, I’m seeing some very useful tips.</p>