The cost of this kid attending college outside of CA could also be insanely high.
At this point, everyone is just speculating, since the OP managed to write a lot of text without giving much detail on choices, costs, etc…
Not every area of California. You don’t have to live on the coast or in San Francisco. And out of state college could be much more expensive.
@iris13, You need to start with a budget. If your brother got a small Pell grant, your EFC isn’t very high and your parents likely can’t afford much. You need to find out how much they can pay wothout borrowing.
What are your unweighted GPA and SAT/ACT scores? If they’re high enough to qualify for merit, you need to target the schools that offer it.
@iris13: Please answer these questions so that we can help you
1° What is your EFC?
2° Can your parents afford their EFC? If they can’t, what budget have they given you?
3° What is your highest SAT score, one-sitting? Combined/superscored?
4° Have you taken any Subject Tests?
5° If you add all Honors and AP classes taken, what number do you end up with?
6° If you’ve taken AP classes can you list which ones?
7° What is your UCGPA uncapped? Capped?
8° Unweighted GPA?
9° In which area of California do you live?
10° What UCs and CSU’s have you applied to?
11° Are you open to applying to more universities?
12° What do you like, specifically, about the university that admitted you?
13° What would be its net cost to you (ie., you add tuition, fees, room, board, then you subtract any grant or scholarship. DO NOT deduct any loan, work study, etc.)
14° Is there a major you’re interested in?
Ultimately, you’re a grown up and its your decision. Sounds like mom and dad might be paying for a lot of this, which means, if you do, you might be paying for college by yourself. Not a good idea if you’re going out of state. If you want to get away from mom and dad, California is a big state. They’ll be plenty of jobs waiting for you outside of CA after you graduate.
If brother got a Pell grant, likely parents can’t pay for the OOS options, @coolguy40. They probably can’t pay even if they wanted to.
If your parents can’t afford it - and you have no means to cover the extra cost, you are kinda stuck. There are huge variations in the campus, climate and surrounding areas among the UCs and CSUs. Big/medium/small/rural/ suburban/urban/coastal/inland - if you are objective, at least one of the 32 campuses will be less than miserable.
Graduate ASAP then leave CA…