<p>I also would encourage your son – actually, if it were my kid, i would insist! 
– to apply to at least one or two UC’s; SD and Davis are probably the logical choices. </p>
<p>That is NOT saying that he has to actually go there – just that they would be nice safeties to have, in case he doesn’t get into his reach schools. Or if he does get in, but the financial aid isn’t enough there.</p>
<p>Dear Worried_Mom, Why SD as the logical choice? I’m not that saavy about what the different UCs have to offer. Obviously Davis is a good choice for him because of the biomedical engineering. Why SD? How about honors at USB?</p>
<p>To everyone who has written in to this post, I really appreciate the answers and the reality check. I hope it helps more than just my son! We all want our dearest treasures, gifted as they are to have the “best.” But I’m seeing that realistic point of view is important so we don’t have a big shock come next spring.</p>
<p>I’ve scanned the thread - and I don’t see any one talking about the NMF scholarships. There is a list somewhere CC of the schools that give full rides to NMF scholars, if the school is listed as a first choice. I would strongly suggest looking into this - as it seems with his SAT scores, he will make NMF he he fills out the paperwork on time. It could certainly be a financial safety.</p>
<p>A couple threads to look at. The is a subforum specifically on National Merit and on all the details and trivia, but i think these 2 thread have a huge amount of information</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/136920-full-rides-national-merit-finalists-scholars.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/136920-full-rides-national-merit-finalists-scholars.html</a></p>
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<p>She probably recommended it because of the BME.</p>
<p>If you care about USNews rankings, UCSD is #5 in BME. Which doesn’t mean a lot, and certainly not a sufficient reason to go there, but it is a good BME school.</p>
<p>[Undergraduate</a> Engineering Specialties: Biomedical - Best Colleges - Education - US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/spec-doct-biomedical]Undergraduate”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/spec-doct-biomedical)</p>
<p>Of course if your DS is adamant against UC schools for whatever reason, it will probably only be a last resort, which he probably won’t need.</p>
<p>OP - In general, FA is handled based on prior year’s earnings. So Freshman year package will be based on what is on your 2010 tax forms. Subsequent years may have FA go up or down based on subsequent tax forms… but the swings might not be reasonable for you. Also be aware that even merit scholarships can be risky if the student does not keep the required minimum GPA (which varies from college to college.) </p>
<p>Your concerns about fluctuating income are a useful and timely topic for seniors of all majors. It may be worth starting a new thread (with links to some of the excellent advise above).</p>
<p>
Where is your S getting the idea it takes 6 years to graduate from a UC? It’s simply not true for the vast majority of students. Most s/b able to graduate in 4 years (sometimes less) unless they decide to change majors a time or two or take a very light load of classes (3/qtr rather than 4/qtr). Worst case, usually for some engineering students (due to the requirement to take more classes) it might lead to an extra quarter but this can be mitigated by taking some courses in the summer if one sees it heading for more than 4 years. Given all that, my kid just graduated from UCLA engineering (CS) in 4 years. Keep in mind that budget impacts aren’t the same on all the campuses and the impact on your local CSU is likely quite different than the impact at UCSD/UCLA/UCB and others. The UCs and CSUs shouldn’t all be lumped together in this regard. The most important point is the actual impact on the undergrad student. UCSD has had a lot of private money going into its engineering department including a pile of dough from Irwin Jacobs (of Qualcomm).</p>
<p>People are mentioning UCSD because of its very high ranking in the biomed area. As another poster mentioned, UCSD also doesn’t have the big football or basketball sports like some other colleges which it sounds as if your S would like (some students like the lack of major teams, some don’t). It does, however, have really nice workout facilities. The area around UCSD has a lot of biomed companies.</p>
<p>If he’s going to be adamant against certain schools I hope he at least has valid and realistic reasons. It’s worth applying to some of the UCs at least so he can see what results with Regents scholarships, etc. The cost of the app is insiginifcant compared to the cost of college. He should also apply to the privates he’s interested in and might find them even less expensive if he gets good grants. The UCs aren’t ‘small to medium’ campuses so he might not like their size. The UCLA campus is very nice (many movies set on a college campus have been filmed there) and it’s surrounded by a very upscale area and is in Westwood. The UCSD campus is suburban in the upscale neighborhood of La Jolla and is across from the beach - a very nice one.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, my daughter with killer stats did not get any merit aid at Rice. We visited after she applied, and from what they told us at the info session students need to emphasize their interest/experience in research to be considered for one of their main competitive merit scholarships. The admissions office could give you details.</p>
<p>I just reread this thread, and it sounds like you would like to know more about the UC system. Have you visited any?</p>
<p>I LoveLA, Only UC we’ve visited so far is UCSC. We also went to see CalPoly. And about 20 privates. Son is going to a weekend visit to Wash U and is going to add a day to go see Case Western since we have a relative in the area. I think that will be it for visits, except for places we can drive to–until he’s accepted somewhere and trying to decide.</p>
<p>Dear Wonderful people,</p>
<p>I’ve really enjoyed and learned so much from this thread. But my internet at home has crashed for some unknown reason. Right now I’m catching up on the thread from my local coffee house. I’m here still, but may not be able to post immediately until we get our connectivity glitch fixed.</p>
<p>
You wouldn’t happen to be drinking chai would you? :)</p>
<p>actually yes, and that’s kind of a joke with people who know me because I spilled my chai in my laptop a few years back and had to buy a new one (laptop, not chai).</p>
<p>Your S should keep in mind that since he lives in California he’ll hear mostly about California public colleges when it comes to budget cuts. If he were in other states he’d likely hear more about the budget cuts of the public colleges in those states. He’ll hear less about budget cuts at private colleges because they’re not positioning like the publics are for their cut of the state budget but that doesn’t necessarily mean those privates aren’t doing some cost cutting as well. The California public colleges aren’t the only colleges affected by budget cuts due to the recession.</p>
<p>Definitely apply to the UCs. If your S turns out to be ELC-qualified, a few of the UCs offer guaranteed admission (UCM, UCR, UCD, UCI (?)) and the rest offer VERY high acceptance rates (66% for UCB, 60% for UCLA, etc.) D is in the same boat. At one time, UCB was her dream school, but all of the horror stories about the UCs has made her a bit nervous. Nevertheless, she is still convinced (as am I) that the education she would receive would be top notch – whether it takes her 4 years to graduate or 4 1/2 :)</p>
<p>I just want to chime in that Cal (UC Berkeley) has a bioengineering major (not biomedical) and it has been one of the most successful engineering majors for new grads, even in this economy. I went there and they spotlighted the major in the last alumni magazine. Cal is what you make of it. It’s such a big school that you are bound to find kindred spirits, no matter what the inclination. Most of the people I graduated (1985) with did so in 4.5 years, not 4, but I think that might be pretty common for a lot of engineering students - they do end up taking a lot more classes than the liberal arts students. I had 4 years and that was it - so I made it work. My brother was starting school then and parents would no longer pay.</p>
<p>When I looked at MIT (back in the dark ages) the engineering track I wanted was a 5 year track, so check into that, I’d hate to think you really wanted 4 years and …</p>
<p>diginfied one, what is ELC qualified mean? Sorry to be ignorant!</p>
<p>^Sorry. ELC means that the child will graduate within the top 4% of his/her (California) high school class. I only fully understood its meaning to my D a few weeks ago. I had no idea that it could increase her chances of acceptance by so much.</p>
<p>Anyway, the kids who were in the top 12% of their class at the end of their Junior year received letters last May or June asking for permission to release their transcripts to the UC system.</p>
<p>And, sometime this fall, ELC-qualified kids will receive a special number or code that they then enter on their UC application. Top 12% are guaranteed admission to UCM (and perhaps UCR), which is great. But, top 4% kids are guaranteed admission to those two plus a couple of others. And, in general, top 4% kids have a greatly increased acceptance rate at all of the UCs.</p>
<p>That’s about all I know.</p>
<p>[Students</a> and Parents Main Page](<a href=“http://www.ucop.edu/sas/elc/parentstudent.html]Students”>http://www.ucop.edu/sas/elc/parentstudent.html)</p>
<p>This link has more info on ELC.</p>
<p>blue bayou, I don’t know what you mean by lower campuses and big three. Are the big three UCLA, UC Berkeley and ? </p>
<p>blue bayou is probably referring to UCSD. “Lower” campuses would probably be UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, etc. UC Davis should also be given strong consideration, in my opinion. Applying to the UC’s is the exact same amount of work with app fees for each additional school you add.</p>