Hey CCer’s!
I’m currently a High School senior in Utah with aspirations for Ivy League Law via History Major. I’m very interested in Attending UCSB, its been my dream school since elementary school. I have visited the campus and I’m absolutely in love with the location, the people, the professors, and success the university has had. However, OOS tuition is just not going to fly, on top of that my parents are very ‘pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps’ sort of people so I’m getting very little help financially. My dad makes too much money for need based aid.
I don’t want to end up with mountain loads of debt(for a history major!), especially with how set I am on Law School. I understand a Utah school is probably my best bet financially, but I don’t get excited about any of the schools here. I really want to get out of this state.
Can I go for the community college in Santa Barbara, and transfer to UCSB after I get my residency? Or pick the safe route, suck it up, and go to a Utah public or BYU (which is dirt cheap). I know Law School Admissions is a numbers game, but I’m worried about how a Community College might be perceived.
I keep getting 34s on my practice ACTs, so college.niche expects me to be in the 95+percentile of applicants to UCSB come the September test date. My grades and course load are strong but my ECs aren’t anything special. I also have heard merit aid is practically non existent for OOS applicants to UC schools. I have ideas for other out of state uni’s where I could get decent/good aid but UCSB is the dream.
Do you guys have any suggestions/advice on what I should do? Am I just kidding myself wanting to go out of state for a history degree, especially with law school on my mind?
Thanks in advance for all your help!
See my complete reply in your other thread. Stay in Utah, save your money for law school.
I agree with @gumbymom - incurring debt by coming to CA to attend CC in the shadow of your dream school when you have an in inexpensive state option is simply foolish.
If you can pull off a 34 ACT and have the grades to back it up, you might want to apply to a couple of CA privates like USD and LMU. They are known to offer generous merit aid to of state applicants with high stats.
Good luck
No financial aid to OOS students at any California school, including community colleges.
What about a WUE school? It’ll get you out of Utah without paying OOS tuition (just not to Cali).
I’m kind of in the same situation as you except instead of law, I goin premed. Utah colleges as safeties (except BYU, not Mormon), dreaming of a UC school, not qualifying for need-based, heaviest courseload with meh EC’s, and definitely wanting to get out this state.
Do you have a job? Real bummer your parents are giving you little financial aid and expect you to pull thousands of dollars out of nowhere. Also, I believe that a 34 on the ACT gets you a full ride at the U if it correlates to a 3.8 GPA or higher.
The little available wouldn’t make a dent in your fees, that’s not even considering tuition or R&B.
You need to save your money. I also recommend you stay in state.
(Have you checked the current labor stats for law school graduates?)
If your parents won’t be contributing anything for your education, you will be stuck for paying full fees for OOS. With an OOS transcript and coming to California for educational purposes, you won’t be able to afford $55k per year for SB. Cost of living in California is ridiculously expensive, especially in Santa Barbara.
Going to a California CC, is not a good plan since it will still cost you full fees which run about $20k+. Transferring to Santa Barbara will cost $55k per year. Unfortunately, you won’t get instate residency unless you move with your parents and even then, you’d have to wait a minimum of a year.
To qualify for that amount in loans would require a cosigner, and borrowing that amount is unwise. Plus you will need to pay huge law school fees.
You can try some of the privates if you get decent test scores, otherwise, those will also be unaffordable.
The suggestion to look into the WUE program ( Western Undergraduate Exchange) is a good one. There are a number of options there.