<p>My first impression is that the parents are being a bit too vocal about their preferences. It is wonderful that the three of them are traveling around visiting and discussing these universities, but for the parent to dismiss a school the son “loves” by saying it lacks “prestige” or to push a campus the son has no interest in because the parents perceive it as “prestigious” may result in him attending a school they prefer but that he doesn’t like - and that is far more likely to keep him from graduating than large classes at a CSU or UC.</p>
<p>Another thing I notice is that there is no school that will meet the parent preferences - San Francisco has too many distractions while Stockton does not have enough? UC Santa Barbara is prestigious enough, but UC Davis is not? (This one truly does not make sense - those two UCs are generally considered to be at the same level by everyone else… it almost seems the parents are shooting down the son’s preferences arbitrarily.) The son is FAR more likely to graduate, and graduate on time, from a school he loves than from a school his parents pushed him toward.</p>
<p>Yes, all 23 CSUs use the CSU Mentor [CSUMentor</a> - Apply Online](<a href=“Cal State Apply | CSU”>Cal State Apply | CSU) application and all 9 undergraduate UCs use the same application [University</a> of California - Admissions](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/apply/apply_how.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/apply/apply_how.html) You pay an application fee for each campus you select.</p>
<p>It seems **the son **has a good list in mind already: UCD, USF, and Santa Clara, with St. Mary’s, UCR and UCM as safeties. Possibly add a couple of CSUs, UCI if he likes it (if he is a match for UCD and UCSB, he should be a match for UCI), and a reach or two and he will have plenty of great options next April.</p>
<p>I truly feel the parents need to vow to stop using the word “prestige” altogether and step back a tiny bit. Draw out of their son what he likes about each campus and what his reservations are about them rather than telling him what they think. He will be the one spending four years of his life at that school, not them. While I do believe parents *paying the bill *should have some veto rights, it does not seem the son is looking at any schools that will not give him an excellent education…</p>
<p>The son is very lucky to have involved and loving parents who are as excited about the next step as he is. This will be a fun year for the family! If he applies to a list of schools that include two or three safeties, two or three matches and a reach or two I am sure they will have a very successful result. Good luck!</p>