Yeah Colorado seems more progressive, but my google search showed Boulder is >80% white, 5% Asian, plus the school only has 6% Asians, so she doesn’t think she’d be comfortable as an Asian American coming from California as she would at other places. I don’t think she’s decided for sure, but that’s where she is right now.
2 Likes
Agree, but we’re holding off for now while Delta is still moving around since my younger daughter can’t vaccinate yet and has a weakened immune system. She was able to get a few visits in earlier, so that definitely helped. And we can still drive to some California campuses that we didn’t hit earlier. 
Yes definitely following those. That’s another good thing about living in California. Hoping by next Fall things will have improved and my younger one can be vaccinated by then. 
The only place where she can go that has more Asian-Americans than CA (15%) is HI (37%). The next closest state is NJ with only 10%.
1 Like
First, I’ve only skimmed the thread, so forgive me if I’ve missed something.
My D21 is a freshman at SLO. We’re located in the SF Bay Area. She’s in CAFES and chose SLO for the hands-on learning and the ability to immediately take classes in her major and get your “hands dirty” so to speak.
She recently joined a club related to her major. She’s already been given an opportunity to work off-campus in her potential future job discipline. What, 3 weeks into the quarter? Amazing.
Also, SLO does a wonderful job of transitioning the freshman with their WOW week. D21 chose SLO over a few UC’s, because of the major, plus it’s roughly $15,000/year cheaper than a UC.
BTW, has anyone mentioned Santa Clara? It’s 70K/year IIRC, but they do offer some decent merit aid w/o even filling out FAFSA.
We also have a D18 at Michigan in LSA. I can try to answer any questions, if you have some. While the cost is $65,000-$70,000/year, with AP credits, you can get out a semester or two early. And food, housing and utilities are typically cheaper “off campus” after freshman year. D18 loves it there.
4 Likes
We were surprised too, but the demographics at CU Boulder are almost identical to UofUtah’s!
2 Likes
Asians make up roughly 7% of the US population… Maybe it’s because there are bubbles in CA where the Asian population is dramatically higher. The Bay for example is roughly 35%. It’s an extreme outlier though. Even LA is only 10%.
1 Like
Indeed, though the level of wealth at Boulder is considerably higher, particularly amongst out of state students. It’s a very popular choice for rich kids from CA who want to be in a sorority, whereas Utah gets more kids from Idaho, Montana, Nevada, etc who want to be ski bums 
Almost everyone we know at Utah, even those with scholarships, has a job to earn spending money
2 Likes
That’s true - I was thinking in terms of racial demographics, not economic. There’s definitely a wealth gradient between the two schools, which makes sense given the difference in OOS affordability.
1 Like
The latest American Community Survey has the Asian population of Los Angeles County at just under 15%, about 1,500,000 people.
1 Like
Yea, city is 11% in the latest census. The county is a little higher. Both are higher than the next closest state to CA (NJ) and neither are as high as The Bay.
Suffice it to say, they are all extreme outliers. California is home to 30% of the nations Asian Americans according to Pew this year. Trying to find something outside the state that replicates that is going to be hard.
Not trying to replicate the demographics, but it’s a big difference for us going from 20-25% of a community to only 5%. Oftentimes the school’s will have higher percentages in the student body than the host city, but some of these schools we were looking at don’t have either.
It’s always been tough sticking out, but more so recently with so much hate and we’d prefer she not feel so alone wherever she goes. And more diversity in other races, economic diversity, etc is always better to us. This is just another one of UC/CSU’s strengths.
4 Likes
Ha neither describe my D so I guess I won’t feel too bad if she decides they are not for her.
They all (Colorado, Utah, Arizona) still sound like great programs though.
1 Like
The advantages of Tucson are it’s unabashedly liberal - I know what you think of the state - and you go to school for dirt cheap. The Honors college is very nice and the dorm spectacular with a dining hall at the bottom and gym and counseling center steps away.
The university is more diverse than the city. For example, the city is 72% white and the university is 49% white. The Asian population is 4.5% at the university and 3.2% in the city. You have a large hispanic and native american population.
CU Boulder is wonderful but not inexpensive.
There are tradeoffs to be made. I agree no one should ever be made to feel uncomfortable so if that doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t work. But getting a great education for $80K including room and board - I tend to think a large university will have enough variety for everyone to find their people.
But let’s be honest - you go for the $$ if you go!!!
2 Likes
Thank you! She’s definitely got SLO on the list and it’s been climbing over the last week as we learn more about it. Glad to hear your D’s experience also sounds great!
We did look at Santa Clara initially, but she didn’t want to go to any religiously affiliated school, even Jesuit. It did seem less religious than Loyola Marymount but she still didn’t feel comfortable. But wow, that aid sounds ridiculous!
Michigan sounds amazing but we figured it was another reach for her which we’re trying to cut down. My D is so undecided she probably wouldn’t get out early, but maybe in 4! 
Do you know if it is hard to get a major, ie if they have issues with impacted majors like the UC’s and apparently Univ of Washington? Thanks for your help!
This is very understandable! It just come with a narrowing of the field, which probably isn’t all bad. Ya gotta narrow down to one ultimately anyway. 
1 Like
I have not read the whole thread, but I thought I’d give you some ideas based on my daughter’s journey. She applied for engineering at all schools she applied to except for UC Santa Cruz where she applied for Astrophysics. She’s at UCLA now as a first year engineering student. It’s a very diverse and friendly school and she has already found her tribe. She was also not very sure whether she should apply to engineering or not so she is taking a bunch of engineering design courses (UCLA has many and they are very diverse in topics). Rocketry in the first quarter and will continue with two different design courses the second and third quarter. With the quarter system you do have some flexibility to take different courses that interest you and explore the offerings. And I don’t think it’s too hard to switch out of engineering if she ends up thinking it’s not her cup of tea. She chose UCLA because it’s a strong school in many fields and she was not 100% wed to engineering. She has already met with her academic advisor that the school of engineering makes all students meet with at least once a year, or once a quarter, I’m not sure. I know it’s an enormous school but it can easily feel small. All her classes are in person and she has met so many wonderful people from all over the US and the world. The Hill is a lovely living community that many undergrads call home. She would highly recommend it to your daughter. Let me know if you have any questions and I will pass them along.
2 Likes
That is a great point and helps a lot, actually. If she were to change her mind and seriously consider Arizona, and we could somehow get over the conservative state issue, do you know:
-
How bad Tucson heat is? I know she couldn’t handle summers, but maybe the school year isn’t so bad?
-
Are there impacted majors like at the UC’s where students might not be able to get admitted to a major either as a freshman or even later after completing prerequisites?
-
Is it easy to change majors and is it possible to take classes and major/minor in programs across different schools? Eg, can an Engineering School student take a minor in the College of Humanities?
If not for my D, hopefully this info can help other readers too. Thanks!
1 Like
Amen!
1 Like
Thank you so much your D’s experience is so encouraging! It sounds like exactly what my D would want. We’ve been very concerned if she got into UCLA if it would feel too big, as we’d heard some people feel lost in its size, so really appreciate your post!
We’re mostly worried now if D applies as an Engineering major she might not get in at all, especially since UCLA doesn’t consider alternate majors. So your D must’ve been a really strong applicant! If we have more questions I will definitely tag you, thank you! and your D!
You’re welcome! And my daughter was a strong student but not published articles, math contest winner etc. strong. Lots of varied interests, especially in music (she’s in the school’s marching band and loving it, they’re doing a BTS half time show and she loves BTS). And I’m very biased but she’s a really kind person. I really don’t know what pushed the needle for her but she’s grateful.
3 Likes