Please help with California school selection!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>We are trying to figure out which California schools to submit applications to. We are from the East Coast, and have visited only midwest and East coast schools; not looking at all down South. We won't be able to get to California, but want to throw a few darts out that direction simply to have a completely different kind of geographic option come spring, and the possibility of living life in flip-flops! </p>

<p>The problem is figuring which schools to apply to. D has 2300+ SATs, but the rest of her profile is not as strong (A- / B+ student, rigorous courseload, but not the most rigorous, good but not exceptional ECs). Interests: Theater (acting and / or Musical Theater) and Photography.</p>

<p>She wants to have reasonable access to a city. Not interested in Greek life, so if a school has it, can't be a dominant feature of student life. </p>

<p>The only school I've got sufficient data on Naviance is USC, where she falls among nothing but the green squares (aka a Match). </p>

<p>The whole U Cal system confuses me! And can't figure out which campus would be best fit, anyway. Her SATs are single sitting, so that should give her more points, from what I can tell. GC recommended Santa Cruz, but that has 75% acceptance rate and much lower SATs, but maybe I shouldn't let that deter my thinking. </p>

<p>Got Pomona and Pitzer as possibilities, but not sure (Pomona not likely to get in, and Pitzer would need a better sense of what it would be like to major at Pomona, since that's where theater is), but the consortium just looks so fantastic! Not interested in Scripps, due to all-girls and core curriculum.</p>

<p>Have Occidental on list, but uncertain if right choice or location. </p>

<p>Someone I know whose daughter went to USC said the neighborhood surrounding it was not safe. Is that true?</p>

<p>Thanks for any help you can give!</p>

2

<p>I think Occidental is worth a look, and she really should at least L00k at Scripps. Not sure the UC’s would be war the the 00S bucks, but if so, consider UCLA.USC gets a bad rap for neighborhood, but I wouldn’t let it stop MY Kids.There’s another that’s good for film/acting. Maybe Chapman? Might be a safety for her.</p>

3

<p>As far as UCs go, if she’s serious about theater you should check out UCLA school of theater, film and television. You would have to go out for an interview/audition though. Also Cal Arts for serious theater.</p>

<p>UCSD also has a good theater department, and definitely is more flip-flop friendly in winter than UC Santa Cruz.</p>

4

<p>Given your daughter’s preferences for city access, if you choose to throw some darts at UC I’d pick UCLA, Berkeley, and UC San Diego. I believe UCLA would be the strongest theater program of the three. However, all three of these campuses would be reaches given her GPA. Irvine might qualify as being close to a city, though it seems rather suburban to me. Davis is a 20 minute drive from Sacramento, which might not be what she means by city access. Same thing with Santa Barbara. Riverside, Merced and Santa Cruz are all more remote. </p>

<p>However, given the cost for OOS tuition, the expected large raises in tuition coming this year and possibly in the future, and state budget issues, UC is by and large a poor choice for OOS students. If you can afford to pay $50k a year for a UC, you have many other private options. If you can’t afford to pay $50k a year for a UC, your daughter shouldn’t be applying, as OOS aid is highly limited. If your D was completely enamored with a specific UC campus and money was no object (loves the funkiness of Cal, the SoCal vibe of UCLA, wants to surf at Santa Cruz or Santa Barbara or San Diego, wants to study winemaking at Davis) that would be one thing. Doesn’t sound like your D, though. No idea why that GC recommended Santa Cruz unless she was looking for a sure thing in CA. Sounds all wrong for your D, and I say that as the parent of a D who will probably be using Santa Cruz as a safety. </p>

<p>You’ll also want to check that your D fulfilled the UC so-called a-g requirements. It’ll look confusing, but you (or your D) should be able to figure it out. UC’s GPA calculation is also confusing. </p>

<p>If USC is a match for your D, that’s a much better option, much as it pains this UC fan to admit it. :slight_smile: However, USC does have a strong Greek presence. The area around the campus is sketchy, wouldn’t be my first choice for a college environment by a long shot, but with reasonable street smarts not an insurmountable issue. </p>

<p>The Pomona consortium is wonderful, but not right next to a city. Have your D do her homework on if the distance would be an issue. </p>

<p>There are other private schools in the state (e.g. University of San Diego) for your D to check into, or for you to prescreen for her.</p>

5

<p>Great. this is just the kind of feedback I was looking for. I have to say that so far, we haven’t used one single school that our GC has recommended!! In terms of city access, she wants to be near enough to see theater sometimes and not feel like she’s going to school in the middle of nowhere. Claremont schools seem to fit that, i think. </p>

<p>Probably don’t want a Catholic school. </p>

<p>Not sure if we’ll keep on any UC schools, but I may just try the calculation, but will have to guess on the 4.0 conversion, as we use a different system. does anyone know if I should use weighted or unweighted? Thanks</p>

6

<p>okay, I went on the site and realized that they just give a certain number of points for a letter grade. Wow, that’s weird. No difference between a B+ and a B- etc.? Am I reading this right? How do I know if her Honors classes count as “university certified??”</p>

7

<p>For theater, having an audition seems important for programs at a number of these West Coast schools, but particularly UCLA and USC where, if the audition goes extremely well, the chance of admission to the school overall is greatly increased. With those excellent SAT’s, is your D an NMSF? If so, you should be aware that USC has a tradition of giving substantial, four-year merit scholarships to all NMF’s who are accepted.</p>

8

<p>"How do I know if her Honors classes count as “university certified??” </p>

<p>OOS students can’t use “cal certified” for honors. Lot’s of classes in California are not “cal certified” either. OOS can only get the extra point for AP designation.</p>

9

<p>No differences between a B+ and a B-. As Shrinkrap said, OOS honors courses don’t get the extra point. </p>

<p>If your D wants to be close enough to go for theater, Irvine will be fine. There’s lots of theater in the OC.</p>

10

<p>In calculating the UC GPA, bonus points are given to OOS residents for AP classes only. (In-state schools must have their honors-level classes evaluated and approved by the UCs to get the bonus points.) And, yes, a B+ and a B- are weighted equally.</p>

<p>The UCs are much more difficult for OOS kids to get into, and grades are weighted more heavily than test scores. UCLA’s theatre program is excellent but highly competitive, and an audition is required for performance majors. One kid from our school was accepted as a theatre major at UCLA with a 3.5, but he was instate, and male. Most kids accepted at UCLA have much higher GPAs.</p>

<p>At UCSC, no audition is required for theatre majors, and the acceptance rate is quite a bit higher, which is probably why your GC suggested it. UCSC is also home to Shakespeare Santa Cruz, a highly-regarded summer program. UCSB is the only UC that offers a BFA program in theatre, but it does not offer musical theatre. Students at SB audition for the more conservatory-style BFA at the end of their freshman year, and, as is the case at many conservatories, they can be cut from the program for lack of progress.But SB BFA students have lots of performance opportunities, and it’s a very good program. UC Irvine and San Diego benefit from their proximity to excellent regional Equity theatres, but I don’t know much about their theatre programs.</p>

<p>USC meets many of your daughter’s requirements - it has an excellent theatre program and is in a major city - but I’m pretty certain that it, too, requires auditions for performance majors, and it has a reputation of being pretty fratty. My daughter was turned off by the “rah-rah” admissions presentation, which focused a little too much on sports for her taste. And the neighborhood definitely isn’t great. But your daughter will get an $18,000 scholarship at SC if she’s a NMF.</p>

<p>The Claremont schools are excellent, but their emphasis is on academics. Their theatre program is not as pre-professional as those at USC, UCLA, or SB. Can’t tell if that’s what you’re looking for or not.</p>

<p>Other So Cal schools with good reputations for theatre: Chapman in Orange County, Occidental in LA (also not in the greatest neighborhood, but WAY better than SC in that regard), and, for musical theatre, Cal State Fullerton. And if you’re not looking for a broad liberal arts eduction, Cal Arts.</p>

11

<p>In general, a 3.5 won’t cut it for admissions to Cal or UCLA, but they will be accepting more OOS full payors next year. And, the theater program requires and audition, so it has different standards (talent can beat out academics). I do not suggest paying OOS rates to attend a UC; with the exception of a specialized program, such as theater at UCLA, the OOS prices just ain’t worth it, IMO.</p>

<p>With your D’s SAT score, I’d put USC as a borderline safety – they love high testers. But, social life is big on greek and all that goes with it.</p>

<p>Chapman has a great film school but is suburban. Pomona is a stretch with that gpa. The Claremonts are unique, but extremely suburban. Sure, it’s only ~30 miles from downtown LA, but the simple fact is that not much goes on downtown LA. Most of the action is on the westside, so a car is needed. Plus, that 30 miles could be a 90+ minute drive.</p>

<p>You might consider also Santa Clara and Pacific – both safeties.</p>

12

<p>What is “Pacific”? Univ of …?</p>

13

<p>University of the Pacific, my D attends now. I would definitely look at UOP and Santa Clara.
Original poster if you want to PM (private message) me I can answer questions on the University of the Pacific. Your D would likely see some good merit money and probably honors program inclusion. Easy access to San Francisco via train/bus/etc.
I have also visited Santa Clara and there is a frequent poster whose D attends who can provide you with info.</p>

14

<p>Loyola Marymount is another option - though she may be a bit overqualified academically, it has a lot of what you’re looking for, and the religious overtones are minor (I know quite a few jewish kids who go there). I wholeheartedly agree with slithey about OOS tuition - a private would make much more sense IMO. Things here are pretty ugly right now (in California), and I am only letting my S apply to 1 instate school for that reason. UCLA’s theater program is extremely difficult to get into, so be prepared for that…</p>

15

<p>In your place, I’d pay the money for UCLA for that major. It’s probably as good as it gets, Hollywood is right there. NYU would be the other obvious choice, their program is hard to get into as well. USC is not going to be easy, the stats can get you to the auditions, but admission is going to be very competitive. Location, location, location.</p>

16

<p>

</p>

<p>This is VERY true. I live in California. I’ve been there. I know people who go there. The campus is smack in the middle of Los Angeles, and LA is frankly not a very safe place. The campus itself is beautiful but right off campus are stores with bars on the windows. It’s not a “bubble” campus by any stretch of the imagination.</p>

<p>That being said however, I also know that USC is very aware of its unsafe location and has excellent security. I think most kids who go to school there feel safe due to the campus police and all the safety programs.</p>

17

<p>loyola marymount university sounds perfect for her. i got my b.a. and masters there. beautiful campus, friendly students, excellent professors. Safe location with ocean views. And previous post is correct re: the religious overtones. There are some profs who are nuns and priests, but one, they were fantastic intellectuals and two, in the 6 years I was there, I only had classes with 2 of them. The university is very progressive and although there is emphasis on values such as kindness, integrity, service to less fortunate, the intellectual/philosophical and educational aspects are number one.</p>

18

<p>I visited Occidental and was very underwhelmed. I think that those 2300s should get you into Berkeley or UCLA, and those are very nice schools. I think you cant go wrong with either. Frankly, UCSC looks below your level. Also, I dont know how you feel about pot, but the pot scene is very big at UCSC. The claremont schools are absolutely great! Though, I agree, a3.5 is far from ideal. WHat is your GPA? feel free to PM me if you have questions, as I am happily concluding a year’s worth of research on CA schools, and I have visited a dozen or so in the state.</p>