<p>I'm currently a junior, and while I have most of my "going to apply" list worked out, I'm still looking for a good safety school. California resident, first time taking SAT was a 2030, which I'm fairly sure I can bring up to ~2100. 4.3 weighted GPA, about a 3.83 UW. Honors/AP classes where my school offers them. Moderate extracurriculars (mock trial, debate team, GSA, swing dance) and some volunteering, which will increase between now and when I apply. I write quite well, so if essays are an important factor, I should be able to tackle them.</p>
<p>An ideal safety would offer substantial financial aid (EFC is around $5000), and preferably be in an urban area. I'm probably going to major in history or English, with the intention of applying to law school. The financial aid is not negotiable. My parents would be willing to take out a loan for my education, but I absolutely do not want them to.</p>
<p>of course, you have your choice of cali state schools at which you can get a good education within your price range and stats. many of them could be safeties.</p>
<p>there’s a whole thread about automatic full tuition/full rides. there’s another about full tuition/full rides that are not automatic.</p>
<p>Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships</p>
<p>Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships</p>
<p>Automatic Out-of-State Tuition Waivers</p>
<p>Good job in high school. Good luck in college.</p>
<p>And don’t forget to check the net price calculators at UCs and CSUs – they generally give good in-state financial aid. UC in-state net price is likely to be FAFSA EFC + $8,500, where the $8,500 is the student contribution of direct loan and work study.</p>
<p>For pre-law, no specific major is required. Remember that the LSAT has a logic puzzle section, which is presumably why math and philosophy majors do well on it. Be sure to look into the job prospects for law school graduates (not good these days except for top students at top 14 law schools).</p>
<p>Boston University It’s my safety and I seriously wouldn’t mind going there. A lot of the schools the other people linked you are kinda ehhhh. You know what I mean? I think it’s super important you go where you want to, not merely where the money is.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that law school likely will cost you 150-190K, so whatever you can do to minimize u/g debt you should do. You could have something like a mortgage before you find a job; you likely will not be getting a mortgage/buying a house for quite a few years thereafter. BU like a lot of other schools is expensive and stingy. Make good decisions. Do what you want when you can afford to.</p>
<p>@menacing… A safety is a college that you can DEFINITELY get into and DEFINITELY afford. I.e. guaranteed scholarships. Boston University is a fine school, but it is quite expensive. The OP’s stats put him/her at around the 75%tile for BU, iirc. I would say that BU is a match, not an admit or financial safety. For a full pay student with high stats, it might be a very low match but still not necessarily guaranteed.</p>
<p>OP, definitely check out the large assured scholarship lists. They have been most helpful in my search.</p>
<p>P.S. There are many wonderful, affordable schools out there. CSUs may be an option. Don’t turn your nose up at colleges whose name you perceive as “ehhh”. I think it’s very wise of you to avoid debt, especially with law school on the horizon. Money should be a big consideration.</p>
<p>I still would not term BU a sure thing. If the OP’s list consisted of BU+reaches, there would still be a very real possibility of being shut out.</p>
<p><a href=“Net Price Calculator”>Net Price Calculator; indicates that BU is not particularly generous. For parents earning $50,000 per year and a student with the stated stats, BU produces a net price of $19,105 ($8,500 student loan, $2,000 student work, $8,605 from parents).</p>
<p>For comparison, Berkeley in-state gives a net price of $12,228 ($8,500 student loan + work, $3,728 from parents). Obviously, Berkeley is not a safety for anyone, but other UCs tend to be similar (but check their net price calculators).</p>
<p>Thanks so much for all of your responses! I’ve been looking at CSUs and UCs as safety schools (mainly UCSC and San Jose State). I would be paying more if I go to a UC than if I go to a CSU–would that be worth it given that I plan to apply to law school? The UC system generally has a better reputation, which I feel might be beneficial, but I don’t want to run the risk of building up more debt and then entering a competitive field after three more years of very expensive schooling.</p>
<p>I’ll definitely check out the lists and financial aid forums here. Thanks again!</p>
<p>You may want to verify the costs on the net price calculators. For some students, the prices tend to be CSU commuter < UC < CSU resident. Note that many CSUs tend to be heavily commuter oriented (SJSU is about half commuter, half resident; the least commuter oriented CSUs are probably CPSLO, SSU, CMA, HSU, CSUMB).</p>
<p>CSUs also tend to be more pre-professional major oriented, although most are large enough that the number of liberal arts majors is still larger than the number at a small liberal arts college.</p>
<p>Menancing…you say that BU is your safety. It really can NOT be your safety when you have NO IDEA if you’ll get enough aid to cover costs. Be sure that you have a REAL safety.</p>
<p>If your EFC is $5000, you should take a look at the schools that will meet full need. No, these are not safeties, but you can apply to a number of matches and will likely get into one, especially if you can write strong essays. Of course you still need to apply to a safety!</p>
It’s my safety and I seriously wouldn’t mind going there. A lot of the schools the other people linked you are kinda ehhhh. You know what I mean? 
I think it’s super important you go where you want to, not merely where the money is.</p>