Currently in my sophomore year
OOS student and plan to study in a California university
ACT: 24; but could retake to improve my score
Intended major: 1) either business, or 2) biology or chemistry and then go for a master degree in forensic science
Struggling if I should choose UCs(higher costs but better reputation) or CSUs(lower costs but heard CSUs better prepare students to be in the work force after graduation)
My shortlisted colleges are UCLA, UCI, UCD, SDSU, Cal Poly SLO, Cal Poly Pomona, CSULB, CSU Fullerton
Average all in costs for OOS students for UCs are around $51k and CSUs are around $33k. Is it worth to pay a 50%+ premium to study in UCs?
Also could you please rank the UCs(in terms of major in biology/chemistry) and CSUs(in terms of major in business) please?
Agree with @aunt bea. You need to bump up your ACT into the 29+ for UCD/UCI and around 32+ for UCLA. Even SDSU/CSULB and SLO are slight Reaches based on your ACT.
What is your unweighted GPA? CSU’s and UC’s only use 10-11th grades in the GPA calculation and as an OOS applicant you receive extra honors points only for AP/IB or DE courses. https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
For Business: Cal Poly SLO and SDSU will be the top contenders followed by CSU Fullerton and CSU Long Beach.
For Biology/Chemistry: UCLA followed by UCI/UCD.
If you are interested in Forsenic Science, check out San Jose State. Your ACT is more in-line with SJSU.
Regarding costs, how much will your parents since you will not receiving any FA from these schools? If you and your parents can afford $55K/year for the UC’s, go for it.
Actually I will retake the ACT and I think with a bit more effort, reaching a 27/28 score is doable.
I am an overseas student and will start my IBDP next fall. Planning to be taking: English Lit SL, Bio SL, Chem HL, Math SL, Chinese B HL, Econ HL. In this case I will be expecting some transfer credits for my HLs so could probably shorten my study for one semester I guess?
My parent can probably afford the US$55k/year all in cost for UCs, but not sure if that’s worth it. I heard UCs tend to have large classes, so if you are falling behind you will be struggling on the course, whereas CSUs have smaller classes, therefore will probably have more lecturers/students interactions. Moreover, I could probably save some $ for an undergraduate degree at a CSU, and then apply UCs for a master degree?
@ ucbalumnus: I am an international student and prefer to study in California or on the west coast. My first thought is California since my parents studied there. Besides California, any recommendations in Washington, Oregon, Arizona?
@“aunt bea” I saw it on youtube where someone was comparing university vs state colleges.
I guess GE class is not a real concern if there are big class size, it’s just down to the major classes which matters.
So do you think it’s better to take an undergraduate degree at CSU and then master degree at UC due to the cost concern, or go for all the way UC for the comparatively prestigious name?
Your first focus should be on studying for your tests because your ACT score of 24 won’t get you in, at this point, to either school (no matter how much your parents are willing to pay).
GE classes are required and there are more that are required for graduation at each US university.
I think you getting ahead of yourself. You are speaking as if getting into these individual schools is easy, it is just a matter of choosing the one you like and applying. It does not work that way. Once you have your final SAT/ACT scores and GPA THEN you look at where you qualify. If you qualify for top schools (which you wont with your current ACT score) then you can look at the high level UCs, if you have lower scores, then you start looking at the mid/low tier UCs and CSUs - once again, your ACT score won’t really cut it here either. You might make it into some of the less selective CSUs but those you are looking at tend be more selective. A lot of people want to attend these schools because of their location.
I see you are looking mostly at Southern California - Los Angeles/Orange County/San Diego area. (UCD and Poly SLO are exceptions) Is there a reason you are only looking at public schools? There are also private ones. Depending on your qualifications there are several you might qualify for, at the same price as a UC. They are much smaller and more personal. They vary in selectivity with schools like Whittier and La Verne, if you tend toward lower stats, Chapman and Redlands U for mid level stats and many highly selective options as well. Those are just 4 out of many many schools in the area. Just some things to think about. You have a lot of time.
@LKnomad thanks for your advice. Yes I think I still have lots of time since I am still at my sophomore year. Looking to boost my ACT scores to 28+ later this year and I will have more choices then.
By the way I looked at the admission stats of my interest list and the 25th and 75th percentile scores of the freshman are as follow:
The 24 ACT will probably put me at a low chance but not impossible for schools like UCI, right? For CPP/CSULB/SDSU/CSUF that should be a medium to good chance I guess?
I am possibly looking into other states in the west coast probably Washington or Arizona
Not sure where you got your numbers but the average for UCI last year was 28. For UCLA, it was 31, SDSU 25, UCD was 29. SLO’s averages are dependent upon the college. From an average of 32 for College of Engineering to a low of 28 for College of Agriculture.
Just because you are at the average does not guarantee admission. Cal states rank by major, so the more competitive the major, the higher GPA and ACT score is required for admissions. UC’s with competitive majors such as Engineering/Biology will expect higher than average numbers also.
If you are concerned about class sizes, go to each university’s web site and look for its class schedule. You may find enrollment numbers for each class there.
Regarding majoring in business, it is a commonly offered major in the CSU system, but less common in the UC system (UCB and UCR).
UCB business does have a sub-elite reputation among some of the prestige-conscious industries like investment banking and consulting (i.e. they recruit there, but not as strongly as at other schools they consider more elite). However, you cannot get directly admitted as a frosh; UCB frosh must complete the prerequisites and then apply into a competitive secondary admission process to get into the business major.
Biology and chemistry are rather commonly offered at UCs and CSUs. SJSU and CSUEB have submajor concentrations in forensic science within their biology and chemistry majors, although relevant course work may exist at other schools in the absence of formal submajor concentrations.
Remember that the CSUs favor their local school districts. For example CSULB has an agreement with the local Long Beach district that allows all Long Beach students guaranteed admission if the meet minimum requirements. That ACT average of 24 is brought down by the locals who can have lower scores. Students outside Long Beach must have a significantly higher ACT and GPA. CSUF also has preferred schools where students get priority, even if they have scores that are lower than other students who live farther away. This means that you will have to be above their average since you are not from a preferred area. Remember, the purpose of the CSUs is to educate California students, specifically. Yes, they also accept OOS and internationals, but you must be above average to be considered.
Regarding business schools in the UC’s, UC Irvine offers an undergraduate degree in business in its business school… UC San Diego offers a minor in business. Alternatively, you can also major in business/management economics at other UC’s such as UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz or UC Davis in their economics departments. This is in addition to the previous mentioned undergraduate business schools at UC Berkeley (Haas) and UC Riverside.
You mentioned Washington. The University of Washington in Seattle has the Foster School of Business, which is very highly regarded and competitive to get admitted into. Keep in mind that you will pay out of state tuition, which is about 33K per year. Seattle is home to many great businesses, i.e., Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, etc.
If you are willing to pay out of state tuition, you might want to consider USC’s Marshall School of Business. It also is very highly regarded and competitive to get into. In addition, you would have great connections with the business world in Los Angeles.
USC’s costs is really high for OOS. But would it be better to get an undergraduate degree in business in one of the CSUs and then go for a master degree in UCs?