<p>The OP mentioned they have missed the UC deadline of November 30th, so none of the UCs are an option for this year.</p>
<p>With your stats, and what you could potentially get into at schools around the country, I personally wouldn’t sacrifice attending a school out west for schools other than the private top ones, cal tech, usc, reed, claremonts, stanford, maybe oxy and pepperdine(if you can deal with the religious aspect of the school). </p>
<p>I think schools like New College of Florida(although not in cali) might have to offer a bargain especially if you plan to go to graduate school. They have excellent placement into graduate programs. Also you can always surf while studying abroad in Australia or Costa Rica(if you have an interest in studying abroad and working towards your degree).</p>
<p>OP: Many of these schools are very expensive. Are you planning to apply for financial aid?</p>
<p>Two more schools for your list: University of the Pacific (in Norcal), and Seattle University. </p>
<p>Just FYI, Pepperdine is a respected school, but it’s also explicitly Christian. This is from their website:</p>
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<p>USC
Pepperdine
Santa Clara</p>
<p>Stanford, Caltech, Berkeley, Claremont Colleges and UCLA are reaches for the OP.</p>
<p>Pitzer seems awesome, for sure applying there.</p>
<p>Already have applied to USC, but need to apply to Santa Clara as well.</p>
<p>Anyone else!</p>
<p>Lets broaden this search to the whole country!</p>
<p>Santa Clara is need-aware.</p>
<p>Loyola Marymount is fantastic. By the way, USC, Occidental, Chapman, the Claremont Colleges are all VERY far away from surfing–at least a 45 minute to one hour or more by car. Your best privates near surf that are not reaches would be USD and LMU. Both very well-respected schools, and the religion part is not too severe. Both of these have religion requirements, but courses are offered in all types of religions, comparative religion, etc. Attendance at mass is not required. Both are expensive, so financial aid needs to be considered. Good luck!</p>
<p>You may want to consider Biola University, if you don’t mind going to a Christian college. Reed and Puget Sound also come to mind.</p>
<p>I think University of San Diego fits what you’re looking for.</p>
<p>point loma is another christian college right on the beach :)</p>
<p>Your GPA may be too low for many of the schools being talked about. Not sure how you calculated weighted GPA, most schools use unweighted GPA or recalculate to no more than 0.5 point AP advantage for one or two years. If your unweighted GPA is lower than 3.5, it’ll be hard.</p>
<p>You can try the Jesuit schools (USD, USF, Seattle) and UoP.
Santa Clara and Peppedine are reaches, USC is super reach,
and so are Reed and Oxy.</p>
<p>*I think University of San Diego fits what you’re looking for. *</p>
<p>I mentioned USD earlier, but it’s expensive and can’t meet need (which is why a lot of affluent kids go there). I think the OP mentioned in another thread that money is an issue.</p>
<p>Loyola Marymount or USD if you want surf access, intermural sports, mid-size, and good liberal arts education. Pepperdine also works if you’re okay with the Christian focus (more so than at the Catholic colleges) and generally conservative vibe. </p>
<p>My D is a sophomore at LMU, getting an excellent education. Ten minutes to waves/beaches, good surf club, small class size, beautiful campus. Your grades put you right in there, but probably not for aid.</p>
<p>Occidental is also excellent but 30 minutes to an hour from the beach. NoCal schools like Santa Clara are good, but the ocean is a drive, plus the water is freezing up there (I’m a surfer, I know) and there are great whites to contend with! It’s not the Florida water you’re used to.</p>
<p>USD is a California-dreamin’ kind of place. I hear it can be a little social and shallow, but that may just be gossip because of the number of blondes on campus.</p>
<p>The USC campus has the feel of an oasis within a large city. The buildings are surrounded by green spaces with tropical shrubs and flowering trees including palms and eucalyptus. There are many fountains and courtyards with seating areas. Rose gardens and flower beds are to be found along walkways. </p>
<p>Bicycles are very popular. Skateboard slots are next to the bike racks. Next to the Thornton School of Music is a shaded courtyard where permanent music stands are ready for impromptu practices by the music students. </p>
<p>Campus views are available on the website: [USC</a> - University of Southern California](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu%5DUSC”>http://www.usc.edu) .</p>
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<p>I think money is an issue past a certain point, but a lot of the schools OP is applying to have a high COA.</p>
<p>DPC1192:</p>
<p>If surfing in California is a must, how about Soka University of America? It’s in Orange County on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It’s very small (< 1000, I think) and run by a Buddhist organization called the Soka Gakkai. The main Soka University is in Japan and Soka University of America stresses international studies around the Pacific Rim (but including South America as well as the Far East). It has no traditional majors. Everyone receives a B.A. in Liberal Arts but there are four different “concentrations”: environmental studies, humanities, international studies, and social and behavioral sciences. The campus is new and looks gorgeous. I think it would be a match for you. However, this post is not an endorsement as I have no first hand knowledge of the school.</p>
<p>I* think money is an issue past a certain point**, but a lot of the schools OP is applying to have a high COA. *</p>
<p>huh?</p>
<p>University of Denver</p>
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<p>As in, OP can afford schools up to $X, but anything more than $X becomes an issue.</p>
<p>i wanna second loyola marymount. sounds perfect for you: so close to the beach, beautiful campus, your stats are a match, etc.</p>