<p>UC Irvine is in Orange County.<br>
There are other private schools in Orange that could give you decent merit money but, a lot of them have an affiliation-religious. </p>
<p>So if that doesn’t bother you, go 'head on: Pepperdine, Chapman, Loyola Marymount. </p>
<p>In LA County: The Claremont Colleges: Clairemont McKenna, Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer. Try Azusa Pacific, Occidental, Mt. St. Mary’s, and USC. </p>
<p>In San Diego: University of San Diego, Pt. Loma Nazarene (on the beach). </p>