@JenJenJen - UC administrators vehemently deny that OOS have any advantage but there has been a lot of documentation showing otherwise. To my mind, the thing that makes it “easier” for in state students is that the high school system is laser focused on UC admissions.
btw OP, a lot of people do in fact pay a quarter million dollars or full boat, 100% - whatever one wants to call it to attend college. There are plenty of people that don’t see $80K as a big difference to deal with (as evidenced by the amount of Tesla’s in our neighborhood), and that may in fact be your parent’s situation. However on CC, it appears no one actually pays for college and relies on merit or financial aid to get there. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad or guilty for what your family can or can’t do. The college system couldn’t survive without the many families that pay for it and help fund everyone else that can’t or won’t. Just be aware of what yours can do and is willing to do, so you don’t fall in love with something that isn’t reasonable. But if they can do it, go for it!
Of the UC system schools, UC Merced, I think, is the only school that participates in the Western States University Exchange-(WUE)–where OOS students pay only 1.5x the instate tuition rate for schools in the Western region, which includes Hawaii, Colorado, South Dakota, Alaska, as well as the California, Nevada, and all the Pac-12 states. WUE is an excellent option for OOS. Check it out.
OP is from New York, not a WUE state.
40k a year huh. That’s going to be a little hard for UCs.
If you want to be under 40k, and in a big city your options for good CSUs worth going to are basically: SFSU, SJSU, SDSU. Both Cal Poly schools are strong schools, especially San Luis Obispo. However, SLO is a tiny town, and the people I know who went there hated the city. They spent a lot of time going to Santa Barbara or LA to hang out with people.
“There are plenty of people that don’t see $80K as a big difference to deal with.”
I credit OP for mentioning the budget, since most kids don’t. But she hasn’t said 40k-60k or that they can pay full, but prefer to keep it to around 40k.
I agree with another poster who mentioned San Jose State. Not a UC, but right in the heart of Silicon Valley with a strong program in your desired major. SJ State has a great reputation in the Bay Area. Excellent opportunities in a big city environment…and would be affordable with a 40K budget.