West coast colleges for East coast students

<p>GPA: 3.7
SAT: 2140 (730M/680CR/730W)
Gender: White
State: New York
EC's: Nothing special
Prospective major: Biology possibly (I'm going in as a pre med)</p>

<p>With these stats, what colleges on the west coast would be a good selection?
My parents can only afford about $20K a year. I live with my mom and she makes about $60K. I don't know how much my dad will contribute, but he makes $80K a year. Is there like financial aid for that ish? Also, my sister will be going into her senior year at college when I'm going into my freshman year. Will I get financial aid for that? If I do, will it only be freshman year, and then an increased tuition the next 3 years?
Anyway, I would prefer if the actual net cost was lower than $20K because living on the east coast I would have to pay for flights, or if the college could pay for that, that would be awesome. I'm totally for full rides.
I'm also looking for a school with at least 5K undergrads.
I like UCSB. I feel like I can get in, but I don't think I'll get enough aid.
I'm also looking for hot girls. That's important. To me. Really. It is.</p>

<p>And when I say west coast, I mean California. I know there's other states over there. And sorry if this offends you, but I don't really care about them. Except Nevada. And by Nevada I mean Las Vegas.</p>

<p>If you know any east coast colleges that meet these requirements, you can recommend them to. I'm applying to mostly east coast colleges, but I do want to apply to 1-2 west coast colleges.</p>

<p>Thanks for the time. I'm outtie. </p>

<p>As an OOS coming to California, you will get very little financial aid. UCSB will cost you around $55,000 a year and even with FA packages, OOS still have to come up with at least $25,000. I would concentrate on applying to your in-state schools such as the SUNY’s for affordability. Your STATS may get you merit aid at some of the schools, but I am not well versed on schools in the east. Hopefully someone else on CC can give some better advice. West Coast schools are just not affordable unless you and your parents can foot most of the bill. Good Luck</p>

<p>Don’t forget to say on your application that you’re looking for hot girls and that this is important to you. All female admission officials will love you.</p>

<p>@Gumbymom I’m applying to Geneseo, Binghamton, Albany and Stony brook. Those are all default schools if I can’t find anything else. But hey, maybe I’ll really like them. I like U of Miami too. But I sweat a lot. And that might eliminate the whole girl thing.</p>

<p>@perseverence Thanks for your advice. I’ve always had trouble with first impressions.</p>

<p>Like Gubbymom said, ain’t happening for the same reasons. You have above average stats, so you could apply to Stanford, but the major challenge I see is the amount of money your parents make. A combined 140K will most likely take you out of the financial need category and will only leave you with merit based resources. Not impossible to have merit resources dampen your bill, but start early, since a lot of scholarships require essays.</p>

<p>As for hot girls, That’s opinion. Do you have preferences in mind?</p>

<p>Nope, Stanford is not happening with his stats and no worldly EC’s.</p>

<p>@aunt bea I agree. My sights are not set high. I’m not someone who gets caught up on prestige. I know I couldn’t get into any top 25 schools, or succeed in them. I’ll be the first one to admit I’m lazy. I’d rather go to a large state university (like Alabama or Kentucky) for free rather than go to a good/great school for $20K a year.</p>

<p>@ninjex I have this thing for Spanish girls. I like 'em Italians too. I think it’s the skin tone. </p>

<p>I agree it’s not happening with Stanford. What about USC? On the side note, it seems like on TV and such, UCSB has a lot of good looking California blondes, that might not be your type ;). But I like your sense of humour, you might get in some schools depends on your essay.</p>

<p>You are in luck; nearly every college in California is well stocked with smart and pretty Latinas.</p>

<p>Many So cal school meet that description. Since you’re in bio, you shouldn’t have any problem meeting girls. </p>

<p>@DrGoogle Yeah, I’m not really a blonde guy. At least not since freshman year.
@Emmasmum That’s more like it.</p>

<p>And I’m not really looking for top colleges. I know I won’t get much aid from them – my application is extremely black and white. </p>

<p>On another note, is it worth my time to apply to Pepperdine?
I feel like I could get in, but just like UCSB, I feel like I would fall short on aid.
Oh and what are your opinions on Occidental?</p>

<p>How about Whittier College? You may get a good aid package there because you would be a top applicant for them. </p>

<p>@Emmasmum A little too small for me. I’d prefer a college with 5k+ undergrads. I would feel like I’m in high school again. I don’t think I could tolerate any more swirlies. Haha. I’m just kidding. No but for realz.</p>

<p>I’m so indecisive. I want small classes for pre-med LOR’s but I want a large university for variety and research.
I should probably start a new thread for this, but are there any decently large universities known for having small classes? (Not limited to California, but don’t recommend a state I haven’t heard of. And when I say the state, I don’t want to think of cheese or potatoes either.)</p>

<p>I’m picky.</p>

<p>

Huh? Odd answer to that…</p>

<p>@alamemom If I was 1/4 Native American, 1/4 African, 1/4 Hispanic and 1/4 Mongol, I would get a lot more aid. </p>

<p>@ThanksIKnow Actually, need-based aid is calculated based on your financial information as reported by the FAFSA and in some cases the CSS/Profile, not on your ethnic background. Ethnicity/race may have an impact on admissions in some cases, however at UCSB it is not considered due to Proposition 209 (1996).</p>

<p>What I was commenting upon, however, wasn’t the race/ethnicity you stated, is was that you stated it in response to the prompt “Gender.” From Merriam Webster:

“White” seemed an odd answer to me and I wondered if you were making some sort of joke. Guess not.</p>

<p>@alamemom Oh god I can’t believe I did that. Not only did I write it once, I didn’t realize it even after you reposted it. Oh well. I was trying to make a joke out of it too. This is an uncomfortable feeling.</p>

<p>Anyways, I’ve been led to believe that minority students are more sought after than are White/Asian students. And for this reason, I feel as though colleges try and make it as appealing as possible to these students. So in my honest opinion, I feel as though minorities do receive more aid. Whether it’s merit aid or scholarships.</p>

<p>Actually, I’m not sure about your not getting financial aid. You won’t get the part that is the $23000 between in and out of state tuition covered, but run the net price calculator and see where you come out at the UCs. MOST out of state don’t get much, but some with not absolutely stellar grades got decent packages (the one I’m thinking of was UCSB.)</p>

<p>The specific guy I’m thinking of had pretty good ECs but his stats were similar to yours if I remember correctly, maybe his test scores were lower. I know you would rather pay less than $23,000 but if you think working some on your own is worth it, it might be worth looking into. </p>

<p>(sorry, bad edit made it unreadable before)</p>

<p>^^ No you wouldn’t. </p>

<p>I would hope you have ‘heard of’ all fifty states, but I hope you just stay in NY because California is well known for its cheese and agriculture.</p>