<p>A separate application was not necessary for WUE consideration at NAU or Colorado. No specific grade requirements at NAU - ‘all students are evaluated for eligibility during the admissions process—a separate application is not needed. Eligible students once admitted, will automatically receive the WUE tuition rate.’ Colorado had specific GPA/test score requirements for WUE eligibility.</p>
<p>That’s helpful info. I am mostly familiar with the institutions in my state. I didn’t even know what NAU was! :o</p>
<p>vasu100</p>
<p>re: post 726</p>
<p>You’re not at all too early to start the process. This has probably been mentioned several times in these 50 pages, but one resource that I found really helpful (and learned about from CC) is the Common Data Set.</p>
<p>If, for example, you Google “San Jose State University Common Data Set,” the first link is to the SJSU Office of Institutional Research page with links to their CDS for a number of years. The CDS has lots of info on their incoming students, such as 25-75% ranges for SAT and ACT scores, grade distributions, class rank distributions, etc. I found that really helpful in figuring out where my daughter had the best chances of getting in.</p>
<p>You can also see the sometimes scary statistics on 4-year graduation rates, which was about 7% for the 2005 cohort at SJSU. That was the reason why my daughter wouldn’t even consider applying there.</p>
<p>Also, a small correction to what doame said. Some of the Oregon schools do offer WUE to California students. Not UO or OSU, but Southern Oregon U., Portland State U, and I believe Western Oregon U. all offer it to Californians (though sometimes for only certain majors). You can find out more at [Western</a> Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) | Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education](<a href=“http://wue.wiche.edu%5DWestern”>http://wue.wiche.edu)</p>
<p>Long time lurker, new to posting.
This thread gives me hope. You and your kids have done so well finding schools they love and that they can get in to. Would love some wisdom/advice!
Here’s my D:
3.3 UW, 3.5 W with more like a 3.0 if you take out the “fun” classes, but trending upward
29 on the ACT, but will take it again next week
extracurricular: some community service, and school clubs, but no consistency or leadership positions
Junior at a pretty competitive suburban high school in the midwest - that doesn’t have Naviance 
She’s hoping to attend a college in California with a real residential feel with at least 2000 kids, preferably more. No idea what she wants to study.
Money is an issue, we’ll need financial aid to make this work!
Any thoughts would be so appreciated!</p>
<p>MomofCAgirl, I don’t have any info on private schools out here and what kind of aid they give (we didn’t apply to any), but the pickings are slim in terms of the state schools that have the residential feel she wants. So many of the Cal States are commuter schools, even if they have housing. Chico State was an exception - beautiful campus, great college town. You should also check into Sonoma State. It has a bit of a commuter reputation too - a lot of kids from the Bay Area go there and go home on weekends - but the campus is beautiful and looks more traditional than most of the ‘city’ offerings. If you can get private schools to give you grant money, that’s the way to go. Come to think of it, the cost of private might be close to what you’ll pay for CA out of state tuition, anyway.</p>
<p>I have a junior S. We briefly looked at CA schools and ran our data through the net price calculators and quickly found that none of the CA schools were going to work. We looked at St Mary’s, U San Fran, U San Diego, Chapman, Santa Clara, and Loyola. The problem is that the CA private schools are expensive…many in the $55,000 range for cost of attendance. CA public schools are expensive and will not provide aid to OOS students.</p>
<p>These privates give merit/need aid which is great. But a $20,000 merit scholarship still leaves $35,000 to pay. We are not a full pay family but have a fairly high EFC. We don’t really see the need to pay our EFC when we know that there are so many other great schools out there that will come in well under our EFC, just none in CA. Also. if you need lots of aid, I don’t believe that any of those schools will meet full need. </p>
<p>YMMV, but we did not find anything affordable in CA.</p>
<p>Midwest and southern schools are cheaper from the beginning with many having a cost of attendance in the $40-$45,000 range. A $20,000 merit/need based scholarship at one of these schools would bring the cost down to $25,000 or maybe less.</p>
<p>Run your numbers through some net price calculators to see if it will work for you. </p>
<p>[Santa</a> Clara University - Financial AidThe Net Price Calculator](<a href=“http://www.scu.edu/financialaid/The-Net-Price-Calculator.cfm]Santa”>Financial Aid - Santa Clara University)</p>
<p>[Net</a> Price Calculator | Saint Mary’s College](<a href=“http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/node/12074]Net”>http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/node/12074)</p>
<p>As a comparison, run your numbers through some midwest privates like Drake, Bradley, Valp, Evansville, Dayton.</p>
<p>I have heard good things about Occidental College in LA</p>
<p>Sent from my ThunderBolt using CC</p>
<p>@MomofCAgirl --</p>
<p>I agree that California schools are expensive. I think Occidental’s admissions cut off is higher than feasible for your daughter, but she might think of it for a reach. Private schools more in range include: Loyola Marymount, University of San Diego, Dominican, or Notre Dame de Namur University.</p>
<p>She can find less expensive schools in the Pacific Northwest, many of them truly beautiful campuses. She might try the University of Puget Sound (might be a reach), Portland University, or Linfield College, for example.</p>
<p>I agree with what has been posted about CA schools. If you don’t live in a state that participates in WUE and you don’t have stats to gain admission to 100% need met schools,( when you have need), I can’t think of what schools in CA would work.</p>
<p>Ca State schools want out of state kids that can pay full. And then you can’t get the classes to graduate in 4 years. My daughter went to St.Mary’s several years ago. They do have a lot of money to give. She had a 3.0 and we got a lot. You won’t know until you apply. It is a gorgeous school but not a “CA” school. It is more like a beautiful school back east- in a freezing cold valley. My niece is at Univ. San Diego- no money given. The more popular private school don’t have to give money to get kids but great grades will always get you money.</p>
<p>We looked at California with S1 many years ago with a 3.5 unweighted. The best deal we found was SBCC >UCSB for a 3.5 out of state kid. The privates were quite expensive for us with a significant EFC. The Claremont, Occidental caliber schools required much higher gpa than S1 had to qualify for much assistance. University of San Diego is nice if you have $$ to spend. We have friends with kids there who are uber happy.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your helpful posts. Unfortunately they confirm my fears. Cal State schools are mostly suitcase/commuter and privates are just too pricey. I’m still going to keep trying. Chico sounds promising, and I’ll try the calculators on the schools suggested above. With a EFC of about $11k and a willingness to pay closer to $25k maybe something will work out! This whole California thing is based on the idea that it would be “cool”, so maybe someplace else (cheaper) could be “cool” too!</p>
<p>University of Puget Sound in WA</p>
<p>While browsing over statistics for my top school i found this thread. You guys have been a great help, in both recommending colleges and making me more hopeful for my own college chances! I do have a few questions, though 
I’m going into my Junior year, but i have a rough time in Geometry and Chem. in 10th. It really brought down my GPA. I have a 3.1 now, but my junior year i’m taking mostly AP classes (except math) and I’m hoping to do well and end with a cumulative GPA of around 3.25 - 3.3. </p>
<p>I definitely want to go to college in Washington or Oregon (Preferably WA) and I was wondering what your experiences were for Evergreen State College. I love the campus from what i’ve seen online, and i absolutely LOVE the rain, but i am a bit concerned about the academics and reputation. How do you earn a degree without any majors, and are there a lot of drugs on campus? I realize that all colleges will probably have some, but i’d prefer a relatively clean campus. </p>
<p>My next question (Sorry ) is about Pacific LUtheran University. It’s my dream school, but the average admittance is 3.6. I’ve noticed it on the list in the thread, but for a student that has a unimpressive GPA, do i really have a chance? I do have a lot of EC’s and almost all AP and honors.</p>
<p>Sorry for the long question :)</p>
<p>KBKBS- I have been told by students- who later transfered FWIW- Evergreen tends to be quite alternative in student body. One gal I know who attended considered herself very liberal and alternative, until she got to Evergreen. This is just a few peoples opinion though!! </p>
<p>PLU is a great school. Regional but still a pretty good education. Many graduates from PLU that I know are very happy with their experience at PLU and have thriving careers.</p>
<p>AP classes should help you. Dig a little deeper and find out if they weight their published GPA. Is your 3.1 unweighted?</p>
<p>Mommamocha- I did send an email to an admissions councilor a few weeks ago, and she said they look at the application holistically. I’m not quite sure what that means. My 3.1 is my weighted GPA, although my school does not weight English, which i’ve taken as an honors class since Frosh year. As far as the Evergreen University, does alternative mean there re a lot of drugs? sorry, all this new terminology…</p>
<p>I think some students apply to Evergreen because they think " alternative" means a party, but many of the students are a little older than right out of high school, and like the flexibility of curriculum and how you design your major.
I know a handful of evergreen alums, they are some of the most accomplished people I know. & I know some pretty accomplished people! ;)</p>
<p>KBSKBS - I know a guy going to Evergreen next year, and while he occasionally smokes weed, he said he was drawn to it because of its interconnected curriculum. That means he can take classes in a wide variety of fields that somehow relate to his concentration. For instance, a physics major at another school would primarily focus on the math part of physics, while ignoring the philosophical ideas that stem from topics in physics. At Evergreen, someone concentrating in physics would take both the math classes and the humanities classes which integrate physics concepts into the curriculum. </p>
<p>I think the very nature of Evergreen’s curriculum attracts students who were dissatisfied with the rigidity of high school academics, and as such tend to be more alternative (and extremely liberal). It’s not just the drugs, but their attitudes regarding education. Since it’s not the state flagship, or a traditional back up to UWash, students usually want to come there, rather than treating it as a traditional reject school. The California equivalent would probably be UC Riverside and UC Santa Cruz. While both schools accept the same percentage of students, Riverside is typically stereotyped as a last resort UC (not entirely true), while SC is usually viewed as UC that students actually want to go to.</p>
<p>Oh and thanks to this thread for telling me about U Puget Sound. I debated for a while about choosing it, or a Georgian LAC, and while the school in Georgia ultimately won out, it was a tough choice.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information. That’s definitely a school I’ll put on my college list now, although i’m still hoping for PLU. Does anyone else know any colleges like Western Washington University, but with a smaller number of students? I love the beach location, something that i know i’ll miss. I’ve been spoiled by never straying farther than the Hood Canal coast :)</p>
<p>Hi, i’m a now about to be a senior in high school in CA, and i need your guys help.
My gpa is hovering around to 3.0 range but depending on senior year could be 2.9 or could be 3.1. I do several things outside school, and i am on my schools varsity water polo and swimming teams. I took the sat and got 1480(yeah…). I’d like to go to a college with sports teams, but my mom thinks i am not ready and should go to santa monica college(our city cc). I need some help, Thanks</p>