<p>mom60 - I’m aware of this wonderful equestrian program due to my D doing 4-H years ago - UCD runs that program and hosts annual camps there each year. And, congrats to your D for getting in, especially if she was 3.3/27ish. </p>
<p>UCD’s acceptance rate runs 49% for our HS; Ave is 4.15/30 and Low is 3.52/23. UCD was my S’s top pick in 2010. 3.7/30, Civil Engineering, with CE Internship, leadership, lots of AP, rigour through senior year, athletics and all that did not get him in, or even waitlisted. None of his friends got in either and three were 4.0. What major you chose, of course, is key. But, the criterion that has the most affect on students from our HS (where UC applicants have both parents with college degrees and can more than afford expensive test prep courses) is said to be:
Quality of your academic performance relative to the educational opportunities available in your high school.
Outstanding performance in one or more specific subject areas.
Outstanding work in one or more special projects in any academic field of study.
Completion of special projects undertaken in the context of your high school curriculum or in conjunction with special school events, projects or programs.
And, all of this must be mentioned on the app or in the essay, so it can be score - not mentioned, no points. I cringe when I think how many applicants write about one experience.</p>
<p>Please understand that I am definitely not complaining. My husband was a first generation college student. And, neither of my kids love academics - can’t see either going on to grad school. Their both practical more than theoretical, so I know the CSU’s are a better fit.</p>
<p>My son wants to be a computer science major, which appears to be a very popular one, and seems a second choice for computer engineer hopefuls with higher stats, who are hedging their odds for impacted majors…
My son does not love academics either. He has been working at Target for the last year, and will be partially (minimally) funding his college expenses. He realizes he doesn’t want a career in retail full time. He took some programming courses through UCSD extension over the summer and liked that a lot.
NAU is a definite possibility. The WUE makes it competitive with CSU’s and they also guarantee no tuition increases for at least the next 4 years which offers some security.
Cal Poly Pomona is his number one, but as mom60 mentioned, the CSU’s are getting even more unpredictable, so he is definitely looking further.
He likes Sonoma State too, Monterey Bay might be his CSU safety.
When I looked at most of the criterion from the UC site, I really don’t see my son. He goes to school, goes to work, hangs out with his friends, but has no particularly outstanding achievements. I think he feels some pressure to apply to at least one (Riverside) because it seems like his school has really geared them up for this!</p>
<p>Lemonheads,
It looks to me like my plan is similar to your’s. And, I think you’ve got all your bases covered as far as safeties go. Being interested in a non-impacted major at his top-choice school is a plus for him, I would think. Knowing he’s test-driven his intended major is another plus, for the both of you. It was a major relief for me as switching majors is a factor in why kids take an extra year to graduate. Did you know each CSU posts stats reports of admit rates by major on their web sites? Google - “School Name” Annual Reports. </p>
<p>Local Service Area has to be the mystery factor at CSU’s for non-impacted majors because it’s the only other factor considered. I wish they would publish GPA and test stats broken down between local and non-local admits. CA publics could make a better effort to remove the “it’s a cr*p shoot” feeling parents and students have regarding the admit process. As it is, we’ve only got the Common Data Set and Naviance, if your school has it, to be our guide. The UC system has Stat Finder, but last time I looked it only had data through 2008-2009 - not helpful at all considering that times were vastly different back then.</p>
<p>Our HS really pushes the UC’s as well, to the point that all students enrolled in 12th grade English write one of the essays, even the non-honors classes. And, the crazy thing is they focus on writing about a significant experience. We were told, during the UCSB tour, to watch the online video of how to write the essay that the UC system publishes. It was drastically different from what my DS was writing in class - more of a show them how your non-academic life would impact their campus community. It mentioned the multiple criterion they’d be using to score it. This UC bias/obsession at our HS gives many false hope and causes kids to overlook the CSU altogether. …Sad</p>
<p>I would be interested to hear how one of you had a child get into UCDavis with a 3.0-3.3 GPA. My D’s GPA is about 3.6, but her SATs are fair to middling, so she falls somewhat into this category. I would love to see her apply there, but figure she has absolutely no chance.</p>
<p>I agree it is better to stay away from UC if you don’t thrive on the theoretical. My S did a freshman year at UCR, and is taking a year break at CC, and deciding whether to return next year. Actually, it was the quarter system that compounds the difficulty.</p>
<p>Right now my D’s first choice is Sonoma State, but I am urging her to look at some UCs. I actually think the UCs will be better off financially once the prop fails here in CA. The CSUs have already said that they aren’t going to figure out how many students to admit until the prop decision is complete.</p>
<p>I’m mostly a lurker here, but my D13 is very interested in west coast schools. Since many of you tend to be “local”, I thought I’d see if anyone has any background on the following: One of her favorite schools is Univ. of San Francisco. I was shocked recently to see it show up on a list of top 10 most dangerous campuses. Can any of you in the bay area tell me why that is. She’s a city kid and fairly street smart (but also pigheaded at times), but still…</p>
<p>Crizello- I think she was lucky. Her gpa was about 3.5 weighed. She had no AP classes but did have 20 units of CC credit and a 1790 combined sat. She applied to the school of Ag and had lots of ec in animal science and had a job. She did not get into Santa Cruz or Santa Barbara.</p>
<p>mom60: thanks for the info. I think it can’t hurt for my D to apply there. It is a long shot, but one never knows! She is retaking the SAT in November and hopes to get closer to 1800 on that round. </p>
<p>This weekend we might visit Chico State, and the next coming weekends are preview days at U of Pacific, Santa Cruz, Merced. So we hope to get in a few more visits.</p>
<p>Hard to believe that application time is upon us already!</p>
<p>My S, a 2010 HS grad, 3.6 wtd/30, Civil Eng, 5 AP, and internship did NOT get in to UCD or SLO. He got into CSUF, CPP, CSULB, SDSU, UCM, UCR and was waitlisted at UCI. (In that order, starting at T-giving and receiving all CSU’s before V-Day.) He only applied to schools that offered the CE major so he did not apply to UCSB or UCSC. I think he would have gotten into UCSC as his freshman college roommate was from his HS, was an eng major and got in there.</p>
<p>Similar to mom60’s experience, the only person I know with lower stats that got into UCD was my D’s 4-H president, who majors in crop science and was well known up there due to her years of 4-H. </p>
<p>Crizello, good point on the quarter system. For those that don’t know already, your student will also get a bit of this type of accelerated teaching method (can’t think of a better description) at a CSU. Back in the old days, classes were all spread out; 2 or 3 times per week. My S’s has many classes, like a 3-credit accounting, just one day per week. He has adapted now, but he did have one semester with classes on one day from 10am to 10pm - that did not go well! There was no grade forgiveness back in the old days, that policy was quite a pleasant surprise.</p>
<p>I have not been following the UC budget info. I will have to read up on why they might weather it better. I really feel for those applying this year to CSU’s with the admit freeze pre-announcement. A friend of mine, with a student applying this year, plans to have her student enroll in a CC that’s in her S’s first choice CSU service area should the prop not pass. This would give him an edge on a transfer and would allow him to the CSU’s Open University Classes along with CC classes. Being enrolled in OU gives kids a rec center membership and participate in CSU clubs; all great ways to get to know other students.</p>
<p>nyermom, I’m a lurker here but a SF Bay Area Resident and I’m completely baffled by USF showing up on a 10 most dangerous campuses list. It’s urban but surrounded by stable residential areas. I’ve been on the campus periodically over the years and it was always calm and inviting, the views are the only killer thing I can think of. I suppose property crime can spike occasionally, but dangerous? Be very skeptical of some random list, do some in-depth research. I’ve always loved USF.</p>
<p>nyermom, California has a state regulation known as the Cleary Act. If you Google that for USF you can read about campus crimes in a standardized format, which makes it easy to compare CA campuses.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip about the Clery Act. According to the campus statement below, it would seem that the biggest increase and issue with crime is auto theft. I really don’t want to cross it off our list.</p>
<p>nyermom - as another local, it’s a really nice school that is NOT any more dangerous than other city schools. </p>
<p>As bopambo mentioned above, it’s in a very stable, mostly upscale residential neighborhood, fairly isolated on it’s hillside, rather than in the downtown area.
That said, it’s obvious that the school takes pains to be sure that the students are aware of safety and has the requisite “blue light” system in place.</p>
<p>USF has had ongoing construction, which has improved the campus and quality of education considerably. It’s a solid choice.</p>
<p>As a parent of daughters, I would have no hesitation in keeping it on your list.</p>
<p>I’m sorry to see that this thread seems to have devolved to focus primarily on California schools. As a native Californian who sent our son to Willamette University in Oregon, we have saved a TON of money as California SCU and state universities have jacked up their tuition prices. Please consider the range of schools mentioned in the first few pages of this thread.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for putting some perspective on the USF issue. I didn’t mention it to my daughter (though she considers herself very cool and savvy–perhaps too much so). Right now I just want to keep as many schools on the list as possible.</p>
<p>This is the best on-line tour I’ve seen and and I’ve looked at a few now that I’m on the third kid: Western State Colorado University in Gunnison.</p>
<p>Doing some research for a friends’ son…does anyone have any information about Montana State Univ.? He is particularly interested in whether or not there is much school spirit. Montana State doesn’t seem to have a forum on cc. I’d appreciate any input–</p>
<p>They are an FCS football school and average about 17,000 people per game. Pretty darn good for FCS. In comparison, Cal Poly averages about 9,000 people per game. Their enrollment is growing partly because they are seen as the ‘hot’ school in Montana over U MT. We got the sense that there was a decent amount of school spirit. Lots of natural resource and science related majors.</p>
<p>We visited and really liked it. Son has it #1 on his list for right now over U Montana, Iowa State, and U MN.</p>
<p>Thanks so much Haystack! He’s visiting this weekend and his mom asked me to help with some cc research…think this is the place for him–he’s a snowboarder.</p>
<p>I used to do college recruiting for a big retail company. I loved Montana State. Their students were well-prepared, and it is a beautiful setting and campus. I think it is actually more selective than the U Montana. Both of them have the disadvantage for non-Montanans of the expense of getting there.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it is more expensive to fly to Bozeman or Missoula from any major U.S. city , even those relatively nearby like Seattle or Portland, than it would be to fly from LA to New York with a good sale fare.</p>