Help me better understand Southern Cal universities & colleges

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, to add to your the descriptions in your post, you should note that the Claremont colleges are a bit of a hike from LA. I would hope that by this point in time there are good public transportation options (as opposed to having to drive on the 10) to get from one place to the other.

There is a train station a very short walk away (3 minutes) from Pomona that takes you directly downtown. Coming this fall will be a route from Pomona to Pasadena.

It’s still a longer than expected train ride. DS spent a fair amount of time in LA while at a 5Cs school and he’d either catch a ride with friends or Uber.

Ours takes the train all the time. It really just is up to the individual. People use the metrolink for the daily commute, so it can’t be that bad. It’s maybe 20 or so minutes longer than driving.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Kid is interested in Los Angeles area schools - he's thinking about political science, business/economics, maybe centered on the entertainment business.

Here's what I know - what am I missing?

USC - super hard to get into, great film school, bad neighborhood.
UCLA - also super hard to get into. Huge. Not sure why it is so great or such a hard admit.
Loyola Marymount - right near Santa Monica, Catholic, mid-size (7k or so), good for people who want to get into the entertainment business but can't get into the two above schools. Has a dedicated business school.
Chapman - good for film, easier to get into.
Occidental - super woke? Is that right?
Claremont Mckenna schools - 5 school consortium, hard to get into.
Whittier - Nixon.

Kid does not yet know what he wants in terms of size. He's doing IB diploma, has just over a 4.0 GPA and should have good test scores...i.e. in-state UVA and W&M are on the table but not guaranteed admits.

What am I missing about the above schools? Other schools in the area that should be on our list?

LMU is beautiful campus in Marina Del Rey and lots of tech jobs nearby on Silicon Beach. It is Catholic but not super religious (not like Pepperdine or Biola). They also have a good honors college.
Chapman is great for business, psychology and film/entertainment.
Occidental is a traditional liberal arts college, built in 1800s with small classes and caring teachers. Clueless was filmed there.

I grew up in L.A. and went to UCLA. We looked at schools in California, but my kids preferred to stay east for college.

LMU is not particularly close to Santa Monica and it is not in Marina Del Rey (although it's close). LMU is in Westchester, which is part of Los Angeles proper. But L.A. is not like other cities, and this part of L.A. feels pretty suburban. UCLA, USC , and Occidental are also in L.A. Chapman is in Orange County, which is not L.A., and the Claremont schools are east of L.A. Just go visit and see what your kid likes. L.A. is not an easy city to live in, and the entertainment industry is not easy to work in, so your should have good reasons for wanting these things beyond it seeming exciting/cool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kid is interested in Los Angeles area schools - he's thinking about political science, business/economics, maybe centered on the entertainment business.

Here's what I know - what am I missing?

USC - super hard to get into, great film school, bad neighborhood.
UCLA - also super hard to get into. Huge. Not sure why it is so great or such a hard admit.
Loyola Marymount - right near Santa Monica, Catholic, mid-size (7k or so), good for people who want to get into the entertainment business but can't get into the two above schools. Has a dedicated business school.
Chapman - good for film, easier to get into.
Occidental - super woke? Is that right?
Claremont Mckenna schools - 5 school consortium, hard to get into.
Whittier - Nixon.

Kid does not yet know what he wants in terms of size. He's doing IB diploma, has just over a 4.0 GPA and should have good test scores...i.e. in-state UVA and W&M are on the table but not guaranteed admits.

What am I missing about the above schools? Other schools in the area that should be on our list?

LMU is beautiful campus in Marina Del Rey and lots of tech jobs nearby on Silicon Beach. It is Catholic but not super religious (not like Pepperdine or Biola). They also have a good honors college.
Chapman is great for business, psychology and film/entertainment.
Occidental is a traditional liberal arts college, built in 1800s with small classes and caring teachers. Clueless was filmed there.

I grew up in L.A. and went to UCLA. We looked at schools in California, but my kids preferred to stay east for college.

LMU is not particularly close to Santa Monica and it is not in Marina Del Rey (although it's close). LMU is in Westchester, which is part of Los Angeles proper. But L.A. is not like other cities, and this part of L.A. feels pretty suburban. UCLA, USC , and Occidental are also in L.A. Chapman is in Orange County, which is not L.A., and the Claremont schools are east of L.A. Just go visit and see what your kid likes. L.A. is not an easy city to live in, and the entertainment industry is not easy to work in, so your should have good reasons for wanting these things beyond it seeming exciting/cool.

Yep - though ease of living is all relative. For kids coming from big/expensive urban areas already it’s not much different. Also, most kids accepted into top film programs in NY/LA have a strong portfolio and resume just to get accepted. So it’s more than “hey that sounds cool”. Yeah the industry is tough but that’s true of any arts degree, so hopefully they will factor that into their course selection and choices of minors, etc. LMU allows film students to double major, which is awesome since they are also strong in business.

[Anonymous]

Fullerton has a good business school and film school. Easier to get into, over in Orange County, nice campus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fullerton has a good business school and film school. Easier to get into, over in Orange County, nice campus.

If looking at Cal States, I’d recommend CSUN for film. CSUN has a really strong program and facilities, though it’s impacted (not direct admit for production). CSULB is also worth a look.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:OOS students have higher admit rates than in-state students because fewer of them actually end up matriculating. A stunning number of families don't look at the UC price tag and assume there'll bee some sort of aid available to them. At the end of the day, when they're considering a not-UCLA/UCB school in the UC system at $85,000 per year, they end up deciding to go to a private school or their in-state option.

If the yield were higher for OOS students, the admit rate would drop. As a concrete example, note that the yield rate for UCLA/UCB is much higher than the other schools, and their OOS admit rate is either the same as in-state (UCLA) or even lower (UCB).

Where are you getting $85K?

Over three quarters, the OOS tuition supplement at Berkeley and UCLA is around $34K total … so OOS 2025 applicants would be looking at a total cost of $70 - $75K, max. per year. If dorm living is dropped for apartment or Greek life housing, $65 - $70K is very achievable. And yes, that includes airfares for move-in / out, holidays, etc.

I get that $70K is still a lot, but citing $85K seems intentionally dishonest.

First I'm rooting for your $34K tuition best for everyone from DMV. I'm looking at: https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/tuition-financial-aid/tuition-cost-of-attendance/ and I see: $50,328; The total direct cost is closer to your number: $76,028.

Cal Poly seems closer to your estimated tuition: https://www.calpoly.edu/financial-aid/costs-and-affordability/undergraduate-costs-attendance-2025-26 $37,005 for tuition.

UCLA OOS will be 80k (website recently updated I think): https://admission.ucla.edu/tuition-aid/tuition-fees

Why, why would anyone choose to pay that OOS??

Here’s one reason: If a prospective applicant takes a holistic approach to planning their future and considers an institution’s academic reputation (in the U.S. and globally), its excellence across a very broad range of programs, its grad. school and professional outcomes, its diverse social opportunities, and its overall quality of life, there are less than 20 other colleges or universities on the planet that can compete with the likes of UCLA or UC Berkeley.

This is funny; wildly incorrect but funny.

It’s mostly funny because it left you empty handed and apparently unarmed when it came time for a substantive response. But let’s give you a second chance to fall short.

Name at least 20 institutions that are exemplars beyond UCLA and UC Berkeley in those five areas.

Patiently waiting for some good laughs …

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The flip side to UC systems being so great is that admissions is basically a lottery for high stat kids in high performing areas which is really frustrating for families in the Bay Area, LA and some parts of SD. It’s flipped where lower stat OOS kids breeze in while perfect stat kids get the lowest rung. I was shocked at how many perfect stat kids with great ECs were flat out rejected from even the mid tier UCs.

If private colleges were not so outrageously expensive, there wouldn’t be the intense pressure on the UCs.

This does not happen. CA should just designate a certain portion of seats as “ non-resident price” but allow in state families to take them as well. Easily fill them in state.

This absolutely does happen. I’m not sure why you are so invested in pretending otherwise. The link to the chart for admitted students and acceptance rate is in the post above. Was your OOS kid rejected from UCSD or something?

Not rejected from UCSD but thanks for asking. My Bay Area kid was was accepted to both UCB and UCLA but she turned them down and headed East. She was local ELC, 4.6, 12APs, NMSF, and went to the State Championship for her sport more than once.

Lower stats OOS students do not breeze into CS or Engineering at UCB or UCLA, it just doesn't happen. You are correct that OOS kids have a considerably easier time for some schools and some majors because seats are set aside for OOS paying students for revenue purposes.

Doe UCLA and UCB admit by major? If so, are some majors easier admits? Can you change majors once you are a student?

[Anonymous]

Yes the UCs admit by major and some majors are definitely easier than others (for example in UCLA’s TFT film program accepts fewer than 25 undergrad students, so it’s like a 1% acceptance, so ridiculous). I’m sure other popular majors are similarly hard to get into, I’m just familiar with film. And transferring is difficult if not impossible for these impacted majors.

[Anonymous]

For 2024 entry, UCLA took 52% of undergraduate applicants who named History as their major.

On the other hand, there are subjects that are heavily over subscribed, CS, Psychology, etc where chances are much slimmer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For 2024 entry, UCLA took 52% of undergraduate applicants who named History as their major.

On the other hand, there are subjects that are heavily over subscribed, CS, Psychology, etc where chances are much slimmer

Where do you find this info for acceptance rates by major at UCLA? How are more people not gaming this system to get in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For 2024 entry, UCLA took 52% of undergraduate applicants who named History as their major.

On the other hand, there are subjects that are heavily over subscribed, CS, Psychology, etc where chances are much slimmer

Where do you find this info for acceptance rates by major at UCLA? How are more people not gaming this system to get in?

All this information is detailed on their websites. You just have to scroll around in the "admitted students" category and on departmental pages. Sometimes you go in circles and it is frustrating, but other times you find these details.

There are people gaming the system but a lot of people don't have a clue.

But you have to know, you cannot go in officially to study Biology (an easier admit) and then change to Psych which is a much harder admit. It is far too over subscribed to allow that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For 2024 entry, UCLA took 52% of undergraduate applicants who named History as their major.

On the other hand, there are subjects that are heavily over subscribed, CS, Psychology, etc where chances are much slimmer

This comment is misleading. UCLA does not admit by major, they admit by school. You get admitted into the College of Letters & Sciences as an undergrad (which includes History, Economics, Biology, Psychology) and then you can apply for your major after you're accepted. Getting into the Theater/Film and Engineering schools are more competitive that College of Letters & Science, but mentioning you want to study history vs. psychology won't give you a higher acceptance rate - they are both the same school, Letters & Science with the same accept rate.

You can mention what you want to study on your application, but they know you can change your mind so they say it doesn't impact admission.

My daughter applied to Letters & Science, said she wanted to study psychology (which is extremely popular for women candidates) and she got in! I don't think you can game it since you aren't admitted by major, or held to it, so she was honest and it had no negative impact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The UMC family in Palo Alto is paying far more taxes both in amount and % than a middle class family in Fresno. A middle class kid in Fresno gets a huge bump in admissions for being from Fresno and isn’t competing with an entire class full of kids that have completed an associates degree, won national awards, perfect GPA and AP scores in a far more rigorous school. In addition, UC just built a brand new campus near Fresno. The kicker..the middle class family in Fresno is likely to be MAGA, disavow education and vote against UC any chance they get.

Have you looked at the kids who attend UC Merced? The most socioeconomic diverse UC, praised for social mobility, they aren’t predominately from MAGA families, and it is also dubious to assume that a Fresno middle class family that sends their kids to UC Merced is MAGA. Fresno isn’t gated where only MAGA people are allowed in and out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For 2024 entry, UCLA took 52% of undergraduate applicants who named History as their major.

On the other hand, there are subjects that are heavily over subscribed, CS, Psychology, etc where chances are much slimmer

This comment is misleading. UCLA does not admit by major, they admit by school. You get admitted into the College of Letters & Sciences as an undergrad (which includes History, Economics, Biology, Psychology) and then you can apply for your major after you're accepted. Getting into the Theater/Film and Engineering schools are more competitive that College of Letters & Science, but mentioning you want to study history vs. psychology won't give you a higher acceptance rate - they are both the same school, Letters & Science with the same accept rate.

You can mention what you want to study on your application, but they know you can change your mind so they say it doesn't impact admission.

My daughter applied to Letters & Science, said she wanted to study psychology (which is extremely popular for women candidates) and she got in! I don't think you can game it since you aren't admitted by major, or held to it, so she was honest and it had no negative impact.

This must vary by school/major within UCLA. Because for film, one applies for the major directly at the time of applying. You don’t just get accepted to TFT (school of theater film and television) and then get to choose between majoring in theater or film.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Pepperdine is gorgeous! And right in Malibu on the coast.

https://www.google.com/search?q=pepperdine+images&sca_esv=0d68eac63f3eb3ca&sxsrf=AE3TifMgwAXpOk1CnFgvdhN19tLgXHZKAA%3A1749602346768&source=hp&ei=KtBIaOPRK6HF0PEPx-TZmAE&iflsig=AOw8s4IAAAAAaEjeOtEYh3n5E8OqYvupL6zU9wcFI9m-&ved=0ahUKEwjjjv_SkOiNAxWhIjQIHUdyFhMQ4dUDCBk&uact=5&oq=pepperdine+images&gs_lp=Egdnd3Mtd2l6IhFwZXBwZXJkaW5lIGltYWdlczIFEAAYgAQyBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgsQABiABBiGAxiKBTILEAAYgAQYhgMYigUyCxAAGIAEGIYDGIoFMggQABiiBBiJBUi3F1AAWNcUcAF4AJABAJgBigGgAcIMqgEEMTUuM7gBA8gBAPgBAZgCE6AC-wzCAgQQIxgnwgIKECMYgAQYJxiKBcICCxAAGIAEGLEDGIMBwgIIEAAYgAQYsQPCAggQLhiABBixA8ICDhAAGIAEGLEDGIMBGIoFwgILEC4YgAQYsQMYgwHCAgsQLhiABBixAxjUAsICBRAuGIAEwgIIEC4YgAQY5QTCAggQABiABBiiBJgDAJIHBDE2LjOgB8y3AbIHBDE1LjO4B_gMwgcGMC4xMy42yAcx&sclient=gws-wiz

here to help!

Ah yes California University, IYKYK.