Anonymous
Post 12/24/2023 10:54     Subject: West coast schools
OP, what does your kid want to do? What kind of degree? What kind of job?
Anonymous
Post 12/24/2023 10:48     Subject: West coast schools
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DS (Jr) is interested in West coast and I’m not as familiar with smaller/mid sized schools. Just starting the search. His grades are currently As and Bs. He’s not yet sure what his major would be possibly communications. Any experiences out there you can share? Thanks!


Californian here. Here are my thoughts, assuming the As and Bs are from a regular school and not one known to have hard grading, I probably forgot a few too.

Reach: Santa Clara, Whitman, Reed (though I would be cautious about sending a kid there personally), Occidental, LMU, Pitzer, Pepperdine.

Target: Puget Sound, Lewis & Clark, USD, USF, Chapman.

Safety: Willamette, St. Mary’s Moraga, Point Loma Nazarene

Gonzaga, Cal Poly Whitman are hard to reach from the east coast.

Random: The newest CSU, Cal State Channel Islands is in a great location and literally everything I hear is positive. The student body isn’t big and the professors are ambitious and dedicated. They provide lots of personal attention. I don’t think it’s for everyone and I definitely would not make it the top of the list, but I think it’s an interesting safety. Would definitely be a safety. I haven’t included other CSUs because they are much bigger.

Also random: If you have a hippie kid, Evergreen State. But as with Reed, I would not send a kid there.

I would not send a kid to Soka.



Oxy is no longer a reach


Ignorant. Definitely a reach for a student of OPs profile.



Oxy once would have been a reach but no longer. Sadly I know this well as an alum. Also OP’s son wants a communications major- Oxy have a strong communications major. It has something called Arts & Media. USC (yes, huge, expensive and now difficult to get into) is where a communications major should go
Anonymous
Post 12/23/2023 19:05     Subject: West coast schools
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I absolutely loved University of San Diego. Beautiful campus!! I also recommend a look at LMU and Occidental. Plus Santa Clara up north, but it may be a smidge harder. I can’t say I recommend any others. Good luck!


Seconded. Visited both of those schools with my then-junior last year, as well as the reach schools in LA that other posters have referenced. We are not Catholic but my kid liked the vibe enough at LMU to apply, and just got in EA (public school, mostly As and some Bs in Honors/AP courses). Gorgeous campus, and the students seemed refreshingly laid back compared to the suburban DC grind-zone.


And a LOT better looking

Controlling for ses, dc vs lmu is like trolls under a bridge vs supermodels


I am the person you're responding to. And that was not our experience. The students at LMU looked like regular college kids. Not sure why you hate your DC and their friends so much that you'd refer to them as trolls. Sad.
Anonymous
Post 12/23/2023 16:59     Subject: West coast schools
Anonymous wrote:CA parent here: Cal Poly SLO is a hard admit now vs “my day”. From LA/LAX it’s 3+hrs drive. You can take the Amtrak part of the way but there’s been construction requiring partial bus service I believe.

If I were OOS going to an “LA area school” I wouldn’t go further than Santa Barbara (in that specific direction) drive wise once you’ve landed.

San Diego and Bay Area schools you can fly into. SLO would feel challenging to me from that perspective.


There is an airport, just wouldn't be a direct flight, and more expensive. My cousin is there from out of state, her father's a pilot, and he suggested she apply because SLO was always his favorite overnight. Amtrak has had intermit issues, but is currently fine, just a long slow ride, my DC did it last week.
Anonymous
Post 12/23/2023 16:48     Subject: Re:West coast schools
Anonymous wrote:I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who went ti Soka.


Because almost no one has.
Anonymous
Post 12/23/2023 14:43     Subject: West coast schools
Anonymous wrote:Soka University has one of the most stunningly beautiful campuses in the country. It's located in an affluent part of south Orange County. If you're dead set on grad school after finishing your bachelor's it should be on your list. They have tremendous merit aid and an incredible record of placing students in grad school.


Personally, I think if you're dead set on grad school, you should try to go to a high-ranked school for your field, rather than focusing on being surrounded by affluence.
Anonymous
Post 12/23/2023 14:39     Subject: West coast schools
CA parent here: Cal Poly SLO is a hard admit now vs “my day”. From LA/LAX it’s 3+hrs drive. You can take the Amtrak part of the way but there’s been construction requiring partial bus service I believe.

If I were OOS going to an “LA area school” I wouldn’t go further than Santa Barbara (in that specific direction) drive wise once you’ve landed.

San Diego and Bay Area schools you can fly into. SLO would feel challenging to me from that perspective.
Anonymous
Post 12/23/2023 14:26     Subject: Re:West coast schools
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who went ti Soka.
Anonymous
Post 12/23/2023 02:09     Subject: West coast schools
Anonymous wrote:Soka University has one of the most stunningly beautiful campuses in the country. It's located in an affluent part of south Orange County. If you're dead set on grad school after finishing your bachelor's it should be on your list. They have tremendous merit aid and an incredible record of placing students in grad school.


Skip. Ignore. No one even knows what the F Soka is.
Anonymous
Post 12/23/2023 00:10     Subject: Re:West coast schools
Anonymous wrote:What about some of the big state schools - UW is excellent and Oregon State. UC Davis is another I haven't seen mentioned here.


I’m the Californian PP and I didn’t mention them because OP specified small and mid-sized.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2023 22:54     Subject: Re:West coast schools
What about some of the big state schools - UW is excellent and Oregon State. UC Davis is another I haven't seen mentioned here.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2023 22:43     Subject: West coast schools
Soka University has one of the most stunningly beautiful campuses in the country. It's located in an affluent part of south Orange County. If you're dead set on grad school after finishing your bachelor's it should be on your list. They have tremendous merit aid and an incredible record of placing students in grad school.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2023 22:37     Subject: West coast schools
Anonymous wrote:what's the vibe at USD ?


Wealthy, preppy, living at the mall
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2023 22:04     Subject: West coast schools
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DS (Jr) is interested in West coast and I’m not as familiar with smaller/mid sized schools. Just starting the search. His grades are currently As and Bs. He’s not yet sure what his major would be possibly communications. Any experiences out there you can share? Thanks!


Californian here. Here are my thoughts, assuming the As and Bs are from a regular school and not one known to have hard grading, I probably forgot a few too.

Reach: Santa Clara, Whitman, Reed (though I would be cautious about sending a kid there personally), Occidental, LMU, Pitzer, Pepperdine.

Target: Puget Sound, Lewis & Clark, USD, USF, Chapman.

Safety: Willamette, St. Mary’s Moraga, Point Loma Nazarene

Gonzaga, Cal Poly Whitman are hard to reach from the east coast.

Random: The newest CSU, Cal State Channel Islands is in a great location and literally everything I hear is positive. The student body isn’t big and the professors are ambitious and dedicated. They provide lots of personal attention. I don’t think it’s for everyone and I definitely would not make it the top of the list, but I think it’s an interesting safety. Would definitely be a safety. I haven’t included other CSUs because they are much bigger.

Also random: If you have a hippie kid, Evergreen State. But as with Reed, I would not send a kid there.

I would not send a kid to Soka.



Oxy is no longer a reach


Ignorant. Definitely a reach for a student of OPs profile.
Anonymous
Post 12/22/2023 21:57     Subject: West coast schools
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DS (Jr) is interested in West coast and I’m not as familiar with smaller/mid sized schools. Just starting the search. His grades are currently As and Bs. He’s not yet sure what his major would be possibly communications. Any experiences out there you can share? Thanks!


Caltech, Pomona.


Jesus Christ. The kid is an A/B student. Might as well apply to be an astronaut at 18 if he's going to apply to these schools.

Here are some realistic options:

Reaches: Santa Clara, Occidental, Pepperdine

High targets: Whitman, Loyola Marymount

Targets: Willamette, Puget Sound, Chapman, U of the Pacific

Safety: Whittier

Offbeat choice: Soka University of America


Thank you for this list!


I'd suggest take U of the Pacific off the list. Would add California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (aka "Cal Poly") to the list. Great college town, though unfortunately difficult to get to.


I’m in California and no A/B students I know were admitted to Cal Poly.



Cal Poly has almost 30K undergrads. Also, it is primarily hispanic service (this is in the wiki on the school - read it before you complain). It is not considered a good school in California


What on earth are you talking about? Do you mean Cal Poly Humboldt instead of SLO? Cal Poly SLO is extremely well regarded in California.


Actually that PP is probably confusing SLO with Pomona. Very different Cal Polys.

Cal Poly SLO is difficult to get into.