Anonymous
Post 06/18/2024 12:04     Subject: UC college admits from the Big3
UCLA and cal are great schools. Most see it as a step above Michigan, uva, and the like. Honestly, they’re probably the two best public universities in the country. And they both have pretty cool campuses. I get it.

Just be aware, if coming from a fancy east coast school there will be some social adaptation required. California is very different. Take the flip flops, but leave the sperry topsiders and vineyard vines polos at home.
Anonymous
Post 06/18/2024 11:56     Subject: UC college admits from the Big3
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
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Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:if your kid or any you know were admitted to Cal, UCLA, etc from a Big3, what do you think put them over the edge?
I know these are hard admits under the private school paradigm of few APs, etc,


I don’t know any students at my children’s school (Sidwell) who talk about attending a UC. I’m sure there are some, it just hasn’t reached my ears. Generally speaking, I don’t think state schools are popular among Sidwell kids.


My son applied from Sidwell a couple of cycles ago. Denied. The problem is that a Sidwell GPA will never cut it in a sea of 4.8888888s, and GPA is literally the only thing UCs screen for now. That, and I think poverty.

Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin "get" the Sidwell situation. UCs and Texas do not. So, Ann Arbor is a more reliable admit than UC Santa Barbara, oddly.





UCs are not highly sought after by Sidwell students. That said, there are 5 c/o ‘24 students going to UCs (1 each to Cal, UCSD, and UCSC). The two students who are going to UCLA are recruited athletes.

Sidwell seems to send a handful of students (including non recruited athletes) to UCs every year. It’s not an impossible admit.


And yet Sidwell seniors send in close to 30 applications per year with only a few acceptances to Berkeley/UCLA.


There are 125 students per grade at Sidwell. Those 30 applications are most likely coming from the same 5-10 students. Are you actually trying to convince us that UCs are some of the most sought after colleges by Sidwell students? Please stop.


In 2023 - 25 Sidwell students applied to Berkeley and 27 applied to UCLA...... look before you leap.


And how many were admitted to each?


Berkeley lists 0 but we know a student is there - so it's hard to say whether that is a reporting error vs a student getting off WL

UCLA lists 3 (and we know of 3 accepted there)


Did they have any Bs?

You ask this question like Bs are the only thing that matter. Do these students getting denied have strong ECs, do they have strong essays? One B or a few Bs definitely isn’t a disqualification for UCB. Check their common data set. A majority of students accepted don’t have perfect GPAs.


I'm not the PP speaking of B's - but to your point on those being denied..... there are definitely Big 3 students with zero B's, that have very high stats, high rigor, solid ECs, and strong essays who are still getting a WLs/rejections from Cal and UCLA.


I’m still puzzled as to why any Big 3 student would really want to attend Cal and UCLA with their subpar public facilities (especially Cal), impacted classes (both), and high OOS tuition (both).


For my DC, it was the strong programs in their area of interest. TBH, it was also mystery to me, since they mostly applied to smaller private schools. They did like the weather - but it wasn't just any school in CA. They had zero interest in USC, for example.
Anonymous
Post 06/18/2024 11:15     Subject: UC college admits from the Big3
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:if your kid or any you know were admitted to Cal, UCLA, etc from a Big3, what do you think put them over the edge?
I know these are hard admits under the private school paradigm of few APs, etc,


I don’t know any students at my children’s school (Sidwell) who talk about attending a UC. I’m sure there are some, it just hasn’t reached my ears. Generally speaking, I don’t think state schools are popular among Sidwell kids.


My son applied from Sidwell a couple of cycles ago. Denied. The problem is that a Sidwell GPA will never cut it in a sea of 4.8888888s, and GPA is literally the only thing UCs screen for now. That, and I think poverty.

Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin "get" the Sidwell situation. UCs and Texas do not. So, Ann Arbor is a more reliable admit than UC Santa Barbara, oddly.





UCs are not highly sought after by Sidwell students. That said, there are 5 c/o ‘24 students going to UCs (1 each to Cal, UCSD, and UCSC). The two students who are going to UCLA are recruited athletes.

Sidwell seems to send a handful of students (including non recruited athletes) to UCs every year. It’s not an impossible admit.


And yet Sidwell seniors send in close to 30 applications per year with only a few acceptances to Berkeley/UCLA.


There are 125 students per grade at Sidwell. Those 30 applications are most likely coming from the same 5-10 students. Are you actually trying to convince us that UCs are some of the most sought after colleges by Sidwell students? Please stop.


In 2023 - 25 Sidwell students applied to Berkeley and 27 applied to UCLA...... look before you leap.


And how many were admitted to each?


Berkeley lists 0 but we know a student is there - so it's hard to say whether that is a reporting error vs a student getting off WL

UCLA lists 3 (and we know of 3 accepted there)


Did they have any Bs?

You ask this question like Bs are the only thing that matter. Do these students getting denied have strong ECs, do they have strong essays? One B or a few Bs definitely isn’t a disqualification for UCB. Check their common data set. A majority of students accepted don’t have perfect GPAs.


I'm not the PP speaking of B's - but to your point on those being denied..... there are definitely Big 3 students with zero B's, that have very high stats, high rigor, solid ECs, and strong essays who are still getting a WLs/rejections from Cal and UCLA.


I’m still puzzled as to why any Big 3 student would really want to attend Cal and UCLA with their subpar public facilities (especially Cal), impacted classes (both), and high OOS tuition (both).
Anonymous
Post 06/18/2024 11:03     Subject: UC college admits from the Big3
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:if your kid or any you know were admitted to Cal, UCLA, etc from a Big3, what do you think put them over the edge?
I know these are hard admits under the private school paradigm of few APs, etc,


I don’t know any students at my children’s school (Sidwell) who talk about attending a UC. I’m sure there are some, it just hasn’t reached my ears. Generally speaking, I don’t think state schools are popular among Sidwell kids.


My son applied from Sidwell a couple of cycles ago. Denied. The problem is that a Sidwell GPA will never cut it in a sea of 4.8888888s, and GPA is literally the only thing UCs screen for now. That, and I think poverty.

Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin "get" the Sidwell situation. UCs and Texas do not. So, Ann Arbor is a more reliable admit than UC Santa Barbara, oddly.





UCs are not highly sought after by Sidwell students. That said, there are 5 c/o ‘24 students going to UCs (1 each to Cal, UCSD, and UCSC). The two students who are going to UCLA are recruited athletes.

Sidwell seems to send a handful of students (including non recruited athletes) to UCs every year. It’s not an impossible admit.


And yet Sidwell seniors send in close to 30 applications per year with only a few acceptances to Berkeley/UCLA.


There are 125 students per grade at Sidwell. Those 30 applications are most likely coming from the same 5-10 students. Are you actually trying to convince us that UCs are some of the most sought after colleges by Sidwell students? Please stop.


In 2023 - 25 Sidwell students applied to Berkeley and 27 applied to UCLA...... look before you leap.


And how many were admitted to each?


Berkeley lists 0 but we know a student is there - so it's hard to say whether that is a reporting error vs a student getting off WL

UCLA lists 3 (and we know of 3 accepted there)


Did they have any Bs?

You ask this question like Bs are the only thing that matter. Do these students getting denied have strong ECs, do they have strong essays? One B or a few Bs definitely isn’t a disqualification for UCB. Check their common data set. A majority of students accepted don’t have perfect GPAs.


I'm not the PP speaking of B's - but to your point on those being denied..... there are definitely Big 3 students with zero B's, that have very high stats, high rigor, solid ECs, and strong essays who are still getting a WLs/rejections from Cal and UCLA.
Anonymous
Post 06/18/2024 07:31     Subject: UC college admits from the Big3
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:if your kid or any you know were admitted to Cal, UCLA, etc from a Big3, what do you think put them over the edge?
I know these are hard admits under the private school paradigm of few APs, etc,


I don’t know any students at my children’s school (Sidwell) who talk about attending a UC. I’m sure there are some, it just hasn’t reached my ears. Generally speaking, I don’t think state schools are popular among Sidwell kids.


My son applied from Sidwell a couple of cycles ago. Denied. The problem is that a Sidwell GPA will never cut it in a sea of 4.8888888s, and GPA is literally the only thing UCs screen for now. That, and I think poverty.

Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin "get" the Sidwell situation. UCs and Texas do not. So, Ann Arbor is a more reliable admit than UC Santa Barbara, oddly.





UCs are not highly sought after by Sidwell students. That said, there are 5 c/o ‘24 students going to UCs (1 each to Cal, UCSD, and UCSC). The two students who are going to UCLA are recruited athletes.

Sidwell seems to send a handful of students (including non recruited athletes) to UCs every year. It’s not an impossible admit.


And yet Sidwell seniors send in close to 30 applications per year with only a few acceptances to Berkeley/UCLA.


There are 125 students per grade at Sidwell. Those 30 applications are most likely coming from the same 5-10 students. Are you actually trying to convince us that UCs are some of the most sought after colleges by Sidwell students? Please stop.


In 2023 - 25 Sidwell students applied to Berkeley and 27 applied to UCLA...... look before you leap.


And how many were admitted to each?


Berkeley lists 0 but we know a student is there - so it's hard to say whether that is a reporting error vs a student getting off WL

UCLA lists 3 (and we know of 3 accepted there)


Did they have any Bs?

You ask this question like Bs are the only thing that matter. Do these students getting denied have strong ECs, do they have strong essays? One B or a few Bs definitely isn’t a disqualification for UCB. Check their common data set. A majority of students accepted don’t have perfect GPAs.
Anonymous
Post 06/18/2024 00:27     Subject: UC college admits from the Big3
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand the dmv’s fascination with usc. Growing up in socal it was always kind of a laughingstock. University of spoiled children was for mediocre student rich kids of alumni and football players. It’s in the complete hood as well and had the reputation of being like a prison…you can’t leave campus.

If I had a kid at a “big 3” school and they ended up at usc I’d consider it a fail. Unless they wanted to study film.


Sounds like you are stuck in college landscape of thirty years ago and have no real knowledge on this topic.


I’m not. I still have family and friends in socal. Stanford, Berkeley and ucla are the in state schools Californians aspire too. Davis, uc San Diego, and Santa Barbara are considered better than usc, which is considered Pepperdine with football. USC is where you go cuz you think it’ll help you get a job at your buddy’s dads company.


Which is why it is more selective than any other school you named other than Stanford.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2024 14:29     Subject: UC college admits from the Big3
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:if your kid or any you know were admitted to Cal, UCLA, etc from a Big3, what do you think put them over the edge?
I know these are hard admits under the private school paradigm of few APs, etc,


I don’t know any students at my children’s school (Sidwell) who talk about attending a UC. I’m sure there are some, it just hasn’t reached my ears. Generally speaking, I don’t think state schools are popular among Sidwell kids.


My son applied from Sidwell a couple of cycles ago. Denied. The problem is that a Sidwell GPA will never cut it in a sea of 4.8888888s, and GPA is literally the only thing UCs screen for now. That, and I think poverty.

Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin "get" the Sidwell situation. UCs and Texas do not. So, Ann Arbor is a more reliable admit than UC Santa Barbara, oddly.





UCs are not highly sought after by Sidwell students. That said, there are 5 c/o ‘24 students going to UCs (1 each to Cal, UCSD, and UCSC). The two students who are going to UCLA are recruited athletes.

Sidwell seems to send a handful of students (including non recruited athletes) to UCs every year. It’s not an impossible admit.


And yet Sidwell seniors send in close to 30 applications per year with only a few acceptances to Berkeley/UCLA.


There are 125 students per grade at Sidwell. Those 30 applications are most likely coming from the same 5-10 students. Are you actually trying to convince us that UCs are some of the most sought after colleges by Sidwell students? Please stop.


In 2023 - 25 Sidwell students applied to Berkeley and 27 applied to UCLA...... look before you leap.


And how many were admitted to each?


Berkeley lists 0 but we know a student is there - so it's hard to say whether that is a reporting error vs a student getting off WL

UCLA lists 3 (and we know of 3 accepted there)


Did they have any Bs?



How would I possibly know this? Come on.

Note - B's in freshman year don't matter.

Also note - there have been big UCLA athletic recruits in recent years. One of the UCLA acceptances had very very high grades. so I'd suspect no B.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2024 14:12     Subject: UC college admits from the Big3
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:if your kid or any you know were admitted to Cal, UCLA, etc from a Big3, what do you think put them over the edge?
I know these are hard admits under the private school paradigm of few APs, etc,


I don’t know any students at my children’s school (Sidwell) who talk about attending a UC. I’m sure there are some, it just hasn’t reached my ears. Generally speaking, I don’t think state schools are popular among Sidwell kids.


My son applied from Sidwell a couple of cycles ago. Denied. The problem is that a Sidwell GPA will never cut it in a sea of 4.8888888s, and GPA is literally the only thing UCs screen for now. That, and I think poverty.

Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin "get" the Sidwell situation. UCs and Texas do not. So, Ann Arbor is a more reliable admit than UC Santa Barbara, oddly.





UCs are not highly sought after by Sidwell students. That said, there are 5 c/o ‘24 students going to UCs (1 each to Cal, UCSD, and UCSC). The two students who are going to UCLA are recruited athletes.

Sidwell seems to send a handful of students (including non recruited athletes) to UCs every year. It’s not an impossible admit.


And yet Sidwell seniors send in close to 30 applications per year with only a few acceptances to Berkeley/UCLA.


There are 125 students per grade at Sidwell. Those 30 applications are most likely coming from the same 5-10 students. Are you actually trying to convince us that UCs are some of the most sought after colleges by Sidwell students? Please stop.


In 2023 - 25 Sidwell students applied to Berkeley and 27 applied to UCLA...... look before you leap.


And how many were admitted to each?


Berkeley lists 0 but we know a student is there - so it's hard to say whether that is a reporting error vs a student getting off WL

UCLA lists 3 (and we know of 3 accepted there)


Did they have any Bs?
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2024 13:57     Subject: UC college admits from the Big3
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:if your kid or any you know were admitted to Cal, UCLA, etc from a Big3, what do you think put them over the edge?
I know these are hard admits under the private school paradigm of few APs, etc,


I don’t know any students at my children’s school (Sidwell) who talk about attending a UC. I’m sure there are some, it just hasn’t reached my ears. Generally speaking, I don’t think state schools are popular among Sidwell kids.


My son applied from Sidwell a couple of cycles ago. Denied. The problem is that a Sidwell GPA will never cut it in a sea of 4.8888888s, and GPA is literally the only thing UCs screen for now. That, and I think poverty.

Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin "get" the Sidwell situation. UCs and Texas do not. So, Ann Arbor is a more reliable admit than UC Santa Barbara, oddly.





UCs are not highly sought after by Sidwell students. That said, there are 5 c/o ‘24 students going to UCs (1 each to Cal, UCSD, and UCSC). The two students who are going to UCLA are recruited athletes.

Sidwell seems to send a handful of students (including non recruited athletes) to UCs every year. It’s not an impossible admit.


And yet Sidwell seniors send in close to 30 applications per year with only a few acceptances to Berkeley/UCLA.


There are 125 students per grade at Sidwell. Those 30 applications are most likely coming from the same 5-10 students. Are you actually trying to convince us that UCs are some of the most sought after colleges by Sidwell students? Please stop.


In 2023 - 25 Sidwell students applied to Berkeley and 27 applied to UCLA...... look before you leap.


And how many were admitted to each?


Berkeley lists 0 but we know a student is there - so it's hard to say whether that is a reporting error vs a student getting off WL

UCLA lists 3 (and we know of 3 accepted there)
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2024 13:42     Subject: UC college admits from the Big3
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:if your kid or any you know were admitted to Cal, UCLA, etc from a Big3, what do you think put them over the edge?
I know these are hard admits under the private school paradigm of few APs, etc,


I don’t know any students at my children’s school (Sidwell) who talk about attending a UC. I’m sure there are some, it just hasn’t reached my ears. Generally speaking, I don’t think state schools are popular among Sidwell kids.


My son applied from Sidwell a couple of cycles ago. Denied. The problem is that a Sidwell GPA will never cut it in a sea of 4.8888888s, and GPA is literally the only thing UCs screen for now. That, and I think poverty.

Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin "get" the Sidwell situation. UCs and Texas do not. So, Ann Arbor is a more reliable admit than UC Santa Barbara, oddly.





UCs are not highly sought after by Sidwell students. That said, there are 5 c/o ‘24 students going to UCs (1 each to Cal, UCSD, and UCSC). The two students who are going to UCLA are recruited athletes.

Sidwell seems to send a handful of students (including non recruited athletes) to UCs every year. It’s not an impossible admit.


And yet Sidwell seniors send in close to 30 applications per year with only a few acceptances to Berkeley/UCLA.


There are 125 students per grade at Sidwell. Those 30 applications are most likely coming from the same 5-10 students. Are you actually trying to convince us that UCs are some of the most sought after colleges by Sidwell students? Please stop.


In 2023 - 25 Sidwell students applied to Berkeley and 27 applied to UCLA...... look before you leap.


And how many were admitted to each?
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2024 13:34     Subject: UC college admits from the Big3
Anonymous wrote:3.8 big 3. Not in at UCB. WL and UCLA. In at Irvine, SB, SD. Going somewhere else altogether.


Similar story but higher gpa
just under 3.9 not accepted to Berkeley, WL at UCLA, accepted UCSD, Deferred then rejected Pomona, accepted Oxy and Santa Clara - attending elsewhere (outside of CA)
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2024 13:30     Subject: UC college admits from the Big3
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:if your kid or any you know were admitted to Cal, UCLA, etc from a Big3, what do you think put them over the edge?
I know these are hard admits under the private school paradigm of few APs, etc,


I don’t know any students at my children’s school (Sidwell) who talk about attending a UC. I’m sure there are some, it just hasn’t reached my ears. Generally speaking, I don’t think state schools are popular among Sidwell kids.


My son applied from Sidwell a couple of cycles ago. Denied. The problem is that a Sidwell GPA will never cut it in a sea of 4.8888888s, and GPA is literally the only thing UCs screen for now. That, and I think poverty.

Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin "get" the Sidwell situation. UCs and Texas do not. So, Ann Arbor is a more reliable admit than UC Santa Barbara, oddly.



UCs are not highly sought after by Sidwell students. That said, there are 5 c/o ‘24 students going to UCs (1 each to Cal, UCSD, and UCSC). The two students who are going to UCLA are recruited athletes.

Sidwell seems to send a handful of students (including non recruited athletes) to UCs every year. It’s not an impossible admit.


I know a Sidwell kid going to UCLA who is definitely not a recruited athlete. So your numbers aren't totally correct.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2024 13:25     Subject: UC college admits from the Big3
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:if your kid or any you know were admitted to Cal, UCLA, etc from a Big3, what do you think put them over the edge?
I know these are hard admits under the private school paradigm of few APs, etc,


I don’t know any students at my children’s school (Sidwell) who talk about attending a UC. I’m sure there are some, it just hasn’t reached my ears. Generally speaking, I don’t think state schools are popular among Sidwell kids.


My son applied from Sidwell a couple of cycles ago. Denied. The problem is that a Sidwell GPA will never cut it in a sea of 4.8888888s, and GPA is literally the only thing UCs screen for now. That, and I think poverty.

Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin "get" the Sidwell situation. UCs and Texas do not. So, Ann Arbor is a more reliable admit than UC Santa Barbara, oddly.





UCs are not highly sought after by Sidwell students. That said, there are 5 c/o ‘24 students going to UCs (1 each to Cal, UCSD, and UCSC). The two students who are going to UCLA are recruited athletes.

Sidwell seems to send a handful of students (including non recruited athletes) to UCs every year. It’s not an impossible admit.


And yet Sidwell seniors send in close to 30 applications per year with only a few acceptances to Berkeley/UCLA.


There are 125 students per grade at Sidwell. Those 30 applications are most likely coming from the same 5-10 students. Are you actually trying to convince us that UCs are some of the most sought after colleges by Sidwell students? Please stop.


In 2023 - 25 Sidwell students applied to Berkeley and 27 applied to UCLA...... look before you leap.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2024 13:22     Subject: UC college admits from the Big3
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:if your kid or any you know were admitted to Cal, UCLA, etc from a Big3, what do you think put them over the edge?
I know these are hard admits under the private school paradigm of few APs, etc,


I don’t know any students at my children’s school (Sidwell) who talk about attending a UC. I’m sure there are some, it just hasn’t reached my ears. Generally speaking, I don’t think state schools are popular among Sidwell kids.


My son applied from Sidwell a couple of cycles ago. Denied. The problem is that a Sidwell GPA will never cut it in a sea of 4.8888888s, and GPA is literally the only thing UCs screen for now. That, and I think poverty.

Michigan, Virginia and Wisconsin "get" the Sidwell situation. UCs and Texas do not. So, Ann Arbor is a more reliable admit than UC Santa Barbara, oddly.





UCs are not highly sought after by Sidwell students. That said, there are 5 c/o ‘24 students going to UCs (1 each to Cal, UCSD, and UCSC). The two students who are going to UCLA are recruited athletes.

Sidwell seems to send a handful of students (including non recruited athletes) to UCs every year. It’s not an impossible admit.


And yet Sidwell seniors send in close to 30 applications per year with only a few acceptances to Berkeley/UCLA.


There are 125 students per grade at Sidwell. Those 30 applications are most likely coming from the same 5-10 students. Are you actually trying to convince us that UCs are some of the most sought after colleges by Sidwell students? Please stop.


You don't know how to read the numbers they are producing. It is not double counting people who apply to mulitple UC schools. You can see each school by itself. Fewer apply to Irvine than UCLA for example....but a person who applies to both is counted as 1 in the overall figure.
Anonymous
Post 06/17/2024 12:17     Subject: UC college admits from the Big3
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand the dmv’s fascination with usc. Growing up in socal it was always kind of a laughingstock. University of spoiled children was for mediocre student rich kids of alumni and football players. It’s in the complete hood as well and had the reputation of being like a prison…you can’t leave campus.

If I had a kid at a “big 3” school and they ended up at usc I’d consider it a fail. Unless they wanted to study film.


Sounds like you are stuck in college landscape of thirty years ago and have no real knowledge on this topic.


I’m not. I still have family and friends in socal. Stanford, Berkeley and ucla are the in state schools Californians aspire too. Davis, uc San Diego, and Santa Barbara are considered better than usc, which is considered Pepperdine with football. USC is where you go cuz you think it’ll help you get a job at your buddy’s dads company.