It seems like whatever private school I happen to find that fits me had a major con 
Basically, here are my stats and here is what I need because I have a family.
Applying for Anthropology - So non-impacted
GPA CCC: 3.75
Major GPA 4.0
Criteria I’m looking for:
-I would like to learn from the best, but not cutthroat. (such as Berkeley or UCLA)
- Affordable housing and/or space with a yard. I have two dogs who need to run.
That’s really it 
I can’t find any school that has prestige as well as a town that I can bring a family to. My best options so far are Ann Arbor, Rochester, Austin
Can you guys help me out?
Madison, WI?
Columbus, OH?
Madison true, very true I’ll look into that one. And are there homes with yards in Columbus? I supposed I just see it as a city and nothing more
The midwest and the south will be your most affordable options housing-wise. What is your instate public? What can you afford tuition-wise (remember that out-of-state publics will often be as expensive as privates).
I don’t really mind having a heavy tuition, I can deal with that. I just can’t deal with high housing costs. I go to a California Community College and would love to stay in California but it’s too dang expensive for such little land. But yeah I completely agree with Midwest and south. Unfortunately that’s the two places I don’t want to live :(. Well, I wouldn’t mind the mid-west. How about East Coast?
@momofsenior1 Madison is a great choice, thanks for that!
@socaldad2002 that was an option for me at one point. But I went to visit the school during a week day and I’m just not into it. I live very close by so that may be the reason.
I mentioned Davis because i lived in a 4 bedroom house with a pool and large yard for very cheap with 3 other college roommates. Great town, not as cutthroat as the flagship UCs.
Couldn’t agree more with @socaldad2002. Davis is a great school with good rents.
If you go OOS to a public school, your rent may be fine, but your OOS tuition is going to be nuts.
I can’t find anything in Davis for less than 2k with a yard? It’s only me and one another that are providing money for rent.
That’s a good point @“aunt bea” I suppose it can compensate. A house for 3k a month with in state tuition may actually be cheaper in the long run.
You need roommates to make it affordable.
Wisconsin is great for Anthropology… Little known school with stellar anthropology and in the top 20 schools that students go on to a PhD is Beloit also in Wisconsin and very affordable and good merit especially with your stats. They usually want you on campus but if you have a family there is inexpensive housing all around. Small, hip, Lac.
UC Merced has anthropology as a major and relatively low cost for rental housing in the area.
Assuming that you are a California resident, the cost of most out-of-state public universities and lack of financial aid there will likely make the cost much greater than at a UC or CSU. Some private universities have good financial aid, but these tend to be the most competitive ones to get into, and some of them may not take many transfer students. Merit scholarships tend to be less available for transfers than frosh.
Regarding “cutthroat”, that seems to be not much of a concern since you do not appear to be pre-med, or in a major loaded with pre-meds.
@Knowsstuff Interesting. It is a very attractive school I suppose it is a good fit, kind of reminds me of U of Mich. Where do you find those rankings?
@ucbalumnus A lot of out of state privates do offer merit scholarships I’ve noticed. Granted, they’re not super prestigious. But no no no I cannot live in Merced.
Have you tried the net price calculator on the web site of private or out-of-state public universities that you are considering? Then compare with the net price calculator results from the UCs and CSUs.