I’m asking for my friend, who will be a tranfer student to a California college. What’s the best college for bio that has a 30%+ acceptance rate and is also pretty cheap? My friend doesn’t really qualify for any aid so an affordable college is a must. Any suggestions? Thank you!
The most affordable CSU would be within commuting distance. What is close to your friend and what do they plan to do with their Biology degree?
why is an acceptance rate of 30% important?
@NCalRent that’s what my friend is looking for, because of the grades he has already made last semester.
@Gumbymom There is one CSU near him (CSU Stanislaus), but it is a last resort college for him. He’s not sure what he intends to do but he may go into microbiology.
Not sure what you mean by cheap since tuition/room/board at any other CSU that is not commutable would be $21K+/year unless they are eligible for Federal aid/Cal Grants but these usually only cover tuition so still looking at $12-14K/year for living on campus.
Another affordable option is community college for 2 years and then transfer into a CSU. Also do not understand the 30%+ acceptance rate. The non-impacted campuses would have the highest acceptance rates so CSU Bakersfield, Stanislaus, Dominguez Hills, Channel Islands and East Bay.
They could look at the CSU Impacted Matrix link and look for any campus with Biological sciences major that is O-Open and not I-Impacted for a higher chance at being accepted.
What are their CSU GPA and test scores?
@Gumbymom He has already been attending community college for nearly two semesters and will be transfering within a year or two. Last semester he got a 3.5 GPA I believe.
By 30%+ acceptance rate I mean he is not looking to apply to a super selective college, except perhaps as a reach school.
Cost is a concern because he does not qualify for much financial aid (or he didn’t when he first applied to colleges) and his parents don’t intend to help very much with the cost of college, meaning that if he wants to go to school he needs to find something cheap. Thanks for your help!
Again, if he does not qualify for financial aid and parents are not willing to help, the cheapest CSU would be within commuting distance. There is always the option to wait until he reaches 24 and then file as an independent or working and attending part-time to save up money to attend a CSU farther away. If he has a solid GPA, he could TAG into a UC. UC’s tend to be more generous with aid than CSU’s or consider a private school which may give him merit as a transfer.
Each school has a net price calculator although for transfers it will not be as accurate.
with a 3.5 transfer GPA, there should be lots of options open. I’d suggest he pick a UC and use TAG, UCD or UCSB or UCSC would be good candidates. At the same time he should pick a CSU like LB but, know that may be too expensive, Sac, Chico, Fresno and Stanislaus are will be much less expensive places to live as a student, Get 4 or 5 acceptances and a real feel for the cost of each option and then decide which school is best for him.