There’s a lot to unpack here, and a long list of colleges.
EA apps are already in, and RD apps aren’t due until after the holidays. So, in my opinion, here are the priorities to address:
- The application window for the CA publics is this month, only. So you have two weeks to fine-tune that list. This fine-tuning should be based both on the results of the RogerHub GPA calculator, and on information folks can give you here, on the relative competitiveness of different schools and majors within those schools. IMHO this should be the immediate focus of this thread, because it’s the most urgent.
- Finances. First step is to verify that your UC and CSU schools would be affordable for your family. (Because if not, you need to add an application to your local CSU that you can commute to. In fact, it’s always a good idea to have one commutable option in the mix regardless, just in case of some unforeseen turn of events like an illness or job loss in the family. For many applicants, the commutable backup is community college, but that wouldn’t work for you since you’ve already taken so much of the available CC coursework… so having your local CSU on the list would be wise.)
There’s a lot more to talk about - RD schools, additional more-affordable options like WUE schools, merit opportunities, the many steps on the path to med school, and so on… but I would respectfully suggest that our feedback focus initially on getting the in-state public application strategy optimized, because that timeline is tight. OP, have you written your UC PIQ’s already? You mention a strong essay but it sounds like that’s your common app personal statement, whereas the UC format is quite different.