Chance me for USC, top UC schools, and some CA lib. arts schools! [NV resident, 3.906 GPA, 30 ACT, top 4%, <$9k from single parent]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Hi! I’m a senior applying to lots of CA schools, and I want to know how likely it is I get in! I’m a female, Asian and Hispanic, middle-income, second-gen student.

US Citizen
Nevada
Public school

I live with a single mother, and she can only pay about $9,000/year. However, I just want to know if I’ll get into these schools, I know I probably won’t be able to afford them without loans.

Majoring in:
USC - International Relations
UC Berkeley - Global Studies
UC Irvine - International Studies
UCLA - Global Studies (Pre)
Occidental - Diplomacy and World Affairs
Claremont Mckenna - Government (International Relations)

Class Rank - 34/828 (Top 4%)
30 on ACT (36 in Reading and English, STEM is not my strong suit lol)

Unweighted HS GPA: 3.906
Weighted HS GPA: 4.856 (not sure what weighting system we use, but the cap is 4.95)

  • English: Honors in 9th and 10th (highest available at my school), IB Lit HL 11th and 12th
  • Math: Reg. algebra in 9th, reg. geometry over summer (no Honors was offered), Algebra II Honors in 10th, IB Math AA SL 11th and 12th (HL not offered)
  • Science: Honors biology in 9th, Honors chemistry in 10th, IB Bio SL in 11th (no HL offered), none in 12th
  • History and social studies: None in 9th (not a part of curriculum in my state), AP World in 10th, IB HOA HL in 11th and 12th
  • Language other than English: Honors Spanish II in 9th, Honors Spanish III in 10th, IB Spanish SL in 11th and 12th
  • Visual or performing arts: Two years of regular ceramics in 9th and 10th
  • Other academic courses: IB elective is Global Politics HL

IB Diploma Program last two years of high school, expected to receive the diploma.

Awards
National Expository Speaking Finalist - 6th place (speech and debate)
National Congressional Debate: House Semifinalist - 21st in the nation out of almost 500 (speech and debate)
National Original Oratory Quarterfinalist - 20th in the nation (speech and debate)
3x Congressional Debate Champion at University of Utah tournament (speech and debate)
State Congressional Debate Runner-up (speech and debate)
A bunch of other state/regional/local speech and debate awards (over 20 1st places)
Sun Youth Forum Room Representative
Degree of Premier Distinction (speech and debate)
National Hispanic Recognition Awardee

Extracurriculars
Co-president of speech and debate
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Student Visionary of the Year Candidate (I lead my team)
Historian of IB Council
Council member of my district’s Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council
Worked at Olive Garden in 11th grade
Work at a law office in 12th grade

Essays/LORs/Other
Wrote mine about speech and debate and advocacy (can you tell it’s kinda my thing), I think it’s pretty strong.

Schools
USC - EA (my top choice)
UCI, LA, and Berkeley - RD
Claremont Mckenna - RD
Occidental - RD

also applying to Colorado State University, but they have like a 96% acceptance so I think I’m safe there lol. was also accepted to a state school and the honors college.

thanks!

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None of the UCs will be affordable. As a Nevada resident, you’re ineligible for institutional aid, and you’ll never get loans to cover the cost of attendance. Fortunately, you have affordable options

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Agree that it is a waste of time and money to apply to UCs which are sure to be unaffordable. Run the net price calculator and understand merit aid criteria for other options.

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UCs do not give FA to non California residents, except maybe very rare merit scholarships that cover non-resident FA need at a few campuses.

If your other parent is alive, note that USC, CMC, and Occidental require their finances for financial aid. You would need their top end merit, if they offer such that is enough.

So it looks like your list is highly unlikely to yield anything affordable.

Will UNR or UNLV be affordable?

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OP’s question wasn’t about affordability. She was asking about chances of getting in…
Looks like a reasonably strong application but I’m hardly an expert and struggling with my own child getting into school. Wouldn’t recommend sending in the ACTs though. UCs don’t look at them anyway.
GL

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While I’m usually a big fan of focusing on the question a student asks, sometimes they ask the wrong questions. It’s pointless to assess chances at UCs if they can’t afford to attend

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Even with loans you still will not be able to afford the UCs (unless there is something big that you are not telling us, also see one possible exception below). One issue is that there is a limit to how much anyone will lend you.

It is possible to get part way through a 4 year degree having already run up significant debt, run out of money, run out of the ability to borrow more, and not be able finish. You can end up with the debt but no degree. I have seen it happen. The person I knew who this happened to transferred to an in-state public university that they could afford (with well deserved merit aid in their case). They would have been way better off to start at the in-state public university.

That being said, UC Merced is a WUE school for some majors, and you are in a WICHE/WUE state. I do not know whether this would get the price down low enough for you to afford it. Some of the CSUs are also WUE schools (which strictly speaking is true for Colorado State, in addition to some of the CSU’s in California). Again I do not know if there are restrictions on your major or whether this would provide enough savings for you.

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Hoping these two colleges hit your family price point.

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Admission but too expensive is effectively the same as rejection.

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At $9K, you need to apply to meets needs schools. WUE at Colorado State is $20K - so you’ll be over $30K and your budget is $9K. So why apply?

Oxy meets need as do USC and Claremont McKenna - has your parent filled out the net price calculator to see the price? if it’s more than $9K, it’s not worth applying.

You should then look in-state - if they have a low income program.

I see Oxy as a potential admit and that’s likely it.

npc.collegeboard.org

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If there is a non-custodial parent, that needs to be taken into account, since many of the “meets needs” schools require the non-custodial parent finances. Also, a college’s definition of “need” may differ from the OP’s definition of “need” based on the $9k parent contribution.

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I agree with @skieurope. Universities don’t offer financial aid to out of state students. You’re in the top 4%, which means you are very likely to get a good merit scholarship at UNR or UNLV.

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Yes! I’ve already been offered about 6,000/year to attend, and those are just the automatic scholarships that have been applied to my application. I have not yet submitted their scholarship form, but definitely will!

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Agreed! However, I’ve been offered help with my tuition from other families, etc. Though I know I definitely shouldn’t rely on it, it’s something to consider. I am also willing to take out loans, even though I know those can be pretty awful.

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