I want to go to school in California, preferably UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSB, UCSD, or UCI, but I am aware of how hard it is to get into those schools.
(Also if the minimum for UCI is a 3.4, then do I still have a chance to get in if I have a few B+'s in total?)
I want to major in English or Psychology, so would it be better to go to a good regional university in California or go to Rutgers, if I’m not accepted to any of the UCs?
Rutgers is not mediocre.
I assume you are from NJ. Are you really going to pay full price to go to a regional school in California than your instate flagship?
A few B+s and mostly As is well over a 3.4, but as was said in the other thread, Rutgers sounds like a much better choice for your current situation.
If you’re low-income, you’d be better off looking at private colleges and universities with 100% need met, but if not, Rutgers is probably your best bet. As the poster above me said, it isn’t a “mediocre” school. If you check US News, it’s ranked #28 among public universities out of more than 600 nationwide. Looks like you’re falling into the CC mindset where only top 10 colleges are worth attending, which is a really bad way to view the admissions process.
You do realize that the UC’s give no financial aid to out of state students?
TCNJ!!
Don’t waste your time with the UCs. They give zero aid to OOS students and, outside of UCB/UCLA/UCSD/UCSB, aren’t worth the full price for OOSers.
Rutgers may not be world-class or top-notch, but it isn’t mediocre or below-average either. It is a solid, respectable school. It’s one thing if it isn’t a fit for you (because of sheer size or the amount of HS classmates attending, for example). But paying a full $60k/year OOS at a UC that’s not one of the big four is, in my mind, delusional.
If you want a great English department and/or a solid Psych department in an appealing location OOS, look no further than UNC Wilmington. It has the only publishing lab in the state of North Carolina. 10 minutes from both Wrightsville Beach (one of the most beautiful beaches on the East Coast) and downtown Wilmington. Excellent weather, far different from what you’re used to (take it from a fellow New Jerseyan 
). UNCW is at least academically on par with Rutgers (and has far more name recogniton than TCNJ), but it has a better surrounding area and much better weather as mentioned before. And perhaps most importantly, even for OOSers, it’s AFFORDABLE.
If you have any more questions, you can ask me on this thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-north-carolina-wilmington/1827864-ask-a-current-uncw-student.html#latest
What is it with NJ kids and CA schools?
@sensation723B I wish I could tell you. I personally never wanted to head that far out (I applied to East Coast schools only). But earthquakes and wildfires? Nah. Way too much to handle. Idk how CA residents handle it.
one of the top regional schools is in your back yard–ranked #3 in the north, TCNJ. Check it out . Widely recognized as the top public school in NJ it excels in health sciences, edu, and business. It is a small liberal arts campus in the style of NESCAC schools. Its academic requirements are a bit tougher than Rutgers but its really a strong undergraduate focused school.
I like CA, & thought about their schools. They are good… then I realized that they are really really expensive for OOS. & has finicky acceptance rates. Don’t get me wrong I love CA, the weather & diversity of the geography, cities, & people are great but outside of the Top UC’s they aren’t good for OOS.
I live in California and don’t think any of the UCs are worth out-of-state tuition for undergraduate study.
^well, OP, there you go.
Seems like this forum frequently gets NJ students who want to go anywhere but Rutgers or other NJ public school.
If you major in English go to Rutgers. They have a top 20 (US News) faculty in English. Back in the 70’s I went from being a History major (English minor) at Rutgers to grad school at UC Berkeley in English. That was a long time ago; but the Rutgers English department is still outstanding, and well-respected if/when it comes time for applying to grad school.
FYI, besides the above:
California is not the land of “milk and honey”. You will not receive any aid in California from our UC’s.
Please stop assuming that your television/computer portrays California adequately. Every school is NOT near a beach and we all don’t surf. We are a state of immigrants and these are mostly hispanic and asians but also include multiple cultures. We’re not blond, tanned and healthy looking. Yes our weather can be good, but that doesn’t mean its perfect. We get rain and very grey days (fog and overcast skies), and in southern California, we get Santa Ana winds with hot winds that are dangerous.
In our cities, it is expensive, crowded and stressful. People commute in a minimum of 20 minutes of traffic everywhere.
Rethink your options for something affordable. If your stats are not at 4.0, unweighted, forget it.
And that’s fine, because it’s their choice. As I’ve touched on so many times before, NJ public schools are very weak. If you’re not a fan of Rutgers NB’s size/campus/surrounding area and the amount of HS classmates you’d be going to school with, and TCNJ just isn’t your cup of tea, then you are straight out of options in terms of NJ publics. Rowan is also a decent university, but that’s it - Rutgers Newark, NJIT and Stockton are all average and the rest are below. And then the privates outside of Princeton and Stevens are straight up awful values and aren’t worth attending unless you get STELLAR FA.
It’s one thing if kids think the flagship Rutgers is flat-out terrible academically (which I admit I may have had a habit of implying in the past even if I never intended for it to come across exactly that way at all); those kids need a reality check and need to know Rutgers is at least a fine state school even if it’s not the best. But if NJ kids like me wish to simply explore a new state or region and find out what the rest of the world has to offer, then let them. Honestly, I think CC has a habit of telling NJ kids to stay in-state too often, or at least implying it, especially when it’s the last thing on their minds.
@liaxdraws “I want to go to school in California, preferably UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSB, UCSD, or UCI, but I am aware of how hard it is to get into those schools.”
I agree with everybody else that you should go to RU or TCNJ. However, there is nothing wrong with wanting to live in California, although it is obviously not for everyone. (BTW, my son was accepted to both UCSD and UCSB and we felt neither was worth the money given that it was unlikely he would graduate in 4 years.
Why don’t you apply to RU/TCNJ and either defer for a year and do a gap year working/interning in California? If you really love it out there you could always move there after college graduation and work or go to grad school there.
@londondad I am actually a proponent of seeing the OP go OOS, but I’d MUCH rather see her in NC or VA than CA.
Many of them need financial reality checks before they get too attached to out of state public schools.