<p>Recently, I’ve been thinking about which college I should attend. I was pretty confident in applying to UCBerkeley, UC Davis, USC, Stanford, and universities in DC (internship opportunities), but today I am considering CSUs. I read in a brochure that the tuition is less than $3k a year, and that is pretty appealing to me. How high are the transfer rates/admission rates to Stanford or Berkeley for grad school after graduating from a CSU? I have a 4.35 weighted 10-12 GPA as of right now, and am dedicated in graphic design for my extra-curricular. What are my chances for grants at Berkeley, Davis or Stanford (if I get admitted)? Thanks, any response would be appreciated.</p>
<p>*And I am also the Director of Public Relations and the Treasurer for my school’s Interact club.</p>
<p>You’re in for Davis, probably same with Berkeley. How much is your family able/willing to pay for college? Apply wherever you want, and don’t reject a school because you think tuition is too expensive. If they really want you, you should get some merit aid.</p>
<p>Tuition is only part of your total expense. Look on the websites for the total Cost of Attendance (COA). That will include tuition, fees, housing, and food. Usually there also will be an estimate for books and materials as well.</p>
<p>Talk with your parents about how much they can afford to pay, and run some financial aid calculators like the ones at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) so you know if you might qualify for aid.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Obviously, tuition should affect your college choice. You should never attend a college you can’t afford; however, given you receive high enough SATs, you should be aware that there are a number of lesser private schools that are in between the UC and CSU schools that may offer you sizable merit scholarships. </p>
<p>The UCs, as a system, do not give many grants. Instead, they focus on financial aid for lower income students. The “Regent’s Scholar” is the highest merit scholarship they award and the sum is completely dependent on your family’s EFC. If you’re lower class, the UC may be free. If you’re middle class or above, you can expect to receive almost nothing from the Regent’s. For example, UC Irvine had offered me $2500/yr for my Regents.</p>
<p>The CSU as a system is very patchy. Some are quite good and some are quite lackluster. The top CSU, CalPoly SLO is often considered better than the midtier UCs. Other CSUs you may be interested in are San Diego State University, San Jose State University, Cal Poly Pomona, and CSU Long Beach. These are generally considered better than UC Riverside.</p>
<p>Yes, at least in a roundabout way. What you really want to be concerned about is the net cost after non-loan financial aid. For the same school, this can differ greatly for each student based on both need and merit aid.</p>