Match Me - CA resident, astrophysics major, 4.0/4.4, 1590 SAT [4.27 UC weighted-capped GPA]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • US citizen
  • CA resident
  • Public high school, incoming senior, class of 2027
  • No special considerations

Cost Constraints / Budget: My parents will pay up to the cost of 4 years of UC cost of attendance (about 54k/year). I also have about $130,000 in savings (which would add about 32k/year). I would prefer to save it, but I’m willing to dip into it as well. I’m willing to work to earn additional money.

Intended Major(s): Astrophysics, astronomy, or physics with an astronomy/astrophysics specialty

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.4 uncapped, 4.27 UC capped
  • Class Rank: N/A, school doesn’t do class rank, but I’m top 15%
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1590 SAT (800 R&W, 790 M)

List your HS coursework

(Indicate advanced level, such as AP, IB, AICE, A-level, or college, courses as well as specifics in each subject)

  • English: AP Lit, will take AP Lang
  • Math: AP Precalc, AP Calc BC, will take AP Stats
  • Science: AP Physics 1, will take AP physics C
  • History and social studies: APHUG, APUSH, will take AP Gov
  • Language other than English: French 2, will take French 3
  • Visual or performing arts: Dance (2 years), Guitar/Pop Music (2 years, will be 3), Theatre Tech (2 years, will be 3)
  • Other academic courses: Engineering (2 years, will be 3)
  • Semester-long astronomy class at local community college

Awards: Will likely be National Merit Semifinalist (1480 PSAT, 224 selection index)

Extracurriculars: 2-star thespian (200+ hours in performing arts), 25 hours of volunteering at local farm that donates food to food banks, 1 year archery, club treasurer 1 year, will be a club president next year, treasurer of high school USITT (United States Institute of Theatre Technology) chapter next year, COSMOS 1 summer,

Other: Must be in trans-friendly state

Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if unsure, leave them unclassified)

Reaches: Caltech, Harvard, MIT, UCLA, UCB, Northwestern, UCSD, UCSB

Targets: UDub

Safeties: Michigan State, University of Arizona, UCSC, Northern Arizona University, RPI

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Have you had the chance to visit any of the schools on your list? If so, what do you think of UCSC? They have a very well respected program but it is very different than the urban schools on your list.

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When you apply to UCSB, consider applying to the CCS Physics major. Great preparation for grad school (in terms of both academics and grad school admission). Also if you like the size of Caltech (which I see you put first in your reaches list), CCS offers you the benefits of being in a small cohort within the bigger UCSB.

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You didn’t mention whether you will be eligible for financial aid. Have you run NPC at your reach private schools, as they do not offer merit? I agree with you that it’s preferable to save (or invest) your personal nest egg unless a more expensive school offers you substantially better opportunities.

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So if you would be full pay at the privates, honestly, I would strongly consider just taking your favorite UC offer. They have some great departments in this area, and you will likely want to be doing a PhD anyway if you stick with the field.

If you really want a private college experience instead but would be full pay without merit, you could focus on privates which actually have merit. RPI is a good choice (any chance you were nominated for the medal?). Case Western and Rochester as well. If you are interested in PhD feeding LACs in this area, Whitman and Franklin & Marshall could also be well worth checking out. Maybe Kenyon.

But again, if you don’t really care about format, then your favorite UC offer could be fine. Toss in Arizona maybe too.

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Based on LGBTQ Equality Landing Page - Movement Advancement Project , the state of Arizona is somewhat unfriendly, although not in the worst category. More details at Arizona - Movement Advancement Project . So you may want to reconsider whether UA and NAU are suitable based on this criterion.

Case Western and Kenyon are in Ohio, which is one of the most trans-unfriendly states according to the previously linked pages. Franklin and Marshall is in Pennsylvania, which is not the worst but not the best either for trans-friendliness.

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Those are very good points. If the OP wants to keep it just to CA and a few other select states, that really shouldn’t be a huge problem given all the very good options in CA alone.

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Canada is good, too!

Edited to add: @qwertysy if you are interested in Canada, U Toronto and UBC both seem to have programs that are very well regarded (those were the only two that I looked into just now, there certainly may be more).

Merit scholarships for international students at these two universities are uncommon, but can be significant at the highest level of awards, and they do like high stat students such as yourself. For my daughter, for example, UBC with her scholarship will be at least 10k/year cheaper than UDub, and she didn’t receive the highest scholarship level; you might get one of the big scholarships.

(And actually, you may want to drop UDub, because it would exceed your parents’ stated budget.)

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I’ve visited a few of the schools on my list, although not UCSC. I don’t really have a preference for urban or rural schools though, and the UCSC campus seems beautiful from what I’ve seen online!

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I don’t qualify for need-based merit. I forgot to clarify - my parents will pay the 54k no matter which school I choose, it’s just that I’d need to cover the rest of it on my own. Some of the out-of-state schools are only slightly more than the UCs for me, so I’d be willing to dip into my savings a little bit to cover that. The privates, however, are way more expensive, and I’d only consider spending that much if it’s a dream school (like Caltech).

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UDub is pretty expensive, it is already up to $67,800 for 26-27. Their merit scholarships for OOS are extreeeeeeemely stingy compared to most other schools that give merit, with the top awards around 8k (maybe as high as 9k) but more typically something like 3k. Just so you know!

I figured that you might have not put the otherwise obvious astrophysics choice of CU Boulder on your list because of its high OOS cost ($70kish for a science or engineering degree), but they do have a 15k Presidential scholarship. So in the end, it’s probably in the same price range as UDub.

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Even for a “dream school,” self-funding an additional 40K/year or more over your parents’ contribution seems like a dubious proposition, even given the savings that you have. You are fortunate to live in a state with phenomenal public universities. Your primary focus should be on the UC application, I think. (I also agree with applying to the UCSB College of Creative Studies) You’re not going to get shut out of the UC’s, and even if you did, you’d get an automatic offer from Merced, and Arizona is a great backup. (True, AZ isn’t ideal politically, but Tucson is a progressive city and UA is a top physics school.)

Another possibility for more predictable, stat-based admissions, not-insane cost of attendance, top-tier academics, and trans-friendliness would be the Canadian university system. Have you considered U of Toronto, for example? https://www.cita.utoronto.ca/about/about-the-institute/ Still probably not worth the additional cost over a UC, but one could make an argument for Toronto, UBC, or McGill if you’re considering something in the UDub-OOS price tier.

Your private super-reach schools will be there for grad school.

Good luck!

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Congratulations on making yourself such a strong applicant!

California has some of the top programs in the country for your interests, so I’d have a hard time suggesting that you pay an additional $45-50k/year beyond what your parents are willing to pay for in order to attend a school that offers no merit aid and is extremely expensive.

You’ve gotten some great advice, but I’ll add a few comments.

I think that RPI is a likely admit for you, but I don’t think it’s a safety. Why? Because a safety should have three characteristics: 1) extremely likely to admit you, 2) extremely likely to be affordable/hit budget, and 3) a school you would be happy to enroll in and attend. I don’t think it’s extremely likely to fall within your family’s budget. It might, but I don’t think the odds of it happening are greater than 85%.

Some other schools you may want to consider include:

  • U. of New Mexico: This is a trans-friendly state, and NM has its own interesting options for astronomy and astrophysics. Additionally, you’re likely to get significant merit aid (quite possibly a full ride).

  • U. of Minnesota - Twin Cities: Strong programming, very trans-friendly, and, historically at least, the Net Price Calculator will estimate a minimum amount of merit aid you can expect here. I’d be surprised if this doesn’t come in as less expensive than the UCs.

  • U. of Rochester (NY): Seconding this

  • Johns Hopkins (MD): One of the few Top X schools that offers merit scholarships and is located in a trans-friendly state

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I wouldn’t say less expensive, but at max merit and for the OP’s major, UMN would be expected to be in the same general range as UC COA (which varies by campus, due to differences in living expenses). Note that posted COA for the UCs includes a big chunk of money for health insurance that most people waive if they are still on their family’s plan.

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However, be sure to check whether the family’s plan has providers near the UC campuses if the cost of that insurance is a concern. The most commonly noted example is that there is a dearth of Kaiser providers near UCSB. However, it is possible that other plans may have limited provider coverage in areas around some UC (or CSU) campuses.

This can also be a concern for out of state colleges and universities.

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Thank you to everyone for your advice! I hadn’t considered Canada before, but I’m willing to look into it. I’ll be sure to check out your recommendations.

As for the financial aspect, well, I’ll think about it. I kind of needed some sense knocked into me, haha– I’ve idolized some of the most expensive privates for a long time, but I do need to be rational about this, especially since I want to go to grad school as well.

I happen to be under my family’s Kaiser plan, so I’ll consider that, but I was under the impression that many colleges provide student healthcare as well? Please correct me if I’m wrong.

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It is fairly common, but how much it costs, whether it can be waived if still under a family plan, and whether the cost is covered by any applicable financial aid can vary across colleges.

For the UCs, the health insurance plan is $3.5-5k per year, which is waivable if you have other coverage. You should be able to go on Kaiser’s web site for “Find Doctors and Locations” to see if any Kaiser locations are near the colleges and universities you are considering (be sure to select the correct region like Northern California, Southern California, Washington, etc.).

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@ucbalumnus spoke to the insurance side, but in case you were referencing on-campus health centers that most schools have, you are correct that most schools have health centers, usually focused on primary care. They may also have staff available for mental health as well. The issue that often arises is that 1) sometimes it can take a very long time to get an appointment (months), 2) sometimes the care is limited (i.e. only three mental health visits per year), and 3) if anything is needed beyond the health center, you would need insurance to cover that.

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Since Canada was mentioned, I will just say that it works a little differently there. The details vary by province, so you would need to look into this separately for each university of interest, but in general, healthcare is affordable (and trans friendly).

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In addition to the University of New Mexico and the University of Minnesota suggested above, here are a couple other out-of-state options that should hit at or below the UC price point, at full price, or with a WUE or merit discount:

New Mexico Tech, if you want another small school.

Washington State University offers a full tuition waiver for National Merit semifinalists. The Pullman campus is close to Idaho, so I’m not sure how liberal the campus and surrounding area would be.

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