<p>No issue here either @SomeOldGuy. Sooner or later kids like my nephew are going to learn the hard way the price for their choices-I know I finally did in college and I hope he does too. He made the choice to put the effort into school with full knowledge of the consequences-he is about to find them out and I hope he learns well.</p>
<p>There are definitely plenty of kids who are bright enough to score high on tests but who are just too interested in doing lots of activities and thus don’t/can’t put in the amount of time needed to get all A’s. Although that may mean they are shut out of top schools, it certainly doesn’t mean they won’t succeed in life. They have the intelligence and the drive, and just because they had to attend UCR instead of UCSD doesn’t doom them to a life of mediocrity.</p>
<p>@SOG, I just picked him quickly. He wasn’t the only good candidate denied and he was denied at a school that traditionally accepted kids like him in great numbers. This isn’t UCLA which can be fairly compared to the state flagships you listed. There has been a lot written about the declining and unpredictable acceptances at all the campuses and there’s a lot of parental angst. The point is that given their more careful scrutiny and higher standards for instate kids, the popular UCs and the popular majors within the UCs are not the safe havens they may be in other states. UC Santa Barbara, the party school? The accepted average gpa from D’s school was 3.74 and the average SAT was 2095. Santa Cruz (which I like better too) is not much better with an average accepted gpa of 3.5 and SAT of 2028. Forget Cal and UCLA. They are big, big reaches for instate kids now.</p>
<p>The UCs are not necessarily better schools than all the CSUs. There are Cal Poly schools (native Californians will have to explain them better but my understanding is that they are a specialty CSU that provides a tech school experience) that are considered better than a number of the UCs and they are an increasingly popular choice for kids who once would have headed to Berkeley. The newest UC (Merced) seems to be especially unpopular. </p>
<p>That is such a shame what is going on with California schools-I can see how it would be very stressful. Our state U is very much attainable for the vast majority of our instate kids-in fact it is looked at cross-eyed by many although most kids end up their and end up being very happy with the place. I am pretty sure my daughter will end up there and in fact she has taken the time to learn about the school and realizes for her major it’s a fine place to get her degree.</p>
<p>Sooooo, too much time on my hands now. With “the list” pretty much set - I’m obsessing over minutia! L-) </p>
<p>If yield is supposed to be an indicator of “desirability” (if you believe USNWR). How can Northwestern University have the same yield (40.5%) as Wright State? Or, University of Chicago be lower than the University of South Alabama!?</p>
<p>And is freshman retention relevant? And if it is? What is a good number? 80%, 90%? I mean; 80% sounds good but if you have a freshman class of 3,000 and 600 disappear after freshman year!? 
that’s a lot, right? Only the top ~150 schools in the Country exceed 80% retention. The 2 previous examples (Wright State and U of South Alabama) have 1st year retention’s in the mid 60’s! Isn’t that a contradiction? How are these stats meaningful? @-) </p>
<p>Rant of the day.</p>
<p>I will back up what 3girls3cats said. It’s just an example but there are many. And even higher GPAs. This past year shocked families but also college counselors with years of experience. Also IMHO you can’t tell all from the GPA (but unfortunately like here on CC UC doesn’t care what the HS was like, and if there is grade inflation or deflation there). I know kids who aren’t lazy or slackers. They work hard and they have similar GPAs. Not being able to go to UCLA or Cal is one thing, but they are being shut out of most UCs and even several CSUs. It would be nice if our in state options preferred in state kids like all those great flagships we keep reading about here on CC. </p>
<p>sally,</p>
<p>I’m not sure if you thought I didn’t like UCI because of the commencement speaker or what, but that had nothing to do with my opinion of UCI or any UC. They are just too big for my comfort. I went to a large, party state school and for someone like my son, I think a smaller school would be better because of the small class size and more interaction with professors. But I assume he might apply there. I was making the point that UCI seemed, just as you said, representative of a diverse body of students from all persuasions, and that is something I really like. I live in California for many reasons, and the diversity here is a great selling point. My neighborhood high school is about 88% non-white, mostly Hispanic, Black and Eastern Asian, and I am the minority as a Caucasian. :-)</p>
<p>I’m looking at Franklin and Marshall in a little more depth this week because D had a very positive impression on our “self guided” tour this past weekend. Looking at the historical tuition on College Navigator, it seems that their tuition increases have been “above norm” the past few years. They have 4%+ increases EACH year for the past 3 years. They are the only one on my list who have done that and they are the only one whose tuition increase was more than 4% this past year. Trying to decide if this is a troubling trend and I should “unfind” F&M fast or is this some sort of anomaly. Anyone here know of any CC threads that discuss this or have any words of wisdom on this subject? </p>
<p>giterdone I am recuperating from being attacked by a deer tick and getting Lyme Disease I have WAY too much time on my hands so rant away. I don’t know what stats are meaningful really when you get past a certain level of school. If I was looking in the high rent range I would look at SAT scores, GPA, Freshman retention rate (not going to get into financial stuff here just the academic side). I would want a broad range of offerings as kids have this annoying habit of changing their majors so I would like them to have options where they already are.</p>
<p>For my daughter who would shock me if she changed her major (Accounting) I am not as concerned about these things as Accounting isn’t brain surgery and it’s pretty hard to screw it up. I am most concerned for her about the quality of the program and if the national firms recruit there. I have a very high level of comfort with the state school here as I know the program is well regarded and kids do just as well graduating from there as they do from the more prestigious (or whatever you want to call them) programs. The important thing is she is starting to get that same level of comfort and I think she would do very well there or anywhere really-I happen to think for her it may be the best fit.</p>
<p>The other thing is if she doesn’t like it as well as I think she will she will be able to transfer to another school after a year or two and will have a couple of years getting the prerequisites out of the way at a good price. It is now required to have 150 hours to become a CPA so she’s looking at five years of school. </p>
<p>@MamaBear16 I would think the hardest part is the uncertainty-how can you possibly plan when the target is constantly moving? Is there any way the state residents can get this under control? Every state wants as many OOS full pays as possible but it seems like CA is the worst.</p>
<p>DEfour, I don’t know about the trends for tuition increase, but I do have a friend that teaches at F&M and he really enjoys it. </p>
<p>Pepper, I am very sorry to hear about your dealings with Lyme Disease. 
I hope your recovery continues and that you’ll be back in full swing soon. </p>
<p>@Pepper03 - I don’t think there is anything we can do, especially not in time for our kids. But the needed stats for OOS are much lower, which seems opposite of all those great schools I read about here where people say, “(UV/UNCH/UTA, etc.) are reaches for you unless you are in-state.” IMHO that’s the way it should be, but not the way things are here. Many of us who had hoped to use a mid-level UC as a safety have moved on…</p>
<p>D has applied to a college! Applications for the University of Kansas opened today, and it’s an easy one. Self-reported transcript and test scores. Essay and resume needed to apply to the Honors College, but you can do that separately any time between now and Nov 1, so she skipped it for now. We’re in IL but the OOS sticker price is quite low, and she gets a $12k per year ‘Jayhawk Generations’ scholarship because my husband went there. Midwest Tuition Exchange is another way to make it very affordable, but the list of eligible majors for it does not include math.</p>
<p>I am a straggler to this long list, but thought to add myself and the kid’s info.</p>
<p>Bopper, D, in NJ, looking at PA/NJ/NY, Psychology (pre-med)
BunHeadMom, D, in MN, looking at Midwest/NE/Mid-Atlantic & SE, Classics Mjr-Biology minor
clubacres, D, in S.C., looking mostly at NE/mid-Atlantic, Art History; Medieval & Renaissance Studies; Theater; Film Studies; History; Literature)
daisychain, D, in NY, looking mostly at Northeast and Midwest LACs, major undecided but likely something in the humanities/arts
DeFour, D, in Delaware, looking at NE/Mid-Atlantic/Midwest LAC’s with a strong English/Creative Writing program
dustypig, D., in California, looking mostly in California and Oregon
giterdone, S, in MN, Midwest and South, Science
Hoosier96, D, IN, Southeast, Southwest, international (Canada) and Midwest; getonotology with emphasis on aging policy
hs2015mom, D in IL, looking mostly midwest and northeast, with a few in the south and one in CA. Math, possible art minor/second major/dual degree
ILMom13579, D, in IL, Midwest, Wildlife Bio / Zoology
Irishmomof2: D, in CT, Northeast/dipping a toe into the midwest. Music Therapy.
Jennie11: D, in KS, looking in South, psychology
KSMom1518: S in KS, looking everywhere, Undecided STEM
Mom24boys, S in MD, looking mainly mid-west and Pa or anywhere cold, some kind of social science
Mtrosemom, D in NV, small LAC. Looking in OR, WA, and a few in southeast. Anthropology/archeology
planner03 S, NY, wants to stay in NE but still exploring, geoscience
pixleyyy, S, in Oregon, looking mostly western states, Engineering
sally305, D, in WI, looking in Midwest/Plains and possibly South; Dance and undecided second major; no conservatory settings
sbjdorlo S2, in So Cal, looking ?? Maybe So Cal but pretty much everywhere (or nowhere?); Game design? Music? CS? Industrial Design? Product Design? Engineering? Undecided?
shoboemom, D, in Florida, looking mostly in the Southeast, Anthropology (cultural)
Shugmom,D, in New York, looking mostly in NE and Mid-Atlantic states although could be persuaded to consider a little further if the right fit, pre-med with a possible minor in theater
slackerMomd, D in Maryland, looking in PNW, Maryland, Southeast but not Virginia, Biology or Environmental Sciences
STEMFamily, S in NM, looking in East and Midwest, Engineering
tranquil218, D, in NY, looking in NE and Mid-Atlantic, Biochemistry with minors in either Mandarin or Economics
Twogirls, D, in NY, looking in the NE, south, and mid-west
Wolverine86, D2 and S, in MI, looking in the Midwest and Southeast, Psychology (D2), Undecided(S)
Vistajay, D, in LA, looking in Southeast and Northeast, plus maybe WUSTL, pre-med with possible minor in theater.
VSGPeanut101. D, in MD. Everywhere. STEM (physics, chemistry)
wrights1994, S in MI, looking all over the country. CA, to FL to MA and everywhere in between, Finance/Economics
W2BeHome: D, in TX, looking mostly in mid-west, south and northeast; undecided but considering music, theatre, english (possible major/minor combo).</p>
<p>Is anyone else having technical difficulties? Though I am signed in, I no longer have the ability to ‘like’ a post or indicate that one is helpful, only to ‘flag’.</p>
<p>Congratulations @hs2015mom Very exciting!</p>
<p>same here</p>
<p>I second that!^^ And I am also having technical difficulties - no longer have the ability to “like” a post.</p>
<p>Same with me…</p>
<p>I now have a little facebook icon instead of a like. I’m afraid to push it.</p>
<p>Oh, dear. I think that fear is the appropriate response, and am not going to push it either.</p>