@toowonderful you might be right that OP can only attend school in CA, but it’s interesting how we can interpret the written word differently. I was inferring that OP’s parents wanted him/her/them to focus on UC’s because of cost and academic rigor. Therefore, a strong private school would be fine if the cost wasn’t too high. There was also an outside chance they could attend a less academic school (Cal State or other) if OP could convince their parents that the SM program was strong enough. 