What can a New Englander expect in California? Any suggestions for D2/D3 Basketball Colleges?

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<p>So Im a junior in high school and i live in NH. i know i want to go to college in california because i hate the cold so much. but i have never been there so i don’t know much about it. i have a few questions. i want to know what college life is like there and things like that, how is going to college in california different from new england. I just want to now what to expect. how is southern california different from northern. city vs rural. LA? SF? oakland? id prefer the warmest area nearest to the ocean. my other question is where do i go. I’ve looked at a few colleges but i have a couple requirements. I’m going to play basketball in college, I’m not sure what level yet though. i want to play at the highest level i can which I’m hoping can be division II. we’ll have to see how much better i can get for senior year. I’m expecting to play at a d III level. so Division i schools are out of the question. i want to go to a large school with a lot of kids and obviously i will live on campus, i want to go to a college where not many people commute. the college tuition can not be too much, i don’t have a lot of money. i have a 3.5 gpa, haven’t taken sat’s yet but psat’s say I’m project for 540-640 in reading, 570-670 in math, and 500-620 in writing. so, what can i expect when i go to california, and where should i go that i can play d2/d3 basketball for a reasonable price. </p>

<p>-Dillon</p>

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<p>The warmest area nearest the ocean is the San Diego area. The LA area is warm too. Get much north of Santa Barbara and it starts to be cooler, though any California school would be warmer than New Hampshire.</p>

<p>When you say “reasonable price”, what do you mean? You may want to look at LACs and try to get scholarships, because OOS tuition for the state schools is pretty high and they don’t give scholarships to OOS students. The CSUs are less expensive than the UCs if you’re looking at state schools. </p>

<p>UC Santa Cruz might be a match if you can afford it. Cooler temps but right on the ocean. They are D III. You might be able to get into San Diego State but they are D I. Actually, a lot of schools on the So. Cal coast are D I. </p>

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<p>by reasonable price i mean a school that is on the cheaper end but not a sh*tty school. I’m hoping for less then 25-30 thousand tuition. but i don’t really know what I’m talking about when it comes to price and tuition and financial aid and all that so. i just don’t want to be paying off student loans my whole life</p>

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<p>scratch that 25-30 is way to much… i need to be below 20 sure </p>

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<p>Warm weather… southern California coast… less than 20K? If you get a very good SAT score you might get a merit scholarship and/or financial aid from a LAC, though we don’t have as many out here as you do back there. Forget the CSUs and UCs and start looking at LACs because they will give financial aid. The LACs I can think of on the coast are all Catholic or Christian and very expensive, but if you can prove financial hardship they might bring the cost down. Consider looking inland an hour or two. </p>

<p>Remember to include travel costs in your financial calculations. Travel will add at least $1,000 and probably twice that. </p>

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<p>The easy picks, UCSB, SDSU, etc are out of reach due to grades and projected SAT. </p>

<p>Someplace like LMU or USD might offer you a partial scholarship which would bring you below the $20k tuition level. In NCal, maybe St Mary’s or UOP (far from the beach though) would do the same. I believe they each have credible basketball programs too. </p>

<p>The Cal State system’s OOS tuition is well under $20k - room/board is another 10k+ depending where in the state. </p>

<p>CSU Long Beach is a possibility though I think they recruit pretty heavily for B-Ball.</p>

<p>CSU Channel Islands and San Marcos are close enough to the beach but, i don’t know about their sports programs. </p>

<p>CSUs with B-Ball in N Cal to consider - Sonoma - Nice weather, beautiful surroundnigs, 20 min to the beach but, you are gonna need a wet-suit. Though you can see the Pacific from CSU Monterey the weather is spotty. SJSU is another, great weather, not too far from the ocean but, i think they play D1 and recruit most of their athletes.</p>

<p>Lots of options to explore - If you are intent on I’d suggest you apply to a broad mix of public and private schools. Expanding your search into N Cal will give you many more options. The only places that get cold like the NorthEast are way up in the mountains. People are surfing all up and down the coast today - a Thursday in mid February. They are wearing wetsuits. Reach out to coaches at the schools that interest you and see what they say about walk-ons and how you get on their radar.</p>

<p>Good Luck!</p>

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<p>Can you afford to pay $20k a year for tuition, and then also pay for living expenses? Or is the $20k/year what you can afford for tuition, room, board, books, transportation, and personal expenses? </p>

<p>The Cal State campuses run $20-22k a year for instate students living on campus. Being an out of state student will add about $8-10k a year to that price. There are private schools that may offer generous scholarships to students with strong GPAs and test scores, but even with those scholarships the cost is still going to be around $30k/year. If your total budget is $20k a year, California is going to be too expensive for you for college.</p>

<p>If going somewhere warm is a big priority, why not check out schools in the southern US? Try running College Confidential’s SuperMatch to see what schools would be affordable for you. </p>

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<p>Depending on your intended major, if you can get the GPA and SAT or ACT scores a bit higher, Chapman University (NCAA Div III) in Orange County might work. My son is currently a soph there, on an athletic team. Loves the school, good athletics program. Merit aid is very generous IF you have the grades/scores. They have an online cost calculator – plug in your grades and scores and you can estimate what your cost will be to attend. It’s warm; this is in the city of Orange, everything walkable from campus. Drive or public transit to the beach.</p>

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<p>N. Cal to S.Cal can be like Florida vs NY.</p>

<p>Well, it never gets as cold as NYC within two hours of the coast, but beaches in N. Cal are not the ones in the movies. They are beautiful, but not for sunbathing.</p>

<p>There are not many “secular” privates less than an hour from a S. Cal beach, and the public ones “close” to the beach are getting mad competitive, and can cost more than you seem to have in mind. The Claremonts are there; small on their own, larfer when considered together, very competitive admissions, I think mostoy D 3, inland and hot in the summer. Whittier is “secular” and not terribly competitive, and small, but I don’t know much else. Occidental is also “secular” but more competitive than Whittier and also sort of small, and not too sporty. Pepperdine is a private close to the beach, with many good sports, but I don’t know about b ball, nor what division, and it is considered fairly conservative. My d wanted to attend, but it is not for everyone. Loyola Marymount is Jesuit, has some required religious classes and a modicum of religious prescence, and D I b ball. They aren’t great, but there is no football team, so they get some attention. My son is there, and it is crazy expensive. University of San Diego is similar, but in San Diego (surprise!), and Santa Clara similar in N. Cal, but nowhere near a real beach". St. Mary’s is alo in N. Cal. has a pretty good bball team, Catholic, small, and not near a beach. </p>

<p>Some of the public csu’s in S Cal might be less expensive and less competative, but many are commuter schools. My son did not get into any of them, I suspect partly because kids that live in the local area get preferences, and lots of local kids apply. </p>

<p>There are several Christian schools in So Cal, and some are in their own sport division, but they are pretty small.</p>

<p>Let me know if you want names of Christian schools in So Cal.</p>

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<p>Note: DII and DIII aren’t “middle level and lower level athletics”; DII = lower level academics, DIII = you’re recruited first as a student but some D3 colleges are really strong in some sports. There’s NAIA too.
Study with number2.com (free) to have higher SAT’s. If you can reach 1800-1900 and increase your grades, you could apply to Pitzer and Occidental, they’d be reaches but they meet need. Other CA private colleges don’t meet need so regardless of whether you can afford $20,000, they will only offer scholarships if you’re among their top applicants. That’s where sports can come in. Fill out the “prospective recruit questionnaire” at Whittier, Loyola Marymount LA, Chapman, UniversitySan Diego (NOT UC SD or SDSU!), Redlands, Santa Clara, St Mary’s of California.
Also, run the Net price calculators on your state’s flagship (top public university), your state’s directional (like “University of West State”), and Occidental, and Whittier*. Then bring the results to your parents and see what they say.</p>

<p>*= two instate publics with one selective one less so, one 100% private but reach, one match college.</p>

<p>If you want warm weather year-round, what about New Mexico and Arizona?
For instance, Westminster Mesa offers some programs and good scholarships because that branch is just starting (no bball though). Look at the costs and scholarships at University of New Mexico. </p>

<p>In the South, you have lots of possibilities, too: Flagler, in Florida (low tuition); Hendrix, in Arkansas (generous with scholarships); Guilford, in North Carolina (run the Net Price Calculator). etc…</p>

<p>You should have 2 safeties (schools you like, are sure you can get into, and know you can afford) - for you, it likely means a local state university plus another one;
3-5 matches (schools you like, think you can get into because you’re between the average and the top 25%, and can afford).
Then you can add as many dream schools, reaches, etc, as you wish or can afford.</p>

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<p>Lots of good advice here, but I think you’re going to have a difficult time finding a school in California where the net price is under $30,000 on merit aid only. Schools like Whittier, Redlands and Chapman give generous aid, but their starting prices are well over $50,000.</p>

<p>Here is information about the D3 conference in Southern California:
<a href=“SCIAC Athletics”>http://thesciac.org/sports/mbkb/index&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And here are current D3 basketball rankings:
<a href=“http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d3”>http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d3&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Love the suggestion of New Mexico and Arizona made by MYOS1634. Warm weather and not nearly as expensive.</p>

<p>Note that the California schools being discussed as POSSIBLY affordable (with much merit aid) - Chapman, Whittier, and Redlands - are not by the ocean. And I have a very hard time imagining those schools going below $20,000 without a stellar GPA and SAT scores. OP’s GPA is good but not unique, and he is not projecting a very high SAT score either. </p>

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<p>The weather. </p>

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<p>What to expect in our state? Good weather, busy highways and good schools. Southern California is warmer than Northern California but the waters are still cold. We don’t have 80 degree water temps. Our water temps at the beach are in the 60’s and sometimes in the 50’s. Sounds warm but it is not. Plus we have an expensive cost of attending school in California. It is a big state and you wont get to each city by driving just 20 minutes. Most universities are not near the ocean and the ones that are, don’t have real direct beach access. </p>

<p>Distances from each major city are long and that’s what kids on the east coast don’t understand. Public transportation is almost non-existent so you will need a car. Santa Barbara looks like a short distance from LA on a map, but the commute takes at least 2 hours given Highway 101. In other words, don’t assume shows about California represent our state. Assume $30K minimum per year as an out of state student.</p>

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<p>Neither is near the beach–especially Pitzer. Pitzer is test-optional but their admissions are very much looking for fit. Based on what the OP’s posted, I don’t think it’s a match.</p>