Anyone attending a college/university in California PLEASE throw in your two cents about your school. Right now I’m mainly looking at CSULB, UCSB, USC, and Loyola Marymount.
I’m from downtown Chicago, so being near or in a large/busy city is important to me. Otherwise I’d love to be in a good beach area, or at least somewhere super pretty where I could hike or do outdoorsy activities (I’m super active).
Good on-campus gyms are highly appreciated, any info on the dorms and Greek life would be much appreciated. I’m really into sports (huge baseball fan) so I’d really appreciate a school with fun sporting events.
And obviously one of the most important factors: WHICH SCHOOL HAS THE HOTTEST GUYS?! I’ve heard so much about colleges in Cali with hot girls but omg what if you’re a hot girl looking for a school with hot guys?!?!
Any and all opinions about any schools in Cali are much appreciated 
thanks
Are these schools affordable since you will not get any Financial aid for CSULB and UCSB? Expect to pay around $36K+/year for CSULB and $55K+/year for UCSB. If I were your parents, I definitely would not be paying that much money for “hot guys”.
SAT/ACT scores? Unweighted GPA? UC/CSU GPA? EC’s?
I agree with @Gumbymom. You will not receive any financial aid from California schools.
If your priority is “hot guys”, you won’t last at a California university.
Hi! I went to USC and then transferred to UCSB, so I feel like I have a good perspective on both. I grew up a die-hard USC Trojan fan (lots of family alum), and absolutely loved USC for the large sports program and academics. Some of my favorite professors were at USC! USC and UCSB are very different places though. USC has a large Greek presence (I was in a sorority so some might think this is a good thing). For me, I fell in love with with the casual atmosphere of UCSB. The student body was super warm and welcoming, and Greeks mixed with non-Greeks all the time (at USC it felt very silo’d by which sorority you were apart of). If you visit UCSB, you need to spend time in Isla Vista. It’s the amazing college town connected to campus-- completely walkable, and filled with eateries and housing. Its the best college town in America from what I’ve seen so far (and I’ve visited many :). I knew I’d love UCSB for its location, but I was completely surprised by the amazing school spirit! Men’s Basketball and Soccer games sell out, and their Baseball team just rocked it to the top 8 in the College World Series. Students at UCSB live on campus their first year, and in the college town of Isla Vista the next 3 years (the beach was fifteen steps from my front door). At USC, the housing is less cohesive. You either live in a sorority/fraternity or in campus housing…which is in a super crappy area and quite different than listening to the waves crashing through your bedroom window. I would certainly visit both campuses and get a sense for yourself. USC is building new housing, which could be a really great change for future students. CSULB is more of a commuter school, although I do have friends that lived on campus and enjoyed their time there. I have friends that are LMU alum and enjoyed their time there as well. Best of luck!
Oh- and UCSB has a very active campus with a nice gym. It’s not in a big city but there was nothing “boring” about my time at UCSB…activities galore.
lots of great options here in CA - really hard to give you much guidance without you qualifications and budget.
No budget. ACT: 29. Old SAT…math: 675 and reading: 710. Cumulative GPA weighted is 3.8, and I’m in too many extracurriculars to mention.
UC/CSU GPA? https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/
Intended major? No budget means that $60K/year is accepatable?
Your GPA is light for UCSB and USC. LMU and CSULB are much more likely.
I’d encourage you to take a look at SDSU, USD, and perhaps Santa Cruz.
Go look at private universities here and stay far away from public universities unless if you are completely set on living in California. They will give you more aid and you’re just as likely to get accepted as a California resident, at least at most privates I believe.
@Gumbymom without getting into my family’s financial situation, yes it is acceptable. My parents and grandparents are more than willing to spend whatever seems appropriate on a school…we have the money. Major: secondary education with a focus on English literature and writing