Brandeis was mentioned early on in this thread and would NOT be a good match for you. It’s a very liberal campus with a long history of social justice activism. Anyone uncomfortable with that would be miserable there.
UCSD is probably ur best bet- one of best STEM public schools around, especially in CA.
You have the stats to get in.
You can also paritcipate in lot of clubs and service, and definitely research- as UCSD is a very research oriented school.
Its not really liberal like Berkely or anything.
There aren’t many parties and weed culture- so its good for u.
It has a great location and a lot of acitivities around San Diego, so you and friends can enjoy a lot.
The only bad thing is lack of good sports teams and there a lot of Asians there, which idk if thats a problem for u.
@SREE33 would UCLA be a good fit as well? I do have valedictorian status and every year at least one person gets accepted into UCLA from my school (usually the valedictorian). I would say my EC’s are well above average, as well as my letters of recommendation (not sure where my personal stands, however, I think they are good and unique)I wouldn’t have a problem attending UCSD but I just wanted to know if UCLA would be a good fit (socially) as well. Also, I don’t mind Asians as at UC’s there is enough diversity (all UC’s have a lot of Asians), while the Asian population is large it doesn’t seem overbearing. Everywhere I look I will see an Asian but I will also see someone of a different race.
@suzy100 I have been notified that I am a Questbridge Finalist.
Congratulations!
I’ve been looking into Occidental lately and I am impressed with the programs and resources offered at the school(3-2 Engineering Program with Caltech), and I’m not worried about admissions either. My only concern is if the school is TOO small. Would I still be able to meet new people after the first year, or would I quickly know everyone and become bored? Would I be able to meet people from Caltech and Cal-State LA and build meaningful relationships, or would I be isolated at Occidental?
Beside the QB schools, you may want to look into Dickinson and St Olaf for science - they match what you want socially. They’d be low matches (to near safety depending on your situation) provided you show interest.