2025 Top Public Colleges & Universities

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I agree, some majors benefit from a 4 year program. But the 2+2 can be done.

In the end... We will all be replaced by AI anyways. :)
 
University of California, Los Angeles' ranking in the 2024 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, #15. Its in-state tuition and fees are $13,752; out-of-state tuition and fees are $46,326. UCLA is outranking two Ivy League Schools: Dartmouth and Rice and is currently the #1 public university in the nation.

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panda said:
College Tuition CAP Rate / ROI

How many Parents in Irvine see your children's tuition cost no different than the way you evaluate Real Estate Investment Deals?

Below is my analysis on each university and its respective CAP rate / ROI. The 4 year cost for your child to attend USC is now hovering close to $400,000. Do you think this a good investment?

View attachment 9707
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The best ROI / Cap rate would be to live at home and attend either UCI or UCLA. By removing room & board from the equation, you cut the Total 4 Year Cost in half.
 
panda said:
College Tuition CAP Rate / ROI

How many Parents in Irvine see your children's tuition cost no different than the way you evaluate Real Estate Investment Deals?

Below is my analysis on each university and its respective CAP rate / ROI. The 4 year cost for your child to attend USC is now hovering close to $400,000. Do you think this a good investment?

View attachment 9707
Click to expand...
The two cannot be compared. College alone does not determine your kids future. Some kids go out and get the best education money can buy and have little financial return. College is an experience that helps shape you, it is not all you are. I wish more parents would focus on their children’s lifelong happiness and not just how much money or bragging rights they bring to the family. Can you imagine what kind of pressure that would be?
 
I think the view on the full college experience and its benefits will probably change if it hasn’t already. The full college experience made sense when it was affordable. Now it is not affordable for most families. If your choices are $400k for the full college experience vs $200k by living at home my guess is that most would go for the $200k living at home.

What I absolutely don’t understand and never will is parents paying out of state tuition for schools like Arizona state (insert any mediocre school here).
 
Imnotmoving said:
The two cannot be compared. College alone does not determine your kids future. Some kids go out and get the best education money can buy and have little financial return. College is an experience that helps shape you, it is not all you are. I wish more parents would focus on their children’s lifelong happiness and not just how much money or bragging rights they bring to the family. Can you imagine what kind of pressure that would be?
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@Imnotmoving, thanks for sharing your concern. I think every parent have different goals for their children who am I to judge anyone.

If you read the theme of this thread, it is about the Irvine high school student who dreams of attending UCLA, but is highly discouraged competing in the red ocean Irvine school : Uni and Northwood. He realizes that his weighted GPA of 4.1 puts him in the top 40% of his class where his UCLA dream starts to get shattered settling for the 4th tier UC colleges. He would be considered a rock star if he attended any other California high school outside of Irvine.

Personally for me if my boys receives the Holy Spirit and accepts Jesus Christ as their savior at a young age, I have nothing to worry about as the Holy Spirit will guide them. Before I die, these are things I would like to see in my children.

1. Master : Relationship with Jesus
2. Mission: Helping them to become financially independent and guiding them in discovering their gifts and passions
3. Mate : Advising and praying for them in finding a Proverbs 31 Wife as their mate to start a family of their own.
4. Purpose and Calling: Helping them discover their purpose in life.
 
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panda said:
@Imnotmoving, thanks for sharing your concern. I think every parents have different goals for their children who am I to judge anyone. If you read the theme of this thread, it is about the Irvine high school student who dreams of attending UCLA, but highly discouraged competing in the red ocean Irvine school : Uni and Northwood.

Personally for me if my boys receives the Holy Spirit and accepts Jesus Christ as their savior and a young age, I have nothing to worry about as the Holy Spirit will guide them. Before I die, these are things I would like to see in my children.

1. Master : Relationship with Jesus
2. Mission: Helping them to become financially independent and guiding them in discovering their gifts and passions
3. Mate : Advising them to finding a Proverbs 31 Wife as their mate.
4. Purpose and Calling: Helping them discover their purpose in life.
Click to expand...

I have read the theme of this thread. I am concerned about parents having different goals for their children, the children need their own goals.

I am not a religious person and have always believed in karma, being charitable, being neighborly and the rest will take care of itself. I also have nothing to worry about because I have raised a loving and generous family.

1. Believe in yourself.
2. Focus on work that has purpose and the financial rewards will follow.
3. Remember if you decide to get married you also marry their family. As do they marry ours.
4. A life of happiness is the purpose.
 
Perhaps this is a topic for a different thread. I am a Christian and received Christ when i was in 8th grade. I know you mentioned that you are not a religious person and believe in karma. So what do you think happens to us after we die? Is this the only life on earth we get to live so we need to live the happiest life we can possible live? Is that the purpose of life in your opinion?
Imnotmoving said:
I have read the theme of this thread. I am concerned about parents having different goals for their children, the children need their own goals.

I am not a religious person and have always believed in karma, being charitable, being neighborly and the rest will take care of itself. I also have nothing to worry about because I have raised a loving and generous family.

1. Believe in yourself.
2. Focus on work that has purpose and the financial rewards will follow.
3. Remember if you decide to get married you also marry their family. As do they marry ours.
4. A life of happiness is the purpose.
Click to expand...
 
panda said:
Perhaps this is a topic for a different thread. I know you mentioned that you are not a religious person and believe in karma. So what do you think happens to us after we die? Is this the only life on earth we get to live so we need to live the happiest life we can possible live? Is that the purpose of life in your opinion?
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We live on through our families. That’s why I feel it is most important they are happy and well balanced individuals that can live a long and stable life. They will really only have memories of us when we are gone, I want them to be good. I do not want to be remembered as a person that placed more value on someone because they were doing what I wanted for them, the gift really is to let them be themselves.
 
Imnotmoving said:
We live on through our families. That’s why I feel it is most important they are happy and well balanced individuals that can live a long and stable life. They will really only have memories of us when we are gone, I want them to be good. I do not want to be remembered as a person that placed more value on someone because they were doing what I wanted for them, the gift really is to let them be themselves.
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It's a nice sentiment to just let the kids be but I think reality is a little different. They need to be exposed to all kinds of things so they can get a feel for what they like and don't. They need to be inspired. They need to socialize. They need to be physically active. They need to fail. They need to be mentally stimulated. They need to have fun. They need to learn. Etc.

I do agree with having them come up with their own goals. They shouldn't try to fill some unfulfilled dream of their parents' for the parents' sake. (Lawyer, Doctor, Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, Newport Beach, etc.)

Edited to add: Just how I feel.. Although what they decide to do in life is up to them, they need to be able to support themselves and the next generation.

 
He got to say his son went to harvard. definitely worth a few hundred thousand dollars of extra tuition.
Especially if your group of friends are wealthy. Then tuition doesn't matter.

Is status superficial?
Do you drink wine from a cardboard box?

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This stuff is awesome if you haven't tried.
 
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Really depends on what your kid plans to do... for some careers, Ivies and other prestigious colleges like USC are worth it, for many... a UC or CalState will do... and for some... even no college will work.
 
panda said:
UCLA has an uncapped major of Business / Economics which will fit IVC/UCLA pathway.
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Sure... but how about the kids who don't want to do this?

I read a funny quote on X or somewhere (and I don't remember the exact quote):

"AI is backwards, it's supposed to do dishes and laundry so I have more time to do art and writing... but AI is doing art and writing instead."
 
I've been getting some push back from parents about interfering with their child's overall happiness, social life, and not allowing them to choose what they want to do. The IVC / UCLA pathway is not for most high school students. I believe that this pathway is ideal for the Creative students who are high disciplined, but don't quite fit the IUSD mold. These Creative students have a strong desire to attend the tier 1 UC Schools, but strategically deciding where to compete (in the Blue Ocean). For those of you parents who have children who fit this category, I will continue to share my knowledge and research on this topic. Among the high school seniors from University High who applied to UCLA, only 9% of the top students were admitted. Among the transfer students from Irvine Valley College, 34% students were admitted to UCLA.

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Standardized tests (not required)​

UC eliminated its standardized test requirement in 2020.

UC no longer considers SAT or ACT test scores when making admissions decisions or awarding scholarships. Test scores submitted as part of the application may be used as an alternate method of fulfilling minimum requirements for eligibility or for course placement after matriculation at UC.

With SAT and ACT test scores no longer being required, how do students and parents feel about this? Do you see this as a Positive or a Negative for UC admissions?

Do you think all the other top Public Universities should follow UC admissions in eliminating SATs and ACTs?

1. Univ of Michigan
2. Univ of North Carolina
3. Univ of Virginia
4. Georgia Institute of Technology
 
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The median weighted GPA for UCLA's 2023 freshmen class is 4.58, and its middle 50 percentile ranges from 4.40 to 4.73.

IUSD High School Ranking
1st Decile: 4.44-4.75
2nd Decile: 4.28-4.43
3rd Decile: 4.15-4.27
4th Decile: 4.03-4.14

1st Quartile: 4.20-4.75
2nd Quartile: 3.89-4.19
3rd Quartile: 3.52-3.88

Uni High Senior Class 465
226 applied to UC Berkeley and 21 admitted (9%) 13 enrolled (62%)

267 applied to UCLA and 28 admitted (10%) 15 enrolled (54%)

Top 5% of the Uni senior class were admitted to the tier 1 UCs.
 
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What BkShopr aka Irvinehomeshopper has been preaching for years about the disadvantage of sending your kids to an IUSD high school is not some Myth, but it is for Real. A high school student with a 4.1 weight GPA, will not feel very smart in an IUSD high school.

IUSD High School Ranking

Top 10% : 4.44-4.75 > UCLA, UC Berkeley
Top 20% : 4.28-4.43 > UC San Diego
Top 30% : 4.15-4.27 > UC Santa Barbara , UC Davis
Top 40% : 4.03-4.14 > UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, UC Merced, UC Riverside

uni.jpeguc.jpg
 
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