Columbus Square - Tustin School District

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dning_IHB

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<p>I'm considering buying my first house, and is looking at the properties in Columbus Square in Tustin.</p>

<p>These properties are in the Tustin School District and from reading everyone's comments, I haven't heard too many good comments about Tustin High but someone told me that Arnold Beckman High is better. They are both in the same school district, so my question is whether or not kids that live in the Columbus Square can actually go to the high schools in Beckman High or how this school qualification thing works. (Sorry about my ignorance but I'm still single right now. I plan to get married within the year and probably have kids in 1-2 years).</p>

<p>I'm really confused with making such big financial step while knowing so little and I really appreciate everyone's help in advance!</p>
 
dning,



You should check out Tustin ISD's website or call Tustin ISD to find out if Tustin has "OPEN Enrollment" policy - meaning as long as the school has space, everyone living in the district can apply. That doesn't mean you can get it. They only promise that you can get into the school that you are assigned to based on your home address. Irvine has an open enrollment policy. Also, given the fact that Beckman high is the only good one in Tustin ISD, even if they have Open enrollment policy, you might still have a hard time to get in.



I know you didn't ask for it, but here is my advise on your situation: you are single, not married yet, and your kids are at least 9 to 10 years away from going to elementary school, my advise is you should not worry too much about school. Make sure you find the location you like, and don't get into an "undesirable" location. I don't like Columbus Square, and I don't believe it will hold its value. Look in Woodbury, etc.
 
<p>just by looking at the API score, Beckman and and foothill high are not as good as ANY of the Irvine ISD highschools. But they are ok. However, if your address is in Tustin High ( one of the three high school in Tustin ISD), they watch out!! Tustin high is probably a "disarster" - doesn't mean your kids for sure will fxckup there, but at least the chance of that is much much higher compared with any school in Irvine or in in Beckman or Footfhill High. </p>

<p>For "dning", you probably need to be more concerned about elementary school than anything else. Some of the elementary schools in Tustin ISD are not bad at all, actually they have very good API scores. check it out. </p>

<p>I think the Tustin Ranch area is nice even it is in Tustin ISD. The Northwood gated community is very very nice, also in Tustin ISD. If i have a tiny little kid or no kids, I will consideer those two areas. The bottom line is i think the Columbus Square is NOT a desireable area. There are better areas in Tustin ISD district.</p>

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<p>Thank you for the advice. It seems like you (irvine123) do not like the Columbus Square area. Is this because of the way it is all undeveloped right now? Or is it because of the general location? I'm interested in this property because of everything that is planned for the tustin legacy area rather than what is already there. As for the neighbourhood, I believe once the Columbus Square is built more, it would be pretty nice. It might take a while with this type of a slow market these days, but in 3 years, maybe 5 max, I believe the whole community will be pretty much built. I think in around 10-15 years, the whole Tustin Legacy is going to be developed. I know it's many years away, but I like seeing new developments around my area every once in a while because it gives me a new place to go to (ie shopping plaza) or new recreation center and having things being built gives me more excitment in the long run than if everything is already there. Of course, I'm a newbie in all this and would be happy to hear more experienced people's opinion on this. Especially people who don't like the area so I can use those comments to weigh out my decisions.</p>

<p>Going back to the school district though, I will definitely call Tustin Unified to see what the situation is. To answer Illrvine's question: Yes, Beckman is just a fancier/newer school in Tustin. I have a very long horizon (I still have to get married, have a kid, and by the time he/she is in highschool, it will be 15-20 years later. So I'm looking for a highschool that can slowly rise within their ranks as the API score is ultimately determined by good students which is somewhat tied to higher educated families which sort of implies a middle class family level and above. I know I'm sterotyping but middle working class families on average definitely put more emphasis on their kid's education and it should show in the school, which in turn drives the property value of the houses around the school.</p>

<p>Tustin Ranch is nice, but townhomes are going at like $600,000 for something that is 10+ years old with about 1200 sq ft is a little bit more than I expected. Since I plan to live in the place for many years, I want to buy something that is spacious inside (spacious is more a relative term, so I mean something 1500 - 2000 sq ft.). For 2 people, I believe that is about right. My budget is less than $700k for a single family house and something like $650k for a townhome because of the HOA and sub-HOA which makes some areas not affortable.</p>
 
<p><strong><u>dning -</u></strong> I am also going through my "where to buy" process, with primary concern quailty of schools and safe streets. We have similar housing budgets, and sounds like similar priorities for what our house will look like. But I am a real bull on location --- and I agree with Irvine123 that Columbus Square will probably have some challenges down the road. I definitely live by the rule of "Buy the worst house in the best neighborhood, as opposed to the best house in the worst neighborhood". </p>

<p>Specifically to schools, I am a couple of years ahead of you as I am already married with a 3 year old, and while for me elementary is the most immediate concern, I have spent a GREAT deal of time assessing high schools. While I definitely think I could get more for my money on Columbus Square, I cannot reconcile the schools. I agree with others that there are some fantastic Elementary and Middle schools in TUSD, but I am even unsure about how Beckman HS will fare in the long term. There was a lot of controversy in TUSD about how the Beckman boundaries were drawn....You can read about it here:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.simby.org/Boundaries.pdf">http://www.simby.org/Boundaries.pdf</a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.simby.org/">http://www.simby.org/</a></p>

<p>All of my personal research has resulted in a decision to target Orchard Hills when that community is built out. I will <em>consider </em>buying on the TUSD side if I can only afford a 5 - 10 year house next year. If I can, however, afford the 15 - 20 year house (all the way through HS) --- I would <em>ONLY</em> consider IUSD side...And Northwood HS.</p>
 
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