We’re thinking about moving to that area of the world and we’re wondering what the college opportunities would be like for the kids, when they get there. Since this board did such a geat job suggesting and discussing colleges around the Detroit area recently I’m hoping we can also get some good ideas.
No specific limits on distance at this time. Just anything you think might be in the area.
What isn’t in the area? Just off the top of my head, you’ve got: USC, UCLA, UCI, UCSD, UCSB, USD, etc., etc. The University of California system is first-rate. The State system is spotty, but there are excellent campuses and programs all over. Private schools abound, like University of Redlands, Loyola-Marymount, Claremont Colleges, etc. What possible majors are we looking at here? That would help narrow your search.
Here’s a list of all the ones in California.
http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ/state/
The U.C. system is still widely regarded as a good deal for residents, I believe, although competition is pretty fierce.
Note that USC is located just a stone’s throw away from downtown El Lay. Depending on your attitude, that can be either a plus or a minus. The campus is also cramped as heck; the school is building off-site parking lots like mad to accomodate the students, since all the on-site lots have been taken over by new buildings and expansions.
Throw the other direction and you hit Watts.
I thought the whole point of college was to move the heck away from your parents.
I know you said Southern Cal, but also keep in mind that if you go north a bit you also have Berkeley and Stanford if your kids are the type to put on airs. 
I can attest to the fact that LA, or USC to be specific, is not the right place for everyone. I have fond memories of my time there, but none of them are education related - if you catch my drift.
I didn’t see any mentions of Caltech or Pepperdine. The short answer is that there are plenty of great schools in Southern California.
As mentioned, if you want it you will find it there. Engineering wise, a good many of the top 10 are in SoCal. Here on the east coast, I have to travel pretty far to get anywhere close to what you get there. Good place for education, as others have stated.
Thanks for responses so far. To answer silenus all majors are fair game right now.
One add on question: How about a small highly intellectual environment for overly intellectual kids? We’ve got one of those. Around here we have Haverford, Swathmore, Wellesley, Dartmouth, Middlebury, Bates, Colby, Amherst, etc. I know it only takes one, so I’m wondering what’s there. Are the Claremeont Colleges like that? Also, is anything in the UC system like that?
Well, SO Cal has some small places, especially the Claremont schools-- Scripps for women in the humanities, Harvey Mudd for guys in the sciences, etc, and a lot of switching around classes in between (Scripps students taking math at Mudd, for example-- there’s some kind of agreement between the (5?) schools). There isn’t the pile of fancy/ spendy lib arts colleges like back east (there is Reed up north in OR) but there are some fair approximations. I’d have a look at Claremont. Otherwise there’s things like UCB honors program which should be smarty-pants enough for most.
Mills is a women’s college with a very loyal following. I think they went coed at one point but switched back after protests by the students.
Well, if you’re looking to get into a UC school, the way to really go is through a JC. Wipe that horrified look off of your face and listen! You get the benefit of paying less for the first two years, with the bonus of being able to figure out what kind of major you want on the cheap, plus get preferential admission to UCs (and CSUs too).
At my JC (here) they have a “Transfer Alliance Program” – an honors program with a 96% acceptance rate to UCLA (I was accepted but couldn’t go for financial reasons, although I’m reapplying this fall). One more bonus: teachers at a junior college actually like to teach, rather a rarity at the university level. Whatever you decide to do though, good luck and have fun!
Thanks Sausage Creature, and again, thanks to all. I think that info you passed on about the community colleges is invaluable. As you point out there are reasons to choose it even if you could make UCB first time around. We’ll keep it in mind.
BTW there are some equivalent kinds of things in NY. If you go to any of the colleges and have a B average for a semester you can transfer to any of the colleges. At least two of them, Binghamton and Geneseo, are very hard to get into straight from HS. Also, Bronx Community College has something like that with Middlebury College.
Yeah, Southern California is great, and the JC system is wonderful! I went through the JC system, and got into all the schools I applied to, and I am starting at USC (Go Trojans!) in a week. This was after a disastrous school experience right out of HS. So even if you screw up you can get a great education.
Don’t forget CalArts.
The UC system is almost never associated with the word “small” in any context. Students there are very bright people, though (UCLA, for example, is the most applied-to school in the country, and is very selective), so you don’t have to worry about the intellectual environment.
The Claremont Colleges are kind of like the schools you mentioned, although I have to offer the disclaimer that I only attended parties there, not classes.
For the atmosphere you’re describing, I’d suggest looking at Occidental College, near Pasadena.
Cal Arts is very highly thought of in its field; Cal Tech is one of the premier science/engineering universities in the world.
I’ll second the JC recommendation. California does have some really good ones; I transferred to UCB from one.
In fact, I’d say that a good JC can, at least for the first couple years, give a better education then a big UC. There’s nothing groundbreaking or cutting edge about most of the early curriculums, and I think the ability of the professor to actually teach matters more then the academic brilliance of the professor. Since JC’s do nothing but teach, they can be pretty good at it. The best teachers I had in college were at the JC I went to, not Berkeley. Plus, the class sizes at UC’s can be absolutely ridiculous compared to a my JC classes had anywhere from 5-30 students, comparable courses at Berkeley could have classes of up to 600+ people (they have ‘lecture halls’ that are basically stadiums).
And no, having supplementary sessions with TA’s does not make up for small classes taught by a professor. Nothing against TA’s, but as teachers they tend to be inexperienced, and they’re also busy with their own studies.
I took a materials science class at the JC before I transferred: it was taught by a PhD researcher from Rockwell (part time prof.) and there were 4 other students in the class, 1 of whom dropped. I never had an academic experience that positive at UCB until I joined a research group.