I’m a senior in high school trying to decide between UC Davis, CSULB, and SDSU, however I got waitlisted into UCI and UCSB and would go to either if given the chance.
My major for UC Davis is Genetics and Genomics, which is perfect because I am interested in becoming a genetic counselor. UCD also awarded me a lot of financial aid and my first year would be basically free if I do work study. I also saw that UCD has a program (I’m not sure of the name or specific details) that ensures a consistent financial aid package for the first 6 years at the school and has an EOP program that offers priority registration and a head start on credits. Overall UCD seems good financially and suits the career I want to pursue. However, my family is going through some difficult times and I don’t want to move 7 hours away.
My major for CSULB is Bio-engineering but I plan on switching it to bio. CSULB didn’t award me as much aid and I would need to find a way to cover at least half of my tuition for my first year, including work study and loans. However, if I attend CSULB I could stay at home with my family and commute to the school, but I’m not sure if it’s better than UCD for what I want to study (biology/genetics).
My major for SDSU is Biology and the school awarded me more aid than CSULB but less than UCD. I like SDSU because it’s near San Diego and because it’s closer to where my family lives but I would still need to dorm. However, I’m not sure about the culture at SDSU since I hear it’s party school and I would consider myself a more introverted person. I also heard there was a shooting near campus recently and the city surrounding the campus is not the most safe. However I’m open to hearing any positive experiences or facts anyone can share about the school!
To summarize, I’m not sure which schools are best for biology/genetics and for financial aid. Does anyone know if CSULB or SDSU have programs similar to UCD to keep my financial aid awards consistent throughout my 4 years in university?
Also if you couldn’t tell I haven’t visited some of these schools yet (UCD, SDSU, and UCSB) so I’ve been trying to do as much research as I can but everyone seems to be saying different things so it’s a little hard to get a clear idea 🥲 I’ve been stressing this past month anything would be helpful!!