Transferring to CA School to Finish Undergrad - Private or Public?

[pjl2934]

Hello all,

I am looking to transfer to CA next school year to finish my Physics BSc at a school that has a stronger program than my current university, which will better prep me for grad school. I am coming from out of state, so it actually seems like private universities could cost me less than state schools. For example, one UC school I looked at was $13k for in-state tuition and $55k for out-of-state! I know that there are traditionally more grants and scholarships available to private school students, so that could help.

My question is, should I apply to a variety of types of schools? A variety meaning private, UC, and Cal State schools. I'm looking to go to southern California (work-related reasons), so the only private schools with strong physics programs that I see are USC and Cal Tech, either of which would be awesome. There are plenty of UC schools and Cal State schools. So, should I apply to both of those private universities and several of the UC and Cal State schools as a back-up?

Thanks for the help!

 

[jtbell]

I'm looking to go to southern California (work-related reasons), so the only private schools with strong physics programs that I see are USC and Cal Tech,

I know about Harvey Mudd only by reputation, but from what I've heard it's far from, uh, mud. There was a thread about it sometime during recent months, involving a prospective student and a student who's actually there.