BLD, could you please expand on that thought?
Cabbagedad,
Most of the D3's in this area, Midwest/Ohio and the east coast are Liberal Arts Colleges (LAC). The LAC's can be put in two categories, National and regiona. One thing All LAC's value is diversity. Diversity can mean many things, racial, sex, and culture are what is usually thought of. The National LAC's take that a step further, they also want regional diversity. If you check out their student body at many of the schools, the population is from all over the country. The regional schools may not have as national of focus, but still want a mix.
One region that is often under represented here in this area is the west coast. It is tough to get young people to come to the mid-west and the east coast. Weather can be a factor plus many of these schools are in smaller towns so it can be a culture change. Plus the cost of some of these schools when compared to the state system in CA, can be out of reach. So the demand for these students is high and the supply low.
So there is a lot of competition for these students. Many of the schools keep some academic money aside for students from the west coast part of the country that may not be available to students from a High supply low demand areas.
So a student with the right grades and test scores from California can turn that into extra money. The key is to make sure you have several school options, so you are dealing with the schools from a position of power.
Will this make the LAC's cheaper than the Ca state schools? I cannot say for sure, but it does make is more affordable.
Just keep in mind this has nothing to do with athletics and applies to any student form Ca. Add in the support of a coach and they may have a bit more bargaining power.
Good luck...
Thanks BLD, informative post. I was hoping for that depth of insight and hadn't seen that specific angle discussed here. Could be helpful to Cabbage as well as many others.
Thanks RJM, JCG, BOF, and BLD so much for your valuable information and help!