Hey I am only a freshman but I was wondering what everyone thinks of these 2 schools, I have wanted to go to one of these schools for awhile. What is their baseball program like and how are the schools socially/academically?
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Two of the very best public institutions in the country...actually two of the very best, period.
Very difficult to get into...a bit easier for athletes, but still need good grades and SATs.
Cal is in Berkeley tucked up against the hills...one of the most liberal cities in America. A fair number of homeless people roaming the streets. But its a pretty campus with a busy surrounding city. Housing is tough to get for upperclassmen...wouldn't be a problem for an athlete. Their baseball program has been middle-of-the-pack in the Pac-10 recently...but there's a fair amount of optimism about their future. They tend to recruit very heavily locally (in the Bay Area). I like the coaching staff, but they are under a bit of pressure to produce soon. Their stadium is old, charming, but not very big and not very scenic either. They don't draw big crowds typically, but have a committed local alumni base and will draw well if they win consistently. Their football team is awesome and draws very big crowds. Being from Seattle you will have to work a little harder to convince them you don't want to go to UW.
UCLA is in Westwood, next to Beverly Hills. Its also a very pretty campus, easy distance to downtown Beverly Hills. They are a rising program in the Pac-10 and may be favored to win that conference this year? Their coach is a VERY aggressive recruiter and known to be quite good at it...especially getting very early commitments (not a good idea for the athlete IMO). He is also well-regarded as a coach in general...but rumored to be tough on his players (most college coaches are, BTW). They play in Jackie Robinson Stadium which is off-campus by a mile or two. Its a nice park surrounded by Eucaliptis trees and tucked up against a wooded hill...the ball flies out of there at times.
Both schools are highly desired by California kids, athletes or not. Very competitive to get into either. Great schools, great locations, great education. Lots of very good baseball players have come out of both.
Good luck!
Very difficult to get into...a bit easier for athletes, but still need good grades and SATs.
Cal is in Berkeley tucked up against the hills...one of the most liberal cities in America. A fair number of homeless people roaming the streets. But its a pretty campus with a busy surrounding city. Housing is tough to get for upperclassmen...wouldn't be a problem for an athlete. Their baseball program has been middle-of-the-pack in the Pac-10 recently...but there's a fair amount of optimism about their future. They tend to recruit very heavily locally (in the Bay Area). I like the coaching staff, but they are under a bit of pressure to produce soon. Their stadium is old, charming, but not very big and not very scenic either. They don't draw big crowds typically, but have a committed local alumni base and will draw well if they win consistently. Their football team is awesome and draws very big crowds. Being from Seattle you will have to work a little harder to convince them you don't want to go to UW.
UCLA is in Westwood, next to Beverly Hills. Its also a very pretty campus, easy distance to downtown Beverly Hills. They are a rising program in the Pac-10 and may be favored to win that conference this year? Their coach is a VERY aggressive recruiter and known to be quite good at it...especially getting very early commitments (not a good idea for the athlete IMO). He is also well-regarded as a coach in general...but rumored to be tough on his players (most college coaches are, BTW). They play in Jackie Robinson Stadium which is off-campus by a mile or two. Its a nice park surrounded by Eucaliptis trees and tucked up against a wooded hill...the ball flies out of there at times.
Both schools are highly desired by California kids, athletes or not. Very competitive to get into either. Great schools, great locations, great education. Lots of very good baseball players have come out of both.
Good luck!
Both schools are elite academically and athletically. Since you are a freshman, you are in a good position to build your high school career around applying to these schools. First..look at the admissions criteria for these schools and make sure you plan each year of high school accordingly (language and math requirements are a bit different than state schools). You will probably be best served by taking as many AP classes as you can tolerate once you hit senior year..plan ahead! Consider how much community service you can handle with school and sports. Both schools look very seriously at community service hours..even for athletes. Next..plan for testing. You will want to arrange for early SAT (so you can take it again if needed) and SAT subject tests. Take a prep course! Keep your GPA a solid 3.7-4.0 from now on.
As for athletics: school has to be your number one committment right now. Does your high school team get a lot of exposure? Do players on your high school team get recruitied to to high level college teams regularly?.Hopefully you have been positioning yourself with high level traveling teams for years now so the baseball part of it will come along as you get bigger and better. Read the player profiles of current rosters for both schools. Good luck! And have one or both of your parents start posting on this website...it's a great resource for parents, too.
As for athletics: school has to be your number one committment right now. Does your high school team get a lot of exposure? Do players on your high school team get recruitied to to high level college teams regularly?.Hopefully you have been positioning yourself with high level traveling teams for years now so the baseball part of it will come along as you get bigger and better. Read the player profiles of current rosters for both schools. Good luck! And have one or both of your parents start posting on this website...it's a great resource for parents, too.
You might want to PM URkillingmeblue, as her son is a pitcher at Cal. 
And bbscout's son played at UCLA (through last season).
Thanks a lot for all the info. Right now with the 1st quarter ending this week, I have about a 3.85 to a 3.9 GPA. If this stayed the same would that get me into these schools? Thanks again for the replys.
quote:Originally posted by Shortstop 11:
Thanks a lot for all the info. Right now with the 1st quarter ending this week, I have about a 3.85 to a 3.9 GPA. If this stayed the same would that get me into these schools? Thanks again for the replys.
if you were to apply without any help from the baseball department you will need over a 4.0 to get into each of these schools. I looked into these schools when i was applying and if i remember correctly the average high school gpa of an admitted freshman was around 4.1 for both. Maybe even higher.
The UC application was the most demanding one i did. You have to write essays and basically describe everything you've ever done your whole life.
Shortstop11 - Walawala is correct.
But if you are a recruited athlete, you will have no problem getting into either school with your grades.
But if you are a recruited athlete, you will have no problem getting into either school with your grades.
ShortStop 11,
Since the State of Washington only has a max of 4.0 GPA, it would be impossible to have any higher.
When my son was looking at his different options of schools to attend, he used the school's counselor. There was one that was an expert in requirements for NCAA Clearinghouse in addition to knowing the requirements for all Universities. Even as an athlete you will need a fairly high score on your SAT/ACT.
If you choose to go to Cal or UCLA, because you will be paying “Out of State Tuition” for anything a scholarship does not cover, it will be quite a bit more expensive then an in-State Washington School.
Good luck
Since the State of Washington only has a max of 4.0 GPA, it would be impossible to have any higher.
When my son was looking at his different options of schools to attend, he used the school's counselor. There was one that was an expert in requirements for NCAA Clearinghouse in addition to knowing the requirements for all Universities. Even as an athlete you will need a fairly high score on your SAT/ACT.
If you choose to go to Cal or UCLA, because you will be paying “Out of State Tuition” for anything a scholarship does not cover, it will be quite a bit more expensive then an in-State Washington School.
Good luck
A 3.85 recruited athlete with reasonable SAT scores, from any state, will have no problem getting into Cal or UCLA.
quote:Originally posted by justbaseball:
A 3.85 recruited athlete with reasonable SAT scores, from any state, will have no problem getting into Cal or UCLA.
However you won't get into the school of engineering or other highly competitive majors.....
Cal is my alma mater - great academics, professors, campus and social life combined with a revitalized sports program. Unfortunately baseball is mediocre despite supposedly top twenty recruiting classes the last few years. For most games, crowds are in the hundreds - so not exactly a big time atmosphere, although they do have some talented players. Last year, Brennan Boesch was drafted in 3rd round by Tigers, and Brandon Morrow, a RHP, was drafted in the first round by the Mariners. Tyson Ross, their current number one is headed in that direction too. I will confirm, as other posters have done, that you can get in with great baseball skills and mediocre test and gpa - but can you stay? You are expected to carry the academic load, and there is competition in the classroom.
UCLA, located in beautiful Westwood, Ca., has totally rebuilt their program and will challenge for the Pac-10 title this year. Beaches, LA, movie stars - what's not to like? Of course, we used to call it University of California for lower achievers.
UCLA, located in beautiful Westwood, Ca., has totally rebuilt their program and will challenge for the Pac-10 title this year. Beaches, LA, movie stars - what's not to like? Of course, we used to call it University of California for lower achievers.
