Is Anyone Familiar with Malibu High School?

[methodwriter85]

Hey, I have a friend who plans on eventually penning an online tale for a story that involves fictional kids who go to Malibu High School, and graduate in 2005. I thought I'd help him out and go straight to the source.

 

I just had some questions about what SoCal Malibu kids were like, circa 2005...

***

 

1. Could a guy be openly gay at Malibu High School without it being a big deal?

 

2. What kind of cars did the rich kids drive? Was it mainly SUV type stuff, like Hummers?

 

3. How preppy is the school? Did kids there dress really preppy, or was it a lot more laidback? What were the popular clothing brands?

 

4. What were the popular slang terms? Were kids saying stuff like "sick" and "rager", or was that just on that show Laguna Beach?

 

5. What were the popular hang-outs? Zuma Beach, I'm guessing, but were there any resturants or clubs that kids who went there always went to?

 

6. How did the kids who came from the Colony act like? Were they stuck-up rich kids, or just laidback and normal?

 

***

Thanks, I'd really appreciate your help!

[thatboyChase]

the only guy i knew from malibu at school was fat, ugly and stupid lol malibu fail i remember when we were drunk he asked me if taking it in the butt hurt lol

 

he was really rich though had like 5 cars he drove this f**king awesome tricked out lexus with hydrolics and lived near the kardashians, so he said, but like i said he was a fat and ugly so that pretty much cancels out anything he says. malibu isn't southern california, at least in my opinion. its like stupid 'we are past LA' in a really awkward peninsula.

[methodwriter85]

Do you know what the slang is like there? Most of what I know about slang from that times seems to be from viewing "Laguna Beach", with words like "dunzo" and "rager" and "sick". And would it have been a big deal for a guy to be openly gay in Malibu? It doesn't seem to be as conservative as Orange County.

[Mark Arbour]

the only guy i knew from malibu at school was fat, ugly and stupid lol malibu fail i remember when we were drunk he asked me if taking it in the butt hurt lol

 

he was really rich though had like 5 cars he drove this f**king awesome tricked out lexus with hydrolics and lived near the kardashians, so he said, but like i said he was a fat and ugly so that pretty much cancels out anything he says. malibu isn't southern california, at least in my opinion. its like stupid 'we are past LA' in a really awkward peninsula.

 

You are such an OC boy. LMAO.

 

So did you f**k him?

[Tommy_B]

1. Could a guy be openly gay at Malibu High School without it being a big deal?

 

2. What kind of cars did the rich kids drive? Was it mainly SUV type stuff, like Hummers?

 

3. How preppy is the school? Did kids there dress really preppy, or was it a lot more laidback? What were the popular clothing brands?

 

4. What were the popular slang terms? Were kids saying stuff like "sick" and "rager", or was that just on that show Laguna Beach?

 

5. What were the popular hang-outs? Zuma Beach, I'm guessing, but were there any resturants or clubs that kids who went there always went to?

 

6. How did the kids who came from the Colony act like? Were they stuck-up rich kids, or just laidback and normal?

 

 

Malibu High is like any school along the coast. Mostly well off kids, but not all there are lower middle class kids too. Surfers, preppies, emos, gothy vampirish kids, etc. The rich kids go the Brentwood School, Harvard Westlake, Crossroads or Loyola. The really rich kids get shipped off to the east coast or europe, usually switzerland.

 

An otherwise cool guy could be gay, but a nerdy little dweeb or drama guy, gay is strike three. They wouldn't get beat up, pretty much just verbally abused, but mostly ignored, the worst fate in high school.

 

A lot of the kids drive Lexus 4WD, BMW's, MBZ, but also a lot of Toyotas, esp the big 4WD, a few mini Coopers and some Prius's.

 

Not preppy at all, more beach grubby than anything. Guys usually wear t-shirts and shirts, the t-shirts are surf or band or skaterish.

 

Most Colony kids don't go to public school.

 

Nobu is where the rich bitch's go, normal kids go to Coogies, Howdy's & Malibu Kitchen.

 

Hanging out is done by group, jocks go to Will Rodgers St Beach, stoners and drinkers go to El Pescador or El Matador cuz it is harder to get caught, rich kids go to the Bel Air Bay Club or Jonathon Club Beach Club. If they aren't beach types they might go to the Riviera or Brentwood Country Club. For general hanging, the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

 

Colony kids are generally cool, but they don't get they live in a bubble, that not all kids have bodyguards or "drivers" as they pretend to be. They don't get that not all kids jet off to Sundance on private jets or France for the summer.

 

"sick" is still around, "rager' is gone if it was ever here, "dude" will never die.

[Mark Arbour]

Malibu High is like any school along the coast. Mostly well off kids, but not all there are lower middle class kids too. Surfers, preppies, emos, gothy vampirish kids, etc. The rich kids go the Brentwood School, Harvard Westlake, Crossroads or Loyola. The really rich kids get shipped off to the east coast or europe, usually switzerland.

 

An otherwise cool guy could be gay, but a nerdy little dweeb or drama guy, gay is strike three. They wouldn't get beat up, pretty much just verbally abused, but mostly ignored, the worst fate in high school.

 

A lot of the kids drive Lexus 4WD, BMW's, MBZ, but also a lot of Toyotas, esp the big 4WD, a few mini Coopers and some Prius's.

 

Not preppy at all, more beach grubby than anything. Guys usually wear t-shirts and shirts, the t-shirts are surf or band or skaterish.

 

Most Colony kids don't go to public school.

 

Nobu is where the rich bitch's go, normal kids go to Coogies, Howdy's & Malibu Kitchen.

 

Hanging out is done by group, jocks go to Will Rodgers St Beach, stoners and drinkers go to El Pescador or El Matador cuz it is harder to get caught, rich kids go to the Bel Air Bay Club or Jonathon Club Beach Club. If they aren't beach types they might go to the Riviera or Brentwood Country Club. For general hanging, the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.

 

Colony kids are generally cool, but they don't get they live in a bubble, that not all kids have bodyguards or "drivers" as they pretend to be. They don't get that not all kids jet off to Sundance on private jets or France for the summer.

 

"sick" is still around, "rager' is gone if it was ever here, "dude" will never die.

 

What a great summary! In case you didn't get it, Jeremy was asking the question for me. You'll help me flesh things out! I really, really appreciate it.

 

I get what you're saying about coastal towns. I did a lot of time in Santa Cruz, and it was way different than the Valley. The cultural differences were like a chasm. It took a while for me (and my friends) to fit in, although unless we would have lived there full time, even that probably really possible.

[methodwriter85]

Thanks, Tom. I really appreciate the feedback. Although judging by your age, there might be some things not quite right, because it's being set at Malibu High circa 2005. Still, it's only about a 5-year difference, so yeah. Thanks, you really gave us a good portrait of the school!

 

What a great summary! In case you didn't get it, Jeremy was asking the question for me. You'll help me flesh things out! I really, really appreciate it.

 

 

It sounds like a generally laidback school, which will be a difference from what you wrote with Brad at Gunn and Matt at the University School. It sounds like I was right- Claire is going to be absolutely horrified at how her nephews dress while they're in high school. LOL Mark, inadvertantly, the way you're written Darius as a laidback party kid with decent grades seems about right for what Tim is describing as the typical Malibu kids.

 

Tom, do you know what were the popular surfer kid clothing brands with them? As well as with Skaters? I know over here, Quicksilver was big, but I'm guessing it's not the same here. And did kids wear stuff like Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister, or nah? How would a surfer/skater kid dress?

Edited July 4, 2010 by methodwriter85

[Tommy_B]

Thanks, Tom. I really appreciate the feedback. Although judging by your age, there might be some things not quite right, because it's being set at Malibu High circa 2005. Still, it's only about a 5-year difference, so yeah. Thanks, you really gave us a good portrait of the school!

 

It sounds like a generally laidback school, which will be a difference from what you wrote with Brad at Gunn and Matt at the University School. It sounds like I was right- Claire is going to be absolutely horrified at how her nephews dress while they're in high school. LOL Mark, inadvertantly, the way you're written Darius as a laidback party kid with decent grades seems about right for what Tim is describing as the typical Malibu kids.

 

Tom, do you know what were the popular surfer kid clothing brands with them? As well as with Skaters? I know over here, Quicksilver was big, but I'm guessing it's not the same here. And did kids wear stuff like Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister, or nah? How would a surfer/skater kid dress?

 

I started high school in 2007, I doubt too much has changed in Malibu or any of the southern Cal beach towns all that much over those years. I talk to Tim and his parents and their families have been by the beach for 100 in So Cal and they say it has been pretty much the same since the 1970's. I know the styles have changed a little and the brands have changed, but I don't think the brands have changed that much in the last 10 years.

 

Shirts guys wear are Ezekiel, Volcom, Hurley, DC, Fox, Skin, Element, KR3W, RVCA, Vans, Tapout, Matrix and Infamous. Some are t-shirts, some are button up and kind of plaid.

 

Shorts tend to be Volcom, Micros, Quicksilver, Blue Crown & Subculture, also a lot of pattens.

Shoes guys like are Etnies, Osiris, Vans, C1rca, DC, Nike, Adidas, Lakai and DVS.

Edited July 5, 2010 by Tommy_B

[methodwriter85]

I started high school in 2007, I doubt too much has changed in Malibu or any of the southern Cal beach towns all that much over those years. I talk to Tim and his parents and their families have been by the beach for 100 in So Cal and they say it has been pretty much the same since the 1970's. I know the styles have changed a little and the brands have changed, but I don't think the brands have changed that much in the last 10 years.

 

Shirts guys wear are Ezekiel, Volcom, Hurley, DC, Fox, Skin, Element, KR3W, RVCA, Vans, Tapout, Matrix and Infamous. Some are t-shirts, some are button up and kind of plaid.

 

Shorts tend to be Volcom, Micros, Quicksilver, Blue Crown & Subculture, also a lot of pattens.

Shoes guys like are Etnies, Osiris, Vans, C1rca, DC, Nike, Adidas, Lakai and DVS.

 

 

I knew a TON of guys who wore Etnies and Volcom. Quicksilver as well. I don't think plaid made its comeback until around '07, but if I remember correctly, most skater guys tended to wear plaid paired up with Dickies before plaid made the comeback. So they kinda never stopped wearing plaid, I think. The main difference is that as we got further along the decade, plaid shirts became more fitted and not the baggy kind we associate with the Grunge Era. And the colors got brighter.

 

So Mark, looks like you'll be dressing up your protagonist in a DC shirt, Volcom cargo shorts, and a pair of Etnies, Tommy, would you say this seems like a standard outfit for a surfer/skater guy at Malibu High?

[methodwriter85]

Hey Tommy, I remembered in Mark's Be Rad story that the characters hung out at Stanford Mall. The Mall was a big hang out in Palo Alto. Is there a mall in Malibu that most kids from Malibu High hang out at? Or is it generally not cool to hang out at the mall? I'm from an area where the Mall was the big hang out for teenagers, so I'm curious to see if that's true for Malibu as well.

[Tommy_B]

Hey Tommy, I remembered in Mark's Be Rad story that the characters hung out at Stanford Mall. The Mall was a big hang out in Palo Alto. Is there a mall in Malibu that most kids from Malibu High hang out at? Or is it generally not cool to hang out at the mall? I'm from an area where the Mall was the big hang out for teenagers, so I'm curious to see if that's true for Malibu as well.

 

There are no malls in Malibu. Malibu is actually a really small city population wise and really really long, almost 30 miles long , but only a mile wide at most.

 

If there is a mall people would go to just hang, most people would go to the 3rd St Promenade in Santa Monica. Some might go to the Commons in Calabasas, but usually you'd go there with a bunch of friends to get coffee or go to Johnny Rockets. Serious girl shoppers go to the malls in Woodland Hills where you have Nordstrom, Niemans and Macys.

 

And remember Malibu High isn't very big, 1,200 students in 7 grades (6-12) and it is only 17 years old, before the school was built Malibu kids going to public school went to Sa Mo High.

[methodwriter85]

So it sounds like Malibu kids go over to Santa Monica a lot because there isn't that much for teenagers to do in Malibu? Am I getting the right impression there?

 

As for size, I went to a school that had 800 students in 6th to 12th grade...performing arts school, and is currently only 18 years old. It really does affect the way you go through school- you really "grew" up with everyone, and you knew everyone in your class. Sometimes it was a good thing, but other times it got on your nerves to be surrounded by the same people, all the time. You always had classes with nearly every person in your class. And gossip spread FAST. I'm assuming the same has to hold true for Malibu as well.

 

So...culture of the school. Like, are people really into the whole popularity hierarchy deal ala Mean Girls, or is the school much more laidback than that? And are football players treated like gods there ala Friday Night Lights, or is the whole jock culture thing not really the dominant force at the school? And is there a good amount of politcal activism there, or are the kids there mostly apathethic? Also, are kids ultra-competitive with each other about grades and such? I had friends who went to this really acamically competitive school who got really jacked on Adderall and other stimulants to stay up and study.

 

Thanks again for your input, Tommy...I'm serving as Mark Arbour's research assistant this summer, and I really appreciate it!

[Tommy_B]

So it sounds like Malibu kids go over to Santa Monica a lot because there isn't that much for teenagers to do in Malibu? Am I getting the right impression there?

 

As for size, I went to a school that had 800 students in 6th to 12th grade...performing arts school, and is currently only 18 years old. It really does affect the way you go through school- you really "grew" up with everyone, and you knew everyone in your class. Sometimes it was a good thing, but other times it got on your nerves to be surrounded by the same people, all the time. You always had classes with nearly every person in your class. And gossip spread FAST. I'm assuming the same has to hold true for Malibu as well.

 

So...culture of the school. Like, are people really into the whole popularity hierarchy deal ala Mean Girls, or is the school much more laidback than that? And are football players treated like gods there ala Friday Night Lights, or is the whole jock culture thing not really the dominant force at the school? And is there a good amount of politcal activism there, or are the kids there mostly apathethic? Also, are kids ultra-competitive with each other about grades and such? I had friends who went to this really acamically competitive school who got really jacked on Adderall and other stimulants to stay up and study.

 

Thanks again for your input, Tommy...I'm serving as Mark Arbour's research assistant this summer, and I really appreciate it!

 

There are no places in Malibu that I would say teens congregate other than the beach and even then it is usually Will Rogers, not Malibu, you might meet friends at Starbucks, Crumbs or Malibu Kitchen, but it isn't like those are places people go to hang. During summer when you are younger, meaning don't drive you'd probably do a camp or two at Pepperdine, when you are able to drive you head into Santa Monica or the places I said before, but a bunch of people just sit home I guess too because it isn't like the whole school is at the beach or at the Mall.

 

Football still gets a disproportionate amount of attention, but most people go to the game to find out where the parties are. And of course the school as a hierarchy, but it is different from other schools? Who knows. There aren't any mega beacthes if that is what you are asking.

 

It is also important to remember that Malibu kids go to Harvard Westlake, Loyola, Crossroads, the Brentwood Scool and maybe a few at Saint Monicas or Marymount and that is significant because those people are still part of the social mix. And yeah there are kids who are pretty active in politics and stuff. The school has GSA, Habitat for Humanity, Operation Smile, Amnesty International, Heal the Bay and more, but the usual, Key Club and those type clubs too.

[methodwriter85]

Thanks, Tommy, you're giving me a real clear picture of what the school is like! God for Arbour when he gets around to covering the high school for a future story. (His CAP saga characters Will and JJ Schluter will be the Malibu High Class of 2005.)

 

As for hierarchy stuff, I was asking about it because I went to a performing arts high school, so we didn't have the whole jock culture deal. The football quarterback wasn't the top of the hierarchy, it was the lead star in the musical or the cutest punk artist. And we generally weren't mean to each other unless we were competing for roles in the spring production or the showcases. And remember Laguna Beach, the Real OC? I was curious to see if Malibu had that same kind of environment- snobby rich kids who are total Mean Girls making things hell for everyone. But from what you're saying, Malibu sounds like a much more laidback environment where everyone just does their thing.

[ashessnow]

Beverly Hills High was pretty snobby.

[methodwriter85]

Bevery Hills isn't that close to Malibu though, I thought?

[Tommy_B]

Bevery Hills isn't that close to Malibu though, I thought?

 

Close is a relative term. Pali High, SaMo High and Uni are all close and Westlake and Agoura even closer, but Malibu kids probably have more friends at Pali and Beverly than they do Uni or SaMo because of the social groups they run in and clubs the parents belong to.

[methodwriter85]

That makes sense. Do the Bev Hill circles run on the conservative side, or would they be totally cool with two openly gay dads raising kids with their lesbian partner as long as they were rich? Curious about that. I don't know entirely if these dads would belong to those clubs despite being ultra-rich.

 

As for Social groups, say you have a Colony kid who's also a skater/surfer. What are his social groups going to look like, especially if he's a floater type that manages to get along with everyone? Is he avoiding the snooty group, or actively a part of it? It sounds like he'd definitely hang at least somewhat with the stoner kids.

 

Are the Malibu kids pretty competitive about trying to get into college, or is it all laidback because it's apparently easy as hell to get into the UC system? Some guy from that area told me that the college application process in California is MUCH more laidback than it is on the East Coast, where I rountinely knew people who got rejected from their first and second choices despite being stellar students who had massive volunteer hours. 'Cause there was this character in Mark's story who has what I'm guessing is like a 3.1 or something, no discernible extra credit hours, and he's sure he's going to go to UCLA or UC Berkely. I was like, "It's THAT easy to get in? Geez." I felt kinda jealous, to be honest. LOL.

Edited October 16, 2010 by methodwriter85

[Tommy_B]

That makes sense. Do the Bev Hill circles run on the conservative side, or would they be totally cool with two openly gay dads raising kids with their lesbian partner as long as they were rich? Curious about that. I don't know entirely if these dads would belong to those clubs despite being ultra-rich.

 

As for Social groups, say you have a Colony kid who's also a skater/surfer. What are his social groups going to look like, especially if he's a floater type that manages to get along with everyone? Is he avoiding the snooty group, or actively a part of it? It sounds like he'd definitely hang at least somewhat with the stoner kids.

 

Are the Malibu kids pretty competitive about trying to get into college, or is it all laidback because it's apparently easy as hell to get into the UC system? Some guy from that area told me that the college application process in California is MUCH more laidback than it is on the East Coast, where I rountinely knew people who got rejected from their first and second choices despite being stellar students who had massive volunteer hours. 'Cause there was this character in Mark's story who has what I'm guessing is like a 3.1 or something, no discernible extra credit hours, and he's sure he's going to go to UCLA or UC Berkely. I was like, "It's THAT easy to get in? Geez." I felt kinda jealous, to be honest. LOL.

 

Beverly Hills High is like three different schools, there are the old line liberal movie people, the Persians and liberal Jewish (which sometimes is the same as the movie people). I think my friends that go there would be cool with a gay couple, but they tend to come from the liberal movie types and liberal hedge fund types, I don't know any of the Persians there so not sure how they feel about homos.

 

It is not as easy as hell to get into Berkeley (and never called 'UC Berkeley', it is 'Cal' or 'Berkeley' and really never UCB) or UCLA, there is no one with a 3.1 GPA going there unless they can dunk a basketball from the top of the key or run a 40 in 4.1 and catch a football. I know 4.3 valedictorians who get turned down. Now you might get into the "system", but it would be UC Merced or UC Riverside and who wants to go to school in Merced or Riverside? Even UCI or UCSD are hard to get into especially if you apply for life sciences.

 

And if you are a lesbian and your mom is Cher or someone like that at Beverly, you are probably cooler because of it.

[Mark Arbour]

Beverly Hills High is like three different schools, there are the old line liberal movie people, the Persians and liberal Jewish (which sometimes is the same as the movie people). I think my friends that go there would be cool with a gay couple, but they tend to come from the liberal movie types and liberal hedge fund types, I don't know any of the Persians there so not sure how they feel about homos.

 

It is not as easy as hell to get into Berkeley (and never called 'UC Berkeley', it is 'Cal' or 'Berkeley' and really never UCB) or UCLA, there is no one with a 3.1 GPA going there unless they can dunk a basketball from the top of the key or run a 40 in 4.1 and catch a football. I know 4.3 valedictorians who get turned down. Now you might get into the "system", but it would be UC Merced or UC Riverside and who wants to go to school in Merced or Riverside? Even UCI or UCSD are hard to get into especially if you apply for life sciences.

 

And if you are a lesbian and your mom is Cher or someone like that at Beverly, you are probably cooler because of it.

 

That was really an entertaining post! Thanks Tommy!

 

Cal was hard to get into back in the '80s. UCLA...not so much. I guess with a larger population, more kids going to college, and no new campuses, the laws of supply and demand alone would dictate that it would get harder to get in.

[methodwriter85]

It is not as easy as hell to get into Berkeley (and never called 'UC Berkeley', it is 'Cal' or 'Berkeley' and really never UCB) or UCLA, there is no one with a 3.1 GPA going there unless they can dunk a basketball from the top of the key or run a 40 in 4.1 and catch a football. I know 4.3 valedictorians who get turned down. Now you might get into the "system", but it would be UC Merced or UC Riverside and who wants to go to school in Merced or Riverside? Even UCI or UCSD are hard to get into especially if you apply for life sciences.

 

See, I'm asking this, because Mark has a minor character named Darius in one of his stories. He's a Malibu High student, class of 2000, and he has a good SAT score, so-so grades(I'm guessing somewhere in the low 3's), and didn't seem to do much in high school except chase girls and party. The character was pretty much, "Eh, I think I'll just go to Berkely or UCLA", since he knew that he didn't have a shot at getting into places like NYU or Brown. I was frankly pretty shocked that the character was THAT laidback about the college application process, because I went through it in 2004-2005, and it was much closer to what you're describing- knowing kids who had perfect GPA's and tons of volunteer work getting rejected from first AND second choices.

 

We gotten some mixed info on this. A guy from SoCal, who would have been class of '02, offered this take on someone like Darius getting into Berkeley or UCLA:

 

For an in-state student with some powerful local connections*, one well written essay picked up by the right admissions counseler, and Darius would be in, no sweat. He might not have a scholarship, and he might get a "just barely accepted" letter like I did, but he'd be in. UCs and CSUs have long had flexible admission standards for in state students. Only a couple years after this, California students were guaranteed a spot in some UC if you had better than average SAT scores, or a 3.3 (I think) GPA, or some lower combination of both. It might not be your first choice school, but somewhere a spot was yours. If he lived out of state, the process would be trickier, of course. Also, it'd depend on what major he chose. Unfortunately, most pre-law majors are pretty impacted, but JP would probably be able to guide him to one like anthropology, which while not standard law school fare, meets the writing and research guidelines a law school might like to see.

 

Blue made it sound easy as hell to get into school in California if you're not going for Stanford. I wonder if that was true in 2000, and UC Berkely and UCLA got just that much more competitive in one decade.

 

Cal was hard to get into back in the '80s. UCLA...not so much. I guess with a larger population, more kids going to college, and no new campuses, the laws of supply and demand alone would dictate that it would get harder to get in.

Well, like I said before, it's going to be much, much tougher for Will and JJ when it's their turn circa 2004-2005. The big factor in this was the fact that starting in the mid/late 1980's, there was a mini-baby boom in the United States, which did not level off until about the mid-'90s. That translates to more people being college-aged in the mid/late 2000's, which has allowed more colleges to be selective about who they left in. It started to get harder in the late '90's, and by the mid-2000's the college application process was absolutely insane.

 

Mark, if I didn't already know just how many loose ends you already have to tie up with Millenium, I would have suggested that you had Darius get rejected from Berkely, waitlisted by UCLA, and accepted into UC Irvine. I think that might have been more realistic, and then we could have had some fun JP shenanigans as he tried to get Darius off the waitlist. But eh, I know you've got WAY too much going on with Millenium to add that stuff in, and I figure you can get around to the college application stuff more in-depth when we get over to '04 in CAP world.

[Tommy_B]

See, I'm asking this, because Mark has a minor character named Darius in one of his stories. He's a Malibu High student, class of 2000, and he has a good SAT score, so-so grades(I'm guessing somewhere in the low 3's), and didn't seem to do much in high school except chase girls and party. The character was pretty much, "Eh, I think I'll just go to Berkely or UCLA", since he knew that he didn't have a shot at getting into places like NYU or Brown. I was frankly pretty shocked that the character was THAT laidback about the college application process, because I went through it in 2004-2005, and it was much closer to what you're describing- knowing kids who had perfect GPA's and tons of volunteer work getting rejected from first AND second choices.

 

We gotten some mixed info on this. A guy from SoCal, who would have been class of '02, offered this take on someone like Darius getting into Berkeley or UCLA:

 

Blue made it sound easy as hell to get into school in California if you're not going for Stanford. I wonder if that was true in 2000, and UC Berkely and UCLA got just that much more competitive in one decade.

 

Well, like I said before, it's going to be much, much tougher for Will and JJ when it's their turn circa 2004-2005. The big factor in this was the fact that starting in the mid/late 1980's, there was a mini-baby boom in the United States, which did not level off until about the mid-'90s. That translates to more people being college-aged in the mid/late 2000's, which has allowed more colleges to be selective about who they left in. It started to get harder in the late '90's, and by the mid-2000's the college application process was absolutely insane.

 

Mark, if I didn't already know just how many loose ends you already have to tie up with Millenium, I would have suggested that you had Darius get rejected from Berkely, waitlisted by UCLA, and accepted into UC Irvine. I think that might have been more realistic, and then we could have had some fun JP shenanigans as he tried to get Darius off the waitlist. But eh, I know you've got WAY too much going on with Millenium to add that stuff in, and I figure you can get around to the college application stuff more in-depth when we get over to '04 in CAP world.

 

First off, y'all gotta learn how to spell the school, it is Berkeley, there are 3 "e's" in the word.

 

Second, the guy who wrote you must be getting into some of that 'medical marijuana' we have in CA. The average GPA at Cal is 4.15 and 4.16 at UCLA, a low 3 would never cut it, the only UC schools where the GPA is lower than 4.0 are UC Merced, UC Riverside and UC Santa Cruz (who wants to be a Banana Slug anyways??). The 75th percentile at Berkeley have 710, 750 and 710 for their SAT's (reading, math, writing) and UCLA is 680, 730, 690, so pretty competitive.

 

A person with 3.1 GPA and with SAT's of like 550, 590, 570 would wind up at a Cal State Uni like Cal Poly Pomona, SLO or SF State, someplace like that unless they are a star athlete.

 

Like I said, I know of two guys who had over 4.0's and good SAT's who didn't get into Cal, but one did get into UCLA the other wound up at UCSD.

Edited October 19, 2010 by Tommy_B

[methodwriter85]

I appreciate your take. It goes with the caveat that there's a 10-year difference your college application era (I'm assuming it's this year or next year with you being 17) and the college application era of 1999-2000, but I'm going to say frankly that I had a really, really hard time believing that a party kid like Darius would get into Berkeley, even in 2000. I know Mark's used the George Bush-going-to-Yale example, but that was in the ''60s and the Ivies have the legacy deal to contend with. I'm assuming legacy didn't matter as much to places like California, especially by the late 1990's. And none of his relatives there are actually alumni of Berkeley anyway.

 

I think another option for someone like Darius might be Pepperdine University- it doesn't look that competitive.

 

I don't know if the guy is smoking some medicinal weed, but he, for what it's worth, got accepted to UC Santa Barbara on a 3.5 GPA in 2002, so who knows? a 3.1 IS a lot different from a 3.5, though.

 

The other question I'm wondering about- is there any kind of significant military prescence in Santa Monica/Malibu? Is it unusual to see a guy walking around in military shirts, etc etc? Does Malibu High or high schools in the surrounding area have any Iraq War veterans? In my experience that was true- I did know A LOT of guys who went into the military, but I'm also from the East Coast and my state has a large airforce base. I've told Mark I think characters from the class of 2005 would have at least one friend who is in Iraq, but now I wonder if the Iraq War had any effect on people from the Malibu/Santa Monica area. Did it? Or did the area exist as a total bubble where none of the kids had any friends who were in the military? My experience was that there was a massive build-up of the military in the United States after 9/11 so I knew an increasing amount of people in the military, but that might not be true for contemporaries who grew up in the Santa Monica/Malibu area.

 

One of the things I've always appreciated about Mark Arbour's writing is his ability to capture the milleu of the place and time he's writing about, so that's why I, as his research assistant, am asking these questions. LOL. Mark has written Darius as being a party kid, so he figured he'd go to party schools like UCLA or something. From what you're saying, Berkeley and even UCLA would be out of the cards for this character.

Edited October 19, 2010 by methodwriter85

[option]

Quiksilver (no c)

 

 

Malibu High School:

covers middle & high school grades

has a major special-ed needs department (about 10% of the students), covering a range of learning difficulties. they do integrate the students with the general school population.

 

(if your setting a story in the school, would be a nice touch if you included the full range of students, those with special needs do exist)

 

 

 

 

some interesting trivia as your asking about 2005:

The film 'Smile' shot some scenes on campus

[methodwriter85]

Well, it's Mark writing the story. I'm a history grad student just doing the anecdotal research to help him out, and because I'm curious about other cultures. And thanks for the trivia bit!

 

Mark Arbour is a writer of historical fiction. One thing Mark tries to do in his writing is accurate reflect the attitudes, trends, and minute details of the time and place he's writing about. He did a great job with Be Rad, and what made the story pop was the fact that you felt as if Mark knew exactly the setting he was writing about- Gunn High School in Palo Alto, CA during the 1980-1981 school year. When Mark wrote Bloodlines, which was about an 18-year old guy in 1998 going to college, Mark consulted with a guy who was a contemporary to get a feel for the slang that would be used by 18-year olds in 1998. Mark should eventually get around to circa 2004-2005 Malibu High- prolly not for awhile, but at some point, and I figured I'd be a pal and start this topic for him to flesh out an understanding of the culture and attitudes that make up the school.

Edited October 19, 2010 by methodwriter85