ThirtySomethingWEquity
Active member
Plenty bought way lower then what they are now. At one point Evergreen started at 1.5m.
The Meadows, Lake Forest by Toll Brothers
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Sad to say this but I get the feeling that this is true. Having been on the other side, both medical school and residency admission committees tend to have a bias towards diversification once an arbitrary threshold is met for interviewing/accepting a certain amount of applicants from the same school/program. Interestingly, this logic doesn’t apply to certain schools if they have prestige behind their name.
IUSD will do ok in getting over the UC threshold.
Further than that (eg, Stanford, Ivy, MIT), it’s anyone’s guess.
Side note: look up AMCAS GPA matriculant data and stratify the data by race. On average, Asians would need a higher GPA to be accepted vs other cohorts.
In our case a very prestigious public high school very well known especially to UC and USC helped our kid gain admission to the CS program at a mid-upper tier Big 10 with a sub-3.5 gpa with high test scores and 4 years of athletics, with an aforementioned cultural last name.
Currently, there is a Parklands model listed at rent for $6k/mo currently. Based off this, it would seem reasonable to price Evergreen at $7-8k/mo.
Agreed, $2+ per square foot for a rental is very reasonable.
As for school, personally, I would also prefer my son to go to a school where competition is less intense (but not MUCH less). I actually wouldn't want him to go to IUSD.
Eastwood only has two parks for the entire village and is irritatingly close to that asphalt plant as well (that's definitely the biggest issue I see plaguing the community as of late). Not to mention the fact that some streets in Eastwood are a mere few yards from Northwood, making that entire portion of the village look so mismatched. If I had to buy a house in great park (which I never would) at least I would feel secure knowing I have 9+ community parks and neighborhood trails and coffee shops to go to vs. two community pools and a sidewalk path. Eastwood is the ugly sister of Stonegate. And with the new Orchard Hills community coming up, Eastwood Elementary will be more crowded than ever. In GP I believe there are 3 K-8 schools and one high school all within walkable distance.
In case it wasn't clear I definitely do not recommend anyone purchasing in great park, but I definitely suggest it over Eastwood. The biggest problem aside from costs and such is definitely the lack of retail, but I feel like that isn't specific to great park but more the whole north Irvine area. At least that "Five Point X" project seemed to have been approved, but we know how Irvine can be
CalBears96
Well-known member
Evergreen was listed at $1.5M before TB opened interest list, but when TB actually opened interest list, it bumped up to $1.7M already.
sleepy5136
Well-known member
Calbears is correct. I've seen some homes at around 1.65m+. It might have been Magnolias. But given their lot size and the location, Evergreens at 1.6m is market price I feel and not below/above market.
CogNeuroSci
Active member
Four years of sports together either high GPA won't do a thing for an Asian kid at El Toro HS vs at an IUSD HS.
anteaterMD
Member
I think what he/she means to say is that a high-achieving Asian HS student in another school district with a well-rounded CV is likely to stand out more to a college admissions committee than a similar HS student with the same credentials who graduated in IUSD.
Sad to say this but I get the feeling that this is true. Having been on the other side, both medical school and residency admission committees tend to have a bias towards diversification once an arbitrary threshold is met for interviewing/accepting a certain amount of applicants from the same school/program. Interestingly, this logic doesn’t apply to certain schools if they have prestige behind their name.
IUSD will do ok in getting over the UC threshold.
Further than that (eg, Stanford, Ivy, MIT), it’s anyone’s guess.
Side note: look up AMCAS GPA matriculant data and stratify the data by race. On average, Asians would need a higher GPA to be accepted vs other cohorts.
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Everyone keeps saying that but Lake Forest Asian and Irvine Asian are the same in the eyes of elite colleges (if that's what we're talking about here). There is not some big difference because you chose to "rough" it at SVUSD schools for 12 years. This is not the "hack" everyone makes it out to be.
anteaterMD
Member
I'm referring to the nature of admissions committees perceiving certain applicants as a big fish in a smaller pool vs a big fish in a bigger pool.
Schools have rough quotas for area high schools. Go ask parents at Sage Hill whether they feel it was worth it after the schools many of their kids got into vs where they thought they should have been admitted based on their CV.
In our case a very prestigious public high school very well known especially to UC and USC helped our kid gain admission to the CS program at a mid-upper tier Big 10 with a sub-3.5 gpa with high test scores and 4 years of athletics, with an aforementioned cultural last name.
Sorry I may have misread - I think we agree.
anteaterMD
Member
CalBears96
Well-known member
I would say Evergreen should be able to get $6k a month easily.
anteaterMD
Member
Agreed: it would be a steal at that price point.
Currently, there is a Parklands model listed at rent for $6k/mo currently. Based off this, it would seem reasonable to price Evergreen at $7-8k/mo.
usctrojancpa
Well-known member
Agreed, $2+ per square foot for a rental is very reasonable.
ratchet_resident
Member
The schools really do not have that big of a difference in reality. If anything, being in Lake Forest might even be better for your child as the competition is much less intense and it might allow her to stand out among her class. Also, in my opinion, buying anything in Eastwood is a huge ripoff. Is there a specific reason you're looking at EW? I'd suggest Portola Springs or even GP neighborhoods before Eastwood.
ratchet_resident
Member
But at the end of the day everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and I don't want this to sound like I'm a staunch defender of LF schools over Irvine: I'm really not.
CalBears96
Well-known member
Why do you even recommend GP? MR is ridiculous and most of them, other than Altair, are condos.
As for school, personally, I would also prefer my son to go to a school where competition is less intense (but not MUCH less). I actually wouldn't want him to go to IUSD.
ratchet_resident
Member
You're definitely correct on the ridiculous mello roo situation in GP. And the fact that not one of the new homes in Solis has a driveway is aggravating. The only reasons I would say GP > Eastwood is because I feel like Eastwood is too overrated for the amount of money it costs. The new developments are all nearing 2M at the lowest for the same copy-and-paste house. Obviously, Irvine is known for its copy-and-paste style but at least with other communities (such as GP) there are top-of-the-notch amenities and park/trail systems.Why do you even recommend GP? MR is ridiculous and most of them, other than Altair, are condos.
As for school, personally, I would also prefer my son to go to a school where competition is less intense (but not MUCH less). I actually wouldn't want him to go to IUSD.
Eastwood only has two parks for the entire village and is irritatingly close to that asphalt plant as well (that's definitely the biggest issue I see plaguing the community as of late). Not to mention the fact that some streets in Eastwood are a mere few yards from Northwood, making that entire portion of the village look so mismatched. If I had to buy a house in great park (which I never would) at least I would feel secure knowing I have 9+ community parks and neighborhood trails and coffee shops to go to vs. two community pools and a sidewalk path. Eastwood is the ugly sister of Stonegate. And with the new Orchard Hills community coming up, Eastwood Elementary will be more crowded than ever. In GP I believe there are 3 K-8 schools and one high school all within walkable distance.
In case it wasn't clear I definitely do not recommend anyone purchasing in great park, but I definitely suggest it over Eastwood. The biggest problem aside from costs and such is definitely the lack of retail, but I feel like that isn't specific to great park but more the whole north Irvine area. At least that "Five Point X" project seemed to have been approved, but we know how Irvine can be
CalBears96
Well-known member
It's true that GP has a lot of community parks, but its HOA fees are also like $400, while it's $139 at Eastwood.
PS also has a lot of community parks, something like 17, but we only pay $281 for HOA fees (for condos) or $168 for SFR.
You can say that IP homes (not just EW, although EW is more overpriced than PS) are overpriced, which is true, but they are superior to the homes at GP. The ones GP that have similar sq ft as IP homes are 3 stories.
In terms of lack of retails, I feel that PS and GP are in the worst shape.
I see some construction going on at Irvine Blvd between Axis and Magazine, next to Altair, but I don't know what they're building there.
PS also has a lot of community parks, something like 17, but we only pay $281 for HOA fees (for condos) or $168 for SFR.
You can say that IP homes (not just EW, although EW is more overpriced than PS) are overpriced, which is true, but they are superior to the homes at GP. The ones GP that have similar sq ft as IP homes are 3 stories.
In terms of lack of retails, I feel that PS and GP are in the worst shape.
I see some construction going on at Irvine Blvd between Axis and Magazine, next to Altair, but I don't know what they're building there.