Blog 7: Now UC It, Now You Dont!

Just when you thought being a Californian couldn't get better (and I couldn't get any more sarcastic) the University of California offers up some disheartening figures.

According to an article printed in the Contra Costa Times Thursday, UC Berkeley has doubled its admission offers to out-of-state and international students this year. Pointing to the lack of state funding, the university’s in-state admissions offers are down 15 percent. This drop has opened up spaces for out-of-state students, who pay nearly $20,000 more a year in fees than those from California. According to data released last week by the University of California, 18.5 percent of next year’s freshman class will come from other states, up 8 percent from last year.

At a time when colleges and universities up and down the state are already impacted, favoring out-of-state applicants over in-state students only stands to strengthen the detrimental impact of the public education crisis in California. As both a taxpayer and a college student from California, this practice by UCB enrages me. UC Berkeley is a public school, meaning it is funded in part by California tax dollars. Why should my money help out-of-state students receive a world class education when my fellow students from the great state of California are eligible, wanting and highly capable of excelling in this institution?

The university’s position on the issue is that all students stand to benefit from the rise in out-of-state students.

As quoted in the article, Susan Wilbur, director of undergraduate admissions for the University of California said "These students do not take space from a California student. They are bringing more money to the university, which enables us to teach our California students at the same high-quality level that they are used to."

The university looks to out-of-state student fees and tuition as a means of funding the school in a tight economic time.

“The additional nonresident funds will help UC Berkeley maintain academic excellence for all students," said Walter Robinson, assistant vice chancellor and director of undergraduate admissions.

I do understand the plight of the university. With statewide budget cuts to public education, continuing to fund the world-renowned programs that all the UCs, particularly UCB, have to offer is going to be very difficult, and require thinking outside of the box. But outside of the state?

The percentage of out-of-state freshman at all UCs this year is 14 percent, up from last year’s 12 percent. According to the Times article, the trend is more pronounced at UCB because it receives more out-of-state applicants than the other UCs. Maybe. Or maybe it’s because Berkeley’s reputation is rooted so firmly in its (expensive) scientific research, and so the school most desperately needs the additional funds.

I would hope that all California college students are bothered by this preferential treatment of applicants. If anything, I believe schools (especially in California) should give priority to local applicants. For example, San Francisco State University gives local priority to transfer students from the surrounding six counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara. All public universities should participate in a similar program.

Instead of making things more difficult for Californians in an already taxing time, state universities should be helping California students any way they can. When are Californians going to finally get the long end of the stick?