Agree with the others…CA has by far the most options. As far as top publics, FL has UF, MI has UM and MSU, VA has UVA and VA Tech, NC has UNC and NC State, PA has Penn State, CO has CU-Boulder etc…but notice already some are not UCB or UCLA quality.
CA has so many options at every level…world class UC’s, other excellent UC’s, very good state universities CSU’s, and excellent CC’s. If none of those work, CA students have deals with several states for in-state tuition and often get reduced tuition at many other private and public universities.
Not getting into the top flagship happens in every state. MANY top students are not getting into UF either; I too have heard of kids with 4.0+ and 1400-1500+ SAT’s that didn’t get in. And it definitely occurs in VA, where they also have options at various levels but not everyone that wants to go to UVA or VA Tech or William and Mary gets admitted. That’s why they’re selective. CA residents should really be thankful for so many options, with virtually all being quality schools.
If soooo many students have 4.0’s, there is likely grade inflation. But there are also very compeititve HS where the 4.0 students may be far smarter (on average) than students from other HS. I’m talking about Palo Alto etc where they have numerous (30+) NMSF and high SAT students taking highly rigorous classes (ie, math beyond calculus etc). This is different than the “4.0 student” who tops out at Trig. or Statistics. When applying to STEM majors they will not be viewed the same. And ECs, leadership, etc. are also factors at the colleges using holistic admissions practices.
California has 40,000,000 residents and a UC and CSU system designed for about half of that. Insufficient supply massive demand; we all know the issue, but alas no one is willing to say “raise my taxes” to solve the problem.
Yet, the UC system still is THE best public university system in the world.
I know Merced well as I have family there and honestly I can’t blame students for not wanting to attend as far as location. Merced historically was a very poor agricultural town that took an even bigger hit when its large air force base closed in the 90’s. Area has very hot weather in summer, blinding fog in winter,bad air quality, and really nothing to do unless you want to drive to Fresno (50 miles) or Modesto (30 miles). When a student has to live somewhere for 4 years of their life can you blame them for not wanting to live in such an area? Telling a student with top stats that they should be grateful they can go to UCM is really not helpful when to me it’s not even in the same league as many CA State schools.
What will raising taxes do? Will it create more seats in Berkeley? Will it get rid of the fog in Merced? Will it cause California to open a new, elite college in a nicer area? It already has schools in Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, San Diego and Irvine that are pretty darn nice, yet people don’t consider those schools to be good enough.
Don’t want to go to Merced? Fine. Pick one of the other California schools but paying more in taxes isn’t going to get all the 4.0 students into Cal. There just isn’t enough room. Not enough room at Michigan, or Wisconsin or Texas for all their residents either.
“Meanwhile my competitors are selling the same product for $100 and they’re making money and improving their product.”
They’re not selling the same product, engineering and CS at Berkeley say, is only offered by 3-4 other competitors, Stanford, MIT, Michigan, maybe CMU. What’s hurting Cal residents is that Berkeley is selling a superior product that people from oos and internationally apply and take spots from CA residents. If UCB had a competitive or mediocre product, this would be less of an issue. They’re product is worth $200 even if it’s selling for $100, that’s why the interest from inside, outside of CA and internationally. Your logic is also flawed if you’re saying the Berkeley EECS product will start eroding in value to $30-40.
Being admitted to a college is just an opportunity. Don’t expect to be spoon-fed. When I attended med school, they told us that right away. Most things are self-taught. At UCB, there are plenty of bright students who can make use of TAs and who basically self-teach.
Out of curiosity, I looked up student reviews of UC Merced at niche. I found a lot of positive reviews with a common theme that students liked having small classes, liked and felt supported by their profs, and liked the feel of a very diverse but close-knit campus community.
On the negative side, a common complaint was limited dining options on campus.
They also were surprisingly happy with their financial aid.
So maybe when it comes to the quality of undergrad teaching, Merced might compare favorably to the other, larger campuses.
2018 US News National Rank is #165 and #87 (Public Colleges) for UC Merced. Newest UC with only 7 thousand students and rapidly expanding. Will move up in rank.
The UC’s are ranked high because of their graduate programs and the fact that CA has a large population with not enough undergrad seats in the UC system. So if I’m a high achieving student, which there are an abundance of in CA; with a family income of $150 -250K in a very expensive state to live in, what choices do I have, top privates - nope, not enough FA, OOS - same problem, that leaves those students all trying to get into the UC’s, looks good on paper but its more a product of the limited choices middle/upper income CA families have. So for those that do get in, they get to sit with 500 of there very smart classmates listening to a professor from the nose bleeds, then they get to listen to a TA who is busy working on his thesis, and in the mean time the best professors are starting to get poached by private universities.
Still as I have said before, the discounted price makes is a good deal, and what choice do you really have?
Colorado is getting a boost because California cannot absorb all their students in a 4 year school. Our rank at CU Boulder is skyrocketed because of California not keeping up with their four year college demand. and Colorado School of Mines, also gets very good CA applicants, who can pay full costs. Colorado IS OVERJOYED that California does not keep up with their population for a 4 year school and not enough space at Cal Poly for their students. We in Colorado benefit from the full price CA pays to us. Also U of Denver, our medium rank private is getting more and more notice. Our ranks skyrocket due to California not meeting the needs of their middle of the road students. Colorado takes them with open pocketbooks and open arms. We all believe in legal mariujuana so its all a good fit I guess…
Also our schools recruit PhD students from Stanford, Berkeley and Caltech. Colorado is almost California’s eastern reserve at this point, for higher ed.
Colorado has got to be drop dead LAST in funding higher education. It sucks here for funding, but we do love our California full pays!
“Agree with the others…CA has by far the most options. As far as top publics, FL has UF, MI has UM and MSU, VA has UVA and VA Tech, NC has UNC and NC State, PA has Penn State, CO has CU-Boulder etc…but notice already some are not UCB or UCLA quality.”
VA also has the College of William and Mary as a unique-ish mid-size public national university/oversize LAC. It has grown from about 4500 students to 6300 students over the last 30 years. Demand is very high at UVA, William and Mary, and Virginia Tech. As a result, publics like George Mason, James Madison, VCU, and others have become competitive and get outstanding, high-achieving students, especially from Nova.
Even with outstanding options in the state, it’s tough out there.
Yes, its fascinating how liberal California sees CU Boulder as a like-minded set of people, but doesn’t have the same regard for the University of Utah, despite the ranking and student profile (and PAC-12 sports) at those two being pretty similar, while Utah is much cheaper and has better merit aid. And Utah has better skiing
My accountant went to Utah State…had a lot of good things to say about it although Utah seems to have the better football teams. Good skiing there and of course in Colorado also!
“Colorado is almost California’s eastern reserve at this point, for higher ed.” And then there is the school my CA daughter attends (see avatar) which is sometimes referred to as “UC Eugene”
