<p>For the moderately selective colleges, there seem to be at least two plausible explanations:</p>
<p>a. UC and CSU in-state costs have gone up significantly. So the other moderately selective colleges need to offer less merit scholarships to compete with UC and CSU for California students from high income families.</p>
<p>b. UC and CSU schools have gotten more selective, probably because the population is growing faster than the space in the universities. Some California students may not be able to get admitted to a desired UC or CSU, so they go elsewhere.</p>