<p>With all of the financial troubles that the UC system is having, I am wondering whether it is worth going to UCLA, especially from out of state. I am visiting this week, but my biggest concern is whether it is worth the price tag, which could keep increasing.</p>
<p>It most certainly is not worth the loans. They just raised fees 32% last fall. I’m an OOS student there right now, and I’m transferring out due to the high cost. There seems to be no end in sight as far as the financial trouble of the system goes. The quality of the education is going down too. It may not seem like a big deal to take out loans, but it really hits you when you actually turn in your loan check for tuition and fees each quarter, realizing that it is all money that you will have to pay back for several years (at best) after graduating.</p>
<p>Worth it for me. I was planning to work in California after I graduated so UCLA was a good choice for me. The financial situation wasn’t extremely tough on me though since I got a few scholarships to help me out.</p>
<p>Really evaluate your goals and see how you feel when you come visit the campus during Open House. Good luck :)</p>
<p>^ You’re also an engineering major, which means you will probably have an easier time finding a job than an English major. You were also here when things weren’t as bad as they seem to be getting. Scholarships are also a gamble unless you get a multi-year scholarship like the Gates Millennium Scholarship.</p>
<p>I’m in-state, and I don’t think UCLA is worth the price.</p>
<p>As you can see, UCLA isn’t for everyone. Think about what you’re really looking for in a school, and as I said before, see if UCLA is for you when you come visit. I couldn’t have asked for a better 4-year experience here.</p>
<p>UCLA is not worth it if you’re from out of state. At the same sticker price, I would advice any other comparable private school. And if its a matter of just wanting to be in cali, there are comparable privates like USC, the claremont schools, Cal tech, stanford, maybe Oxy, that will be much more worth it.</p>
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<p>:rolleyes:</p>
<p>I think it’s only “worth it” if it has been your dream school or becomes your dream school once you visit it.</p>
<p>Definitely not my dream school but definitely worth it.</p>
<p>In short, no it isn’t worth the sticker price.</p>
<p>What’s your state school? </p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong - I had a great time at UCLA. I met a lot of great people, took advantage of opportunities in Los Angeles, was 1000 miles away from home and grew up a lot as a result. I had a few bitter quarters and some gripes with UCLA but overall, it was a positive experience and I thoroughly enjoyed my education and the experience of being on my own for a few years. </p>
<p>In retrospect though, it would have been a lot wiser to go to somewhere less expensive so that I could have some time to figure out what I wanted re: careers. I’ve interviewed for positions… and yeah, I’ll get a look of approval or some sort of positive impression as a result of having gone to UCLA. More importantly though… my work experience (or lack thereof) has been a determining factor…
Have to agree with Bandit. I wouldn’t want to matriculate now when things have soured… tuition rising, # of classes reduced, higher # of students in classes… especially not as an OOS student.</p>
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Please, tell me, in what ways are things getting “bad”?</p>
<p>Also, with the economy in gradual recovery and California tax revenues rising again, I question whether any more cuts will be made to the UC system. Right now is probably as “bad” as it’ll get for a while. People exaggerate the entire financial debacle. It really hasn’t really impacted the UC system as much as people think aside from higher tuition. If it really did, our university would not be spending heap loads of money to construct new dormitories at “upper” and “lower” De Neve.</p>
<p>No, I don’t think financial woes are exaggerated at all. My sister and I both grew up with UCLA as our dream school. This year, we both got accepted but when we saw our financial package, it was not an option. Our parents got $23,000 in loans. Together, that makes $184,000 in loans for four years! That’s enough to buy a fairly decent house. And at schools like Wake Forest, we got great financial aid packages. And loans were only about $4000. There’s plenty of other public schools just as good, if not better than UCLA out there like UMich and UVa that are less expensive then being an out-of-state student paying $57,000 a year to go to UCLA.</p>
<p>I mean, I’d really like to go to UCLA too, considering I grew up all my life having heard about the opportunities there, but how do you pay for a school like that, especially when your sister wants to go there just as much as you do? No parent deserves to carry their kids’ financial burdens. I have to agree with Theespy69 and Liek0806.</p>
<p>All you have to do is Google UC Budget cuts in google news sources and you will see that California is not out of the woods. Once source says, “The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco said we will not be out of the woods until 2013.” But if you see how they are slashing everything from classes, enrollment to athletic teams, you know that UC is doing whatever they can to deal with the situation at hand. That’s why there is an increase of OOS student acceptances this year… they are hoping that the out of staters will make up for some of the lost money. My friends in the UCs still have to take classes all summer because they couldn’t get required classes this past year. If you really want to attend, then just go. But don’t drink the “it won’t affect me” koolaid. Keep your head above ground and know that whatever choice you make, you just have to deal with it. You’ll be in good company.</p>
<p>Even if things weren’t terrible - what justifies 40K a year for tuition at a public university anyway? I know I’m a hypocrite since I graduated from the school (did it in 3 years while increasingly jaded with the academics - which are superb but not for the OOS price - while enjoying the experience at UCLA… Los Angeles). Furthermore, do you require any financial assistance? Financial aid? If you get enough scholarships, then sure go for it. Otherwise, it’s silly to consider $100K in loans. I was grateful enough to receive a fair amount of grants and scholarship money as well as my parents willing to pay for tuition - in retrospect, I should have taken a gap year or considered a different school.</p>