<p>So I’m now deciding whether I want to go to UCs or not… The cost of going to UCs (for non-resident students) is around 55,000 dollars each year. Indeed the cost is more than other public schools and more than some of the private schools I was originally going to apply. But my parents are willing to spit out the money if I really want to go…</p>
<p>The thing is, I have been hearing rumors from different people that if you go to UCs, there will be times when you can’t take the course you need and the classes are super huge. I also been hearing this interesting rumor that UCs might be starting online courses. Correct me if I’m wrong but not being able to graduate in four years and having to pay 50K each year doesn’t appeal to me that much.</p>
<p>So my question… is it really worth going? I may have gotten some information wrong and please do correct me! I want to stay in California but if I’m not able to get a good education in UCs (while having to pay so much), I will need to consider other public schools in other state.</p>
<p>I don’t think the UCs are worth the prices they charge to out-of-state students. I’m not entirely sure if the full price they charge to in-state students (without grants or scholarships) is worth it.</p>
<p>It’s true that classes are harder to come by than they were before. When I started at UCSB in 2008, I remember the Economics department offering more lower-division courses than it does now (I’m an economics major, so I’ve noticed that in particular), for example. That’s just anecdotal, but it’s certainly not getting easier for people to find classes.</p>
<p>As for your question about class sizes, in my experience, really big survey courses have had up to 700 people, though a lot of general education-required courses were between 60-120 people. My biggest upper-division major courses have had 350-400 people, but then again, the economics major is one of the most popular majors at the school. I’ve also had a few classes with just 20-30 people (or 40-person classes with a chunk of people who don’t show up regularly), but that’s as small as it’s gotten for me.</p>
<p>And about online courses, I don’t expect the UC system to move very quickly on that. I believe it was proposed as a way of replacing really large introductory courses (like Calculus I, for example). I’ve heard that many teachers aren’t keen on the idea of having a lot of online courses available.</p>
<p>So, is it worth a $50-55,000 annual cost of attendance? No, probably not.</p>