<p>Our son also received an ELC letter and was accepted to 4 UCs including UCB, in the end he decided on a LAC that gave him merit aid. Why? Because of the close-knit community and easy access to faculty, where ALL the classes are small and there is a big emphasis on written communication skills, something that huge state schools just aren’t well equipped to offer. </p>
<p>His friends who attend UCs are often taking more than 4 years to graduate, or spending every summer trying to catch up on classes. In the end, he’ll graduate in 4 years and we won’t have spent any more than paying for an in-state tuition with very probable extra semesters. He’ll also graduate with an active alumni network.</p>
<p>He may have had an awesome experience at a UC, but he had to weigh all the pros and cons, taking into consideration his personality. At 18 he was not relishing fighting his way through a huge bureaucracy to get classes and attention. I’m not saying UCs are not a good choice, I’m just saying that for some there are valid reasons for not attending.</p>