UCs Consider Admitting More OOS to Boost Revenue

Parents Forum
201

<p>Wisconsin has become very popular with Cali kids. Many even enjoy the change in weather--for a few years.</p>

202

<p>But honestly Coureur, they've had forever to do that and haven't. You think they'll get it straight in time for anyone's kid's here?</p>

<p>If you admit they will not close Merced and the financial picture in CA is getting worse, how do you see your kid being impacted and what is your best realistic hope?</p>

203

<p>We could well be sending our kid to a UC this fall, but it will be with eyes open. Your kid will be impacted!</p>

<p>Our D's friends who have gone to UCLA and UCB have been stuck in triples that were meant to be doubles. Our kid will have to be very active in planning her own schedule in order to graduate in 4 years. Don't expect great advising. We'll see if we have any family friends who have majored in the same area to get the lowdown on how best to plan out a schedule and which professors to avoid. </p>

<p>UCs (and other large schools) are not known for hand holding, but with a budget problem, expect even less!</p>

204

<br>


<br>

<p>I admit that Merced is very unlikely to close for political reasons but not because it makes any fiscal or educational sense whatsoever to keep it open. But as long as the UC is considering drastic measures such as breaking the covenant it has had with the people of California for 150 years and start favoring OOS people, I wish they'd consider other drastic measures as well. Maybe they could cobble together a little bit of everything - lobby and get a lighter budget cut from the legistlature and governor, raise student fees a little bit, sell only a few places to OOS people and raise the OOS tuition while they are at it, and if not cut Merced at least stop spending anything to expand it. Maybe all that taken together could make the numbers. I just can't believe that the ONLY solution here is to let in a bunch of non-Californians.</p>

<p>As for my own daughter's chances, her stats are strong enough that I'd be totally shocked if she didn't get into both of the mid-tier UCs she is applying to. They are her safeties. And in fact UCI has already sent her a letter saying that she is in (due to ELC). And I also think she has a decent shot at one or both of UCB and UCLA. Five years ago her big sister (D1), with very similar stats and achievements, got into Berkekley and was offered a Regents Scholarship (didn't apply to UCLA). There is no difference between the two girls' qualifications significant enough to suggest D2 should expect anything less. Nothing is ever guaranteed with selective school admissions, but it's going to be very bitter pill to swallow if after all this D2 can't get into one of the top UCs at the same time they decided on a big boost in OOS enrollment.</p>

<p>I'm a proud UC alum. The education I got there made all the difference for me. I was well aware at the time that the tax-payers of California were heavily underwriting the cost of my education. And since then I've lived up to my end of the bargain by being a productive citizen and cheerfully paying my taxes as well as donating every year in the alumni fund drives. This pay-it-forward system has served California well for a century and a half through good times and bad, and I can't believe that the only way out of the current mess to is to turn down a vastly different path. The UC system is one of California's crown jewels, one of the main drivers of our economy and our success. I just can't see selling it off out of state for some quick cash. That's so short-sighted and so contrary to the strategy that brought the UC system to the high place it currently enjoys.</p>

205

<p>So let me ask, as a native probably returning to CA, if the legislature gives more funds to the UC's, what are you folks there willing to give up? The financial picture is so bleak it's our one hesitation about moving back. The K-12 schools are a huge mess making more people leave the state than move there, the college system is in question, property values and thus taxes are down and continue to decline, the tech industry is about to be hit hard, farming is in trouble with subsidies in question, wine prices are going down, infrastructure is in disrepair.....what should be done?</p>

206

<p>^ But it's 85 degrees and 11% relative humidity...</p>

207

<p>"....what should be done?"</p>

<p>I think I will have dinner and see Phanthom in San Francisco, overnight, then a cooking class in Sonoma, then head up to Tahoe for some skiing!</p>

<p>jkjk!</p>

208

<p>hmom5:</p>

<p>You're right - I think people should just go ahead and leave California. ;)</p>

209

<p>That's always the problem--if the budget is a zero sum game, then which Peter do we rob from to pay Paul?</p>

210

<p>So are we crazy to worry? Profs at UC's are among the people telling us how dire things look from their CA view.</p>

211

<p>^You may be crazy for other reasons, hmom5, but not for worrying about the quality of the college experience at the UCs in the upcoming years! (winky face)</p>

212

<p>But seriously folks....... my H talks about leaving all the time, primarily because of the tax burden..</p>

213

<p>
[quote]
Profs at UC's are among the people telling us how dire things look from their CA view.

[/quote]

I'm sure at least some of this must be the typical posturing for the bigger piece of the smaller pie that every department with dependence on tax dollars is doing. We hear it every election cycle from the endless Teacher's Union ads. I'm not saying some of it isn't real but there's bound to be some posturing as well.</p>

214

<p>
[quote]
But seriously folks....... my H talks about leaving all the time, primarily because of the tax burden..

[/quote]

I've known people who have left for retirement to Nevada, Florida, Oregon, Arizona, Arkansas, etc. The thing is, I've been to all of those places and while they have their attributes, including sometimes no state taxes and low housing costs as well as some beautiful areas, it just doesn't match up to the San Diego area for what I like. For those who'd like these other areas they can generally do quite well from a housing perspective with their home equity (assuming they have some) - generally buying a nice place for cash and pocketing equity cash besides (I'm talking about retirement age).</p>

215

<p>But sticking with the tax burden thing; I have to believe a lot of us share some philanthropic values that increase our taxes, including contributing to education, even if we don't benefit directly. Is that right? While those ideals attracted me when I moved here 20 years ago, it's only recently (and some thanks to cc), that I realize that not every state has the same tax structure and provides the some services.</p>

216

<br>


<br>

<p>Right. But my sense of philanthropic obligation drops off sharply at the state line. If OOS people want to come here and enjoy the educational fruits, let their states send over a nice slug of tax dollars along with them for a few decades to help to defray the costs. </p>

<br>


<br>

<p>Yeah, the sky has been falling in California ever since the gold rush first started to peter out. But funny thing is that new opportunities and new industries keep springing up - often times indirectly or directly driven by research done at the UCs and Stanford. Agriculture driven by UC Davis. Wine industry - UCD again. Biotechnology - Berkeley, Stanford, and UCSD. Film industry - UCLA and USC. Silicon Valley - Stanford. The economic engine of new industries that California's research universities supply to the state just keeps going and going. </p>

<p>I don't know what the next New Thing will be that will boost California's economy, but I bet the UCs are going to right at the forefront of it.</p>

217

<p>
[quote]
Our D's friends who have gone to UCLA and UCB have been stuck in triples that were meant to be doubles. Our kid will have to be very active in planning her own schedule in order to graduate in 4 years. Don't expect great advising. We'll see if we have any family friends who have majored in the same area to get the lowdown on how best to plan out a schedule and which professors to avoid.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That's the way it was 30 years ago, too. Making triples out of doubles, and you were incredibly lucky to get one because there wasn't enough housing. No handholding, very little formal advising, great or otherwise. You talked to older students in your department or during orientation to figure out how to plan your schedule.</p>

218

<p>The whole Country needs the 'next new thing.' Our competitiveness on a global level has never been so much in question.</p>

<p>But what I'm doing is comparing states here. CA's taxes are as high as they get income and corporate wise, and people had tolerated this while real estate seemed to be forever heading up. This is clearly over and CA is left with high taxes and high, but not appreciating, real estate prices. People and companies are leaving.</p>

<p>For me, I had long planned to retire there but it's not looking as attractive as it did. When the US economy gets better, new companies will not be setting up shop in CA. Talk to any venture capitalist to understand this. All but the top few employees will live in low cost of living states or countries.</p>

<p>The UC's don't seem to be facing reality and deciding on realistic ways to hold on to excellence. All of this is political, and I don't see Californians getting real.</p>

<p>Shrinkrap and her husband, if they can get similar jobs in several other states, can save up to 10% of their income and send their kids to lower priced state schools. Hard to believe lots of teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, engineers and so on will not be considering this.</p>

<p>The weather is amazing if you can or choose to afford the sun tax.</p>

219

<p>CA real estate has always been boom and bust. Anyone who thought it was headed up forever wasn't paying attention. This current bust the third major one I've personally experienced since I bought my first house back in the late 1970s. It may take several years to get here, but there will eventually be another boom too. If the current real estate bust is enough to scare off some people from California, so much the better. It's too crowded here now as it is.</p>

220

<p>The issue is the current bust is enough to scare off lenders from ever creating another bubble like this in our and our kids' lifetimes. This one is not like the others. People were using liar loans in the CA market like no other, the typical multiple was 7 times income! That fueled unsustainable prices we won't likely see again.</p>

<p>From what I'm seeing, other than where real estate is concerned, the bust has not yet been fully felt in CA and Californians are not getting it yet.</p>