<p>You don't hear much about this UC. </p>
<p>UC</a> Merced's first full graduating class: We made it! - Los Angeles Times</p>
<p>Good for those students! What a coup to get Michelle Obama as their first ever commencement speaker. </p>
<p>With only 3700 students, Merced could be a good choice for a student looking for a smaller school but not wanting to pay for a private.</p>
<p>It will take a while for UC Merced to get a good reputation, perhaps even decades. The Central Valley cried for a UC in their area. I wonder how it is supported by the kids in its geographical area? Or are they looking to leave the Central Valley after high school graduation?</p>
<p>There is a graduate from my hs who is in that graduating class. She loved it but we are not from the Central Valley.</p>
<p>From what I know…which isn’t much, many students attend there with the plan of trasfering to another UC after sophomore year. Some change their minds and stay, others don’t. I think that the young woman from here who attended was denied at her other UC choices and she looked at it as kind of an adventure to go off to UCM for a couple of years and be a part of the first class. But ,she formed relationships and decided to stay and has spoken glowingly of UCM whenever I have talked with her about it.</p>
<p>Clear evidence California has no idea how to control expenses. A school hardly anyone wants and they have to force most to attend.</p>
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<p>Just bcos a five-year old cries, doesn’t mean you give him candy before dinner. :)</p>
<p>I’ll agree with Barrons and Bluebayou on this one. Was this new UC campus really needed? And aren’t both the UC and CSU systems in dire straights financially? Adding an unneeded campus simply diluted the pool of money that should have been available to the existing public colleges in California. I fear that the State of Washington is heading down the same rocky road with the ill advised proposal to create a branch campus of the UW north of Seattle. What’s the point when there is already a viable program and campus within 90 miles at Bellingham, WA?</p>
<p>^ I disagree. When UC Merced was founded, California was bracing/prepping for Title Wave II. During the 1960s, when student population boomed, UC expanded rapidly - adding San Diego, Santa Cruz and Irvine campuses…did it divert potential resources from the other campuses? Sure, but other benefits were realized - more Californians were educated under the UC system. </p>
<p>Granted, the burdens on CA financial resources during the 1960s and 2000s are completely different…which is barrons argument.</p>
<p>Perhaps a different route would have been to upgrade an established CSU campus to a UC, instead of building an entirely new UC from scratch…But I can only imagine the political wrangling over which CSU campus gets the upgrade…seems like a big political can of worms. Fresno State would have probably been the most logical choice…far enough from Berkeley, San Diego and LA constituents.</p>
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<p>I don’t think the UCs are in dire financial straits. However, I don’t see why they felt the need for a new campus when there appears to be room at some of the existing campuses (like UCR) for the target ‘UC eligible’ population unless it was projected they couldn’t have accommodated future students with reasonable expansion. Maybe it was all costly politics as others have said. </p>
<p>And if they’re anywhere close to having financial issues, or even if they’re not, why would they spend $700K to have the wife of a president come do a speech? It’s a huge waste of money that could be better spent whether some comes from donations or not.
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<p>UCB:</p>
<p>Yeah, at the time Fresno State was THE target (and logical choice). But, the Cal States also serve a hugely commuter population, such elevating FSU to the Big U would have disenfranchised those Valley students who were not UC material or did not desire a UC degree. </p>
<p>Probably for the same amount of money, the State coulda built 1-2 Cal State campuses and educated even more kids. And thus, I would recommend slowly raising the bar for UC from the top 12-14% to the ~10% of high school grads statewide. There are at least 3-5 kids from our HS alone who were accepted at Cal but will struggle mightily – if they don’t flunk out-- due to lack of academic preparation. (One of them was even rejected by Irvine!)</p>
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<p>haha thats going to chance (for both UCR and UCM), as they both are moving very quickly to develop medical schools on their respective campuses.</p>
<p>I thought there was some special legislation not allowing the UC Chancellors to convert CSUs to UCs, as there was some nasty debate about it a while back? I remember reading it on CC with a news article.</p>
<p>"haha thats going to chance (for both UCR and UCM), as they both are moving very quickly to develop medical schools on their respective campuses. "</p>
<p>And which magic money box do they plan to get that from?? Med schools are very expensive–even second-rate ones.</p>
<p>Serafina:</p>
<p>Of course the UC Regents only have power over UC campuses. But, the ultimate authority is the Legislature since they control the purse strings, and it woulda taken legislative action in Sacto to convert a Cal State to a UC. </p>
<p>btw: Riverside used to be a teacher’s college, if I recall, before it made the Show.</p>
<p>Instead of med schools, perhaps a D1 football team would be cheaper!</p>
<p>With the increasing doctor shortage someone needs to build some medical schools.</p>
<p>It’s a shame a discussion of what should be a happy event-- the graduation of some pioneering UC Merced students-- got turned into trashing their college.</p>
<p>(I agree.)</p>
<p>Warm congratulations to the first graduating class of UC Merced.</p>
<p>CF:</p>
<p>Not sure which posts you have been reading, but no one has “trashed” UC Merced or its students. Many of us have just opined that the college was not needed, particularly in perennially bk California; that’s all.</p>
<p>bb You are right, you did not bash UCM but you (collectively) certainly took a celebratory thread and made it a bit of a downer. </p>
<p>You have the right to do that and your point is well taken but I join the others in wishing all the best to the newly minted grads of UCM and I think you do too.</p>