It has been deliberate state policy for decades to make higher education accessible to those from lower income families. Things currently done:
- Good in-state financial aid at state universities.
- Good transfer pathways for students starting at community colleges.
- Applications that do not require lots of checkbox items from others (recommendations, transcripts) that first generation and low SES students may not realize are needed until it is too late.
- Admission criteria at UCs that strongly consider overcoming adversity and do not consider legacy. (Note: CSU admissions is almost purely stat based, though thresholds can vary by major and local area residency as well as by campus and state residency.)