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Seven College Admissions Myths
CCEdit_Torrey
36 replies353 threads Editor
Dave Berry breaks down seven commonly-held myths about admissions: https://www.collegeconfidential.com/articles/seven-college-admissions-myths/
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Replies to: Seven College Admissions Myths
However, the private colleges with the best financial aid (where affordability is more likely to be realistic) are only realistic admission-wise for "top students". (Of course, there are other nuances, like divorced parents, fluctuating income, small business or self-employment income, etc. that can cause financial aid issues for some students.)
Some states' public universities have good in-state financial aid. But others do not. Better to be a resident of California than Pennsylvania for this purpose.
This section of the article should have recommended running each college's net price calculator.
That said, being a Top Student can be a matter of context: if you're a good enough student you can shop your way down the prestige pecking order until you find a school that thinks you're the bees knees and will give you money to attend their institution. It's not as awesome as getting a ride to Princeton, but if a golden ticket Presidential Scholarship to St MiddleRank College makes school affordable then it's better than two years of CC and hoping the family money situation improves by junior year. Life isn't always fair, but it's not always an all or nothing situation.
So, yes, your taxes pay for the UCs. Unfortunately, because of the demand to pay less tax, the UCs can not afford to provide much financial aid based on the taxes that you are now paying. They can barely afford to maintain the level of teaching, and have resorted to replacing actual professors who stay for a long time, do research (which students can join), and can enforce standards with contingent labor - adjuncts who are hired per semester, paid a pittance, are dependent of student evaluations for their continued employment, and as such cannot enforce standards, don't have time, space, funding, or any support for research, etc.
However, cheer up, since, due to the "wonderful" tax cuts of the 1990s and early 2000s, you are paying about a few hundred dollars a year less in state income taxes!!
Don't forget prisons. The crime wave that peaked in 1991 (thanks, Ethyl Corporation) produced lots of criminals, and the reaction of longer sentencing like the "three strikes" law in 1994 greatly increased the demand for prison space and hence spending on prisons.
Based on NPCs, parental income up to around $120k may still get financial aid grants at UCs. This is higher than the median household income ($72k) and median family income ($82k).